Sony WH-1000XM5
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- ANC
- Blocked a crying baby three seats away for a 20-hour flight
- Comfort
- Very light, but the cups get warm and sweaty during exercise
Why it ranks here. The XM5 is the most discussed headphone on r/headphones and YouTube by a wide margin, from three-year ownership reports to daily complaint threads. It is the pair every other headphone gets compared against.
Owners praise the sound, the noise cancelling, the light weight and the two-device Bluetooth. One three-year owner says the sound gave him an 'eargasm'↗ and he has had 'not one issue at all through the 3 years'↗; another wore them on a 20-hour flight with a crying baby three seats away and 'couldn't hear the baby at all'↗. The complaint that fills the Sony subreddit is the hinge: one owner has had it crack three times in a year, twice after paying about 60€ for the official headband part. Beyond that, the cups get hot and sweaty in a workout, the non-folding design means a big case, and one owner's choppy audio on a desktop PC turned out to be his own body blocking the Bluetooth receiver. Not everyone is sold: a former AirPods Max owner says the ANC 'doesn't live up to all the hype'↗ and the earpads 'feel kind of cheap'↗.
What owners like
- Owners keep them for years: one three-year owner still calls the sound an 'eargasm'↗ and has had 'not one issue at all through the 3 years'↗
- Noise cancelling that handled a 20-hour flight with a crying baby three seats away: 'couldn't hear the baby at all'↗
- Light, comfortable for long wear, and connects to two devices at once
What owners complain about
- The hinge is the recurring failure. One owner had it crack three times in a year, twice after paying for Sony's official headband part
- No folding, so the case is big, and the cups get hot and sweaty during exercise
- One former AirPods Max owner says the ANC 'doesn't live up to all the hype'↗ and the earpads 'feel kind of cheap'↗
“I've had these for 7 months now. I bought these, and the best Bose and Beats to test them at home for which one was the best sound and noise cancelling. My son and I did a blind test on both of us. We both chose these for both sound quality and noise cancelling, wasn't even close. I used them for a 20 hour flight to Thailand and they were a life saver. Super comfortable. Battery lasted the entire trip. Had a crying baby three seats away, couldn't hear the baby at all when playing music at a normal level.” — YouTube comment · @Vinceminniti.realestate · 2022-06-24
7 positive · 2 mixed · 1 neutral · 3 negative · 13 voices · ✓ all 13 linked to source
Read all 13 quotes (13 voices)
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So I bought this fantastic headphone 3 years ago after getting a job at retail (was a highschool graduate back then, now a university student)... Either way after getting this headphone, I spent the whole week listening to music because it gave me an eargasm (The sound quality is so majestic)... Today I happened to see some comments about this headphone, saying that the sound quality is not the best. So I went to this sub and started searching for this headphone thread and to my surprise, most people don't like it? And the hinge issue? That's crazy. I guess I got lucky with my headphones, not one issue at all through the 3 years.
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Im always using my headphones normally I never drop them and either have them strapped around my neck or in the carrying case. I just noticed them cracking again. I got them a year ago and have been using them every day. After 6 months the right hinge broke for the first time so I ordered an expensive OEM headband replacement part (fixing the hinge itself is almost impossible) because it wasn't covered by warranty according to sony and the store I bought it from. 2 months later my hinge broke again another 60€ down the drain. And now 2 months after that the stupid hinge is starting to crack again.
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Sure, they are lightweight and the sound is nice, but I feel like the noise cancellation doesn't live up to all the hype. I was using the Airpods Max before, and while many think nothing tops them, many others said the XM5 were the same minus the extra weight (which was exactly what I was looking for), so I blindly bought them. Also, the earpads feel kind of cheap. They make my skin sweat a lot and they are thin enough so that my ear touches the insides.
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The problem that I've been troubleshooting for the past 4 hours is my personal desktop. Once connected, the audio sounded awful. Listening to music was like listening to a choppy voicemail of someone outside of a concert... Finally.....FINALLY, I found an old post on the Sony subreddit from 3 years ago where someone mentioned that if your PC is on the right side of where you're sitting there'll be interference because of, and I quote "YOUR BODY BEING IN THE WAY OF THE HEADPHONES AND BLUETOOTH RECEIVER IN THE PC"
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Just got these for $200 on Prime Day. Just had to wait 4 years.
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I actually love the fact that they won't fold. Folding make them weaker and they rattle a lot.
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M3 and M4 weakest points were the folding hinges, you can find a tone of sets on the used market with broken hinges. Sony had to fix this and their solution was to remove the folding hinges entirely. I don't blame them for that
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I've had these for 7 months now. I bought these, and the best Bose and Beats to test them at home for which one was the best sound and noise cancelling. My son and I did a blind test on both of us. We both chose these for both sound quality and noise cancelling, wasn't even close. I used them for a 20 hour flight to Thailand and they were a life saver. Super comfortable. Battery lasted the entire trip. Had a crying baby three seats away, couldn't hear the baby at all when playing music at a normal level.
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I just got a pair and am amazed at the comfort, sound and controls. I bought them because I have been hearing good things about them from patrons at the gym I go to. People are sweating heavily into to these doing intense cardio with no damage to speak of.
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The previous version XM4 earphones passed every sweat test while I was using them for a year. Just switched to XM5 headphones and stupidly went for a run what turned out to be a very hot day... Well... They didn't slip but they got soo sweaty inside. I got a bit scared but they still work so I guess if you don't sweat buckets from ears you should be good 😅
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Just watched this 11 month old video having just bought a pair of XM5s two weeks ago. I have to say I love them. After only having them for two weeks I think your review is pretty spot on. There will always be things that can be improved like the USB's listening issue but for now I'm totally happy with them.
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Pros: - decent transparence mode - can connect to 2 devices - comfortable but gets warm if wear for longer time - good grip + secure on head - easy to clean - decent microphone (block out background noise) - amazing sound stage - can connect to wire - controls are all on the right ear bud - good noise cancellation - aesthetic Cons: - app is a bit outdated - not too good for heat - not too good for workout cuz of the sweat, might damage it - same for rain / water - the case is large + not foldable
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these headphones are terrific for the ederly who are losing their hearing but want to watch television programming or the baseball game without the rumble and rattle of others in any shared space. As you age surrounding noise is a huge barrier to hearing.
