Launched: Sony WH-1000XM5 – Best Noise Canceling Headphones Now Even Better

When Sony lists the arguments for the WH-1000XM5 (M5 should read as Mark 5) compared to its predecessor with a four at the end, it is news and improvements in a number of areas. First and foremost the design of course. Both earmuffs and underwire have been given an elegant design. In addition to being softer and more comfortable to wear, the shapes are also more aerodynamic to reduce wind noise when you wear them.

Inside the cover are new speaker elements of 30 mm. They are smaller than in the predecessors but according to Sony still have better sound with, among other things, higher sensitivity to high frequencies thanks to the fact that they are made of carbon fiber composite. The headset of course supports Sony’s LDAC technologies for high-resolution audio over Bluetooth and DSEE Extreme, which with artificial intelligence simulate higher-resolution audio from inferior audio sources.

Sony’s WH-1000X series is best known for the fantastic noise reduction, and according to Sony, this generation has improved the noise reduction compared to the previous generation more than ever before. this is thanks to 8 microphones and dual processors, partly the noise reduction circuit QN1 which is in the predecessor, partly the new sound circuit V1. The increased computing power means, among other things, that the function that adapts the sound to your hairstyle and if you have glasses takes place automatically in the background without you having to do anything, instead of being a calibration that you run in the app. The function to pause the music when you take off the headset has also become faster and more accurate.

As before, there are functions to adjust the settings automatically depending on the environment you are in, and the headset can sense when you are talking and pausing the music. The headset also automatically detects wind noise and turns on special noise reduction functions for this if it blows. If you do not want these features, for example because the music turns off when you start humming, you can download the corresponding app and adjust the settings in detail.

Conversation sound is another area that Sony highlights as improved. Four-point microphones will ensure that the headset recognizes what your voice is and amplifies it, while filtering out others talking nearby and other noise. Even during conversations, efforts have been made to reduce the effect of wind noise.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 has increased support for Google Assistant by allowing you to wake up your voice assistant simply by saying “Hello Google”, so you do not have to press any button to do so. To simplify pairing, you also have support for Fast Pair in android and Swift Pair in Windows. The headset can be paired with two devices at the same time.

The battery life is as before 30 hours, and with USB Power Delivery you should be able to get three hours of music in just three minutes of charging.

As before, a bag is included, but it has a different design that allows it to be compressed into a more compact format when not in use. It also helps to reduce the product’s packaging. The packaging is completely free of plastic, and the headset is partly made of recycled plastic from car parts.

However, the price tag on the headset has gone up compared to its predecessors. The recommended price for the WH-1000XM5 is SEK 5,000, compared to SEK 4,000 for the predecessor WH-1000XM4. The latter will therefore remain in the range as a cheaper alternative.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 will go on sale at the end of May in the colors black and platinum silver.