Sony WH-1000XM5 Review: Just when you thought it couldn't get any better!

First off, the Sony WH-1000XM5 ANC headphones come in black and silver colour options. The overall look and feel of the XM5s have been overhauled, giving the headphones a minimalistic look. The new vegan leatherette material used is softer and provides excellent cushioning, making those long listening or binge-watching sessions more comfortable than ever before. The pads are a bit deeper and wider, and the soft cushioning material extends to the headband as well.

Apart from the upgrades, Sony has marginally reduced the weight of the XM5s, which doesn’t seem like a big deal but considering the solid upgrades, I’d put it down as a win. The sliding mechanism to adjust the size of the headband has also changed and just feels more satisfying and sturdier. Sony has also repositioned the microphone holes, placing them closer to your ear to reduce noise on particularly windy days. The one-piece design feels much more premium than its predecessors, although this does come at the cost of portability as the headphones can no longer be folded and placed in the case.

This also means a much bigger case, which is mildly inconvenient if you are travelling. On the flip side, the newly designed case looks better and feels more premium. Our model had a case made of grey fabric with a golden zipper with the Sony logo. The case is also slightly collapsible when the headphones aren’t inside, which does give you a bit of extra space in your bag. The case also has an inner pocket to tuck away the cables. So while the headphones and the case have improved in terms of their overall comfort and build quality, they are a lot less portable than before.

Touch Controls

The right ear cup on the headphones is touch sensitive and allows you to control all the functions on the headphones. You can swipe up and down to adjust the volume and swipe forward and backward to switch tracks. Apart from these, there are several other swiping gestures that can be used on the headphones. I’d recommend heading into the app to figure out how you can use the various swiping gestures.

Additionally, double taping on the right ear cup can be used to pause and resume the audio or answer and end calls. The headphones also have two buttons under the right earcup that can be used to switch between ANC and transparency modes. The button can also be remapped to activate the voice assistant. Lastly, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones also has a button to power them on and enter into Bluetooth pairing mode.

Sound & Call Quality

Sony has replaced the 40mm drivers on the XM4s for smaller 30mm driver design. However, this made little difference in terms of overall sound quality. I’d go as far as to say that audio quality here is slightly better at low base frequencies. High-pitch frequencies had a little less punch but mids were well balanced. The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones also retained the detailed soundstage of the XM4s. I found that almost every frequency range perfectly balanced. There’s a good bit of bass, but it isn’t too much, sounding well defined with a bit of a punch. The mid-range and treble are also very clear and even.

I listened to everything from electronic and retro music to hard rock and heavy metal with the one common denominator being detailed sound. Sony has also added clarity and detail for excellent instrument separation. The headphones could get particularly loud with little-to-no distortion at high volumes. The headphones support Bluetooth 5.2 as well as the AAC, LDAC, and SBC codecs for high-res audio. Sadly, the XM5s do not support the aptX codec, although this does little to diminish the high-res audio experience.

Like its predecessor, the XM5s also feature DSEE Extreme, which can upscale audio in real-time from streaming apps to deliver high-res audio. You also get an audio output jack and a 3.5mm cable for wired listening, which was slightly better in my experience. However, the sound quality does seem like a marginal improvement when coming from the XM4s, as the sound is slightly more nuanced. But the gap in performance is further exceeded with the call quality on the XM5s, which has majorly improved over last year.

Whether you are in a quite or noisy environment, the call quality of the XM5s were quite impressive. Sony’s Precise Voice Pickup technology uses four beamforming mics, wind-noise reduction, and AI-powered noise-reduction to deliver an excellent calling experience, even when there’s a lot of ambient noise coming in.

Active Noise Cancellation

Sony’s HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1 is now paired with a new Processor V1 with a combination of eight microphones. Yes, the XM5s have a dedicated chip for noise cancellation. The Sony WH-1000XM4s offered some of the best noise cancellation in the segment. And the XM5s builds on that success to deliver some of the best noise cancellation to date. I tested the headphones in multiple scenarios. Sony’s latest premium over the ear headphones cancelled out noise coming from roaring engines and buzzing horns, offering an immersive listening experience amidst heavy traffic.

At home, the XM5s completely cancels off noise coming from fans or even people tapping the door. When flying, the XM5s completely drowned out any ambient noise, particularly during take-off and landing. In the nursery, the headphones cancelled out the noise of a little over 50 children singing, although in this scenario, some noise did seep through. But overall, the ANC performance on Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones were impressive to say the least. It is worth noting that I had music playing at around 70 percent during most of my testing, so you don’t have to set the headphones to max volume to take full advantage of the XM5s ANC.

Software

To get the most out of the 1000XM5s, download Sony’s Headphone Connect app. You can setup Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa through the app. Unfortunately, you cannot use the app to adjust the levels of noise cancellation, but you can control the amount of ambient sound coming in. You also get adaptive sound control that allows the app to detect actions and frequent locations to automatically switch the headphones settings. The headphones also feature multi-device support, allowing you to connect them to two devices simultaneously. Speak-to-chat also makes a return, pausing playback whenever you speak.

You can also use the app to prioritise sound quality or connectivity. However, the best part of the app is undoubtedly the equaliser that can be used to manually tweak the sound to your liking. The app can also detect apps optimised for 360 Reality Audio and have instructions to analyse the shape of the ear to offer an enhanced audio experience. Sony’s intuitive Headphone Connect app is a pretty good companion app but could use some interface improvements to make the experience seamless.

 Battery Life

The Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones are touted to deliver up top 30 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation turned on. In my experience, the XM5s didn’t live up to Sony’s tall claims but came pretty damn close. I managed to squeeze out around 28 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation on a single charge, which is impressive in its own rank. During my time with the XM5s, with no noise cancellation, that ‘28’ hours figure cleared the 36 hours mark. I never really felt the need to charge the headphones, always having just enough of battery life without having to worry about charging them up. The XM5s also have several intuitive features to further improve battery life.

First off, the power button on the headphones provides information about battery percentage. The 'Smart-Pause' feature allows you to automatically pause the audio when the headphones are taken off. The headphones also turn off if you put them down for a bit longer. Unfortunately, the long battery life can be a double edge sword as there were quite a few instances where I forgot to plug in the headphones to get a charge. Thankfully, a short 10-minute charge offers around four to five hours of playback. Additionally, using the USB-PD standard should get you around three of battery life with a three-minute charge. When it comes to battery life and charging support, the XM5s leave little to be desired.

Verdict

With a price tag of Rs 34,990, the Sony XM5 headphones don’t come cheap. But it is worth noting that there are considerable improvements over the XM4s (Review). In terms of their ANC prowess, the XM5s are the best pair of headphones that I’ve tested yet. And while it is worth debating whether the XM5s are the best at audio quality as well, they are undoubtedly some of the best in the segment when combining the two. Apart from offering some of the best audio and ANC quality in the segment, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones also feature a more premium build than their predecessors. Additionally, they also offer better battery life and quick charging.

The headphones also come with a myriad of features to make the listening experience more convenient. The XM5s caters to music lovers and audiophiles alike, making them easy to recommend if you are looking for a pair of premium noise cancelling headphones, although there’s no need to upgrade if you own a pair of XM4s. But if you are in the market for segment-leading noise cancelling headphones, I just can’t see how you’d go wrong with the Sony WH-1000XM5s. And the fact that Sony’s introductory offer is still available should give you all the more reason to opt for the XM5s.