For the past few years, Sony’s over-ears noise canceling headphones have been the king of the hill. In 2022, the tech brand remains as one of the top contenders in the market with its latest release the WH-1000XM5 Wireless Headphones.

The first noticeable update on the flagship active noise canceling (ANC) headset is its new sleek, minimalist, and cleaner aesthetic, which Sony refers to as the “noiseless design.” Many prefer this new smoother, more refined look, with sweeping lines and less aggressive edges.

The headband has been made thinner while the ear cups are slightly bigger, wider, and deeper as compared to the XM4’s, meaning it can accommodate larger ears. The only caveat is that, unlike its predecessor, the XM5 does not fold. Another major difference in the headband section is that it now employs ABS sliders instead of metal bands for fit adjustment. Still, the XM5 is nice to the touch and feels premium.

Aside from looking better, the new model boasts of significant improvements in sound, call quality, noise cancelation, and comfort. Used is Bluetooth 5.2, with a wireless range of about 10 meters.

With its vegan leatherette, soft coating, and lightweight, it is among the most comfortable ANC headphones available to date. The contact area delivers ample friction for a snug fit but is soft enough to spare the head from pressure.

On each ear cup are four microphones, for a total of eight well-hidden microphone slots in the unit. These holes are closer to the wearer’s head aimed to lower wind noise when out and about.

As for sound quality, the XM4’s boomy sound profile has been fine-tuned in this version of the WH-1000. It supports Sony’s proprietary high-bitrate codec called LDAC, high-resolution audio over Bluetooth connections at up to 990 kbps at 32 bit/96 kHz, which allows streaming of high-quality sounds from compatible devices. The XM5 is a bit more consumer-friendly while offering a higher bitrate for better-quality listening. The sound is reasonably flat, which is good for critical listening and mixing music.

On the right ear cup is a touch-sensitive panel with various functions, including swipe up and down to increase and decrease volume respectively. Holding center activates voice assist while tapping the middle twice pauses or resumes a track. Holding your hand over the right ear cup briefly lowers the music and boosts ambient sounds from the environment.

On the bottom of this is a USB-C port, which is for charging. Playback through USB-C cable, however, isn’t possible.

There are two buttons at the bottom of the left ear cup, the power, and the ANC mode buttons. Analog connection is possible via a 3.5mm port next to the power button.

Pressing the power will turn on the headphones while holding it for three seconds would start pairing mode. An indicator that pairing mode has been activated, apart from the blinking blue light near the button, is a “pairing” voice prompt. From there, one can pair the XM5 to a phone, computer, or any device with Bluetooth connectivity.

“Wearing detection” automatically pauses whatever is playing on the headphones when it is removed from the user’s head. It resumes playing when put back.

Pressing the NC/AMB button toggles the ANC mode. There are three modes, in particular, ANC on, off, and ambient sound. The latter, as its name suggests, allows the wearer to hear ambient sounds around them by piping in outside noise recorded by the microphone array. On the other hand, noise cancelation in the XM5 is superb, able to block both low and high-frequency sounds. Auto NC Optimizer, noise canceling is automatically optimized based on the users wearing conditions and environment.

The 40mm driver used in the XM4 has been replaced with the latest 30mm carbon fiber composite dome that has been specially designed to be rigid and lightweight. The QN1 processor used in the former iteration of the WH-1000 is carried over, which entails that the full repertoire of adaptive noise canceling options are all usable.

Through the Sony Headphones Connect application, the degree of noise-cancelation can be changed with 20 levels of varying ambient attenuation to choose from. The application is also immensely useful with features like Speak-to-Chat, which stops whatever you’re listening when the headphones detect that the user is speaking, an equalizer to adjust sound profiles, and 360 reality audio, an immersive music experience by the tech giant’s object-based 360 Spatial Sound technology.

Wireless battery life lasts up to an impressive 30 hours with ANC on. Charging is also super-fast; plugging in the XM5 for three minutes yields three hours of playback.

Its prolonged battery life and comfortable design allow users to wear the headphones for longer durations. The XM5 is so light that it does not feel like anything is on your head.

It comes in two colors, black and light, sort of cream. Included in the box is a headphones case, which contains a USB charging cable and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Overall, the XM5 is a fantastic headphone especially for android users, proving that Sony is still a leader in consumer audio electronics.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 is priced at ₱20,999.00.

Sony.com.ph