Sony WH-1000XM5 Review

How Strong Is the Noise Cancelling

Independent reviews consistently rank the XM5's noise cancelling among the best available, especially against low-frequency noise such as aircraft cabins, trains and air conditioning.

Against Bose's QuietComfort models the result varies with the type of noise and the reviewer's method; for most listeners the practical difference is small, and comfort and fit matter as much.

The 8-Microphone System

The XM5's 8 microphones (4 feedforward + 4 feedback) represent an improvement over the XM4's 4-microphone system.

The additional microphones allow the dual noise processor to sample noise from more angular positions, improving effectiveness when ambient noise comes from multiple directions simultaneously.

In aircraft cabin conditions where noise comes from the engines (lateral) and HVAC (overhead), the multi-directional sampling is more effective than single-direction sampling.

This is the primary reason for the XM5's ANC lead over competitors that use fewer microphones.

Audio Quality

With ANC off and a wired connection, the XM5 produces detailed, wide-soundstage audio with slight bass emphasis.

The tuning favors consumer preferences, slightly warm, not clinical.

For music listening, this produces enjoyable rather than reference-accurate sound.

With ANC on via Bluetooth, audio processing introduces minimal artifacts.

Comfort at 30 Minutes, 4 Hours, and 8 Hours

At 30 minutes: comfortable.

The synthetic leather ear cushions conform to the ear shape and the clamping force is appropriate.

At 4 hours: ear warmth accumulates.

The synthetic leather does not breathe, and body heat builds up inside the ear cups.

Multipoint Bluetooth

Multipoint connects to two Bluetooth sources simultaneously.

When a call arrives on the phone while listening to music from the laptop, the headphone automatically pauses music and connects to the call.

When the call ends, music resumes.

In eight weeks of daily use: multipoint worked reliably.

Speak-to-Chat

Speak-to-Chat detects your voice and pauses music, activating Ambient Sound Mode so you can hear your environment during conversations.

It resumes after approximately 30 seconds of silence.

In commuting use: useful for brief interactions at shops, transit gates, and similar.

The detection sensitivity is configurable, high sensitivity activates on loud environmental speech; low sensitivity requires you to speak at normal volume directly.

Comparison to XM4

The XM5 improves on the XM4 in: ANC effectiveness (8 microphone vs 4), call quality (improved algorithm), design (updated shape), and soft case (updated materials).

The XM4 had a hinged folding mechanism that allowed more compact packing.

The XM5 does not fold as flat, the earcups swivel but the headband does not fold.

This is a regression for travel packing that some users noted at launch.