Customer Ratings & Reviews

I would say this is the best headphones so far in this price range ! Lovin it

One of the greatest headphones I’ve purchased it’s pricey but if you got money to spend on headphones these are it.

The best purchase I ever made. Getting to shut out the world helps me focus so much.

Best Buy Always gets me the best headphones for my studies. They recommend the best.

I'm so happy with the product, my boyfriend use it all the time

Sounds the same as the previous model. Over still good quality just feels cheaper.

These are great headphones with many amazing features! 10/10 would recommend.

I thought highly of Sony but with my recent purchase I wasn’t really pleased with the result, there was a lot of static and at first I thought it was just the songs but then I changed it to more modern songs but it still had the same noise, other than that they were alright but my wired apple headphones sounded the same, the noise canceling was very nice and probably the best feature.

Noise cancellation is great! Wore it on my plan ride and hardly could hear anything!

There’s little to complain about with the MX5 headphones. They are comfortable and sound phenomenal. The biggest gripe would be the purchase price, but if you are looking for the best in class noise canceling with superior audio quality, these demand consideration. IN THE BOX The headphones come in Sony’s eco friendly packaging. Inside the packaging you’ll find the headphones in their case. The case has a large-ish footprint, but it feels slim. It’s made of high quality, durable materials. Unzipping the case you’ll find the headphones. They don’t fold like previous models (hence, the larger case) but the ear cups turn to make them flat. Inside the case is a magnetic flap that opens with a gentle pull that reveals a USB-C charging cable and 3.5 MM to 3.5 MM audio cable to connect your headphones to an audio jack. Unlike my older Bose models, the audio cable plug is full size on both ends of the cable. (making them interchangeable). SETTING UP If you wanted, you could simply charge these headphones up, turn them on, connect to your phone and begin listening to music. But I recommend downloading the Sony Connect App as a part of this process. There, you can change some of the noise canceling settings (like adaptive noise canceling, turning off music when someone is talking, or change the EQ levels). More importantly, that’s where you get the firmware updates. I suspect they’re not necessary, but are highly recommended to keep the headphones operating at their best. DESIGN The MX5s updated their design from the MX3 and MX4. They now more closely resemble the new Bose headphones which isn’t really a bad thing. I didn’t hate the MX3 or MX4 designs, nor did I love them. They were headphones. The MX5s, however, look more sleek.But functionality is what counts, specifically comfort. There’s seemingly no metal in these headphones. I’m guessing to keep their weight down. Part of me wishes the band was made out of metal, purely for durability’s sake, but these seem to handle what you can throw at them (within reason of course). You can grab the cans and twist and turn and the headband snaps back into place with ease. The headband is obviously adjustable, like virtually all over the ear headphones. Here there’s no clicking, the band adjusts with virtually little friction as the arms slide in and out of the headband itself. The ear cups are huge. I have a big head, thus big ears, and most ear cups lay partially on my ear which causes discomfort over time. With the MX5s, my entire ear fits inside the cup so there’s no pinch points. I’m not sure if it’s in my head, but my ears feel cooler too. Maybe it’s because they’re not getting squeezed? The cushions feel like some kind of pleather, you push in and and they feel like memory foam (they’re not, but do feel cushiony). Last, I’ll just say that they are extremely light. So much so, you’d have no problem wearing them hours on end if you chose to. I don’t think you’ll ever forget they’re there, in my opinion, no such world exists where you don’t feel like you’re wearing headphones, but it comes close. EASE OF USE If you’ve owned a pair of MX headphones before, the navigation will be very familiar to you. The outside of the right ear cup is touch sensitive. You simply swipe left or right to advance (or go back) tracks, and swiping up and down controls the volume. I very much prefer this design over hard buttons because they have a little room for error in terms of locating any buttons. There’s a power button as well as an ANC button. Turning ANC effectively turns the outer microphones on and projects ambient noise inside your headphones. I try to avoid ever turning ANC off, but I can see where this is a neat or even essential feature for some, especially crossing crowded streets. SOUND QUALITY AND NOISE CANCELING The noise canceling is superb. It’s almost too good. Like, where do we go from here? Or, it seemingly feels so quiet it’s creepy. I don’t put on noise canceling headphones to simply cancel the noise, I use them in conjunction with listening to music or podcasts. But I tried it out and if that’s your thing (literally no noise) then these are the best headphones on the market now. Now, to be fair, it doesn’t eliminate all noise; I could hear a loud passenger jet pass over my head (I’m just a couple of miles from the airport). But everyday sounds essentially disappeared. In terms of sound quality, I have to say it’s great. I’m no audiophile by any stretch, but I can certainly appreciate quality sound. I’ve listened to everything from classical, to rap, to pop to 80s rock. And they all sound terrific. The default setting doesn’t have the deep bass the MX3s and MX4s are known for; the default seems to emphasize the treble and mid range. But if you were missing that deep bass, you can go into the Sony Connect app and can fine tune the EQ or preset EQs to get the sound you preferred. There’s a lot of customization in the app to make everyone happy. I stuck with the default settings because I liked the crisp sound. OTHER FEATURES I previously mentioned the app. It does a little more than push firmware updates and allow you to adjust the EQ settings. Here you can set up Sony’s 360 degree audio features. The headphones, through your phone, examines the shape of your ears and tweaks the settings for optimum performance. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried this feature because (my assumption) there’s a pay wall behind this content (and only select apps support it). Probably the coolest feature is adaptive sound, which tracks how you wear your headphones to optimize the noise canceling and sound settings.You can also turn on the feature that pauses your music automatically if the headphones sense you talking. For example, someone walks up to you and asks you a question while you’re listening to music, it will automatically pause so you can communicate with said person. The music will automatically continue after a set duration of time (which can be changed in the app). While I liked the feature as it was intended, it prevents me from singing along to the music. Once it detects your own voice, when you’re belting out your favorite song, the music will pause. So, unfortunately for me I had to turn that setting off. CONCLUSION There’s tons and tons of headphone options on the market. The Sony MX5s are certainly not cheap. But if sound and noise canceling matters enough to you, this is the pair to get. I’m sure there are other headphones that sound just as good, but you really can’t beat the combination of sound quality, noise cancelation and design. Last, I’ll just say that the case is a tad bigger than previous Sony models or even the Bose QC45, but I didn’t find it to be that big of a deal. It would be nice if they folded up to a smaller package, I have to believe that the Sony engineers had good reason not to. Either way, I wouldn’t let the size of the case or the headphones inability to “fold up” sway your decision to get these or not.

They sound great but they have cracked by the speakers and are no longer wearable. Sony says the aren't covered by the warranty. Wont buy anymore of these had them 7 months

I've only had the headphones for 6 months and the plastic on the headband portion is peeling, the plastic/metal that connects the headphone to the heandband is broken rendering the left side useless and the speak to chat option will randomly turn on causing my music/sound to stop playing whenever it picks up me speaking or outside noise. Battery life is horrible, dies very quickly even after charging. Meanwhile I had my bose headphones for 2 years with no problems. I regret changing to sony, the only reason I did is because the cushion fell off of my bose (i didnt know they were replacable) and I didnt like the design for the new bose that came out. However due to this extremely poor experience with sony I will be going back to bose!

Having used the XM3 and XM4, I went in expecting incremental improvement in the noise canceling feature that has a competitor sweating. So expectations on using the XM5 weren’t as high as before. From an aesthetic point, I like the new design. But after getting it in my hands and getting a feel for it, I find that I also do not like the design decisions put into this. Many headphones that have cans that swivel so that the cups themselves rest on your chest make it easier to hang your headphones around your neck. Not only does it protect the inside of the cans themselves but it also prevents whatever potential dust and particles from flying in. In the XM5, the cans now swivel in the opposite direction, where the open side of the cans are now facing outward when they rest on your chest. This is a major step back in how headphones are designed. And yes, I did double check that the right side can is undoubtedly right. Another odd design decision is that the XM5 is not as compact as before. The XM3 and XM4 were both collapsible so they can be packed and compact for travel. There is no such thing in the XM5 this time around. I find it a bit sad that this is not part of the design any more. And it makes the whole redesign of the XM5 more questionable than praise worthy. Lastly, as I should have expected, included cables are the 3.5mm analog cable that can be connected to a headphone jack and a USB charging. The analog cable can be used with or without active noise canceling turned on. If your headphone has no power left, the headphones can still be used, which is a side bonus. The USB charging cable is still a massive disappointment, being a mere 6 inches in length. When paying full price for these headphones, you kind of expected to have a longer cable. This has been happening ever since I got the XM3. This may have been going on for longer but I do not own any prior to that. Even a 12 inch (1ft) charging cable would have been better than a pitiful 6 inches. The active noise canceling (ANC) ability of the XM5 has improved yet again but only slightly. Like the XM4 before it, the improvement is only minor and blocks out a bit more. Train noise from my commute is reduced to a whisper and makes it easy to doze off. And with music playing at the same time, it becomes easy to miss automated and train operator messages played over the train’s speakers. You can still temporarily turn off ANC by placing your right palm on the right can, a feature that is retained from previous generations. On a similar note, touch controls are still on the right can. And much like the previous generations, there is no texture to make it easier to feel out the touch controls. For new owners, it makes it a bit tricky and difficult to learn the touch controls. There is an audio cue on swipe so it is a minor improvement from the previous generation. Audio quality is just as great as before. I prefer sound that is as neutral as possible. Meaning, it’s not heavy on the low frequency or tinny from high frequency. Such taste can always be adjusted using an equalizer. Codec when using the headphones over Bluetooth is LDAC. Unfortunately this codec is not available for Apple users. There is 360 Reality Audio but that remains untested due to limited streaming services, where I am either not using or not subscribed to. For call audio quality, I believe it’s a bit better in picking up my voice. Even with a face mask on, it picks up my voice without the need for The companion app, Sony Headphones Connect, allows you to adjust some settings for the headphones. Sadly, adjusting the noise canceling level of the headphone is no longer possible, which is a major shame since there are times when I want to fine tune how much noise is reduced. Next to the power button on the left can of the headphone is a button that is now strictly for switching noise canceling mode or custom function set by the app via double-press. Lastly, the headphone is comfortable to wear. It is light and doesn’t weigh down, despite the change in the top headband having less cushion/padding than before. I can potentially wear it for hours without any discomfort. It’s great for long travels and commutes and is worth having for such an occasion. Is this worth the asking price? Unfortunately, I have to say no. The XM4 is still available and can be had for less. So far, the improvements over generations are incremental and nothing revolutionary. The design choices for the XM5 doesn’t seem to make much sense and felt like a step backward. Not being able to fine tune the noise canceling level like before is also a downer. It’s surprising that for the XM5 it is not a clear winner. So I cannot recommend this for old or new users. Verdict: Not recommended The Good: Better ANC than before, great audio, comfortable to wear for long sessions The Bad: cans swivel in opposite direction, not compact, only 3 levels of ANC The Ugly: the thought of having random particles blow into the cans while worn around the neck

I can't believe they sound so terrible that even EQ doesn't help. No base whatsoever, no matter what I do. Sony reduced the driver size from 40mm to a tiny 30mm, and it affects sound quality. Significant downgrade from XM3. I had to return them and buy XM4 instead. I can't believe two year old headphones sound much better than the new one and cost less. If they cost $150 I could tolerate that sound, but for $400 and after XM3 and XM4 they just dont leave up. Sony is going down the hill.

The headsets kept jumping into voice recognition. Anything that I was listening to with automatically stopped when a voice in the room was heard. Also, I don’t like that they don’t fold like the previous ones. I’m sitting as Best Buy as we speak replacing them because they broke in my hand as I was trying to put them onto my ears. Not worth the 400+ dollars I paid for it. Last model was so much better. And these when you turn them, mom won’t even tell you that they’re on like the last pair/model.

Right out of the box I was so excited to pair these Sony WH-1000XM5 with my iPhone 13 Pro. Simply need to put it into pairing mode and it was ready within seconds. Download the Sony Headphones app from the App Store and my headphones were ready to be used to the fullest. The technology that Sony has paired into this set of headphones is impressive. Noise-canceling on this pair of headphones is impressive. I can't hear much of any external noise when I'm around noisy environments. Working from home I can't hear the cooling fan, external speaker, or vacuum when the noise canceling is active. Even more impressive is the sound quality on phone calls or online web meetings. I had my music speaker on 40% volume during a phone call and the other party couldn't hear my music, as only my voice was making it through to them. Sony has crafted a pair of smart headphones with advanced technology built into them. One QN1 noise-canceling processor paired with the Integrated V1 processor can really cancel out the background commotion. There are a total of eight microphones that are actively monitoring external noise to give you the best audio experience as a headphone user. Inside the ear cups are 30mm drivers that do an exceptional job at sound quality for crisp high notes and deep bass notes as well. With the app, you can easily fine-tune the sound preference which suits your hearing best. There is built-in AI in the form of DSEE Extreme to help upscale compressed digital music files to ensure that I'm getting a full experience for my music of choice. Four beamforming microphones on this pair of headphones are designed to capture your voice in full clarity and precision. Hands-free operation is possible with the touch interface that can be turned on/off through the app. The right ear cup allows for volume and music controls for example. These particular headphones also have the ability to pause your music when you start to speak so you can converse when needed, and this feature can be turned on/off via the app. Also depending on your movements, the ANC will adjust in case you're moving around your home or various locations, and this feature took me some getting used to but can be turned on/off via the app. Alexa is also built-in and can be activated if you choose to. Pair these Sony headphones easily to two devices at the same time, which has been helpful for listening to music from my iPhone and then connecting to my Windows laptop for a virtual meeting. There is a nice hardshell case that comes with these to help protect this luxury set of headphones. Also included in the case is a 3.5mm gold plate L-shape audio wire so you can listen to your headphones with a wired connection if you choose to. Also, there is a USB-PD cable for charging purposes. Battery life is stated to be up to 30 hours of total play, and you can get a 3-hour charge in just 3 minutes with the provided USB-PD compatible AD adapter. The overall fit of these headphones is really nice. I can wear these for long periods of time without feeling discomfort. The pads are large and soft with the leather encircling your ear in full. The headphones are adjustable with nice smooth and quiet movement across the headband, without clicking to set a place on your headband size. The look and design of these headphones are very upscale and minimalistic which I like because I don't want to be flashy with branding and attract attention with my headphone choice. For me, this has been a great set of headphones so far for home usage and while commuting. They offer incredible noise cancellation and truly are one of the best sets I have ever used. The style is elegant and upscale. This is a luxury set of headphones meant for use in stationary settings and multi-tasking. I would not recommend using these for any exercise or precipitation weather, since there is not an IPX rating. PRO: Noise-canceling technology is top-notch The style looks really nice Sony app offers many options to maximize the headphones All-day comfort CON: Cautious to use while exercising due to lack of IPX rating

Not worth the price at all don’t buy them, if you’re looking for Sony headphones get the base boosters one

Premium product for premium price. I love everything about these headphones! Find it pretty comfortable as well.

After less than 60 days of use, these headphones failed at the joint above the earcup during normal use. I contacted Sony, who declared the issue was "cosmetic or accidental" despite them being unwearable. It was not covered under warranty, and Sony refused to provide a contact or means to escalate the issue. This is a known issue on their own community forums and other platforms.

Sound quality is rely good,the plastic is flimsy and they broke withing 6 months of having them