Sony Presents a Strong Case

The battle for noise cancelling supremacy rages on. Perhaps nowhere is this battle fought more fervently than in the high-end, over-ear headphone market.

Opinions, as they always have been, are divided but my general sense of things is most believe Sony has been leading the game for a while, providing a complete package; style, comfort, superior sound and arguably the most advanced active noise cancelling chip on the market.

So the pressure's on. Where do you go from here? When you're on top, how do you go higher? It's very easy to for the king to rest on his laurels while the pretenders conspire to steal his crown.

Have I been watching too much House of the Dragon? Perhaps. But you get my point. Making the best better is never easy.

The new Sonys have totally nailed it. Except for the name, of course. WH-1000XM5? Why? Anyway, it is what it is. And what it is is the very best headphones you can buy. Again.

I was going to start with the case - because it's the first thing you see and it's the first thing that impressed me - but let's go back a step further; if you thought the packaging for Sony's recent generation of true-wireless earbuds was unusually disposable, wait till you see how recyclable the box for the XM5 is. There's no plastic in the packaging at all. It takes a bit of getting used to; chucking the box for your $599.00 headphones straight in the recycling but I guess we need to do what we can. Like everyone, Sony is also committed to using recycled materials in the headphones themselves.

But first, that case. No longer a heavy, solid-walled, symmetrical oval. The new case accommodates the fact the XM5's don't collapse into themselves quite the same way as their predecessors. Instead, the padded interior of this case is specifically moulded to store the headphones flat. Due to the new, much slimmer headband, this means one end of the case is also a lot flatter, making it dramatically easier to stow in a bag, briefcase or seat pocket. There's also a magnetic lid on the accessory compartment to keep things tidy. In short; a much more premium case befitting of these best-in-class cans.

Alright, to the actual headphones. While the previous couple of versions were almost identical in appearance, Sony has made quite a leap in looks here. Unusually skinny headband, yet still nicely padded. The arms connecting that band to the ear cups are uniquely angled and also minimalist, yet there's no hint of a lack of durability and the slide adjustment seems just as firm as the previous one-notch-at-a-time design. The ear cups are perhaps a more familiar shape, although they also seem slightly smaller and lighter to me. The overall effect is something less in-your-face - definitely more comfortable and less claustrophobic than many other over-ear designs.

None of this matters at all if the XM5's don't deliver sound-wise though. Not to worry. They definitely do. Interestingly, the main driver has actually shrunk - from 40mm to 30mm - I don't care at all because to my ears sound quality has only improved. Noise cancellation is even more effective than ever while everything seems more clear - right across the frequency range.

"Miss Atomic Bomb" by the Killers sails along atop a rolling bass and tom-tom tide, complimented by an expansive guitar and keyboard soundscape. Brandon Flowers' sweeping lead vocals dive through the track like a seabird swooping beneath the waves then surging into the sky again - or at least how it sounds to me through the XM5's. So much space. So much warmth.

Even much older tracks like "Layla" sound as though they've been painstakingly remastered to emphasise each element; Clapton's legendary lead riff in a space all its own, vocals in another sonic room, rhythm section not jumbled or muddy in the slightest.

This is probably due in no small part to Sony's DSEE Extreme AI tech. Supposedly it's capable of upscaling digitally compressed files in real time in much the same way a good high-definition TV can take lower resolution content and enhance it to look more detailed. From what I can hear, it seems to be working.

Controlling the WH-1000XM5 hasn't really changed, although it seems to work better now. I've never been a massive fan of the swiping and tapping gestures on the right-hand ear cup. In the past I've often found this to be too inexact and ended up skipping tracks (swipe forward) instead of turning up the volume (swipe up). No real drama when listening to music but a real pain in the arse if you accidentally jump out of the middle of your podcast. Sony seems to have refined this system somehow and I've yet to make the same mistake on the new model.

As usual, other features like ear-fit, firmware upgrades and equalisation options are accessible through the Headphones app, not to mention more advanced tweaks like Speak to Chat and Adaptive Sound Control, which lets the headphones decide just how much ANC is required depending on your physical environment.

Somewhat surprisingly, estimated battery life has stayed pretty much the same at around 30 hours - although Sony has definitely upped their fast charging game - just a three minute burst should buy you another three hours use.

Best of all, there's still an AUX socket and cable included, so I can use these (with ANC turned on) at work. Monitoring a three hour breakfast radio show is an absolute pleasure wearing the WH-1000XM5. It's like having your ears in butter.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Sony WH-1000XM5.