Sony WH-1000XM5 - Improvement, but is it enough in 2022?

WH-1000XM5: electronics.sony.com/audio/he...
Chrono's ANC Round-Up: www.headphones.com/community/...
- WH-1000XM5 Sony Headphone's App EQ -
400hz filter: -2
1000hz filter: -1
2500hz filter: -3
6300hz filter: -4
16000hz filter: +4
Clear BASS filter: -6
Become an expert on headphones: www.headphones.com/pages/rese...
Learn about headphone measurements and frequency response: www.headphones.com/pages/meas...
How frequency response impacts sound signature: www.headphones.com/pages/how-...
How to EQ your headphones:
• EQ Basics - Watch BEFO...

[@GadZookz]

Very detailed review, Thanks! SQ is improved over the XM4 but iIke the build, the sound also seems to have a slightish aspect to it that is unrelated to volume. It just seems to speak with less authority than something like the AirPods Max. The Susvara of BT headphones is still well beyond the horizon.

[@mikebergman1817]

The ANC are always adjusting, and it's terrible. I might go back to my xm3's, and hope they put out an update for these xm5's. Without being able to lock the ANC at 100%, they aren't that great. If the ANC was able to be locked, they would be hands down the best headphones.

[@jasonbhatnagar7134]

Big W for playing Dave

[@86Sheephead]

One of the more annoying problems with this headphone is that unlike the xm4's you can't set the noise cancelling to max, it is fixed in an auto ANC mode that you can't turn off. On a recent flight I could constantly hear the ANC level changing.

[@maegnificant]

Oh that's horrible actually

[@ps3guy22]

There's a survey going around when you open up Sony's Headphones app currently and you can now indirectly make Sony aware of this issue. I got these day one and was aware of this issue very shortly after so I am glad to see that Sony might change this and let us choose ANC strength very soon.

[@notme6753]

@@ps3guy22 I hope Sony fix this issue soon or make it like the ones on the XM4 earbuds where it is always set to the Max level

[@86Sheephead]

@@ps3guy22 that's good to know, thanks for the heads up, I'll try the app now. It seems like such a bizarre decision by Sony to lock the full ANC behind an ai setting you can't disable especially on their most popular ANC headphones.

[@theearthisbread]

Oh wow. I was in the Mediamarket (tech store) testing out the new xm5 and i thought “hmm the ANC seems far weaker than the xm5 or even my earbuds xm4’s ANC” apart from the horrible sound, that auto ANC level is truly horrible. Left me as a customer unimpressed and i’d probably go for the wh xm4. Bad marketing for Sony (altough i’d buy their older version) and just really annoying.

[@aospkitkat4446]

Could you do a list/round up of wireless headphones regardless of their ANC quality. I guess I'm asking for your picks of the best wireless headphones in terms of sound quality and not ANC.

[@joeyyears]

I do enjoy the 1000X series from the original MDR to the current Mark 5 (M5). As a digital nomad, its portability for on the go is excellent for over the ear.

[@EsotericReality]

This is a good and honest review. I've heard good things about the Huawei FreeBuds Studio, but I would really appreciate a review from an expert, such as yourself. Any chance you could review those? Thanks.

[@tonezou3918]

Have you, by any chance, checked Technics EAH-A800 and which one has bigger pads? I'm on a hunt for the ANC headphone with biggest pads for best comfort! Does such exist, or almost all have similar small pads?

[@mikeree8543]

Gotta try AKG N700NcM2, bass is one of the best, and quality and clarity is there. Only bad thing is clapping force is little harsh. can't wear for more than 2 hours. And try JBL Club One - Bass is not so hard, but one of the purest sound. Sony is just good. For the price of Sony, you can get both for less price.

[@katalysis]

Both Sony and Bose decided to make their newest iteration of their XM and QC headphones worse than their previous ones.

[@iLiekLemonade]

Could you please elaborate?

[@SandraYT]

Couldn't agree more.

[@DawsonPearse]

Any suggestions for a fixed band EQ? Trying to find an EQ when using wired with my DAP.

[@VicharB]

I am still happy with my Sennheiser PXC 550-II. Looking forward to 550-III and/or Momentum 4. Sony for me is very consumer sound.

[@thebigjr9995]

Interesting review. I do however think it should have been tested as it's use case was intended, ie as a public transport comuter headphone. I do suspect that sony with decades of headphone experience has adjusted the curve with this in mind.

[@mpumelelogumede6557]

Please look into the Mark Levinson No5909.

[@andresbergmann1108]

Auto nc still a problem with xm5?

[@h1a8]

Sony need a different tuner. Maybe hire Crinacle or even me. They should at least try a closer to Harmon approach. That guarantees significant improvement

[@jiyahbj]

Are you guys planning on reviewing the new Bowers & Wilkins px7 s2?

[@user-wr5we2xg6h]

Don't think so, they only review real headphones or popular bt headphones which px7 is... neither

[@86Sheephead]

Would love to see a px7 s2 review too

[@bjedo3]

@@user-wr5we2xg6h “real headphones” haha

[@user-wr5we2xg6h]

@@bjedo3 what's wrong with that

[@bjedo3]

@@user-wr5we2xg6h define, “real headphones”

[@costasrex476]

Momentum 4 was just teased

[@frankhu8692]

the noise cancelling and wireless connection quality can't compare to sony

[@stanmah5721]

@@frankhu8692 says the sony fanboy

[@moktafizaman9077]

@@stanmah5721 Song fanboy ain't wrong thou, XM5 beats Snni momentum 4 in anc and many other things except sound quality, as a person who also uses an XM5, I am of course more biased towards Sony now.

[@jameshernandez3902]

Customer: I wanna look great while suffering from blasted bass and treble that bleeds throughout the tracks Sony: Say no more

[@allan5692]

How is it compare to the ZMF Atrium? 🙃

[@moktafizaman9077]

XM5 beats it in anc and connectivity (because it is wireless and you won't have to carry many cables around) but XM5 won't probably win in sound quality, in terms of design damn Atrium is a peice of art, I would rather keep it as a show peice then use it as a headphone

[@faultyistired2556]

Ok I disagree with ur take that them being non collapsible is a down grade. This is coming from someone who used them for 3 years. The old ones had a pretty flimsy collapsible hinge which was also weirdly put together with extender bit on the headphone. this is hard to explain in words but the combination led to too many moving parts which led to part of mine to pop out and I had to fix it with duck tape. The tape made them useable but they were stuck in one position. TLDR: less parts is better sometimes on headphones. redundance.

[@DrLogic_]

@@omnicognatesnr5947 Right! Foldability is pretty overrated imo

[@moktafizaman9077]

Your absolutely right, the XM4s, 3s and 2s were prone to their extension hinges breaking off, plus the new extension hinge feels more premium as it's smoother when adjusting the extension.

[@darthdurkelthewise320]

Interesting that practically all these ANC hp are mostly chipped up junk. Bose took a step back with the 700, and now this? The ANC is not as good, and Sony basically just took cues from the Bose 700 w/the pads and headband. Lastly, both sound awful even compared to QC 35 II which is old at this point. The Sennheiser Momentum 3 ANC still wins overall even though it’s bulky and not as feature rich. Not one company has gotten the ANC hp right.

[@lantern054]

Letshuore S12 Planar iem review???

[@spector175]

I have been using S12 from a week now . I like it way more than I thought I would. Pairing it with Xduoo link 2 bal and foam eartips.

[@lantern054]

@@spector175 L2B is Awesome. Is it enough to push s12 to its full potential? As it requires more power😅 And have u tried EQ on s12? Could u share ur discord invite 🙂

[@spector175]

@@lantern054 I'm using wavelet in android auto eq to ief target and peace in pc. I also use uapp in android for dsd,mqa music and turbo in L2B. My Eq to IEF target. Preamp: -5.7 dB Filter 1: ON PK Fc 22 Hz Gain -1.9 dB Q 1.500 Filter 2: ON PK Fc 47 Hz Gain -7.7 dB Q 0.500 Filter 3: ON PK Fc 49 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 1.200 Filter 4: ON PK Fc 150 Hz Gain -1.2 dB Q 1.000 Filter 5: ON PK Fc 740 Hz Gain 2.2 dB Q 0.500 Filter 6: ON PK Fc 2400 Hz Gain -3.7 dB Q 2.000 Filter 7: ON PK Fc 3600 Hz Gain 2.1 dB Q 2.000 Filter 8: ON PK Fc 8100 Hz Gain -7.2 dB Q 2.000 Filter 9: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain 6.5 dB Q 2.000 Filter 10: ON LSC Fc 120 Hz Gain 6.5 dB Q 0.700

[@spector175]

@@lantern054 I'm not is discord so I gave as much info I can in comment. This eq sounds smooth well rounded to me. Let me know what you feel about this eq. I also made 2 other eq profiles for fps gaming and a harman target target.

[@spector175]

@@lantern054 Harman Target : Preamp: -4.6 dB Filter 1: ON PK Fc 200 Hz Gain -2.4 dB Q 0.900 Filter 2: ON PK Fc 810 Hz Gain 1.4 dB Q 1.200 Filter 3: ON PK Fc 2100 Hz Gain -4.2 dB Q 1.800 Filter 4: ON PK Fc 3800 Hz Gain 5.2 dB Q 1.800 Filter 5: ON PK Fc 6300 Hz Gain 3.3 dB Q 2.000 Filter 6: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -5.8 dB Q 1.400 Filter 7: ON PK Fc 14000 Hz Gain 8.6 dB Q 2.000 Filter 8: ON PK Fc 16000 Hz Gain -9.8 dB Q 2.000 Filter 9: ON LSC Fc 40 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.700 Filter 10: ON HSC Fc 5500 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 0.700

[@kyron42]

Is better than the Soundcore life Q35?

[@fiddlix]

Way better….ymmv.

[@STAYCBias]

Salnotes dioko let's go!

[@jaricklosey4607]

Am I the only one who hears a massive channel imbalance on these? I’ve tried and returned three different pairs and all three skewed to the left. And if I flip them around to the other ears they skew noticeably right. Nobody seems to talk about this though.

[@hartyewh1]

Hhmmm... Well that graph looks like ass😅

[@peterwan小P]

well, I really does not like this headphone. I purchased one, and imo, it's worse than my AirPods, even after eqing it, making it at least listenable. I ended up with a AirPods 2 and a chu2 to daily drive. anyway, there are still good things about this headphone like the anc and battery life. but in other respects, I really just dont prefer its sound. it sounded muffle to my ear. im really sorry about this, and I have never been so disappointed in Sony to be honest.

[@JTB--]

Conclusion - The Sony WH-1000XM5 gets 2 Chrono's out of 5 🧔🏻‍♂🧔🏻‍♂/ 5

[@vonelli241]

You've lost weight . Looking healthy

[@Worldwave]

how the hell is this a headphone channel and your graphs simply omit anything over 10k - there is so so much going on up there...

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Our graphs go to 20khz...

[@ByStephenJones]

But it has Bluetooth… so it’s got to be good, right?

[@frivera7049]

Cancels noise but not human voice.

[@kylerclarke2689]

Sony have one of the best iem lineups in the world, yet their more affordable headphones sound like bloated ass. I will never understand. It's "mainstream" sound but Sony literally have the market share to decide what mainstream is...

[@frankhu8692]

U haven't tried xm5 though

[@kylerclarke2689]

@@frankhu8692 I'll bet you a brand new XM5 that it doesn't sound that much different from the 3 & 4 and definitely isn't close to a good tuning out of the box

[@frankhu8692]

@@kylerclarke2689 your bat? why does it matter as if it were the truth

[@kylerclarke2689]

@@frankhu8692 I got to try the XM5. They sound like bloated ass. Disgusting

[@frankhu8692]

@@kylerclarke2689 i have hd800 and 650 as well, in terms of closed back xm5 is fine, the momentum 3 anc sounds like ex bloated ass if you try it, we are talking about anc headphone please

[@SandraYT]

Bose's QC45 are worst than QC 35 II and now Sony XM5 are worst than XM4. Hope this isn't a new trend... Really disappointed with the new iterations from both these brands.

[@sorucha8249]

This isn't the ux3000, where is the ux3000 review

[@aristisimon]

Please Sony... PLEASE... Why is it so hard to stop putting that stupid, thick, muddy bass on your headphones? WHYYY 😭😭😭

[@jameshernandez3902]

Hi! Former Sony Fanboy here: They got Lazy, the only good ones are Sony IEMs.

[@bitterbuffalo8997]

Yea no thanks, these headphones. these wireless are all going to be in the dump 3 years from now. such waste it's disgusting.

[@Deus_Almighty]

My QC35 have just passed their 5 years of (almost) daily usage, still going strong

[@bitterbuffalo8997]

@@Deus_Almighty Sweet my Porta Pros are 11 years old, message me in 6 more years.

[@Deus_Almighty]

@@bitterbuffalo8997 Are your Porta Pros wireless? This was OP's point. I hope I won't have my QC35 in 6 years, I'm just waiting for some real improvement in sound and ANC quality.

[@jasonberger8979]

Why are you comparing ANC headphones to Porta Pros?

[@moktafizaman9077]

Try the XM5 first, then say *if* they are gonna be in the dump *3 years from now*, you will know why the XM5s are soo popular.