Sony WH-1000XM5
Ranked 2 of 7 noise-cancelling headphones by recommenders
People recommend these for strong noise cancelling, good sound and comfort for all-day wear. The most common caveat is shallow earcups that don't fit some people's ears.
People recommend these for strong noise cancelling, good sound and comfort for all-day wear. The most common caveat is shallow earcups that don't fit some people's ears.
40 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 17
- approval share
- 58%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strong noise cancelling
“The noise cancelling is nearly perfect.”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “If America's So Rich, How'd It Get So Sad?” “good ANC and "bassy": Sony xm5/xm6”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” Comfortable for all-day wear
“my Sony XM4s have been holding up well, sound good, are decently comfortable for a day's work”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “The audio quality of the Sonys is just as good but the comfort is a much better.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “they are so comfortable that I can wear them all day”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Hello, me. It's been a while” - Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2”
Good sound quality
“The audio quality of the Sonys is just as good but the comfort is a much better.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “even my AirPods or Sony XM4s are high fidelity”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “AirPods 5” “Sony's wh-1000xm3 and later are suberb.”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 on Hacker News - Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2”
Holds up over years
“my Sony XM4s have been holding up well, sound good, are decently comfortable for a day's work”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “I've also never had a problem with them not turning off due to inactivity”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “I have no such issues whatsoever with my Sony WH-1000XM4”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Bluetooth pairing and reconnection problems
“there is like a 90% chance they stop working and I have to reconnect them”
Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?” “they do a much worse job sharing connections between multiple devices to the point where I have to reset them constantly”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Apple Just Lost Me” “I've tried multiple combinations with my WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM5, but nothing works stable on Windows.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Bluetooth 6.2 – more responsive, improves security, USB comms, and testing” Shallow earcups hurt or don't fit
“the earcups are not deep enough for my big ears”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” “worse sound (for me at least) and shallow earcups which hurt my ears”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “AirPods Max 2” Affected by Bluetooth security flaw
“Examples of affected vendors and devices are Sony (e.g., WH1000-XM5, WH1000-XM6, WF-1000XM5)”
Comment from 28 Dec 2025 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]” “Most vendors gave the security researchers either silent treatment or were slow”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Bluetooth Headphone Jacking: A Key to Your Phone [video]”
Other noise-cancelling headphones people recommend
The four most recommended other noise-cancelling headphones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AirPods Max | 56 | 104 | 35% | 6 | 3 yrs8 owners | — |
| Sony WH-1000XM5This page | 23 | 17 | 58% | 6 | — | — |
| Bose QuietComfort headphones | 22 | 2 | 92% | 5 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Sennheiser Momentum 4 | 7 | 1 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Sennheiser HDB 630 | 6 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
39 of the 44 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“even my AirPods or Sony XM4s are high fidelity”
“after a couple of hours, it starts hurting my head”
“can confirm they're great, noticeably lighter than my current Airpods Max”
“they are so comfortable that I can wear them all day”
“One thing that immediately turned me off when finding the Sonys on Amazon: It says "Alexa".”
“The noise cancelling is nearly perfect.”
“I had the Sony WHX… headphones”
“they do a much worse job sharing connections between multiple devices to the point where I have to reset them constantly”
“it's a multi-function push down button”
“I can wear it the entire day”
“Sony xm5/xm6 ('muddy' for some)”
“I think I am mostly sad about not having a dedicated on/off that makes it obvious.”
“It's just a poorly built and poorly designed headset for me.”
“I have no such issues whatsoever with my Sony WH-1000XM4”
“The audio quality of the Sonys is just as good but the comfort is a much better.”
“a defective design that breaks in a light wind”
“Cleaned the lens on the inside of the left ear cup and they work perfectly again.”
“I've also never had a problem with them not turning off due to inactivity”
“I wish that I purchased the Sony XM-6s insead.”
“Sony's wh-1000xm3 and later are suberb.”
“last year Sony are basically the same device”
“worse sound (for me at least) and shallow earcups which hurt my ears”
“good ANC and "bassy": Sony xm5/xm6”
“my Sony XM4s have been holding up well, sound good, are decently comfortable for a day's work”
“XM6 does not support audio over USB-C”
“They're way less comfortable and have worse noise cancellation.”
“The XM5s were super uncomfortably to me”
“the earcups are not deep enough for my big ears”
“Sony WH-1000XM5 look good, so do a few others”
“there is like a 90% chance they stop working and I have to reconnect them”
“would not have been possible to focus on reading without it”
“the naming scheme on Sony's side is atrocious”
“When I use my Sony XM5 Bluetooth headphones, the latency is noticeable.”
“Sadly the built-in microphone doesn't work in 'wired mode' (though ANC does).”
“Most vendors gave the security researchers either silent treatment or were slow”
“premium tier hardware and they have no real excuses”
“Examples of affected vendors and devices are Sony (e.g., WH1000-XM5, WH1000-XM6, WF-1000XM5)”
“that's one thing my WH-1000XM5s couldn't do, nor the newer XM6s”
“I've tried multiple combinations with my WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM5, but nothing works stable on Windows.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.