Sony WH-1000XM5 Review: The Travel Pair I Would Buy Again

I bought the Sony WH-1000XM5 noise cancelling headphones on the strength of reviews, for two jobs: travel and study. That was years ago, and they are still the headphones I reach for every day.

This is not a launch review. Most coverage of the XM5 came out in its first weeks; this page comes from years of commuting, working, studying and flying with the same pair, including a long-haul flight to Singapore. I have never used the newer XM6, so where the XM6 comes up, the facts are credited to Sony’s launch materials and SoundGuys’ coverage.

The XM5 trades the older Sony silhouette for slimmer oval earcups and a narrow headband, and at 8.9 oz (251 g) on SoundGuys’ scale it sits lightly for a full-size ANC headphone. Sony’s spec sheet lists a 30mm driver and soft-fit synthetic leather, both Sony’s own figures.

In daily use they are very comfortable and easy in different positions, at a desk, on a sofa, in the car. On long sessions my ears get a little warm, the one comfort caveat I would name after years of wear.

Only on a plane do they feel chunky, and that is a travel problem, covered properly below.

This is the reason to buy the XM5, and the measurements back the reputation. SoundGuys measured roughly 30dB of attenuation in the mid range, and RTINGS scores its noise isolation 9.4 out of 10.

On a plane, that lands exactly where engine drone lives. The cabin drops to a distant hum, and it stayed that way for the whole Singapore flight, through meals and a film.

In an office it blunts chatter and keyboard clatter rather than erasing them; voices sit in the mid range, the hardest band for any ANC. On the street I keep ambient sound handy, because silence and traffic do not mix.

For study, I use three modes depending on the day: passive quiet with nothing playing, ANC with nothing playing, or rain sounds to block everything out. All three turn a noisy room into a study cell.

Sony supports SBC, AAC and LDAC, so Android listeners can take the higher-resolution route while iPhone owners get AAC. That codec spread is Sony’s spec, repeated in every major review of these headphones.

On tuning, SoundGuys and RTINGS land in the same place: warm and mainstream-friendly, with a full low end and clear vocals. It flatters podcasts and long playlists rather than dissecting them.

After years of use I would call it the sound I stop noticing, which is exactly what I want from a travel pair. If you want analytical neutrality, this is not the tuning for you.

Sony claims 30 hours with ANC on. SoundGuys measured 31 hours 53 minutes, so the honest range is 30 to 32 hours, and the lab figure beats the claim.

Real use is kinder still. Because I do not run them all day, a charge lasts many days, and the longest single stretch they ever covered was the Singapore flight, with headroom to spare. I have never once been caught out for charge.

The 20% low-battery reminder gives plenty of warning. Sony claims 3 minutes of charging buys 3 hours of playback and a full charge takes about 3.5 hours; those are Sony’s claims, not lab results.

Multipoint is the quiet star. The XM5 holds two devices at once, and the handoff between my computer and phone takes a second or two.

For calls with Darleene over Facebook Messenger, I can walk around the apartment mid-call, and the handoff from computer to phone and back barely pauses.

Calls are the honest weak point. I hear the other side perfectly, and in quiet rooms the mic is among the best I have used; in noise, some callers have complained about my end, because there is no pull-down boom mic.

One annoyance worth knowing: knocking the earcup, mid-stretch, say, can end a call or trigger something unexpected, because the touch controls read a knock as a tap. The Headphones app handles EQ, ANC modes and firmware updates, and stays out of the way the rest of the time.

Here is the trade the spec sheet does not spell out. The XM5 does not fold; the earcups swivel flat and that is all. The hard case is a big flat slab that eats bag space.

On the plane itself they are quite chunky. Leaning against the headrest cushion or the window meant adjusting them to fit, more than once on the Singapore flight. If you plan to sleep, our best travel pillow guide flags which pillows clash with over-ear headphones. For how this pair ranks against the folding XM6 and six other travel sets, see our best travel headphones roundup.

The workaround I actually use: when I know I will have them on again soon, they slip into my bag loose or sit round my neck, rather than going back in the case every time. Re-casing them each time is what makes the bulk feel worse than it is.

And the payback is real: class-leading ANC, a battery that outlasts any flight I have taken, and 8.9 oz (251 g) that stops mattering once they are on your head. At home, in the car, walking and running, they are perfect.

The full specification lives on Sony’s WH-1000XM5 product page. Sony publishes no fold mechanism to report, because there is not one; that absence is the travel story above.

The XM5 remains the travel headphone I recommend when someone asks. Years in, the noise cancelling, sound and battery still feel class-leading, and nothing at its tier undercuts the package.

The knocks are specific, not vague: a case that does not fold small, a call mic that struggles in loud places, and warm ears on very long sessions. None of them would stop me buying again.

I have never used an XM6, so that limit is stated honestly: if folding portability and the newest processor matter, read the launch coverage; if value matters, the XM5 is the near-flagship pick.

Sony’s newer WH-1000XM6, launched in 2025, restores the folding design the XM5 dropped, and upgrades the ANC hardware to the QN3 processor with a 12-microphone array, per Sony’s launch materials and SoundGuys’ XM6 coverage. Battery is claimed at 30 hours for both.

Years of ownership and the independent measurements agree: the WH-1000XM5 is still the travel ANC benchmark in its tier, and the cons are the kind you can plan around.

Buy them for the silence, the sound and the battery. Pack them loose, keep them off the charger, and forgive the case.