SONY WH-1000XM5 W

£379 / stuff.tv/whxm5

e are huge, huge fans of the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones. They’re like dipping your feet in the surf after a heavy night on the tiles. Indeed, they’re so good that nobody has been able to displace them from the top of our best headphones list (see p85) over the last TWO YEARS. So does the 2022 version up the game or merely fiddle with a winning formula a bit?

The key thing that has changed is the overall design, which is fairly fundamental. But while the look is new, they’re almost exactly the same weight as the XM4S: there’s hardly any fatigue when wearing them for long periods.

The recycled plastic material used in the earcups is nice to the touch, as is the synthetic leather across the headband. Still, while nothing here feels cheap, it’s fair to say that some rivals look a bit more premium.

Titch school

Key to the XM5S’ overall quality is a change in the drivers used. Gone is the 40mm type, replaced by a carbon-fibre composite 30mm version designed to be lighter.

The result is a real surprise: there’s even greater clarity than the previous generation, and the sound reproduction is beautifully precise.

The 30hr battery life with ANC on is now fairly standard, but the noise-cancelling itself remains best-in-class in high-hubbub environments. Sony has worked further on the ANC tech at higher frequencies, and there’s Adaptive Sound Control that automatically adjusts to your environment.

Something that isn’t so good is that the on/off and ANC controls are both on the left earcup and a bit too close together. But the auto play/pause feature when you take them on and off works flawlessly. The Speak-to-chat feature still has a slight delay, and to be honest you’ll probably end up just taking the cans off in this scenario.

But that’s a minor quibble – the simple fact is that these are the best noise-cancellers around by almost every measure. You really won’t regret buying them.

Key specs

● 30mm drivers ● 3.5mm, USB-C ● 30hrs with ANC on ● 250g