Improve come to ANC, sound quality, and the microphone array
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It’s been almost two years since Sony delivered the last entry in its premium over-ear headphone series, the WH-1000XM4. While in the time since we’ve seen similarly fantastic wireless earbuds in the form of Sony’s WF-1000XM4, and more recently got to check out the kinda bizarre-looking LinkBuds, we’ve long been anticipating the next pair of XM cans. Following the latest round of leaks and rumors, today Sony finally goes official with the WH-1000XM5.
The new headphones depart from the last gen with a very distinct design, making some key changes. For one, they have a new stem-style slider that makes them look sleeker and brings them closer in appearance to the AirPods Max. On the downside, they compromise on portability as they get rid of the swiveling ear cups. They also don’t deliver any big new features compared to their predecessor — instead, they focus on refining the existing experience.
Speaking of which, the XM5s introduce an extra processor to help improve noise cancellation (not that it wasn’t already great), with Sony saying that the difference is most noticeable with things like human voices or bustling urban noise. The eight microphones are now located around the perimeter of the earcups, and Sony has replaced the XM4’s 40mm drivers with supposedly more natural-sounding 30mm ones that also promise to help enhance noise cancellation.
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The pair also keeps the things we loved about the XM4 — audio is still controlled with gestures, and there’s still a physical switch for changing between ANC and ambient modes. There’s also support for Google’s Fast Pair, allowing you to effortlessly set up your new headphones.
Retail availability begins on May 20th, and the XM5s will set you back a cool $400 — a bit pricier compared to the WH-1000XM4, which will still be sold alongside the new model, but probably a not-entirely-unreasonable price for what we’re sure expecting to be one of the best over-ear headphones on the market.
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