Product Reviews

Sound quality and noise cancellation are excellent, but my unit developed a strange issue, faint background audio bleeding through even when nothing was playing, with no clear cause after multiple troubleshooting steps and a firmware update. Sony support confirmed it needed a replacement, but the process was a hassle: I had to purchase a shipping label myself, print it out, and drop the package off in person. Now I'm looking at roughly two more weeks without headphones before a replacement arrives. For a premium-priced product, I expected either better quality control or a smoother, more customer-friendly replacement process.

This is my second set gave 1st set to my wife great to use on flights stops all the any back ground noise

I really wanted to love these, in fact I ordered, reordered, and returned two different colourways. In the end I returned them because a) they are far to large for my head, even on the smallest setting and b) aesthetically the colourways are very ''cold" and don't suit my warm colouring, and c) the touch controls are on the right hand side only, making it awkward to use whilst doing right handed activites. The shape of the earphones meant that the lowest point would sit right on my jawline. I consider myself to have a fairly big round head (!) but it feels like these were really designed for men, without much thought for smaller women's bodies. The aesthetic point isn't something I would normally worry about too much, however for the price and prestige of these headphones I think you really have to love them to justify the cost. In the end I've opted for a pair of Anker noise cancelling headphones which share a lot of the same features, have a much warmer tone that suits my colouring, and most importantly - fit my head. They're nowhere near as well designed or high quality as these Sony ones but having them not sit on my jaw is more important than the sound quality at this stage for me. Sony - make a smaller pair, with round ear pads, in warm colours, and maybe I'll reconsider.

Good Headphone to use for hearing music & google command

Excellent on the three most important issues: sound quality, noise cancellation and comfort. Slightly cumbersome in having to carry around in the hard case as they have limited 'folding'. They are 'last years model' compared to the XM6, but paying almost £200 less if you shop around is a no-brainer.

I received these headphones about 6 months ago as a gift. I absolutely loved everything about them until the hinge broke and I was then told to go pay money to fix it. It seems everywhere I look this is considered a known issue and that Sony is deciding to just ignore everyone it is happening to. This has been about the worst possible product experience I have ever had and I plan to continually tell people to avoid Sony products because of it. Quite the wild move to ruin your reputation as a company over not owning up to poorly made plastic.

Built is great, noise cancelling and sound quality are great

These headphones are perfect with excellent Noise cancellation and its sound i recommend this product

I bought this and as ANC headphones they are great. What's not great is the same hinge issue that has plagued this series. Hinge broke within a couple of months of purchase. Not even do to poor handling or over filding. These headphones sat on my head or desk untill they just snapped. Terrible build quality for the price. Made me not ever want to buy the product line again.

I bought a second pair in less than a year because the original pair broke. Thought my 18 year old daughter may have been rough with them. Second pair broke within 6 months even with extended warranty no assistance. Although the sound and noise canceling is awesome I do not recommend buying Sony headphones they are expensive for the quality and no help other than charging for repairs on a common issue from what I see online.

Replaced one that had been broken buy someone sitting on it and already knew it to be a great product! Would have loved the XX but my budget can’t stretch to it so happy to remain with an updated one of the same model.

Bought this pair just before a work trip. Noise cancellation very effective so far!

I bought new Sony headphones because my old ones were 12 years old, they still work but not as great as Graham wh1000xm5, I can see a lot of progress

I received these as a birthday present and am absolutely delighted with them 🤩

I really love them and the noise cancelling is perfect

Just worth it...and bit expensive... so anyways....money buys everything..also needs to improve the sony connect app very bad graphics ....looks like using java application...please update the app..thanks

I had great hope in this redesigned headset. Every high-end Siny headset I have purchased failed at the hinge point. My experience with this redesigned hinge point was very sad, as this hinge also broke. When they break they become unwearable. I really don't want to continue buying high-end products from Sony only to have them keep failing. I an done with Sony. Grrrrrrr.

I received as a gift. Very good materials and sound quality

Purchased to replace my partners XM3 as I inadvertently spilled a cup of water into the ear piece that the charger goes into. Needless to say, they now fail to charge. However, these are well worth the upgrade as these XM5 have so many more features. Knowing how good these are, I would have upgraded sooner.

These are incredible for my Adhd and have completely made my work so much easy to do. The noise cancelling function is fantastic. Definitely recommend for any Adhder. Only issue was the manual was pretty poor, had to google how to use it, but to be fair that wasn't exactly difficult to do!!

percect design , sound fabulous , really enjoyed , I recommend it to whom want to get rid of outside noises really good at noise canceling

They're amazing! I got the white ones to match my pc set up. They're also good when plugged into the pc

I love the headphones, the sound and the noise cancelling. Unfortunately it seems the arms that the headphones are mounted on are quite brittle and broke easily. I have had to send the headphones in for repair at a cost of almost half the price of the headphones.

Bought the Pink version for my adorable wife. This is her first set of ANC, over ear headphones and she loves them. I have been buying these headphones for a few years now and wear them constantly. My first were the three's, then the four's and I presently own the five's. I converted from Samsung phones since the first Xperia 1 and presently still using the Mark V. Looking to get the VIII which is when I will hopefully get my XM6's. I have alot of Sony products in my house, so yes, I would recommend this product whole heartedly if you want a well rounded set of headphones. They do everything you would expect if a flagship product.

I bought these headphones because I couldn’t get on with EarPods and I am so pleased I did.

Good nice excellent audio quality, Anc works too good

I like this product with the noise cancellation and sound quality.

Very good quality, quite comfortable and very easy practical, especially when working and you want minimum contact with your headphones

Hinges creak, and I get sweaty ears. Sound isnt great but not bad. ANC is ok but does block out everything that I wanted it to.

Good sound really comfy.however the controls can sometimes go a bit ari especially on low battery.so I have to go into my phone to disconnect.

Absolutely new to headphones so was concerned about value to cost. Sought advice with Richer Sounds (in store). Amazed that other stores would not let me try before buying (£200 +)! I understand health issues especially with earbuds but headphones!! Anyway these are exactly what I needed - comfortable, clear and easy to operate and understand instructions.

sound quality is good with the equaliser. however the noise cancelling is disappointing. it has the possibility to be good but only activates effectively in noisy conditions which means in a quiet library i can still hear whispers because the device doesn't activate the noise cancelling. would be 5 star if the noise cancelling was manual rather than automatic so i could turn it up to the max even in quiet areas.

Bought these a couple weeks ago as I am now commuting for work. The noise cancelling quality is fantastic and completely blocks out the noise on public transport. Sound quality is superb and there are so many great features such as they stop playing music if I speak and the sound adapts to the environment etc. Would 100% recommend!!!

Typical Sony good excellent sound quality,headphones well made and comfortable

I bought these in July 2025, expecting "industry-leading" quality for a premium price. Less than a year later, the slider arm has already snapped during normal use. ​What’s most frustrating is that I have a pair of "budget" brand headphones that have lasted years and feel significantly sturdier than these. After doing some research, it’s clear this is a common design flaw with the WH-1000XM5. The plastic swivel point is far too fragile for daily wear and tear. ​The noise canceling and sound are great, but it doesn't matter how good they sound if they are held together by tape within a few months. If you are looking for durability, look elsewhere—or at least look at the previous XM4 model which has a much more reliable hinge. Very disappointed in Sony's build quality on this flagship model.

Had them for 4 months if even and the hinge broke. Sony refuses to fix them through the warranty as they call it a user error. This issue is such a big issue that there is a lawsuit against them for it. If you have the same issues i definitely recommend submitting a claim for it. Sony wants to charge me $99 (+ tax I believe) to fix them. That is 1/3 of the cost of just getting a new pair. If they only lasted 4 months, then I wouldn’t be surprised that they will break once again after repairs.

Headphones are great wish I’d bought them sooner. Would definitely recommend

I got these headphones because I'm autistic and needed the full noise cancelling option. I haven't quite learnt how to work them properly yet (I'm not tech minded) but I love the fact you can cover one side with your hand whilst in noise cancelling mode to hear something without taking the headphones off. The sound quality is really good for music. It's a shame there's no paper instructions as like I said I'm not very good at technology. I have tried to find instructions but even so I would definitely recommend these headphones so far. A little pricey but worth it just for the freedom I now have to go in our garden or to a busy cafe etc... I do wish there was a way to make them wireless for when you can't connect to Bluetooth. Maybe there is bur I just haven't worked it out yet 🤷‍♀️