The 1000X Series headphones from Sony never fail to awe with their stunning design, superb sound quality, and noise cancellation. With a number of upgrades, the new WH-1000XM5 model claims to provide users with the best experience yet in the 10 million segment.
The WH-1000XM4 model used to dazzle when the design didn’t change all that much and the firm concentrated on enhancing a number of contemporary, clever features and noise resistance. Today, I’ll share some real-world examples with you so you may compare the quality and shape of the current generation of Sony’s 1000X Series headphones to those of the previous generation.
Minimalist design
At a glance, it can be seen that Sony has given the WH-1000XM5 a more streamlined design style than the previous generation but no less modern. Most of the superfluous details have been omitted, creating an open and neat viewing angle for the headset. Even the ear clusters are flattened, which looks quite eye-catching. I personally appreciate this point, inherently a lover of minimalism, so the items I use every day also require simplicity on it and the WH-1000XM5 has met.
The headband is made from synthetic leather, the slide is used by ABS material instead of metal for a very quiet, smooth and firm feel. This ABS material has been applied on its Linkbud headset models.
A small detail that is good is that Sony has added an active foam layer in the middle of the headband and the ear cushions, combined with synthetic leather in the headband to provide a very comfortable wearing experience. Completely smooth without any discomfort or heaviness in the ears. I appreciate this detail demonstrating Sony’s meticulousness and concern for user experience.
When I raise my hand to touch these details, it really feels very interesting, even when I don’t use it, I still have the habit of holding and touching this headset forever as a very happy stress reliever. However, I am still not very satisfied that the material is easy to stick to fingerprints, especially for those who sweat easily like me.
In addition to a series of improvements in design aesthetics, the interior of the WH-1000XM5 also has an upgrade including a 30mm driver system, carbon fiber and composite drivers specially designed for light weight but characteristics. very solid, durable as well as for better sound output.
Trendy features
The WH-1000XM5 possesses a series of “genuine” and features from its predecessor XM4, the first of which can be mentioned is DSEE Extreme, which enhances the treble range of compressed tracks to near resolution. High. At the same time, the product also supports its proprietary LDAC codec, allowing high-quality Hi-Res music streaming, but does not support aptX or aptx HD.
Next is the Quick Attention feature, just putting your hand over the earcup will automatically reduce the volume so that we can listen to the surrounding sound very conveniently, we will not need to remove the headset. I personally love the Speak-to-chat feature, the headset will automatically recognize our voice as soon as we speak and will automatically pause the music for a period of time (can adjust the time frame temporarily). stop) and turn on Crosstalk to hear and chat with people.
‘Wearing Detection’ (automatically detects when wearing) is also a good assistant when you are listening to music, there is a need to remove the headset, at this time the device will automatically pause the music or video you are watching and will automatically reopen as soon as you put on the headset.
In fact, I tried intentionally removing it and then wearing it on my ears continuously and felt that the sensitivity of this feature was very good, the delay between self-stop and music playback was almost non-existent. Another plus point for Sony’s focus on user experience.
But that is not all, there is still another feature that I appreciate very much, which is the support for pairing with 2 devices at the same time. You can connect the Sony WH-1000XM5 to your PC at the same time to listen to music or watch videos, but you can still connect it to your so you don’t miss any calls or messages.
One note for you is that this feature does not work at the same time when you are streaming music online with the LDAC codec.
In addition to the familiar noise cancellation feature, Sony also shows that it is constantly improving the quality of the conversation to get better with each product generation, and this WH-1000XM5 headset I feel is the best at the present time.
This headset is equipped with Sony’s Voice Recognition technology (Precise Voice Pickup) using 4 microphone beamforming combined with AI to maximize noise cancellation, thereby ensuring the quality of calls and chats. phone as clear as possible.
Actually in the process of using, I almost have to listen to the phone often and feel the sound from the other person very clearly, very real like when I hear their voice outside.
Battery life “terrible” off the table
Obviously, the Sony WH-1000XM5 also inherits the “buffalo” battery of the previous WH-1000XM4 version, which is even slightly better with 30 hours of continuous operation when noise canceling is on, and when using normal mode, The headset can work up to 40 hours. A respectable number, so we almost don’t need to care about the battery anymore, not to mention this headset only needs 3.5 hours of charging to fully charge the battery.
Quality is better than expected
In terms of conversation quality, obviously with a series of trendy features included, we don’t have to discuss much anymore. Because this is still a headset for personal entertainment needs, I have to examine it more carefully to see if the WH-1000XM5 is really worth the price of about 10 million VND.
In terms of music, I have tried all genres from pop, ballad, jazz and even metal rock, the WH-1000XM5 can completely “weigh” it all. Obviously my personal assessment, this headset is somewhat more bass-biased. The bass and midbass sound is highly detailed, clearly layered between the notes, you will feel it clearly when you try to listen to the orchestral songs with many instruments being played. What about the high range? The WH-1000XM5 exhibits very smooth, mellow treble and almost absolute accuracy.
When I was listening to Adele ‘s Someone Like You , the chorus that was played almost gave me goosebumps. The feeling of the sacred sound, enveloping the mind smoothly, smoothly and with clear depth in every range is really very nice, I seem to be immersed in that feeling for quite a while.
And partly thanks to the soft and lightweight design of the headset, it contributes to a comfortable feeling when listening to music, without any fatigue in my ears.
I tried switching to my favorite genre – Rock music. In turn, the songs “Bleed it out” , “New Devide” of Linkin Park group were taken out and enjoyed by me. The guitar sound when plucked is well reproduced, sharp but not harsh, the drums are fast, powerful and quite deep, I feel a lot of energy through this Sony WH-1000XM5 headset.
That is the experience of listening to music, with movies it is a different story. Usually with my feelings, a good music headset, watching movies is also at a relative level. But the WH-1000XM5 made me change this shallow thinking.
I watched the Peaky Blinder series on Netflix, this headset simulates a very real, vivid sound. The quiet, whispering voice of the actors, especially the voice of Cillin Murphy, sounds very magical and attractive, not to mention the voice is separated from the background music. Every sound detail is very small like the sound of metal bullet casings falling on the wooden floor, the sound of footsteps on the damp, muddy ground is surprisingly real.
In addition, the surround sound effect is also shown well when there is a car segment on the left of the character, the left earcup also clearly shows the sound of the car engine approaching slowly and the right side is talking. .
Switch to Transformer movie , this is an action movie with a lot of fire and fighting scenes. At this point, I continue to be overwhelmed when the sound is more vivid than ever, even the fan of the helicopter is slow-motion, I feel like it is flying above my head. It was as real as if I were the character inside those chaotic scenes. Taking off the headphones, it took a few minutes for me to calm down, just like the feeling of finishing watching a movie in the theater.
Conclude
In the segment of less than 10 million VND, it can be commented that the Sony WH-1000XM5 has done a better job than expected. Simple design in harmony, comfortable wearing feeling with the majority of users to good conversation support and full entertainment quality listening to music and watching movies makes anyone overwhelmed when wearing. enter.
Indeed, this is the best option in the price range for those who are looking for high-quality wireless headphones that do not require too much design.
