Sony tests WH-1000XM5 Bluetooth headphones: still a champion, but it loses its luster

As announced and promised, the WH-1000XM5 will benefit from an improvement in the active noise reduction system compared to the previous model, but not all that easy

Sony’s new flagship, which can offer slightly higher isolation than its predecessors, is already one of the best in the area. At high frequencies, mid / third level, the system mainly gains performance by eliminating the mild background noise (very diffuse and high pitch breathing) felt in the previous models. The WH-1000XM5 is able to put the user in a real silence bubble, making a wide range of noise sources, especially conversations almost indistinguishable. A pure pleasure.

Note that we have deliberately emphasized the concept of “ideal environment” above, and the active noise reduction of the WH-1000XM5 does not always provide uniform isolation performance. This system is actually based on automatic optimization, which is completely related to any functionality (approximately, Adaptive Sound Control) associated with the app, and it is completely transparent to the user. In other words, it cannot be managed by any means. The small problem is that this transition between different stages – we have identified two main ones in our experiment – can sometimes be done in a rather negative way. In fact, at the lowest level we can observe and measure, headphones provide less isolation in the lower-middle / mid region (scrolling / ventilation noise and some components of human voice). In situations where maximum performance is required, a Open space Or the quiet train, for example.

What’s more, in the same environment and in the same noise conditions, the active noise reduction oscillates between the two stages because they are completely immobile, without anyone knowing exactly why. Apparently, this behavior is felt when the headphones are used only to isolate themselves (it does not transmit any content or very little volume), but it is still regrettable.

Finally, the WH-1000XM5 shows a nice evolution in the way it hears ambient sounds, which gets much clearer in nature, so it is much nicer and more usable than previous repetitions. We can hope that a conversation will follow or that our environment will feel more clear and intuitive. We are still in a good position behind some models, its mode is very transparent, loyal and “open”Airboats MaxSo less freezing than the WH-1000XM5, its insulation is more clearly felt in the ears.