For the trash and still under warranty.
I won't bother mentioning the positives since these have an expiration date, whatever is going to happen will happen, read online to see what people say, there isn't anyone who has the xm5 and hasn't had them break.

Mine broke without me doing anything, I didn't even notice, the plastics are the issue, they reach a point and start crumbling like bread whether you take care of them or not. You'll only realize it once it breaks completely, just like I did, who would think to check for small cracks, etc.
Sony says they don't fix them under warranty, they don't consider it a manufacturing defect, spare parts only from China but who will install them? Besides, it's not that easy because I tried to do it myself, it's a headache to put all the cables back one by one into a port on the motherboard. The local service centers also don't know how to do it, they have to watch tutorials, so they want 50 euros just to try.

I bought them for 400 euros and in a year and a half they broke, the drivers are nothing special. Nothing justifies the 400 euro price. I wouldn't even buy them for 250 or whatever they cost now, 100 euros new, yes, I'd buy them. There's nothing premium, not even the ANC. Even on the plane you can hear everything, don't expect silence.

Baseus xh1 in collaboration with Bose, ldac, real 100 hours battery, drivers that compete with the boss ultra, and as a gift open ear Baseus headphones, all together for how much? 120€ from Germany. I will never buy Sony again, not even at gunpoint.

I've now ordered the Baseus xh1 and I'm waiting for them to arrive, they will be guaranteed. Metal and Baseus warranty, as you know they make everything rock solid.

Headphones I've had: Anker Q45
Taotronics
Sennheiser Momentum 4 (terrible, ANC doesn't turn off and no ldac)

Jbl

Before I proceed with the review, I should mention that I was a owner of the XM3 which I really used a lot. They traveled for 5 years, fell, got sweaty, and honestly, they endured a lot. I had fixed them myself through ifixit and they lasted even longer.

Unfortunately, the XM5 are a category lower. I should mention that I have had them for 6 months up until the review. As other reviewers have mentioned, they require a lot of care in handling, as they are quite fragile. But the worst for me is the problem with connectivity. For the past month, the multipoint pairing refuses to work properly even with a factory reset, and all the instructions from the official site as well as unofficial ones from various sources like reddit. At other times, they just decide to shut down automatically even when they are connected properly. The noise cancelling is good but less effective than the XM3. Also, at times, the ANC decides to deactivate on one of the earbuds.

In general, I am trying to do some RMA because a refund is impossible. I would suggest looking at the XM4 otherwise the XM3 is definitely a better purchase. I have also heard good things about the corresponding BOSE models.

I thought about it a lot before buying them. I already had the WF-1000XM5 earbuds and it seemed like a waste to get the headset as well. In a moment of consumer frenzy, I bought them - let's not kid ourselves, it's not a purchase that can be justified in any way, it's a luxury.

But guys, WHAT A LUXURY IT IS. The noise cancelling is incredible - you hear (almost) nothing. The sound is amazing. Compared to other over-ear headphones, they are light and comfortable, your ears don't hurt after a few hours of use. The battery lasts forever.

In comparison to the earbuds, the sound is a bit more muffled. But that's not really a negative. The earbuds literally go inside your ear. These surround you. One has better sound, the other has better noise cancelling.

Yes, they are expensive. But if someone often travels with public transport, goes to the gym, and lives with others, they will get their money's worth. Buy it nice or buy it twice. You pay for it once and it hurts at that moment, but then you enjoy it.

great upgrade from the xm4. the best noise cancellation on the market, has an incredibly natural transparency mode, you forget you're wearing them. they are very lightweight and very comfortable.
I wear glasses and no matter how many hours I wear them, they don't bother me at all.

regarding battery life, it is also excellent, I often am on a call for 4-5 hours and the battery drops from 100% to 90%, with electronic music loud for 4-5 hours it drops to 40%. also very positive that they charge very quickly, of course the battery lasts so long that it's not necessary, but if you forget them uncharged in half an hour from 10% it goes to 90%.

the sound quality is also the best that plays in wireless headphones. simply the best

regarding the sound, it's good to keep in mind that it's a matter of taste but also a limitation of the battery. the sound cannot be compared to properly professional wired headphones. if sound quality is a priority, then it's better to look at models focused on that (sennheiser/v-moda etc.) or even better wired headphones.
in their sound, the bass stands out a bit without interfering with speech etc., it is quite discreet.

I am closing in on about a week since I got them and I have to say the following:

Since I understand that the usage each person makes plays a big role, I should mention that the review is for using the headphones in an indoor space - office (quite quiet) and not so much outdoors. Mainly for calls due to work and very light gaming.

Positives:
• Excellent microphone. I have received compliments on how clear my voice sounds when I use them, and most people think I have some special microphone and that the result does not come from the headphones - which was the selling point in my opinion that influenced me a lot in the purchase. I don't think at this price you will find headphones with such a good (perhaps even professional one would say) microphone.
• Incredible ANC. Although, as I mentioned, they are not intended for outdoor use from my side, and even though it is a feature that personally is not so necessary for me and I have it almost always turned off, I must admit that from the tests I obviously did, it simply does not exist. I don't have much experience with ANC, but I gave it to others to try, and their jaws dropped as soon as I activated it. Truly, everything they say about this feature I believe is true. As soon as you activate it, all noises disappear to an excessive degree, which may make it dangerous in outdoor spaces. So, be very careful.
• Very good Bluetooth. I wear them and I can get up from the desk and continue my call anywhere in the space, changing rooms without the slightest interference. The signal seems to be very strong, and we move around without losing call quality or general connectivity with the computer.
• The battery is very decent. I am never stressed that the battery will leave me. They charge very quickly and with heavy use, they can last me about 3 days, while with light use, I trust that they will last about a week.
• In general, the features are very good, such as when someone talks to you, the sound lowers, when you are on a call, sidetone activates (something that is very necessary for me), etc.

Negatives:
• Although at first, every time I wear them they are very comfortable, after hours of use they start to make me feel a bit uncomfortable. I have noticed that after about ~3 hours of use, they start to hurt the top of my head and more so my ears. Generally, I have big ears but not to an extreme degree, more medium to large, and such pain they cause I believe is excessive for my dimensions. I am looking to change the ear pads to see if this problem can be fixed, but generally, the longer you wear them, the more uncomfortable they become, so I don't know if they are suitable for many hours of continuous use.
• The app is mediocre at best. I downloaded the app on iOS and OK, it does its job, but the UI is a bit outdated, and it took me a little time to find where each function is and generally to search a bit. I needed to do one update so far (although I remind you I haven't had them for long), and it took quite a while to complete, but if it doesn't happen often, it's not a big issue.
• The sound quality covers the needs for calls and relaxation like listening to music or light gaming, but in no way is it good enough to cover demanding sound for more intense gaming, and generally, the bass is almost non-existent. OK, this specific issue is not a serious problem for me, since it is something I don't need, but I try to provide as comprehensive a review as I can for those who might need something like this. And to be honest, at such a price, such bass is a bit unacceptable when the JBL speaker I bought for 100 euros has a significantly richer and livelier sound. And just so you don't say that I'm comparing dissimilar things (headphones with a speaker), the Razer headphones I had when I was younger, which I bought for one-third of the price (100 euros), had a much livelier and more intense sound.
• The simultaneous pairing function of two devices they offer is useless. At least for me, I had them connected to both my phone (iOS) and my computer (macOS) at the same time, and it constantly created issues, especially when I received calls. Perhaps this is due to the fact that calls were coming in on both the phone and the computer because of the Apple ecosystem, but the result was that I couldn't answer the calls until I turned them off and turned them back on, which was very annoying. I fixed this by sacrificing connectivity with the phone, so now I can only have them connected to the computer, which makes the simultaneous connectivity function useless for me, and at the same time, I can't use the app since I don't connect them to the phone.
• Finally, for some reason I still don't understand, when I use them and open a game to play (especially in League Of Legends), as soon as the game starts, the sound becomes very choppy and screwed up. All the voices and sounds become "thicker and heavier" (as if everything has slowed down), which is very strange, and for now, I can only fix it by turning them off, turning them on, and reconnecting them. Quite annoying.

Overall, I am fairly satisfied with my purchase; for the purpose I bought them for, they do their job perfectly and are cheaper than competitors of the same level (Bose, AirPods Max, etc.). But let's not forget that they cost 300 euros (at least that's how much I paid), and 300 euros is still quite a lot. I do not justify the small issues and quirks they have at such a price, even if they are not deal breakers. I would only recommend them to anyone who needs incredible ANC and an excessively good microphone.

I will return to the review if anything changes.

These headphones are really amazing. They are far better than other headphones/earbuds I have tried, the noise cancelation is really really amazing at suppressing white noise airplane sounds bus engine sounds etc. The quality of the speakers is really good as well far better than the AirPods Max in my opinion. they are pretty lightweight and I don't have a problem with the thin cushioning unlike many people say. Personally I would recommend them to anyone that has the money to spare for some good headphones but if you don't have the economical prosperity for 300€ headphones there are other great choices put there

UPDATE 21-3-2026 The headphones have started to make a bubbly wavy sound while on ANC after 1250 hours of use which renders them very annoying to use while outdoors. I thought this could be a case of miss use but I have realized a few people have had similar issues

UPDATE 13-06-2026 The clasp is completely totaled at a spot which renders them not reparable. It's really a terrible way to stop using a pair of headphones, because of this (and because of the fact that many people seem to have this problem not only me) I have to bring the rating down to a 4)

I used the XM3s from the same Sony series for many years and after they started to break down I decided to upgrade. Immediately, my observations are as follows:

- The sound is not as bass heavy anymore. Even if you can adjust it via the equalizer, the headphones are now more mid range/drum heavy and the bass is noticeably lower but still at a good level (I compared them side by side with a friend's XM4). Otherwise, very good sound and much better than the AirPods MAX, which for some reason every reviewer out there is obsessed with.

- Although I was hesitant to get the XM5s because they don't "fold" for easy transport, it turns out I personally don't need that so much. But it will definitely be a deal breaker for others.

- BIG MISTAKE is the removal of NFC. Unfortunately, I didn't notice this when I bought them (since the XM2 to XM4 had this feature). NFC was extremely useful especially when you have many Bluetooth devices, it gave great priority to connect quickly with the headphones. Although to be fair, the Bluetooth connection is now much, much faster than on the 3 and 4. NFC was a very useful feature. It's a shame it was removed.

- Active Noise Cancelling. I didn't think the ANC would improve but it really makes an incredible difference. Now, I don't even know if it's safe, you walk down the street and it cancels everything, voices that were once a weak point for the XM3 are nothing now, even loud ones (light years better than the old models and AirPods MAX). The extra microphones definitely play a role in this, which brings us to the next point...

- The microphones have skyrocketed the call quality. Unfortunately, with the older models, calls were quite a big issue as often when you were in a populated place the microphones "preferred" the surrounding voices and not mine. Well, these headphones solve that problem.

- Finally, build quality and here is the reason I gave 4 stars. For some reason, Sony jumped on the (so-called) "vegan" materials bandwagon. The ear pads are terrible, very uncomfortable and don't last over time. I HIGHLY recommend to anyone who has or is thinking of getting these headphones to get ear pads from WICKED CUSHIONS, which are real leather and are super comfortable and more cushioned. Personally, since I use the headphones at the gym, I also bought sweat covers so moisture doesn't get into the sound drive (I had issues with the XM3 before). Unfortunately, the headstrap can't be changed otherwise I would change that too since it is also made of "vegan" leather...

ALL IN ALL, the headphones are flawless and a worthy successor to the old ones. I hope they bring back NFC and real leather in the next ones and they will be perfect.

P.S.
The charging cable is awfully short. If you don't have one, buy a separate UGREEN cable