The sound design in this video is absolutely beautiful. I hope this trend continues in your future headphone review videos.

I’m still rocking the Mark 3s and love them, not enough improvement to justify upgrading yet! 🎧

I think not being foldable will eventually be better for durability in the long term

I actually love the fact that they won't fold. Folding make them weaker and they rattle a lot.

I absolutely adore my XM4’s - wear them for up to 8 hours a day with absolutely no discomfort. One of the best technology investments I’ve ever made, hands down!

I've had the xm3's for years, they're so freaking good, and even after heavy use for years the battery lasts for days

Honestly as someone that only uses them at home, I prefer the new design. They look and feel way more premium and in-place for such a high price range. The older designs were much more prone to break due to the folding mechanics. I do however agree that the naming is completely wrong. I feel like they should just have 2 design lines. The classic XM-Line with a focus on travel and the ability to carry it around easily, and a more premium line focused on maximizing comfort, sturdiness and design.

I can't speak on the travel aspect as I have yet to travel with them. My main use for them is for work. So that aside, I love them. They're super comfortable, the noise cancellation is top notch, and i'm not a sound engineer but I really enjoy the sound quality.

Considering that the XM4's are great already, the XM5's are small incremental upgrade that definitely already hit mark. You are actually fine with either one of these even if you have unlimited budget.

Have the XM4s, don't plan on upgrading. That being said, I do love this series of headphones; I use them cross platform (windows desktop, macbook, and linux office computer) and it's really convenient that they work more or less identically across all devices.

These are my first pair of NC headphones - they have changed my relationship with music. I'm sure the M4s would have been as good - but the M5s look as good as they sound IMO. Excellent review for those looking to buy

Just got the XM4's earlier this year and I was amazed, it felt better than bose, at least for me. Now that I see the XM5's I feel proud to have at least one of, if not the best noice canceling headphones on the market right now, especially for the price. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not for airpods max or even bose. The design, convenience, and audio is incredible. I'm super happy with them.

I’ve been daily driving the WH-1000XM3‘s and they’ve lasted great and are still really good for daily use and I still find it’s noise canceling really good 2/3 years later

Literally bought the XM4s less then a week ago and when I saw this video my heart dropped because I thought I made a mistake. After watching it though I realize the XM4s are the correct pair for me. Thanks for all your reviews

I've had the XM2s for six (?) years now. The case lasted two. Since then, I've just thrown them into my bag and they're still brilliant. I even like the worn look they got since then.

The perspective you bring in these reviews ticks all of my boxes. Thanks for saving me hours of research time.

My Sony WH-1000XM4 don’t jiggle jiggle, it folds

Alternative Title - Sony WH-1000XM5 Review: Four Microphones Forward, Two Folds Back!

This is such a terrific video, very professional, very informative and I like your straight-forward plain-spoken style. Subscribed!

I picked up a pair. I like them more each day. The light weight, the comfort, the very good noise canceling, the way I can have it paired to my laptop and my phone simultaneously and it'll switch back and forth on the fly depending on which device is outputting sound to it (fairly useful during the workday). But know the best part? The touch to the side to place it into transparency mode and how it immediately returns to noise canceling once you remove your hand. Extremely useful when you work from home and the kids get home from school. Runner up is how it can be set to automatically go into transparency mode when it detects you beginning to talk. Also useful for the same scenario. The best $400 I've spent on tech in years.

M3 and M4 weakest points were the folding hinges, you can find a tone of sets on the used market with broken hinges. Sony had to fix this and their solution was to remove the folding hinges entirely. I don't blame them for that

I’ve had the XM3’s for a few years now and love ‘‘em to death. These won’t be worth an upgrade for me, but I’m still astonished to see noise cancellation technology becoming even better. Can’t wait to see where noise cancellation will be when I need to buy a new pair. Sony will have a good mark in my books. pun intended.

I brought the XM4 recently for $400 and I must say that I don't regret buying it at all. In terms of noise cancellation, yes it does work effectively at cancelling out noises - I don't have any complaints about it and Im soo glad its foldable.

The microphone isolation from XM3 to XM4 was drastic. A lot less background noise for taking calls in busy areas/offices. Not noticeably different based on your recording. And the fact that they take up more space makes this a pass for me.

I've had the Mk. 3 for several years now and they were some of the best money I've ever spent on anything ever. I've worn them for an hour or two a day on average and they've shown virtually no wear other than ear cups (which are replaceable). Sony can sure make a pair of headphones.

I have XM4s, and what I would really need to see to upgrade is: - Be able to use them while charging. - Dual-band bluetooth (i.e. use headset in music mode and headset mode at the same time, for gaming), theres no reason I should need to keep an entire extra dongle or microphone around when the hardware has more than enough bandwidth for hi-res audio and a hi-res audio stream.

I will take the more comfortable design all day over the smaller compact mx4s. To me I don’t care how good a headphone sounds if it’s uncomfortable it’s a dealbreaker. Looking forward to getting these now, after watching your review on the mx5s. Thank you!

I never fold my WH-1000XM2. When I travel I wear them around my neck when not in use. Also make good ear muffs in cold climates.

i just bought these 2 days ago and they sound amazing. i really don’t care about them not folding as long as they sound amazing and the noise cancellation is top notch!

I have the M4 version and I love them. Honestly the larger footprint from the lack of folding is a dealbreaker for me. My backpack is jammed full when I travel and being able to get the M4 folded up small is something I won't look over again.

A bigger case is worth it when compared to folding headphones to place them properly into smaller cases. Also appreciate the magnetic space for holding wires.

Listening impressions: - Best sounding headset I've purchased to date and sound MILES better than my Sennheiser HD 596 (but to be fair, those sounded ridiculously unnatural and just all-around terrible). - Plenty of "thump" by default, but definitely dropping off significantly below 50Hz or so, which is exactly what I like to have present in my mix. You can see I've put a HUGE boost in the low lows on my EQ curve to make things like low synths, bass drops, and sub-harmonics sound even with the rest of the sound stage. Even still, the sub-bass that is there still sounds a bit thin and artificial like they're using some processing trickery to make it sound like it's playing lower than it is (there are a few ways to do this, but they're never as authentic as just reproducing the frequency properly). - Little bit "dark" sounding, so a slight bump in the high mids as well as a 10k+ shelf bump really helped brighten up the sound stage. - Imaging is ok but definitely not spectacular. It's only got a single 30mm driver per ear, so that one driver is covering EVERYTHING from 20Hz to 40kHz. As such, it's expected that imaging won't be super detailed, so no surprise there. I was really hoping to see at least 2 drivers per ear. By contrast, my CCA C12 in-ear-monitors (IEM's) that I use when playing on stage are about $50 and have 6 drivers PER EAR each playing a different frequency range. Needless to say, the imaging, and extension on those IEM's is a LOT better than these headphones that cost 7x the price. Due to their small form factor, IEM's can use armature drivers where 'can' style headphones like this can't use armature drivers (not loud enough), but I would still like to see 2 dynamic drivers in these just to allow one driver to focus on the highs and the other to focus on the lows rather than having the one driver trying to play the whole shebang. - Minimal, but still present, "pressure" sensation when noise cancelling is on, but it's not intrusive like a lot of other ANC headphones I've tried and effectively disappears when music is playing. Having a set of ANC headphones with "pressure" that grabs my attention is an absolute deal-breaker for me regardless of price point. Overall, these are going to be my go-to headphone for the office. They sound good enough (especially with some EQ), and are comfy enough, to have some background music playing for hours at a time while also cancelling out loud office talkers.

I bought the XM4 about 2 months ago, just before the XM5 was released. I was almost disappointed that I hadn't waited a few more weeks, but thank you for showing me that the XM4 is perfect for me and the changes would actually have been worse for me personally. Thanks!

Have the XM4 and am quite happy with them, the XM5 look good too. Either way: I have _noise cancelling_ headphones not really for traveling but mainly for home office usage - having sat in a bunch of loud offices in the last 15 years or so, I was always really happy to have noise cancelling (when I did)

I have been watching videos for checking headphones. I was confused seeing the product whether it really folds with this design, but actually none of the videos(other 4-5) was giving me the information which I needed. Then I came to see your video which clearly says that. This is why I love your contents. Absolutely amazing job.

The folding orientation on the neck is meant that way so that moisture can evaporate when the headphones are not being used. This has been an issue on the last generation: in hot weather the ears get sweaty and after a few hours the moisture can interfere with the ANC as it happened to many users, including myself

Rocking the XM3 for a few years now. Not being able to fold this new design would be a major downgrade for me, as you said their main use is for travel so the smaller the can be folded the better. Hope they one day bring a folding design with the new upgrades. I mainly miss multi device support on my XM3 so would consider getting a new one.

I use the XM3 (bought them 2 years ago) best headphones I've ever had. Having 30~ hrs of battery life and fast charging is amazing.

I believe the problem with the folding is defaintly one that types of people could have problems with but with me i always have headphones on my neck when travelling and obviously when i eventually put them into an oversized case it does getting annoying with space but its defaintly a problem that most people could have with them

I'm even more impressed by the quality of your videos than the actual products ^^, and the way you are criticizing finding every little pro and con is pure gold!

I've had the Mk. 3 for several years now and they were some of the best money I've ever spent on anything ever. I've worn them for an hour or two a day on average and they've shown virtually no wear other than ear cups (which are replaceable). Sony can sure make a pair of headphones. mazing representation for the sound Marques.. totally love it ❤ The best reviewer gives you the whole experience of the product 🔥 Thanks for the video and keep it up 😊 I’m still rocking the Mark 3s and love them, not enough improvement to justify upgrading yet! 🎧

Still really happy with my mk4, and do not feel the need to upgrade at all. The fold and rotation of the cups is crucial for traveling (even to uni/work and back) and the sound quality and noise cancellation is so impressive already. The quality upgrade per model isn't that shocking it seems, very minor improvements. And I wonder if the thinner headband will become less comfy after wearing it for a while.

I'd love to upgrade, but my XM3's are still absolutely great even after years of daily heavy use they still look and sound like they just came off the shelves brand new. If you're in the market for new headphones I'd say you can't go wrong with any of these Sony headphones.

Awesome vid but I feel like these may be a lot better than the xm4’s for a student standpoint where the travel foldability isn’t more important than comfort and ANC for study sessions.

It's crazy, I still have my Mark 1... (5 year+) Used it almost every day for many hours. Still amazing piece of engineering

4:17 That sound effect immediately reminded me of GTA San Andreas. I've heard that menu screen so many times.

Got the XM4's for about half the cost of the XM5's during black friday. Translating my currency to USD it was a $187.52 USD for the 4s. I'm happy with the purchase, I do travel a lot so hopefully I'll enjoy them.

I got those like a month a go I just love them it’s very comfortable to wear for long hours and I really needed them to muffle the sounds around me they sound great and the battery life is fantastic I would really recommend these i tried the M4 wasn’t as great to be honest but the best part you can try them both in the store and choose which is better for you, MKBHD as always great video 👍🏻

I have my XM2s for good 4 years now. During those years I used them quite frequently and they still sound perfect and ANC is still very powerful. Battery life came down to about 20 hours, which is still fine with me. Even after these years, the foldable hinges work just fine. And long charge time through Micro USB port is not a big deal for me, therefore after 4 years I am still very much enjoying them and I am not planning to replace these. Only thing I had ti replace were the ear cushions, but that applies to all over ear headphones with long-term use. Therefore if you consider buying mark 5, 4 or even 3, just go for it, they won't let you down.

SONY needs to be appreciated more, their tech is always inspiring!

Tried the XM4 vs XM5 in the store. The XM5 fit my head, the XM4 headband can't be set small/short enough. Just dismissed the XM4 because of that. I liked how the latency/sync was good enough to enjoy videos on the XM5, unlike a lot of bluetooth headphones.

I just got the XM5 and they changed my life! Great video.

Loved the way you edited this video and its sound, I am currently wearing the XM4s to watch the video, and the bits where you muffled the sound and cancelled the ambient noise felt like an interactive experience. Kudos to you for amazing editing!

Wow, I didn’t realize how long it’s been since the XM4s dropped.

Awesome review. You definitely pushed me over the edge, I just bought the xm5 after watching this. Thanks

Thanks for this video. Very helpful.

Sony tech is just amazing. XM4s are already great on its own, and hard to imagine that they can go above and beyond…

Been using the Mk2s for around 6 years now and they are still so so good, battery is amazing, sound is very crisp and they still haven't broken

I've had the xm4's for almost 3 years now. Very very happy with them! My main complaint is the touch control that's sensitive to wind and rain. When it's windy, it litterally keeps pausing and playing every 5-10 seconds which ruins the listening experience completely. Hope the next version (xm6) will be more compact again and have actual PHYSICAL buttons instead of the touch panel.

I’ve had the xm4s for a year now. I love them! I started this video thinking I was gonna be jealous, but I’m good lol. I mean the upgrades look nice but I like the folding feature and the hard case of the xm4s better. One thing I would like to see upgraded is the call quality. It does the trick when I’m indoors, not so great at times when out & about. Other than that tho thumbs up 👍

Still rocking my mark 2's and loving them, might be time for the 4's though!

PSA I’ve owned the MK 4s for over a year now and I love them. I will say though, one of the reasons the hinge may have changed in the MK 5 is durability. My MK 4 left hinge cracked and I had to repair it myself about 8-9 months in (keep in mind I use these headphones around 2-4 hours a day)

I got the XM4s on discount after the XM5s were released. I couldn't justify another 40% spend for marginal improvements in the new model. The XM4s are exceptional, I'm really pleased

I have been using the XM4s since over a year now. I use them for more than 10+ hours a day on most days and the battery always lasts 2-3 days. They charge up very very quickly, i can plug them in for 10 minutes and they will last me the whole day. Absolutely amazing purchase. And to the people who cry about it being bass heavy or not very flat, there's literally an application where you can customize the sound signature according to your liking, so stop whining about that and enjoy the headphones!

Hey, just wanted to say that you do some really great reviews. The way you present is engaging and interesting. The way you cover the topics is really nice and I really liked that you demonstrated the voice quality in a real-world scenario as that is what I'll be using them for. Keep up the good work. I have never seen your stuff before and I'm going through it now and you do a great job.

Thanks Marques for the review! I like that you present the important features.

I own the Bose 700s and honestly, the noise cancelling is not the best, that's for sure. However, one of the best features in comparison to the XM4s is the sound isolation of the mic. I use them for work calls in open space offices and I am literally the only one able to conduct meetings without participants being annoyed about other meetings taking place right next to me... because they simply don't hear any of it. For me, that has become one of the KEY features and I think I might not be the only one. Maybe just an idea for an additional test when you do the mic test. ;) Great video, amazing editing as always, just a delight to watch. Keep it up!

I absolutely love how thorough and how honest your test videos are.

I still use my XM3s and was wondering when the 5s were gonna come out to potentially upgrade. I actually mostly use mine at home, and when I travel with them I don't really take them off for long periods of time anyway, so the size doesn't matter and I'm pumped about this new design!

I know why they made it bigger, the mark 4s had a MAJOR design flaw with one of the hinges. many people had the exact same shape piece pop out which caused the swivel on one of the earcups to have no resistance, meaning it could tangle and fray the inner cable. seems these new ones have no such problem as they dont fold down. Meaning it would be impossible for that to happen

Thank you for your review! Your review actually made it clear these are the headphones for me. I primarily use them to drown out noises that give me flashbacks so noise cancellation is #1 and comfort #2 as that makes it possible for me to use them longer. So far the headphones feel a lot less intuitive than my old Bose 700 though, still gotta figure them out.

I got the XM4s right after they came out, they were my first pair of nice headphones and I havent regretted buying them. Seeing that these came out I expected to come away jealous of the new model, but honestly if I were in the market today I would probably still buy the XM4s, especially because they are frequently on sale for like $280 and are better for traveling.

I appreciate the way you displayed the effect of the transparency mode without cutting off the talking.

Thank you for the review. You covered everything well. I hope these connect to my work laptop better than the Bose NC700. The NC700 would crackle unless the Bose Link USB dongle is used.

Ive had two x4s break with simple home use. The twisting design when putting them in the case causes the headset to break over time. I was super gentle and careful with them. That being said, i know first hand why they moved away from that twisting design for storing them. The x5 doesnt have this issue and im ok with a larger case because of it. Ive had consistent issues with the mic on the x4s.

Bought my XM3s about 3 years ago on the recommendation and a quick listening experience from my friend Sekwah. Immediately got blown away, purchased them and have used them for music, calls in work, podcasts. They are still absolutely perfect, even after heavy use, and some abuse from occasional gym sessions if I’ve forgot my in ears…. Would highly recommend this series of headphones, especially if you can pick the 3s or 4s up on the cheap! Hands down the best I’ve ever had.

Owned the M2, M3 and M4, so yea, small-ish updates to the noise cancelling and such have always been worth it to me. And I would definitely get the M5 as well. But not being able to fold them as compactly anymore? Not being able to fold the ear cups fully down anymore when you have them around your neck? That's definitely two deal breakers. The new bag is kinda cool, but way too big. The cable compartment is a good idea, but I never had those cables with me anyway (or, on linger trips, I have a wall charger and several cables in my luggage anyway). And I hardly ever put them in the bag anyway, I just throw them in my backpack. Guess I'll have to hope they make the M6 properly foldable again.

i have the xm4s and they’re really good, but i still just use my airpod pros at the gym. i think it’s because the transparency mode is just so much better. i like how you guys made like that distorted or muffled sound of reality with the xm5s because that’s really what it’s like. it’s not terrible but when you have airpods on and it feels like you can hear everyone even better it just always wins

i personally LOVE that they don't fold AND that case for it is everything- this is coming from a toddler mom who travels too lol thanks for the great review!!

I have the M4s and was bummed when I heard that M5s were coming out (I enjoyed having the latest and greatest haha) but honestly if I were to choose again today, I would still buy the M4s over the M5s. You make great points about how these are designed for travel and I would much rather have compactness over a redesign, slightly better noise cancelation, faster charging, and more mics

Marques: “What do you get noise-cancelling headphones for?” Me: “Family and co-workers.” Marques: “Travel. You get them for travel.” Me: “Oh, yeah. That too, I guess.”

Dang, the way the sound gets muffled to describe how the audio passthrough works is brilliant. Attention to details !

Purchased a new set of XM4 for $180 and a refurb set of XM5 for $220. Can't decide which one to keep. The refurbs look brand new and come with a 2 year warranty, the XM4s are new so they are also perfect, I think Sony warranty is 1 year. Both sound great to me, I've been testing both at work.

@4:58 that was a very clever way to demonstrate your opinion of the feature!!!! Well done!

Got the XM3s for 190 on amazon last year. 1 yr later, still holding up perfectly - best pair of headphones I've ever used! Won't need upgrading until the xm7's ;)

Just picked these up today to replace my 4 year old broken MDR 950 BT which BTW were amazing. Im impressed with my new ones!

Really great review, thanks! I have the XM3s and considering which pair to upgrade to. The same things bum me out about the XM5s that you’ve highlighted, although I’ve been longing for the same soundstage quality but with better noise cancelling abilities than the XM3s. Still slightly torn, but decision soon.

Excellent review Marques. I'll be sticking with my XM3s since they still work great and battery lasts my whole day. I might get the M4s if I see them on sale but the XM5s not being foldable is a deal breaker for me.

The moment I started thinking how the mic quality would be, he said wait and tested it for us! Don't know if the flow injected the question or they placed the test the right moment, but anyways well done as always!

Dead ass could not hear a difference in the Mic test. Great quality video as usual. Keep up the great work Marques and team

Thanks for the honest review. I have the xm4 and are the best headphones I've ever used. I wear mine in a factory and the noise canceling is great while music is playing. I've had mine for a year now. Was considering upgrading but now I think I will just buy another pair of xm4's.

Looking forward to upgrade from my xm2. The lack of folding is pretty irrelevant to me; They’re either around my neck or dumped on a table somewhere. Even when traveling I probably only fold them at customs

Great review! Although I thinh the design concept of not folding is much different. Avoid crackling sounds, no tearing on mechanical joints because of constant fold and unfold and more importantly easier to carry! The latter is not so obvious, but the blueprint of the case is slight wider but thinner, because when you use it on backup thinner can save up more space that 2-3 centimeters wider, as all equipment (laptop, tablet, books) is vertically stacked

The fact im coming back to this video 1year later because i actually want to buy the xm5s or the xm4s now shows how essential mkbhd is when deciding what tech to buy👍 Thanks team

One thing I think you guys (and other reviewers) are missing in these reviews is repairability. As you said, this is a $400 set of headphones. I am looking to move on from my Sony XM2's and I have had to change the ear pads twice. These XM5's are the first set that cannot be done by the end user and must be sent off to Sony for new pads. That is a big deal and should be mentioned. It's a deal-killer for me as well.

I find the one major issue with my mark 4's are that I cannot take a call outside if it's windy. It might be a really specific issue but I would love to see your reviews/tests about headphones and how they handle wind during phone calls for future products. Thanks!

I loved it when you said muffled and the actual audio of the video got muffled and also with the mic testing 💯💯 you're simply the best reviewer I've ever viewed 😅 in town !

I bought the XM5's due to the where the headband breaking on my XM3's - where they meet the earcup on one side. They were perfectly fine but I couldn't handle them being 'broken'. the sound cancelling compared to the XM3's is superb, and the call quality is in another league. I never use the carrying case - as far as I'm concerned they're packaging. I carry them as headphones. The sound quality is probably there or there-abouts compared with the XM3's but the smaller driver delivers a different bass response. I prefer the punchy and hard bass in the XM3. Overall I like these XM5's, lets see how long they last.

I had the m4 and it was spectacular, BUT. The folding area broke on one of my earphones and rendered it unusable until it was fixed. I caved in and bought the 5(probably not the most financially efficient) and im actually glad they don't fold. Either way, no matter which ones you pick, they are my favorite headphones without a doubt, and the long battery life is a blessing. Cheers!❤

I have the xm3's and I'm still happy with them. One of the best purchases I've made for commuting to work.