Sony's new flagship headphones are more expensive but should sound better

Sony today announced its latest pair of flagship headphones - the WH-1000XM5s - touting a redesign, improved sound, and better noise-cancellation. These improvements naturally come at a cost, however, with the pair retailing for $649.95 locally. That's a $150 price bump over their predecessors, the WH-1000XM4s.

The XM5s mark Sony's first major redesign of its flagship headphones, with the manufacturer moving away from a collapsible design to a more modern aesthetic similar to the AirPods Max or Bose's NCH 700s. The XM5s still fold flat, but don't also collapse down for storage, meaning the bundled travel case is a bit bigger than the previous generation model.

Sony also says the XM5s sound better than their predecessors thanks to new drivers that result in a "more natural sound quality". Noise-cancelling gets a bump too, thanks to a new integrated processor designed specifically for the task.

You'll still get 30 hours of battery life per charge with noise-cancelling switched on, but Sony has upped charging speed. A three-minute top-up should get you three extra hours of playback.

The XM5s will be available in Australia in late June.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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