Sony’s WH-1000XM5s get better sound, features, and new price tag

Sony has announced its latest flagship headphones, the $399 WH-1000XM5. You can preorder them right now on Sony’s site or Best Buy. They are expected to release on May 20.

The biggest change? The design, which is now sleeker, but still maintains a somewhat plasticky look. The eight microphones that help with phone calls and active noise canceling (ANC) have been moved to the rim of the ear cups, so there’s nothing to break the smooth lines of the ear cups.

Those ear cups are held on to the headband by stem-style sliders now, which help make the 1000XM5 feel even sleeker. You can get them in matte black and white, which is more of an off-white cream.

The internals have also gone through some redesign. There are now two processors handling the ANC, which Sony says helps most with “mid- to high-frequency noise.” That’s the range that street noises or human voices fall into.

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The drivers have changed too, with Sony opting for 30mm drivers this time around. All the three predecessors used 40mm drivers, so it’ll be interesting to see how the smaller drivers handle things.

It seems the new design of Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones is more expensive to make. The previous model was $349.99, but now you’ll have to pay $399 for the best-in-class ANC.

You still get all of Sony’s premium features, like Speak to Chat, LDAC, DSEE Extreme upscaling, 360 Reality Audio, and all the rest.

You can preorder them right now on Sony’s site or Best Buy. Other retail partners will have them on shelves on May 20.

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