Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony’s latest over-ear headphones, the WH-1000XM5s, are every bit worth their massive $400 price tag. Industry-leading ANC, comfort, and blissful LDAC audio define these headphones. Outstanding microphone performance makes them great for all-purpose usage from office to commute to late-night movies.
Bose Noise Cancelling 700
Released in 2019, the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 over-ear headphones are still among the best on the market in terms of ANC, comfort, design, and sound. The sleek futuristic design really catches the eye, while the ANC once set the standard to beat, and still holds up to the competition.
Vying for the throne, Bose and Sony have been competing for a long time now. Back in 2019, the awesome Bose Noise Cancelling 700 headphones came out and set the standard for ANC, sound, and style. Ever since, Sony has tried to take the position away from Bose. And with the XM4s, they nearly did. Then in 2022, Sony’s newWH-1000XM5 headphonescame out, and the newbest Sony headphonesare absolutely stunning in their performance while being quite costly.
Both of these headphones are among the premium-classbest wireless headphoneswith close to $400 price tags. You don’t want to spend that much without some real consideration. So, let’s see if the old dog can still do tricks. Or is the more expensive new pup worth it?
Price, availability, and specs
Although released five years ago, the Bose 700 headphones are still widely available online from Amazon and elsewhere. The default price is $380; however, some stores sell them as cheap as $250. And with offers and sales, they become even more affordable (and consequently more attractive). They come in black or silver.
The Sony WH-1000XM5, being newer, are more readily available in almost any consumer electronics store, with a price tag from $350 to $400. They, too, are regularly featured in offers, coupons, and sales. You can find these in black, blue, and silver colorways (the last is rather off-white).
Design and fit
At first glance, it may feel like the Bose 700s win this round, as they are so obviously stylish. But the Sony XM5s also have their futuristic appeal. When you get into the details, you’ll see that they are built differently and feel different.
Build quality
As you’re able to expect from a $400 product, the build quality of the Sony XM5s is excellent. They are a bit more squat and egg-shaped than their predecessors, plus they are sleeker. The joints also feel sturdier, with a slimmer headband on top. All in all, these Sony headphones are a product of experience and quality. Unfortunately, they are not very foldable without hinges.
The Bose NC 700s are not at all behind. They are, in fact, a piece of beauty and a fashion statement. While the Sony earbuds are fully plastic, the Bose 700s have a sleek steel headband. Also without hinges, Bose’s sliding band works into grooves on both cans that slide up or down to let you adjust the fit.
Both earbuds can turn sideways to lay flat on your neck — that, and the headband height adjustments, are about the only movable parts in these devices. Both also come with zip-up carry cases for storage and portability.
However, there is one area in which the Bose NC 700s fare much better than the XM5s: being IPX4-rated waterproof. Well, “water-resistant” would be more precise. While we wouldn’t quite call them goodheadphones for working out, they can at least withstand gym sweat. Sony’s cans don’t have such protection, so be careful.
Fit and comfort
Even with all the engine and fuel tank inside, the NC 700s feel surprisingly lightweight, and they’re soft and comfortable. You’ll be glad to catch a movie or some music on them after a long day.
Sony isn’t behind in that respect at all. After decades of over-ear headphone design, Sony has learned something about the importance of wearing comfort, and it shows in the XM5s. The circumaural fit of these cans is exceptionally comfortable, especially over long periods. Plus, the ear pads are wide and deep enough to accommodate large ears.
Both devices are evenly matched here — comfy and fit well while providing a medium-secure fit. We wouldn’t go to the gym with either, but for home and office work, they are absolutely fine.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones have hybrid controls. Using both touch and button controls, you will scarcely need to touch your phone to adjust your music, calls, or assistant. There are a couple of buttons on the left ear cup for power and ANC, and the outer facade of the right ear cup works as a touchpad for swipe controls.
The control story is more or less the same with the Bose 700s, which feature three physical buttons and a touchpad. The buttons control power, connectivity, and ambient noise, while the touchpad takes care of music and volume controls and calls. In both cases, the controls are customizable via the app.
Audio quality
Both brands are well known for their audio reproduction and noise suppression. Indeed, they are direct competitors vying to be the king of the hill.
Audio reproduction
This is where things get tricky. Both headphones are top-shelf premium devices, and as such, they spare no expense in delivering the perfect audio. Both are tuned towards general consumer ears (as opposed to audiophiles), with emphasized bass and some extra dynamic range compression. So what’s the difference between them?
With the Sony XM5s, you will notice the big boppy bass right away, to the slight detriment of the midrange, especially mid-frequency (500-1000 Hz) wind and string instruments. On the other hand, vocals don’t seem to be suppressed, not to our ears anyway. Moreover, the highs are jubilant until you hit 10kHz.
The Bose Noise Cancelling 700 headphones have a more lifelike frequency response curve, at least compared to most headphones on the market. The bass is there, but it isn’t distracting, while the treble is ever-so-slightly extra-sweetened. The vocals and mids sound purposeful and rich, except for a little weakness at around 1.5kHz.
Both headphones have options in their companion apps that enable you to adjust the sound with equalizers. While Sony’s equalizer is more detailed, allowing for more adjustments, the Bose app has a rather simple 5-band control for basic adjustments. You may want to opt for a third-party equalizer if your mood requires specific adjustments.
Noise suppression
In 2019, Bose definedactive noise cancellationwith their NC 700 headphones. For all contenders, it was the standard to beat, Sony included. The Bose Noise Cancelling 700 headphones are digital audio processing experts and hit the sweet spot when it comes to producing negative noise.
Though noise suppression isn’t as strong as the newer Sony headsets, the Bose 700s are still exceptionally good at suppressing unwanted, predictable background noise. you’re able to feel the external sounds cut out by as much as 80%, especially in the low-frequency range of 50-350Hz. With good passive noise isolation from the slightly hard ear pads, you can expect relief from unexpected background audio as well, like loud clangs and car horns. (It’s worth noting that Bose later released even better ANC headphones, including theQuietComfort 45.)
One thing in favor of the Bose 700s is their granular control over the ANC. you’re able to use ten levels of ANC, which is unheard of in most products. More about this in the ‘App’ section.
While Sony’s XM5s are comparable to the Bose 700s in the lower frequencies, it’s in the high frequencies where the XM5s shine. At above 500Hz or so, you can clearly hear the difference. If ANC is your target, the WH-1000XM5s are your best bet. Their passive isolation is better, too.
Calls and meetings
With four beam forming mics per ear cup and an ML processor filtering out inner and outer noises, the Sony XM5s are a great pair of cans for meetings and calls. They filter out all kinds of background noise, though at the risk of slightly frying your voice in the process.
The Bose Noise Cancelling 700 headphones do not come with those kinds of bells and whistles, yet their microphone performance is stellar. They also cancel out unwanted background noise very effectively, and the voice manages to sound close to natural and mellow.
Both of these headphones have great app support that, with updates, enables lots of cool features like spatial audio. They are also capable in the connection department. Let’s get into the details.
The Bose NC 700s have Alexa built-in, allowing you to invoke it by voice, but you must press a button if you want to use other assistants like Siri or Google. In contrast, Sony’s XM5s offer more toys, such as location awareness for auto-ANC, Speak-to-Chat, and auto-pause. They also intrinsically support Alexa and Google Assistant.
TheBose Music app, available for both Android and Apple devices, is one of the best we have seen in a while. The first thing you will notice is the amount of granular controls it offers. It allows you to adjust headphone controls, update firmware, and use the equalizer. You can also control minor details like enabling or disabling voice prompts.
However, the most impressive has to be the detailed ANC-level controls. On the app, you can set the ANC from 1 to 11 and even assign preset levels to cycle through on tap. Note that these levels integrate noise cancellation and ambient mode. So, the lower the ANC, the more the mics will join the chorus and pick up the surrounding sounds. At level 1, your surroundings are fully audible.
TheSony Headphones Connect appgives you standard options like firmware update, equalizer control, and controls customization, along with more power over ANC and enables Sony 360 Reality Audio. One good thing here is that the equalizer settings get saved directly in the headphone firmware. Oh, and now they also support spatial audio.
The catch here is more ethical than technical. Sony asks for a lot of personal information to enable features — information that it doesn’t seem like they’d really need.
Connectivity
Being newer, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones connect via Bluetooth 5.2, channeling through the SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs. The LDAC connectivity works fabulously with the new 30mm drivers, provided you have some lossless files to utilize it.
In the case of the Bose 700s, they’re Bluetooth 5.0 all the way, while supporting only SBC and AAC codecs. That’s not too much of a loss since 1) most people still don’t use lossless streaming, and 2) SBC has actually improved a lot over time, and nowadays, it is almost comparable to aptX.
Both headphones offer multipoint connectivity and have very stable connections within range, even when there’s a wall in the way.
Battery life
Sony wins the battery round hands down with over 30 hours of playtime with ANC on. In comparison, Bose has only 20 hours of battery life when the ANC is on max settings — reduce it, and you will see some dramatic improvement in battery performance. Additionally, the Bose Music app lets you set a timer to turn the cans off at a scheduled time or after a certain duration.
The trusty old Bose 700s or the new XM5s?
Choose the Sony WH-1000XM5 for strong ANC, great sound, and extra goodies like 360 Audio and spatial audio. And don’t forget about the LDAC support.
Best-sounding headphones on the market
Get your money’s worth from the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones with their excellent ANC, great audio performance, and comfy build. You can also take advantage of advanced features such as LDAC, 360 Audio, and spatial audio — while the battery carries you through days on end.
Bose set the rules of the game with these venerable noise-cancelling headphones, which pack a stylish build and superb ANC, given the age, bolstered by extra granular app controls. There has yet to be another set of headphones in the same vein.
Super sleek
The absolutely stunning design of the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 headphones will grab your attention every time. Their ANC remains excellent years after launch, and they have the edge over the Sony cans for those who need precise and granular app controls.
