Sony WH-1000XM5 vs AirPods Max | I'm Disappointed

Was ready to bite the bullet and spend money on the airpods max. They hurt my head after 5 minutes, they sound great, the case is stupid and obviously leather which apple doesnt state anywhere officially. Sent them back. Got XM5's on a deal, which were less than half the price of the airpods and i immediately loved everything about them

i got a xm5 and i hated the sound quality and lack of bass personally prefer the airpods max

I respect the take but definitely not a good take on the sound quality. 1. you failed to mention that it supports LDAC so iphone will not be able to take advantage of it but even so, most other reviewers say the complete opposite of what you said. This even included an experienced audio engineer. Was supposed to take a look at your other videos but it seems like this is what I can expect out of the rest of them. sorry

I’m still running the XM2 👌

You have to turn of "Focus on Voice" in the Ambient Sound Control. This will give you the best experience with this Headphone....

as a person with an iphone 14 pro max, apple watch, ipad, m2 macbook, airpod pros, air pod 2’s, sony WF-1000XM5, and now these Sony WH-1000XM5, imma stick with these over the airpod max’s. during my runs and out and about, like with the days i have class, i’ll use my airpod pros or the sony ear buds. for long wears, travel, and sleep on travel, these xm5’s are the best. the sound is so natural. the audio is clear as can be. they are insanely comfy. and lastly, they block out other sounds that only bose can compete with. truly beautiful headphones i gotta say. the touch controls on the side, where i can tap, slide to increase/decrease volume. slide to change song, and SLOWLY slide to scrub through a song is insane. the only downside imo is the fact there isn’t a touch to turn on/off noise canceling when people want to approach me. but regardless, i found that as super disrespectful and will always decup or take out a bud when talking to someone. all in all y’all (lol) 10/10.

i just need to figure a way i can connect these to my ps5🤔

edit: my dumb self had not realized that there’s a physical button on the left cup that turns on/off the ANC 💀🤷🏻

I own the XM4 and have tried the XM5 and Airpods Max. I agree with what Marc says, the XM4 sounds better than the XM5, music is more exciting. As for the Airpods Max music it's even more exciting but can get more fatiguing on extended listening sessions due to the presence of more information on the top spectrum. Airpods Max stole my heart when I listened Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach. I'm about to get some Airpods Max just for the spatial audio on some Dolby Atmos tracks and for audio reference on mastering audio for some final touches to add that little sparkle of excitement that caught on me. For Zoom calls I still prefer a good Jabra headset, from Evolve2 75 and up, people on my calls have told me that they hear me best through them. I used to have for some days the Jabra Elite 85H for half the price and while I think they are great and the music equalization is Ok and similar to the Airpods Max, it sounds artificial and with a lack on dynamism on the mid bass, Airpods Max are fine here. For long listening sessions I cannot recommend any, I don't do that anymore on headphones, it hurts, and I recommend any young mate on this to don't use headphones more than 30 minutes a day (I'm just worried about your future). If you work on a support call center wearing a headset all day, look for another job!

Here in the UK, you can't get a new pair of Airpods Max for less than £499. Meanwhile the XM5s are £239 on Amazon. Pretty easy choice for me!! I also have an Android phone so according to your review the sound quality will be better than what you experienced. To be honest, I wouldn't put it past Apple to have intentionally reduced the sound quality of competing headphones by using outdated or poor quality drivers for non-Apple headphones.

I personally believe the call quality of the AirPods Max sounds better in Both scenarios. The XM5's seem muffled. Just a thought!

XM5 feel & sound better than the XM4

lol this review is trash.. i have both XM3/4 and XM5 sound so much better to my ears. They are more balanced and sound a bit more like my Sennheisers.

Daaaamn, XM5 sounds like a garbage? Wow, this guy has a ear damaged

I just got the XM5s for Christmas. They are really muddy and it is driving me insane. Not sure what to do.

That muddy sound is exactly why I returned it. No thank you! The sound has to hit. Apple Max will be my go-to from now on. The high fidelity is missing in the sony, and I won't be buying them until they get over their stupid grudge with apple and make their headphones comparable to what you would get with Apple max. I'll gladly pay the extra money for better sound. Sound quality will always be my priority.

The XM5 will break where the headphone connects to the headband, just like the XM4 it's a weak point that's too fragile for lots of daily use, they are delicate and that's a problem.

XM4 rn $240!!

I tried them as well and I was shocked at how poor they are.
I don't understand how other reviewers rate them so highly ?
I use Momentum 4 wireless and I think they are the best headphones in this price bracket.

Go with the xm5 they are better than the xm4, also they're on sale now. Not sure why your headphones sounded so bad sound like something was wrong with them, or your phone. Or maybe your ears lol. The air pods max are too heavy. the battery sucks, and the anc just isnt as good,

You know what, maybe I am an apple head and that's all hmmm

I think the problem with the sound might really be related to Apple being dicks towards non-Apple products... They actually worsen foto quality from Android phones if the fotos are sent to iPhones, and I could imagine that plays a factor there.

Dont buy apple airpod max zero durability my head phone dead now

airpod max is better with apple but sony is better with android especially sound

this felt more liker a XM4 vs XM5 than APM tbh.

i just got the xm5s and there great 10/10

Why are you wearing that mouth diper? Down vote.

I love the wh1000xm5. They are an amazing pair and play better with me. I am an Android User. I'm deep in the Samsung ecosystem and these over the ear cans have been amazing. They're lightweight and feel comfortable in the head the headband could use more padding, but that's just me nitpicking. Although it's very comfortable. I have enjoyed the headphones now that they've been with me for around a week or so. The noise canceling is amazing. It does cancel a lot of the high frequency noises and the low end ones. I think the best part is when you're walking and listening to music you don't listen to a conversations that are around you another good thing would be speech to talk. But I really don't use that only because the occasions where you want to sing whatever you're listening to and once you open your mouth, it assumes that you're talking and it cuts off the music now for me the best part would be the ear cup function where you put your ear your hand. I mean over the cup and it goes into transparency mode, then you're able to listen to the people around you and have conversations.

How much did apple pay you? Didnt even show the ridiculous bra-case))

wrong title my dude. stop talking about the shitm4s, nobody cares!!!11!!!11!!

I agree, the sound quality was a big downgrade. Unpasable for a flagship.

omg that wan chai in HK!!

I completely agree in comparing the XM5s with XM4s. I think the XM4s are incredible and I noticed the sound quality difference immediately when I put on the XM5s.

Am I the only one who thinks this guy would be a good actor for sipderman?

Sony look bulky , cheap plastic, still hot when wearing, apple looks premium, better quality

Airpod max sounds great but their mic is the worst i have ever experienced…9 out of 10 calls the person i am talking to would say they are unable to hear me or a lot of echo…replaced the headphones since i was sure it was not for all airpod max but just the piece i hav and boy it failed again…x5 are way to better…mic quality of airpod max is 2/10 n song x5 is 9/10

On Android, you can use Sony's LDAC encoding whereas you can't do that with an iPhone

wow - fantastic review! i had the xm-4s for about a year and left them on a plane 😩 so i decided to get the 5s about a month ago and don’t love the fit. couldn’t really compare sound quality of course and have also considered the airpods max but you have convinced me to return the 5s and get another pair of 4s. thank you!

Android user here, I bought the XM5 because my XM3s finally broke after 6 years of wearing them everyday multiple hours a day. The update is crazy for me, I love them already.

As much as I like Apple, I am now beginning to not like Apple products for a few reasons not worth mentioning. lol. . To me xm5 sounds great and much more comfortable than the AirPod max I also have. I haven’t used my AirPod max over 6 months. Xm5 has the best fit to me and I think it depends on head shape. People with thin heads find it comfortable and people with bigger heads do not like the AirPod max. It is quite heavy to be honest. And -Apple, why the antiquated lightning cable? I use xm5 with my Apple 15 pro max over my AirPod max. It’s just too heavy and I do not like the material they use for the ear cuffs. The bass quality is not as great on the AirPod max as it is a lot better on xm5 but not as quite as bass heavy on xm4.

This video is from 1 year ago and apple still has not released a new version of those headphones. LOL

2023 should I got for the APM or Bose 700 / Sony XM5. I'm not sure where to spend my money for tidal music listening through both bluetooth and cable.

Agree. XM5 does not sound good.

I mean.. there's a 250 dollar difference between the two

Should I buy the xm5 or the xm4 model? They both cost the same here and I want an overall good headphone for music/studying/gaming/general use.

I also want something that is more durable, something that lasts longer. I also don't really travel much. But I do really like ANC/Transparency.

This is where we see the preference being subjective coming in hard. I did extensive research and testing when buying a new pair of headphones. In the end, it all came down between Sony XM5/XM4, Apple Airpods Max and the Bose NC 700. I also have an extensive apple ecosystem so, that was already a headstart for the Airpods Max but, even though I could shell out some more $ for the airpods Max, I wanted the best ones for listening to music even if they cost some more. However, I was always blown away by the sound quality of the XM5s whenever I heard them and the Airpods Max , while good, were not better than XM5s IMO. This didn't justify going the Airpods Max route even if I did lose out on the convenience of the apple ecosystem or the better transparency mode. I could do without these features and it's not like XM5s are bad at them, they are just not as good as the Airpods Max in those 2 areas. In all other departments, the XM5s wins hands down for me.

I just new Sony XM5 from Walmart for $325 while the cheapest I could find Airpop Max headphones was at $479. What made me go Sony was USB-C, Android/Apple/Windows support, better case, and being to use a 3.5mm jack out of the box.

The best choice overall is the B&O H95 or B&W Px8 for Apple or Android users.

Apple fanboi needs to wear hat and glasses and needs the clamping force of the jaws of a salt-water crocodile. Will buy 2 XM5s with that price tag. Overpriced trash.😂😂😂

XM5's all day easy!

“If you really want to debate Xm-5s vs Apple AirPod Pro Max, AirPod Max it is” how?