Exceptional ANC abilities; Superb sound quality; Wonderfully comfortable fit;

Companion app could be easier to get around; Some materials don’t feel as luxurious as others;

The Sony WF-1000XM5 are excellent all-rounders but, attractive new design aside, aren’t a huge improvement on their predecessors

Improved design; Adaptive Sound Control remains superb; Impressive features and app;

Better ANC available elsewhere; Only minor audio improvements; Slightly dearer than the XM4;

The Sony WF-1000XM5 may not be the easy homerun that previous iterations of this line have offered, but there's one area they continues to shine - and that's sound quality. Noise cancellation may no longer be market leading (but it's still very good), and its call quality might not be as good as others at this price, but its musical performance trumps its two biggest competitors at this price, and subtle tweaks to the EQ can - to my ear - get them sounding even better.

Dynamic, musical sound; Great battery life; Some genuinely useful features; Comfortable, improved design;

Noise cancelling isn't the strongest at this price; Call quality can be inconsistent;

Sony has thrown everything it can into these much smaller earbuds, and given us an extra set of foam tips so they fit perfectly. LDAC, the firm's top-tier DSEE upscaler, and Bluetooth 5.3 are all here, battery life is competitive, and the sound is 100% bona fide Sony quality. However, for us, connectivity drop-outs, average ANC performance, and an app that looks a little busy at this flagship level add up.

Agile, meaty and fun listen; Very comfortable and secure earpieces; Battery life maintained from XM4

ANC can be beaten; Occasional connectivity issues; On-ear volume control is a tad hit and miss

Los auriculares con mejor sonido; Increíble cancelación de ruido; Funciones inteligentes; Soporte Hi-Res;

Controles de volumen incómodos; A veces se sueltan; Algunos problemas de conexión;

Les écouteurs les plus performants que nous ayons testés; Un système de réduction de bruit incroyable; Fonctions intelligentes; Prise en charge Hi-Res;

Commandes tactiles du volume peu pratiques; Ne tiennent pas toujours en place; Quelques problèmes de connexion;

The best sounding earbuds ever; Incredible noise cancelling; Clever smart features; Hi-Res support;

Fiddly on-bud volume controls; Occasionally come loose; Some connection issues;

Exceptional ANC abilities; Superb sound quality; Wonderfully comfortable fit;

Companion app could be easier to get around; Some materials don’t feel as luxurious as others;