MDR V6 is my all time favorite. Most balanced headphones in my opinion. I also have the WF-XM3 as well as the WH-XM3 but V6 is ahead of them despite being a 30+ year old design.
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Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones Leak Reveals New Design, Enhanced ANC, and Battery Life
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Well, these are quite different products.
Yes, you're probably going to be disappointed with the sound of the XM3s/XM4s when used as studio monitors or reference headphones. But you're also going to be disappointed with the noise cancellation capabilities, battery life, and wireless range of the MDR V6!
I think I can say that considering I have owned a lot of different headphones.
I also did music production for over 10
years.
I’ve tried at least 5 pairs of different Sony headphones and they were the worst sounding of all the headphones I’ve tried.
Xm3 to me sounded like a muddy mess, too much low quality bass.
1/3 of the price Audiotechnica headphones sounded better to me.
Sony has good ANC but that’s about it.
I now own the Airpods Max and they also sound worse than let’s say Sennheiser Momentum 3, but Sennheiser’s headphones have other downsides.
If you want good audio, you simply don’t choose Sony. People who praise them probably never tried other brands like Sennheiser.
The last pair I tried was the Sony’s PS5 headset and it sounded like 20£ headphones lol. Narrow and flat sound.
These look very little like AirPods max — Bowers&Wilkins is the answer we were looking for.
Haven't owned a pair of Sony headphones since high school)) But sadly Bowers&Wilkins decided to stop making great headphones, and AirPods max are some of the ugliest out there(imho), so you never know — maybe it's back to the classics 
They look like the Bose NC 700 and unfortunately they even have the non folding design. Hard Pass.
Knowing how active noise canceling works, I think we are hitting a limit on how effective it can be. I love my Airpod Max, but without audibly sealing out the sound before ANC kicks in I think that it can't get too much better. I'd love to be proven wrong though...
Yeah I feel like they copied the wrong aspect. I’d have loved a dial or buttons instead of the touch controls on the XM4. No
This may have been answered already but that sounds like speak to chat. It’s incredibly annoying but can be disabled by a long two finger tap on the right cup.
Never have had Bowers&Wilkins, I had heard a lot of people really liked them a lot. I did not know however that they had quit producing headphones. Me I’ve always been a Sennheiser fan first and foremost. I do have a set of AirPods Pro but here lately it seems to be having connectivity issues. I hope I got that stopped time will tell and aHaven't owned a pair of Sony headphones since high school)) But sadly Bowers&Wilkins decided to stop making great headphones, and AirPods max are some of the ugliest out there(imho), so you never know — maybe it's back to the classics
pair of Bose QC ANC earbuds, those are better than the AirPod pros in both bass and noise cancellation but I’m thinking about the Sennheiser true wireless Momentum 2’s and see how they are.
I love how the article implies that Apple users only buy these because they don’t want to spend the extra money on Apple’s headphones. Maybe we just prefer the sound and features of the Sony’s?
Oh they hadn't stopped making them altogether, the ones the do make just don't seem very high end. The pair that I've had since '13, feels 5 times more premium than ones the offer now.
I never even tried the pros — I hate the aesthetic. And this is coming from someone who loves apple's design, of course there are exceptions
All I need them to do is allow you to charge and listen at the same time. I replaced some older headphones with the XM4s and they were really disappointing. It's the little things that Sony just completely misses
Correct, of course. No noise cancellation, either!
And why would that be expected - the MDR-V6 (as well as very similar MDR-7506) is a ~30 year old design!! Great headphones nevertheless. I purchased mine in 2013!
Trinitron, Walkman, Playstation.. Sony has a history of giving their products unique names.
The fact they name their stuff now with confusing serial numbers reflects a lazy marketing attitude. No surprise as a brand Sony is shadow of what it used to be. They used to be fun, now they're 123XYZ...
What would be a better name for headphones than "Sony Headphone + Model number", Airpods Max surely not.
When i read "Sony Headphone XM5", I see it's an headphone with some Model number, an instantly recognizable product.
When i read Apple AirPod Max, this reads like an oversized sanitary towel to me, extra soft and absorbent with max protection, then i look at it and see a bra case, and I WTF, maybe some disposable bra pads for after breast feeding, and walk away.
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Interesting... I've had the XM2's, XM3's, and now the XM4's; alongside the AirPods Max (and Pros) and the Sony's sound better in my opinion.
And it's just that "an opinion". The Sony's are also a heck of lot easier to wear for longer periods but (and this is the clincher) the AirPods Max integration with iDevices such as every Mac, iPhone, iPad and AppleTV in the house makes them ever more attractive in that respect.
The XM5's do look very nice indeed, but it's a shame they're dumping the foldable arms... hey ho.
Hate to reuse a tired old meme, but in my case I found I was “wearing them wrong” in the case of AirPods Max. They were very uncomfortable at launch, until I put the band way further back on my head than I do on other headphones, and suddenly the weight distribution was perfect and ever since I barely feel like I’m wearing them.
The XM4’s are equally comfy for me, but the passthrough ambient mode is far better on APM imo, like you’re not wearing headphones. The XM4’s, the pass through isn’t as good thus I remember I’m wearing them.
Love the XM4’s for travel/work, they’re faaaaar more practical in terms of size and power management.
I use the APM in the house where I massively prefer them to the XM4’s. Both function wise (I’ve completely come around to always on in the specific case of APM for home use), seamless switching between devices, an area the XM4’s are….okay most of the time, but not all of the time.
Sound quality, it’s no contest for my ears, APM by a mile - wider soundstage, less compressed. No matter how much I mess with the EQ on XM4, they always sound more compressed and narrower.
ANC, not much in it. I think the APM just pip the XM4’s.
If I could only have one it would grudgingly have to be the XM4’s due to how utterly impractical I find the APM on the go. I’d hate to be without the APM though, easily my favourite Apple purchase for years given how much I use them, even beyond my M1 Pro MBP.
The XM4’s are equally comfy for me, but the passthrough ambient mode is far better on APM imo, like you’re not wearing headphones. The XM4’s, the pass through isn’t as good thus I remember I’m wearing them.
Love the XM4’s for travel/work, they’re faaaaar more practical in terms of size and power management.
I use the APM in the house where I massively prefer them to the XM4’s. Both function wise (I’ve completely come around to always on in the specific case of APM for home use), seamless switching between devices, an area the XM4’s are….okay most of the time, but not all of the time.
Sound quality, it’s no contest for my ears, APM by a mile - wider soundstage, less compressed. No matter how much I mess with the EQ on XM4, they always sound more compressed and narrower.
ANC, not much in it. I think the APM just pip the XM4’s.
If I could only have one it would grudgingly have to be the XM4’s due to how utterly impractical I find the APM on the go. I’d hate to be without the APM though, easily my favourite Apple purchase for years given how much I use them, even beyond my M1 Pro MBP.
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Tell me about it.
I've had my B&O H95s for a year and a half.. and they are much more $$ than the PodsMax - clean as a whistle.
But the inference is that we are settling.
Also have the Sony XM4s which are great all rounders and for work.
