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Looks like a clear win for Sony, except for all the Apple specific features like device switching and spatial sound, which I’m personally quite fond of.

Conclusion: maybe not a clear win for Sony after all depending on how much you value those proprietary Apple features
 
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I think some people's priorities are like this:

1. Name
2. Are they made of metal?
3. Will people who see me be able to tell I'm using a premium product?
4. Are they Apple?
5. ...
.
.
83. What do they sound like?
*chef’s kiss*
 
Although I own the APM and enjoy them, I'm picking the XM5's up today to give them a try. I loved the XM4's and if these are an improvement they will become my travel pair of headphones while the APM are what I will use at home.
 
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Actually of all Apple's products I enjoy the combo of an OLED television, the Apple TV 4K, and a pair of Airpods Max the most. As I'm a big movie/tv show watcher.

And in terms of the Airpods Max price: how much does an Iphone 13 Pro Max cost or a Macbook Pro 16 inch cost? I hardly think $500 for a pair of headphones is the most 'exorbitant' purchase a person can make. But as other people have said it depends on your priorities.
 
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I agree with most of this, but in my experience the Sony noise reduction is much better, not "just a bit better".
 
And you can get a third party case that protects the phones too. There is no solution for not being able to turn them off, so they stupidly drain the battery fully when you leave them around, harming battery longevity.

Just as you can buy a $400 stand that allows you to adjust the Studio display (that somehow all other monitor manufacturers manage to include in their design) and you might be able to buy a third party solution that kinda lets you connect more than one computer. The power cord is still non-detacheable though.

There’s a clear pattern to what Apple is doing, and it’s not very nice.
First, I have dinged my APMs on things and thought for sure it would leave a mark, yet it didn’t. So the protection thing is hyperbole.

Second, they have multiple power down modes that disable features as the battery gets lower. Is this as ideal as powering them off? Probably not, but it isn’t that big of a deal either.

Third, even apple fans admit that Studio Display is not a good deal.
 
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It doesn't sound like this addresses anything else I'd want to see in an improved model, either. I love my XM4 - particularly sound quality, battery life, and 2 simultaneous connections - but there's always room for improvement:
  • The touch controls are awful. I hate them with a passion. It's way too easy to get the angle of swipe slightly off when trying to adjust the volume, and suddenly I've unintentionally skipped forward or backward a track. Terrible interface. So of course they kept that!
I second that. I find the Sony controls an absolute mess.

Also, when the air is humid the sensor for auto-off when the phones are removed malfunctions.

I doubt that Apple’s market share is significant enough for Sony to copy, but Bose’s is, and the 700s don’t fold. Breakage is probably the major factor.
 
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I was at the Apple store last week to have my Apple Watch battery serviced and saw a lady buy a pair of AirPods max, so yes, there are definitely people paying full price for them even as we speak.

Also, while I am aware that Amazon sells them for ~20% off, it’s reviews like this which give me pause.
68582a6cd4c2bf812c7a0ac6f7e8cdb2.png

Not sure how widespread this is, but I imagine that’s how these products can sometimes be sold at a discount.
Exactly, this is from their used stock most likely which I doubt they do anything other than a visual inspection. I'll never buy anything refurbished or used unless it's directly from Apple.
 
In a world where the APM didn't exist, I'd probably be all over these Sonys. Not a fan of touch controls, myself, but the rest of it sounds appealing.
 
I really cannot believe that we live in a world where people are happy paying half a thousand dollars for headphones. It’s…not normal? Who is buying these? People with limitless expendable income? Seriously. Half a thousand dollars for headphones. Doesn’t anyone question what the mark-up is on these? What the margins are? Doesn’t anyone value the power of the dollar anymore?

What if I told you I spent $1000 on earbuds? LOL

I probably have about $5k invested in portable audio, which is a LOT lower than a LOT of other people. Check out www.headfi.com if you want your mind blown.

I own the Sony XM3s and the APM. The XM3s have great ANC but the sound is so bad that I typically would wear sennheiser IE800S IEMs on planes and then put the XM3s over them and use the XM3s just for ANC and the IE800S for listening.

The APM is good enough sound quality that I don't feel the need to do that and can just wear the headphones (the IE800S still sound better, but not THAT much better). I would be curious to try the XM5 to see how good the ANC is, as I find that the APM ANC is inconsistent. Sometimes it is incredible, but then I will turn my head and the algorithm will "adapt" and all the sudden the ANC sucks.

The APM are wonderful headphones for movie watching with an Apple TV and spatial audio. I bought them intending this to be their only use, but find myself wearing them with my computer for general use more than my Sennheiser HD650 due to the cordless nature. Once again, the HD650 with a RME ADI-2 DAC sounds better for sure, but if I'm not doing super critical listening the APM are good enough to substitute while giving me ANC and wireless freedom.

The product is not perfect, but it is worth the price for me. I wish the next version had earcups that folded like my Sonys do and a real case...that would make them close to perfect.
 
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First of all, the AirPods Max win out when it comes to naming. WH-1000XM4 was a mouthful, and WH-1000XM5 is no better.

[…] but connecting the WH-1000XM5 to an Apple device is not quite as convenient as Apple's quick pairing method with the AirPods Max.
Tbf, if it weren’t for the AirPods Max to be the first iteration, they’d be named something like „AirPods Max (2. Generation)“ which also sounds a bit bulky.

Without the generational indicators it’s WH-1000X versus AirPods Max.

I once had the XM3 - and the bluetooth switching was a pain in the ass.
I agree, the necessary re-pairing to switch devices was very cumbersome - and in some use cases still is since even the M4’s multi-device pairing supports only two simultaneous connections.

But mostly you’ve got to blame Apple for that inconvenience as the WH-1000X has featured ‘one touch listening’ since the first generation.

If Apple had incorporated the standard for Bluetooth pairing via NFC into iOS, all you’d have to do is tap the headphones with your phone to switch the active device.

This is a good showcase of why Apple arbitrarily limits the iPhone’s NFC capabilities: Here it is to make the pairing process of their own accessories seem far superior (‘magical’) when it is actually just somewhat more comfortable.
 
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That doesn’t really make the inputs the same, though, does it?
Oh I get it, but saying, “I lose the ability to translate my Analog to Digital” isn’t really any better than just using a good digital option to begin with. The APMs sound fantastic and the Spatial audio is so good I have to test them to make sure I’m really hearing the Audio in my headset and not from my stereo. Even with my high end Sennheiser cans, I never had that experience.
 
I have the xm5 and the AirPods max and I like the Sony better. Don’t get me wrong I love the AirPods max but for me it’s the weight of them (yes some say it doesn’t bother them but it does give me fatigue) with the xm5 so far they are lighter and to me more comfortable. Of there was like a sport AirPods max with the same AMC etc I would be all over that.
 
Main thing is
Oh I get it, but saying, “I lose the ability to translate my Analog to Digital” isn’t really any better than just using a good digital option to begin with. The APMs sound fantastic and the Spatial audio is so good I have to test them to make sure I’m really hearing the Audio in my headset and not from my stereo. Even with my high end Sennheiser cans, I never had that experience.
Still cannot work without battery...
 
The ANC is not as good in the Max, it has less hardware for it. This is the first ANC that even tries to address the higher frequencies such as talk and high pitched sounds. Mic quality seems slightly better than max, vastly better than xm4 & 3. Sound is slightly better, much better than xm4. More natural sounding, less matted sound. The fit around the ears are better. They weigh less. They look cooler. They are a generation ahead of apple
The sound profile is similar to apple but lacks in the clarity of nuance in such virtuosos as produced by Harry Styles. Harkening back to the days of the Walkman, Sony has finally remembered that big plastic is in and here to stay.

Cheers, I say, to such a visionary design, lower price point and a name that articulates sheer raw engineering prowess.

May they next tackle the heavy and metallic phones with their harsh lines and oh so heaviness. What average adult male wouldn’t give solid coin for such a revolutionary concept in a smartphone. Let’s have all the ports, all the plastic, and free us from this heavy and metallic nightmare Jony Ive unleashed upon us without warning. 🤪🤪🤡
 
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  • The touch controls are awful. I hate them with a passion. It's way too easy to get the angle of swipe slightly off when trying to adjust the volume, and suddenly I've unintentionally skipped forward or backward a track. Terrible interface. So of course they kept that!

I’m not sure why manufacturers thought this was a good idea. Touch interfaces don’t lend themselves well to every application, yet because they can, they do.

I prefer Apple’s dial and or Bose‘s physical buttons to control volume.
 
I always enjoy ready this comment because it makes me feel like I have a really strong head/neck. I wear them all day, everyday and barely feel them.

I think the number one issue is price, it just keeps what is a very good Apple accessory out of range of a huge chunk of Apple users.
The problem with the AirPods Max is that no matter how strong your neck is, the fact that they're so heavy makes them feel like they're going to fall off your head if you move around a lot. This makes them hard to wear when you're doing anything physical. That's why I returned mine and stuck with the lightweight Bose QC35.

If you're just sitting at your desk they're great. But if you're working around the house or up and about, they're always feeling like they're going to fall off.
 
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I haven’t tried the Sony cans yet, but the AirPod Max were way too heavy and uncomfortable for me as someone who slogs through 12+ hour flights on a regular basis.
 
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Been rocking the MX2's for a while now. Still solid and sound great. May upgrade to the MX 5 when the prices start to fall.
Still have mine. They just randomly stopped charging for weeks before I caved and got the MX4s to replace them. Decided to give them one last chance before recycling them and (of course) they work flawlessly again.
 
Considering comparable sound quality, better ANC, better case, and $100 less, it is fair to say the WH-1000XM5 are a much better value and if I decided to invest hundreds of dollars on headphones, I would buy the WH-1000XM5s first. Who cares about the name??

Side note: Kudos to MacRumors for a very objective review of both.?
 
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