Deal | Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones with Hi-Res Audio and 8-mic ANC drop to near-lowest price ever

Amazon has given the Sony WH‑1000XM5 headphones their near-biggest discount ever. The Sony WH‑1000XM5 headphones are now $199.99, a 50% discount off their $399.99 MSRP, with the silver, smoky pink, and black models all included through this weekend.

The WH-1000XM5 headphones were What Hi-Fi?'s 2024 Awards winner, with "sensational sonic clarity" and active noise cancellation (ANC) that is "among the class leaders".

The ANC headphones use eight microphones to analyze and cancel out unwanted background noise from music and calls. Adaptive Sound Control actively monitors the ambient noise and uses AI to optimize sound settings for the best music playback. AI-powered Precise Voice Pickup technology separates voices from background noise so users are heard clearly during calls. The WH-1000XM5 headphones have a runtime of up to 30 hours with ANC on, and a charge time of 3.5 hours, according to Sony.

But for those often standing next to a busy street, they found the ANC performance not "quite as consistent as the previous generation when dealing with variable sounds like general traffic noise." Also, Sony's newest WH-1000XM6 headphones (sold here on Amazon) with a 12-mic noise cancelling system offer even better ANC that is a "solid step up" from its predecessor.

The WH-1000XM5 is packed with convenient features and can sense when it is worn to automatically resume music playback and offers quick tap access to start playing personalized Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Apple Music, or Endel playlists. It can respond to requests for the Google or Alexa voice assistant, allowing users to adjust headphone settings, make calls, and play music touch-free. Additionally, Speak-to-Chat automatically pauses music playback when users start speaking to others.

The headphones can also deliver immersive spatial audio with head tracking with the latest firmware update when playing music or compatible games such as Ingress from Niantic (read the origin story in this book from Amazon).

The 30 mm carbon-fiber composite drivers have a frequency response of 4 Hz to 40 kHz, covering the 20 Hz to 40 kHz frequency response of Hi-Res Audio LDAC audio codec when playing high-resolution music over Bluetooth connections. Lower quality audio files are AI-upscaled using DSEE Extreme to restore lost details.

Buy the Sony WH‑1000XM5 headphones before the limited time offer vanishes.

Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.