In today’s M2 MacBook Pro setup, the user stores one of the best-reviewed sets of wireless, over-ear headphones of all time on a stand over to the side. The cans are almost easy to miss in the photograph, but well worth noticing. AirPods Max competitor Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, in a Mac setup, make for a relatively rare sight. But they’re often at or near the top of “best of” lists — not just for great sound and a comfortable fit, but especially for their vaunted noise cancellation.
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M2 MacBook Air setup includes stellar Sony Wh-1000XM5 headphones on stand
Sony's flagship over-ear Bluetooth headphones feature class-leading noise cancellation and the comfort of soft synthetic leather earcups. They include the powerful Processor V1, four beamforming microphones and up to 30-hour battery life. Choice of four colors.
- Class-leading noise cancellation
- High-quality audio with LDAC
- Excellent comfort
- Fairly expensive at full price
- Not ideal for Apple integration
Redditor JasonF6 showcased the space-oriented, four-display MacBook Air setup with great audio in a post entitled, “3 monitors on an M2 Air.” In the shadow of a very cool Lego Saturn V rocket model (discontinued; current model in gear links list below), he runs an M2 MacBook Air open on a stand as a fourth small display. The three external displays are a pair of 27-inch Dell 1440p-resolution LED monitors and a 15.6-inch Asus Zenscreen MB166C portable USB-C 1080p display run through a Ugreen Revdock. And over on the setup’s left side sits a set of headphones widely considered to be one of the best in their class: Sony WH-1000XM5 over-ear noise-canceling headphones.
So last week I looked at the capable Ugreen dock and its connectivity. Today I’ll look a little more closely at those highly touted Sony cans.
With two processors controlling eight microphones, the cans enjoy Sony marketing that flat-out claims they have “the best noise cancellation*” (with that asterisk: “*As of April 10, 2023. According to research by Sony Corporation, measured using JEITA-compliant guidelines for the top 10 brands (by market share) of headband-style of wireless noise-canceling headphones market.”) Well, that phrasing makes better sense if you leave off the word “market” at the end, and the testing methodology isn’t exactly clear. But let’s not quibble.
Sony WH-1000XM5 noise-canceling headphones
Photo: [email protected]
Released in May 2022, Sony WH1000-XM5, currently marked down to $328 from $400 on Amazon, are the latest in a long line of XM cans from the electronics giant that have garnered great reviews. The highest praise usually goes to the active noise cancellation. The headphones appear all over the place on “best” and “top 10” lists, often in the top spot or at the top of a subcategory (like ANC). This was also true going back through previous models like XM4 and XM3.
Sony’s top wireless over-ear headphones sit near the top of the same tier as Apple’s aging-and-only-mildly-refreshed-in-September AirPods Max ($549 $449.99). That also places them alongside leading contenders from Bose (QuietComfort Ultra, $429 $329), Bowers & Wilkins (PX7 S2E, $399 $299), Sennheiser (Momentum 4, $379.95 $349.95) and others.
And some of those lists of the best headphones, by the way, now include some of my favorite (relative) upstarts in mid-range and budget categories, like Soundcore, Edifier and EarFun. Those are great if you want to spend about half as much as the top products cost, or less, for great cans. It’s like when people such as myself choose the excellent Beats Studio Pro — which I got for $159 — over the pricier AirPods Max.
One reason Mac fans might choose AirPods Max or Beats Studio Pro over a great option like Sony’s XM5 is simply that the Apple and Beats headphones are made for the Apple ecosystem. Functionality like Bluetooth pairing is seamless. And the Sony cans cater directly to Android users with some features that Apple users can’t fully enjoy, like Sony’s stellar high-resolution LDAC codec.
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones specifications:
- Closed-back dynamic headphones with 30mm drivers
- Noise canceling with ambient sound mode
- Charging: USB-C
- Battery life for music playback: Up to 30 hrs with ANC on or 40 hrs with ANC off
- Battery charge time: 3.5 hrs
- Bluetooth v5.2 (32.81-foot range)
- Frequency response: 4Hz–40,000Hz (JEITA)
- Frequency response (active operation): 4Hz-40,000Hz
- Frequency response (Bluetooth communication): 20Hz–20,000Hz (44.1 kHz Sampling) 20 Hz–40,000 Hz (LDAC 96 kHz Sampling 990 kbps)
- Supported audio formats: SBC, AAC, LDAC
- Impedance (Ohm): 48 ohm (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned on), 16 ohm (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned off)
- Input(s): Stereo mini jack
- Sensitivities (dB/mW) 102 dB (1 kHz) / mW (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned on), 100 dB (1 kHz) / mW (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned off)
- Weight: 8.82 oz
- Color choices: black, midnight blue, silver, smoky pink
Shop these items now:
Sony's flagship over-ear Bluetooth headphones feature class-leading noise cancellation and the comfort of soft synthetic leather earcups. They include the powerful Processor V1, four beamforming microphones and up to 30-hour battery life. Choice of four colors.
- Class-leading noise cancellation
- High-quality audio with LDAC
- Excellent comfort
- Fairly expensive at full price
- Not ideal for Apple integration
Audio:
Computers, dock and stand:
Displays, mounts and light bar:
- 15.6-inch Asus Zenscreen MB166C 1080p USB portable monitor
- 27-inch Dell UltraSharp U2724DE wide 1440p LED monitors (2)
- Computer Monitor Lamp
- Bontec monitor arms
Input devices:
Decor:
Furniture:
If you would like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-res pictures to [email protected] (iPhone pics usually work fine). Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or dislike about your setup, and fill us in on any special touches, challenges and plans for new additions.
