Sony’s still excellent WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones are down to $250 for Black Friday. That’s $150 off the list price and equal to the all-time low (give or take a single cent) we saw on Prime Day. They may no longer be Sony’s flagship noise-canceling headphones, but if the WH-1000XM6 are out of your price range, these former Engadget favorites are well worth considering at this heavily reduced price.
We awarded the WH-1000XM5 a score of 95 in our 2022 review, praising the supremely comfortable redesign, sound quality and powerful ANC. Battery life is also very respectable at 30 hours. We found the punchy bass an improvement over their predecessors, and the overall sound deeper and more immersive than the M4 headphones. As for noise-canceling, Sony’s decision to double the number of microphones and processors used for ANC means an improvement in blocking higher frequency sounds, such as human voices. They aren’t entirely baby scream-proof, but then few headphones are.
Naturally, the WH-1000XM6 that this year replaced the M5 as Sony’s flagship model offers even better sound quality and noise cancellation, while remaining extremely comfortable throughout long listening sessions. But they’re also a lot more expensive at $450 — they’re on sale now for $398 for Black Friday, so you have the option to upgrade to the latest flagship if you’re willing to spend a bit more. However, we still think the XM5 deal is the best value for most people here.
