Amazon has pushed the Sony WH-1000XM5 back down to $198.00, a 50.5% cut from the $399.99 list price, according to Notebookcheck, which reported the deal on Friday. That ties the lowest price the headphones have reached on the retailer, and it's a return visit, not a first-time drop.
There's a catch. Only the smoky pink and midnight blue versions are in stock at that price, per Notebookcheck's report. If you want black or silver, you'll likely pay more or wait for the next round of markdowns.
The WH-1000XM5 has been around since 2022, but Sony hasn't pulled it from shelves even with the newer WH-1000XM6 now selling alongside it. The XM5 uses eight microphones for active noise cancellation and call pickup, running Sony's Adaptive Sound Control to adjust audio settings based on ambient conditions. Its Precise Voice Pickup system is built to isolate a caller's voice from background noise. Sony rates the battery at up to 30 hours with ANC switched on, with a 3.5-hour charge time.
What Hi-Fi? Named the WH-1000XM5 a 2024 Awards winner, praising what it called "sensational sonic clarity" and ANC that ranks "among the class leaders." The outlet did flag a weak spot, though: noise cancellation that wasn't "quite as consistent as the previous generation when dealing with variable sounds like general traffic noise." It also pointed to the newer WH-1000XM6, which packs a 12-microphone noise-cancelling array, as a "solid step up" from the XM5 on that front.
On the feature side, the XM5 can sense when it's on your head and resume playback automatically, and a tap gives quick access to personalized playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Apple Music or Endel. Voice commands work through Google Assistant or Alexa for hands-free control, and Speak-to-Chat pauses music the moment you start talking to someone nearby. A recent firmware update added spatial audio with head tracking for music and supported games.
Audio quality leans on 30mm carbon-fiber composite drivers with a frequency response of 4 Hz to 40 kHz, which covers the full range Sony's Hi-Res Audio LDAC codec needs for high-resolution Bluetooth playback. Lower-bitrate files get run through DSEE Extreme, Sony's AI upscaling tool meant to restore detail lost to compression.
At $198, the XM5 undercuts the newer XM6 by a wide margin while keeping most of the feature set that made it a favorite among reviewers, minus the upgraded mic array. Deal pricing on Amazon shifts without warning, and Notebookcheck's own disclaimer notes the listed price was accurate only at the time of its report. Anyone eyeing the smoky pink or midnight blue stock at $198 should check current availability before assuming the price still holds.
DDFiled by The Deals Desk
Price drops and sales on tech worth buying, with the price, the retailer and the time it was reported. Prices move; every deal says when it was seen.
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