One more year Sony renews the most acclaimed range of its family of headphones. We are obviously talking about WH-1000X, a family of headband headphones that with the fifth generation aim to offer sound excellence with quality sound and unique noise cancellation.
First impressions
We have had the opportunity to receive a test unit, and the first thing that strikes you when reviewing them is that their design has changed significantly, offering a slimmer and more dynamic body thanks to a new thinner headband and a connection with the slimmer units without the possibility of folding, something that is directly related to the design of the new travel cover.
Accustomed to having a more compact case (but also bulkier), the proposal now comes with an origami-like case that extends its length due to the new structure of the headphones, but which gains the advantage of being able to be crushed to occupy less space when we are using headphones.
Do they sound better?
It is striking that Sony has reduced the diameter of the drivers, going from 40 mm to 30 mm in the new unit, but in reality, everything has an explanation. The drivers used are smaller, but they do not lose frequency range, since they are now better built with a carbon fiber membrane. This allows to reduce its size and the weight of the product.
The reinforced carbon fiber dome allows more mobility at high frequencies which, together with the thermoplastic polyurethane joint, achieves superior performance in the noise cancellation function.
Silence, it rolls
As expected, the noise cancellation function was going to be the star feature in this model, and if in the last generation we did not notice a major change compared to its predecessor in the way it isolates you from the world, this time we did notice more cancellation, but it is true that it is noticeable when you pay close attention.
Of course, the cancellation mode has improved a lot in windy situations, and all thanks to the incorporation of a total of 8 microphones (3 external and 1 internal in each earphone) that are responsible for analyzing the sound with much more precision. The experience as such is very similar to the previous generation, but we prefer to continue testing until we can draw a final conclusion after the first hours of use.
Taking care of the enviroment
In recent years Sony has been taking care of the packaging of its products with recycled boxes and recycled paper in order to care for the environment, but the intention has gone much further to the product itself, since these WH-1000XM5 have a body Made with recycled car plastic, something that gives it a very original look, but the feeling it gives us is of a slightly cheap product. At least first.
It is a somewhat strange sensation, since they feel very light (although only 4 grams less than the previous generation), and although the touch is very pleasant, the body packaging does not convince us too much.
How much does it cost?
These new WH-1000XM5 will be available in stores at the end of this month with a price of 450 euros, so it continues to be a high-end headset focused on a demanding audience. We do not doubt that it will be one of the great bets of the year, but we will tell you more about it in our next video analysis.