Sony WH-1000XM5 vs Apple AirPods Max: which noise-cancelling headphones are better?

For years, Sony has consistently produced some of the best noise-cancelling headphones we have tested. Its latest model in the premium wireless over-ear market, the WH-1000XM5, blew us away with their sensational sonic clarity and strong noise cancellation, and have won the What Hi-Fi? Award in their category two years on the trot.

Sony has invariably faced plenty of competition: Sennheiser and Bose have always knocked on the door. But in recent years, so has Apple. In 2020, the iPhone maker boldly released its first over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, at a considerably higher price point, and they scored top marks for their exquisite design, cinematic spatial audio and next-level sound quality. This year, Apple updated the AirPods Max – but only with new colour finishes and a USB-C charging port, so our comparisons here between the Sony XM5 and AirPods Max remain relevant.

These two top-class headphones are class leaders at their price point to this very day – so which should you choose? Having thoroughly tested and lived with both pairs since their respective release dates, we have compared their specs, designs, comfort, noise-cancelling performance and sound quality below to help guide your buying decision.

Written by

Written by

Becky Roberts

As an Android user, the Sony WH-1000XM5 have been my everyday wireless headphones since they arrived a couple of years ago, and represent great value as much today as they did back then thanks to specs that have remained competitive and a discounted price. I'm very happy with them. When the AirPods Max came along, their price was bold – but I believe they justify it with a sound, design and feature offering above the calibre of that delivered by the Sonys (and other rivals). I particularly fell for their comfortable fit and, when watching movies, spatial audio. If I were an iPhone user with cash to burn, I would be tempted to switch.

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: price

Both pairs are flagship models. The WH-1000XM5 sit at the very top of Sony's wireless over-ear line, above the WH-C720N, while the AirPods Max are currently Apple's only over-ears.

The AirPods Max are – and probably always will be – the pricier pair. They launched in 2020 at £549 / $549 / AU$899, and despite their age that RRP has held up pretty well. We have seen them discounted by as much as £/$/AU$100 during sales events such as Black Friday (November) and Amazon Prime Day (July and October), but a price drop of around 10 per cent is more typical outside of these times.

That said, now that the refreshed AirPods Max 2 have arrived – and at the same price – we could soon see the originals discounted by an unprecedented amount as the final stock makes way for the new USB-C variant.

The Sony WH-1000XM5, meanwhile, are significantly more affordable. In 2022, they launched more in line with previous WH-1000XM models and rivals from Sennheiser and Bose at £380 / $399 / AU$550, but they can now often be picked up for around £260 / $280 / AU$500.

Today's best prices for both pairs are below.

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM5**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: design

• AirPods Max justify their premium price with a more luxury build
• AirPods Max come in a choice of colours; Sonys are black or silver
• Sonys sport a much better carrying case

The Sony WH-1000XM5 sport a different design from their predecessors, the multi-award-winning WH-1000XM4. Their radical revamp incorporates a "noiseless design" (old joints and hinges have been removed to create a seamless look) and eco-friendly plastic formed from recycled car parts. Our in-house reviews team noted that the XM5 look less premium than their predecessor as a result, but we couldn't fault their wearability: "Comfort levels are up there with the best and the Sonys deliver just the right amount of clamping force, so they feel secure without threatening to crush our ears," reads our Sony XM5 review.

The Sonys do, however, look and feel almost cheap compared with the AirPods Max, which boast pristinely machined, single-piece anodised aluminium ear cups connected by a stainless-steel headband. Between the cups and your head are memory foam cushions that easily surround even the largest ears, creating a seal that our expert reviewers described as "both gentle and surprisingly effective at physically blocking out sound" in our AirPods Max review.

Apple's extroverted styling may not be to everyone’s tastes, but hand someone a pair of AirPods Max and they will have no trouble believing that they cost a fair more than the Sony XM5.

Apple's use of premium materials means that the AirPods Max are significantly heavier than many wireless headphones at 385g; they weigh 135g more than the Sonys. That said, such is the effectiveness of the weight-distributing design that they don’t feel heavy on the head.

The Sonys are controlled using touch gestures on the surface of the right ear cup. You can tap and swipe to play/pause, adjust the volume and skip to the next track. It all works a treat – no concerns for us here.

Apple, on the other hand, has resisted the urge to integrate touch controls into the design of the AirPods Max. Instead, it uses physical controls: a button for switching between noise-cancelling modes and a volume dial inspired by the digital crown of the Apple Watch. The latter is an elegant solution, although it is a little too easy to knock when adjusting the headphones.

If style is important to you, you'll be pleased to hear that the AirPods Max come in a range of colours. The originals are available in five colours – Space Grey, Silver, Pink, Green, and Sky Blue – while the newly updated pair can be purchased in your choice of Midnight (black), Starlight (beige), Blue, Orange and Purple. Sony XM5 buyers are limited to just two rather sober finishes (black and silver).

The only design area where the Sonys pip the AirPods is with the supplied case. The WH-1000XM5 come with a decent, practical carrying case while the AirPods Max have a daft 'slip' case that barely covers the headphones.

**Winner: Apple AirPods Max**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: battery life

• The Sonys are competitive; the AirPods lag behind

The Sony XM5 manage an impressive 30 hours of use with noise-cancelling enabled. Switch noise-cancelling off, and you should be able to squeeze 40 hours out of them. Those fairly generous are increasingly common figures in the wireless headphones market (even at the more budget end), albeit not class-leading; the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, for example, offer 60 hours with ANC on.

For the AirPods Max, Apple stipulates a run time of 20 hours with both noise-cancelling and spatial audio (Apple's immersive audio processing technology; more on that later) enabled. As headphone manufacturers have pushed ahead with battery life, that figure has felt pretty scanty for a couple of years now, and sadly the newly updated AirPods Max do not improve that aspect of the design.

Stepping out in a hurry? The Sonys will get you out the door quickest, too. They provide three hours of playback from a three-minute charge, while the Apples offer 1.5 hours from a five-minute charge.

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM5**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: features

• AirPods Max boast fantastic spatial audio
• AirPods Max are Apple device-centric; Sonys are more device agnostic 
• Sonys support higher-quality Bluetooth transmission
• Sonys can be listened to wired without battery life; AirPods cannot

Both pairs have sophisticated processors that drive an impressive set of features. 

The WH-1000XM5 boast Sony's DSEE Extreme processing engine, which does a fabulous job of upscaling compressed music tracks to near hi-res quality. Not to be outdone, the AirPods Max boast an Apple H1 chip in each earcup, enabling them to make 200 adjustments per second to optimise noise-cancelling effectiveness.

One of the AirPods Max's USPs is their support for spatial audio, which provides a virtual surround sound experience from 5.1, 7.1 and even Dolby Atmos video content, and with music via Apple Music. The effect is truly stunning, particularly for movies, but you'll need an iPhone or iPad to experience it through the Max.

The WH-1000XM5 support the more fledgling Sony 360 Reality Audio immersive (music-only) format, but the effect isn't quite as compelling. More useful is their Adaptive Sound Control technology, which automatically switches noise-cancelling listening modes depending on your location (more on that in the noise cancellation section below), and their Speak-to-Chat feature, which allows you to talk to someone while the headphones are still on your head.

The Sonys also support LDAC Bluetooth for high-quality wireless transmission with a compatible (LDAC-supporting) Android device. The AirPods Max only support AAC transmission, which is a lower-quality Bluetooth codec. Neither pair, however, supports the popular, high-quality aptX codecs.

The Sony XM5 also have Bluetooth Multipoint so they can be paired with two devices simultaneously – ideal if you want to connect a laptop for playing music and a phone for taking calls. The AirPods Max don't support Bluetooth Multipoint, although they can switch between multiple Apple devices.

Lastly, the Sonys charge via USB-C and can be used as wired headphones when they are out of battery. The original AirPods Max use the Lightning connector, but the 2024 version uses USB-C. Unlike the Sonys, they require power even for wired listening (and don't come with an audio cable).

**Winner: draw**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: noise-cancelling

• A close call; both ANC performances are excellent
• Both offer Transparency modes
• Sony can cleverly tailor ANC levels to your environment

Both pairs offer active noise cancellation that is up there with the very best on offer, even if the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones just have the edge.

Ultimately, the Sony WH-1000XM5 seem to be marginally better at blocking constant, consistent noise (engine sounds, for example). That said, the AirPods Max let very little through and are actually a touch better when it comes to combating loud conversations. So in terms of everyday effectiveness, it is a pretty close call between the two performances.

Both pairs pleasingly offer the increasingly common Transparency mode, too, which actively processes external noise and pumps it into your ears if you want to, say, hear a train announcement without having to remove the headphones.

There is one key difference to note, however. As mentioned in the features section of this article, the Sony XM5 boast an AI-powered feature called Adaptive Sound Control which allows the headphones to learn your behaviour and recognise your frequently visited locations. It uses this data to automatically tailor noise-cancelling levels to your current surroundings. For example, the XM5 will crank up the sound-blocking effect when you step into your local railway station, and then dial it back down again when you're cruising along on a relatively quiet train. It's a seriously smart feature, and well worth having. 

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM5**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: sound quality

Those are the features dealt with, and now we get to the most pertinent question of all: what are these headphones like to listen to? Very good, as you would expect from flagship pairs from two marquee brands.

In terms of acoustic engineering, the Sonys sport all-new 30mm carbon fibre drivers that have been specially made to be lightweight and yet extremely rigid, whereas the Apples have 40mm drivers that are said to maintain total harmonic distortion of "less than one per cent across the entire audible range".

The Sony XM5 excel sonically at their price point, delivering an effortlessly musical sound. The XM4 were our favourite-sounding headphones at this level, but the XM5 deliver even greater clarity and a more open presentation. "It’s actually quite a jump," said our testing experts. 

Bass notes are rendered with newfound precision, too, and the level of detail these cans dig up is astonishing. Dynamic shifts are conveyed with aplomb, while their sense of timing is exemplary. You won't find a more compelling performance from wireless over-ear headphones at their price.

But stretch to the AirPods Max's more premium asking price, and you will be rewarded with superior sound quality. "There’s a degree of clarity and energy that even the Sonys can’t match, and they sound more engaging and authentic," our reviews team noted. Lighter on their feet and even more precise and exciting, they feel like a significant step up in terms of sonic sophistication. Movie performance is excellent too, particularly when it comes to spatial audio virtual surround sound. The whole presentation is very open, spacious and convincing.

Ultimately, we believe the AirPods Max justify their premium over the Sonys in terms of sound quality, even if in our minds the Sonys are the better value pair, all things considered.

That said, those who want (and can afford) the very best wireless headphone sound quality available should note that there are now pairs that perform even better than the AirPods Max, such as the higher-priced Mark Levinson No.5909, Focal Bathys, Bowers & Wilkins Px8 and T+A Solitaire T.

**Winner: Apple AirPods Max**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: which should you choose?

Apple's AirPods Max look and sound spectacular and provide a truly stunning spatial audio experience when paired with iPhone and iPad devices. There's no denying that iOS users with deep pockets should strongly consider them – either at full price with the new USB-C socket and colourways or, fingers crossed, if the older Lightning model can be bought at a bargain.

However, when it comes to outright value – and, indeed, non-Apple users – Sony's WH-1000XM5 are our number one recommendation. Hence their current What Hi-Fi? Award and position at the top of our best noise-cancelling headphones buying guide.

They are priced more accessibly, boast some fantastically advanced features such as the ability to upscale audio and optimise noise-cancelling according to your location, all while delivering a wonderfully engaging and detailed sound that is sure to impress most people. They also offer a longer battery life, support a higher-quality Bluetooth codec, and work well with both iOS and Android devices. 

MORE:

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: what are the minor differences?

How do Sonos's new wireless headphones fare? Read our Sonos Ace review

See our Sony WH-1000XM5 tips, tricks and FAQ answers

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 vs Apple AirPods Max: which wireless headphones are better?

B&W Px7 S2e vs Sony WH-1000XM5: which ANC headphones are for you?