I reviewed Sony WH-1000XM4 and Apple's Airpods Max almost 2 years back. Sony already brought some headphones in the XM series but the Airpods max was the first over-ear headphone of Apple. People were curious about Airpods Max because of many reasons. Most important was it's Apple's product. Design was unique and appealing and 3rd one was its price.
Xm4 and Airpods max both are popular audio gears. On May 20 Sony released the next version in the XM series. The WH-1000XM5. I have already reviewed Sony WH-1000XM5. This article is about the fair comparison of Sony WH-1000XM5 vs Apple Airpods Max.
if you are in a hurry below table will give you an idea about the complete article. If you will go through the table that will help you to make your final decision.
Specifications | XM4 | XM5 | AIRPODS MAX |
|---|---|---|---|
PRICE | |||
RELEASE DATE | August 6, 2020 | May 20, 2022 | December 15, 2020 |
BATTERY LIFE | 30 Hrs with ANC ON | 30 Hrs with ANC ON | 20 Hrs with ANC ON |
FAST CHARGING | 5 Hrs battery life with 10 minutes charging | 3 Hrs battery life with 3 minutes charging | 1.5 Hrs battery life with 5 minutes charging |
FOLDABLE | Yes | No | No |
CONTROLS | Touch,Button | Touch,Button | Digital crown,button |
ANC RATING | |||
COMFORT RATING | |||
SOUND QUALITY | |||
APPEARANCE | |||
OVERALL RATING | |||
WEIGHT | 254 grams | 250 grams | 386 grams |
Summary
What do you check while buying a Noise-cancelling headphones? Audio quality, Noise-cancelling ability, Fit, Comfort, Battery Life, Controls, Appearance, and last but not the least is the Price of headphones.
Let's see them one by one. AirPods Max has better audio than Sony XM5 and XM4.
AirPods Max is louder. It has deeper Bass and a wider soundstage.
Noise Cancelling: The noise-canceling ability of Airpods max and xm5 is equally great but xm5 offers more control over the Transparency mode and overall noise cancellation. So xm5 is the winner
Fit & Comfort: Airpods max fits good. It's comfortable too. But, xm5 has better comfort. Because xm5 is lighter than AirPods Max. for a long listening session xm5 is better.
Battery life of xm5 and xm4 is 30Hrs with ANC. Airpods Max delivers 20 Hrs with ANC. Fast charging of xm5 is better than Airpods Max. Airpods Max offers 90 minutes of playtime with 5 minutes charge. Xm5 offers 180 minutes of playtime with just 3 minutes of charging. Xm5 is the winner.
Airpods look a lot better than xm5 and xm4. It looks cool and attractive due to its design and canopy mesh headband. Airpods Max also offers more color varieties than xm5. So Airpods max is far better than xm5.
Controls: overall, my experience with controls and buttons was good with xm5 compared to AirPods max. might be the digital crown was new for me but xm5 was easy to control.
Price is the most important part for me. As a general listener, I always think about whether the product is value for the money or it's overpriced. Airpods Max, Sony WH-1000xm5, and xm4 are valued for money products. Airpods Max was released with a $550 price tag but now they are available at a discounted price.
Max costs $469 while xm5 is a $400 ANC headphones. xm4 is slightly less. It costs $350. Overall I would suggest XM5 if you want better control over ANC. if you want better sound go for AirPods max, call quality of xm5 and Airpods max is equally good. If you ask me my choice I will prefer xm5 over the AirPods max for better Battery life and Better ANC control.
How is the Design XM5 vs XM4 vs Airpods Max?
Good design delivers a good product. Appearance, Build Quality, comfort, and convenience are the pillars of a good design. Let's talk one by one. Apple used Aluminium and steel to build Airpods max. That made it strong and durable at the same time it increased the weight of the Airpods max.
premium-grade plastic made XM4 and XM5 significantly lighter than Airpods max. Airpods Max weighs 386 grams. Sony XM5 weighs just 250 grams which is marginally lighter than xm4. This Difference in weight affects the level of comfort too.
xm5 is the most comfortable gear among these 3. Airpods Max has a canopy on the headband that distributes the weight evenly which reduces the pressure on your head. The smooth movement of the headband slider gives the desired fit.
Earcups of Airpods max are large, spacious, and breathable which gives you minimum listening fatigue. Many times I used AirPods max for 6 to 7 hours without intervals and every time it was a pleasant experience. Sony xm5 is one step ahead of AirPods max if we compare the comfort level.
weight is a major factor that decides the winner. Though Airpods max has better build quality they are less comfortable than Sony xm5. Let's move to appearance. Airpods Max is the undisputed winner if we compare the appearance. they look cool and more attractive than xm5 and xm4.
The foldable design is a drawback of Airpods max and Sony XM5 and XM4 is your true partner here. The lack of foldable design made the xm5 and AirPods max less compact. That needs a larger carrying case compared to xm4's carrying case. xm4 is the most compact headphone among 3.
let's see touch controls and buttons of xm5 and Airpods max.
AirPods Max Controls
Digital Crown |
|---|
Hey Siri: Say βHey Siriβ to do things like play a song, make a call, or get directions |
NOISE CONTROL BUTTON: Press to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode |
Sony WH-1000XM5 Controls
Play/Pause | Tap twice quickly |
Skip to the beginning of the next track | Swipe forward & release |
Skip to the beginning of the previous track | Swipe backward and release |
Fast-forward | Swipe forward and hold |
Fast reverse | Swipe backward and hold |
Increase the volume | Swipe up repeatedly until the volume reaches the desired level |
Decrease the volume | Swipe down repeatedly until the volume reaches the desired level |
Change the volume continuously | Swipe up or down and hold |
Apple AirPods Max
How is the Sound Performance XM5 vs XM4 vs Airpods Max?
XM4 has a 40mm driver. XM5 used a 30mm precision-engineered driver. The reduction in driver size didn't negatively affect the performance when I compared the sound of xm4 and xm5. Airpods max has an Apple-designed dynamic driver. Sony XM5 has 360Β° reality audio that delivers the same kind of sound which was delivered by Airpods Max with its Spatial audio technology. When we compared AirPods Max and XM5 we observed that Airpods Max is a louder headphone. It has deeper bass compared to xm5 and xm4. Mids are equally great but Airpods Max has a wider soundstage compared to XM5 and XM4. I guess you got my point. Airpods Max is the winner in this department.
Sony WH-1000XM5
How is the Connectivity of XM5 vs XM4 vs Airpods Max?
We know that Airpods max works with only Apple devices. The connection with iPhone,iPad, and Apple TV is very smooth and fast. Airpods Max works up to 5.0 Bluetooth technology. Sony XM5 has a 5.2 Bluetooth connection. Practically this difference didn't make much difference. Now let's move for the processing.
Sony XM5 has a QN1 processor. The same is used in XM4. H1 chip is used for audio processing in AirPods Max. Airpods Max and XM5 both can be played wired or wireless. The XM5 carrying case includes wire. AirPods max costs a few more pennies if you want wired listening.
Sony WH-1000XM4
How is the Charging and Battery performance of XM5 vs XM4 vs Airpods Max?
The number tells the story. Sony XM5 and XM4 have 30 hrs of battery life with ANC mode. Apple AirPods Max gives 20 Hrs playtime with ANC on. The fast charging feature of XM5 is better than Airpods Max. XM5 gives 180 minutes of playtime with just 3 minutes of charging. Airpods Max gives 90 minutes of playtime with 5 minutes of charging. Airpods max has a lightning charging port. XM5 and XM4 have USB-C charging ports.
How is the Active Noise Cancellation and call quality? XM5 vs XM4 vs Airpods Max
While comparing the ANC of XM5 and Airpods Max I noticed both are great Noise-canceling headphones. The main difference is which headphone offers more control to the users for noise cancellation. My answer is that XM5 gives more control to the users. You can control the transparency mode in XM5.
In the Airpods Max, you have only 2 options. Either you can keep ANC mode or switch it to transparency mode. Based on external noise XM5 decides the level of transparency mode. Another cool feature of XM5 is you can pause the music by just keeping your paw on the earcup.
that feature connects you with the outside world without disturbing your mood. Airpods Max and XM5 both use external and internal microphones to control the noise. Xm5 has improved noise cancellation by adding 2 extra microphones and an additional processor.
Carrying case
I never write about the carrying case much but when I decide to compare XM5, XM4, and, AirPods Max it's a must to compare carrying case too because these all are ANC headphones so carrying case plays an important role while traveling.
Airpods max has a weird shape carrying case that looks strange and doesn't protect the headset at all. keeping the headphones inside the case switch them to a low power state. That's the only pro of Airpods max carrying case that I found. otherwise, I will never carry the carrying case with me.
Airpods Max and XM5 don't have a foldable design that's why carrying case of both the headphones are larger compared to the XM4 carrying case. XM5 carrying case looks better than Airpods Max and Xm4 carrying case looks good too. But big thumbs down for Airpods Max carrying case.
Carrying Case