Yes, they come with an ugly, arguably pointless case. Yes, they're expensive (prohibitively so for many). Mark our words, these wireless headphones really wow. Perceived value may not get top marks (they don't look as bling as they could), but sonic value certainly does – and that’s really what matters here.

5909’s performance is still short of the best available from similarly priced wired headphones, it’s easily the best wireless headphones performance we’ve come across.Īnyone who is after the convenience of wireless without sacrificing too much sound quality to get it, and lucky enough to afford such a best-of-both-worlds solution, the Mark Levinsons are highly recommendable. If we hadn’t unboxed the Levinsons and gone through the simple Bluetooth pairing process ourselves, we would be tempted to check for any wires dangling from the earcups. Can wireless performance ever be so good as to justify such an expense? You bet it can. The Mark Levinsons enter our test room doors as the most expensive wireless pair we’ve tested and therefore do so with a weight of expectation on their shoulders. The older XM4 (below) were already the best around, but the XM5 are undoubtedly better for those who can afford to pay the premium. If you are looking for a new pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones, your auditioning should start here.

The Sony XM5 headphones might feel a little less premium than before, but the jump in sound quality from the previous generation is a big one, and rivals could once again have their work cut out.

We wondered whether it was a wise move to give one of Sony’s biggest success stories in recent memory a major redesign. But it's paid off. When we saw the official pictures of the Sony WH-1000XM5, we were more than a bit surprised. Not only that, it has been achieved while executing a major redesign. It can be tricky for a manufacturer to push the sound performance of a product consistently from generation to generation, but that is what Sony has managed to do with the WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones.

Wifi vs bluetooth headphone