The Music of Silence

It’s been a blissful couple of weeks since the Sony WH-1000XM5 arrived for testing.

I’ve been in my own world for the most part, in an uninterrupted reverie of my own thoughts, where the naggings and chatter of neither work nor home — or even the Dubai Metro — has permeated. Instead, it’s been one soothing soundtrack after another, from reggae to raga and symphony to Simon and Garfunkel. And yes, the duo’s epic Sound of Silence does come to mind — quite literally so.

For, these Sony Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones perhaps do the best job I’ve ever experienced of cocooning the user in a sepulchral, enthralling silence. So effective is the device’s noise cancelling function that it could probably drown out a stampede of elephants on a highway covered in bubble wrap!

The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones provide a sonic oasis, crafted to transport you away from the cacophony of everyday life. There aren’t too many ambient noise situations from where it won’t whisk you away magically to a serene realm of tranquillity where your thoughts can roam free.

Speaking of magic, Sony's noise-cancelling wizardry is practically Hogwarts for your ears. It's like a spell that banishes the droning hum of the world around you. Traffic? Poof, it's gone. Chatty neighbours? Abracadabra, silence. Nagging partner? Vanished, no problem.

But there is a subtle art in the way that Sony goes about the noise cancellation, a sort of nuanced approach, at the heart of which is the headphone’s pièce de résistance: the Adaptive Sound Control. These headphones are smarter than the average head they will sit on — they analyse your surroundings and adjust their noise-cancelling settings accordingly. In a crowded café? The headphones will prioritise noise reduction. Walking on a quiet street? They'll let in just enough ambient sound to keep you safe. It's like having a personal audio butler who anticipates your needs.

The WH-1000XM5 also has the patient staying power of a butler. With an absurdly long battery life, these headphones have more juice in them than you’d need to binge watch your favourite Netflix series or fly across the Pacific. Sony claims up to 30 hours of playback on a full charge, and it was only after two weeks of use had gone by since we had tanked up our test mule that the low battery warning started blinking — two weeks in which it had seen at least two hours of use on average every day.

And if you still have to cross continents when the warning light does come on, fret not. Just plug it in for three minutes to a power source using an optional USB-PD compatible AC adaptor and you get a further three hours of playing time, enough to take you from Dubai to Delhi or Damascus noise free.

But all too often the bugbear of such headphones is their bulk and lack of over-ear comfort, because, after all, what use is transcontinental battery life if your head can’t even bear to have the device on from Centre Point to Expo 2020? But this is another area where the Sony has all the bases covered.

Unboxing the WH-1000XM5 feels like opening a portal to a future where comfort and style hold hands. These headphones look like they were designed by a stealthy ninja who moonlights as a fashion guru. The smooth, silky-yet-matte finish and elegant curves feel like you're about to embark on a space mission, even if it's just a walk to the corner coffee shop.

Slide these headphones over your ears and you'll feel as if you're wearing clouds instead of audio equipment — like you’ve slipped into a marshmallow cloud. Snug, cozy and oh-so-comfortable. The plush ear cushions embrace your ears like a long-lost friend, and you'll forget you're wearing them — until you start grooving to the beats and realise you're getting some pretty weird looks on the Dubai Metro.

The headband's ergonomic design ensures a gentle embrace, and the plush ear cups lovingly hug your ears softly but firmly, without causing the dreaded "headphone hair". With these on, you're ready to conquer the world, one track at a time.

But to conquer you need to control, and this is another area where the WH-1000XM5 makes operations child’s play. The device comes with touch-sensitive controls that are more responsive than a cat's ears perking up at the sound of a treat bag rustling. Adjust volume, skip tracks, and even answer calls with a mere tap — it's like having that musical butler at your fingertips. A simple tap to play or pause, a flick to skip or change tracks, a swipe up or down to increase or lower the volume — you’ll feel like the maestro of your own personal orchestra or like a musical wizard, casting spells with your fingertips. Almost as intuitive as nodding your head in approval to a catchy beat, it's so seamless that you'll feel the days of pressing buttons were a chore.

Now, let's dive into the heart of the matter — the sound. Sony's engineers have clearly been perfecting the art of sonic bliss, but, as is the nature of perfection, you can only approach it but never completely attain it. And here, the WH-1000XM5 approaches sonic perfection primarily with a clear, resonant bass thump and fails to attain it completely in the mid-range, which is overshadowed by the bass.

Most casual listeners will swear by the set though, especially those who like their music packing a thump and a punch. Any pop or rock track sounds elevated by the WH-1000XM5’s soundstage, clarity and unmuddled resonance, with the highs dancing like shimmering fireflies on a summer night. So if the likes of Drake, Shakira, Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran tickle you musical taste buds — or even old-school Metallica or GunsN’Roses – then you’re in sonic heaven. Throw in a bit of Beethoven or Bach, or even old, pre-millennium, mid-range heavy Bollywood — or the complexities of Raga Bhimpalasi on Ravi Shankar’s sitar — and there’s a certain clarity, crispness and airiness wanting. But don’t worry, I’m being needlessly nitpicky here.

Even if your discernible ear finds something amiss, there is a way to atone, albeit a fiddly and cumbersome way: Sony’s app for the WH-1000XM5. Download it and you find an equaliser that lets you tweak the bass, treble, mid-range and all frequencies in-between until you get that “just perfect” sound for your ears. Using the equaliser is admittedly a bit or a chore, but get it right once and you will be in musical nirvana, whether listening to Curt Cobain or not.

Now, if I were to really nitpick, there is an aspect of the device that I find a slight let-down in the otherwise blissful WH-1000XM5 experience — I call it the call clarity conundrum. While the noise-cancelling works its magic on the outside world, your voice seems to get caught in a limbo when on calls. It's as if you're talking from the depths of a canyon, with occasional echoes. However, it's not a deal-breaker, especially if you're mostly using these headphones for music and media consumption.

In the final analysis, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones strike a chord between style, comfort and sonic satisfaction — and provide that balance at a reasonable Dh1,500-1,700 depending on the colour opted for. Whether you're a music aficionado or an audiobook addict, these headphones have your back — or rather, your ears. And if you’re just someone who wants to escape the noisy urban jungle, well, then they will play for you the music of silence.

Hits:

- Great noise cancelling function

- Top-notch design and finish

- Punchy bass

- Battery life

- Easy controls

Misses:

- Clarity on phone calls

- Falls just short of audiophile-grade sound

Price:

Dh1,500-1,700 (depending on colour options)

Rating: 4.5 stars

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