In general, I decided to compare them and for a reason: I choose the best ears for myself, which I will not part with in the coming years.

I immediately thought and decided that I won’t bog you down with specifications, they are already known, I’d better share how it goes every day with each of these headphones!

And I’ll immediately announce the price tags – there’s no intrigue here: $400 for the Sony WH1000XM5 and $550 for the AirPods Max. And yes – price is one of the main disadvantages of Apple ears.

The set includes 3.5 by 3.5 wiring, as well as for charging. There used to be an adapter for airplanes, but it looks like it was abolished. It also seems to me that the first and second “brands” had an adapter from mini-jack to jack!

And not only that, our second fighter for today – AirPods Max – fits perfectly into the same case. The “sconce” cover cannot be compared to any other. And to be honest, for the entire year and a half I practically didn’t use it. Inconvenient and stupid – although it knows how to put the headphones to sleep, and even then not completely.

But still about the ears themselves. The Japanese hardly changed the design from generation to generation, only slightly, and only this time they completely rethought it. The fifth “brands” are completely different – look how handsome they are!

The cups have become larger and deeper! This gets a special like from me. In previous Sonys, the edge of my ear hurt from long wear, and only one ear hurt. There is no such problem here. Do they fit great? better than before.

And when compared with Airpods, Sony are simply weightless and this is very cool: 254 grams versus 386 grams.

Although, in defense of the Apple headphones, I want to say that even with such a significant weight of 386 grams, my head and neck did not get tired in them even with constant wear.

But what’s really important is that Sony has also changed the design itself! Previously, “1000-nicknames” could be deftly folded and thrown even into a small bag. Now they don’t fold at all, except that they become flat, like the AirPods Max itself. I would say that this is rather a minus. But when comparing our players, there is equality.

In general, this is some kind of general fashion – for example, the latest Bose headphones are also like this.

What about materials and feel? There are two completely different approaches here.

Sony has plastic and something like eco leather. I am sure that these are high-quality materials, but I cannot say how the same ear pads or headband will look after long wear. So far so good. And most importantly, everything feels very pleasant to the touch. The ears look good, stylish and minimalistic. The adjustment on the 1000s is not very tight, and every time you put the headphones in the case, it resets.

AirPods Max immediately say that they are different. You can feel the Apple design here. Steel hinges, still springy like out of the box. The earpiece is something like silicone and the fabric is like on the ear pads. Yes, this whole thing gets dirty, but it can also be cleaned, I really haven’t done this yet.

In addition, the ear pads themselves can be easily changed and they are cleverly molded with magnets. And by the way, this is a customization option, although not cheap. Cupertino residents are asking 69 bucks for a pair of ear pads.

Although I will immediately upset those who like to wear headphones this way! You can’t wear AirPods Max like that for a long time. And if there is a beard, then they remember it too.

The same is true for Sony 1000s. Both of them are poorly adapted to be worn around the neck, although previous generations were so comfortable to carry.

Here, perhaps, purely due to the mass, Sony still wins. They are also very convenient to use with glasses. This is especially important for me, the temples do not press at all, even if you wear them all day.

I also constantly used AirPods with glasses and they are also quite comfortable, but they press a little tighter and after a few hours you begin to feel pressure from the temples, but only with some glasses.

Probably a third of the comparison has already passed and not a word about the sound, you say, let’s finally talk!

In other reviews I’ve seen, I’ve seen concerns that Sony have reduced the speaker size on the new model. The M4 had a 40 mm driver, the M5 had a 30 mm driver. But this is a new speaker with a neodymium magnet. In addition, in the WH1000XM5 another new chip was added to the QN1 chip – V1.

impedance – 48 Ohm (via cable with headphones included)

16 Ohm (via cable with headphones turned off)

Frequency response: 4-40,000 Hz (wired), 20-20,000 Hz via Bluetooth (44.1 kHz), 20-40,000 Hz (using LDAC (96 kHz with 990 kbps sampling)

But in general, if you look at all the “brands” from generation to generation, Sony’s excellent sound has always only gotten better!

I listened to everything and specifically compared the WH1000XM4 and WH1000XM5 and I’ll say this, perhaps not everyone will like it, especially those who like strong bass. Personally, I switched from Sony to Airpods Max due to the overloaded bass on the M3. On the M4 they are about the same, but the mids sags and the highs are also not enough for the sound to be detailed. And in the WH1000XM5 everything is better.

I liked their sound, there was enough bass and at the same time I liked the overall sound profile: it became cleaner and more detailed than that of the third and fourth generations, where the sound seemed dull to me. But if you compare it with AirPods Max, I like the sound even more. It is even cleaner and more detailed – perhaps it would be more correct to say brighter or something. And here the mids and highs do not sag enough and the bass is quite deep – in moderation. And the sound itself seems to be wider, there is a certain effect of presence that it is right here in front of you.

It is clear that the sound is partly a matter of taste and everyone listens from their own bell tower, I heard a lot of criticism about Airpods Max – but it worked for me. In addition, the choice greatly depends on the type of music you listen to. I used to love rock and indie more, now I love electronics.

It’s time to summarize the comparison. Sony have done a great job updating their headphones. The sound has become better, the microphones are finally excellent, the transparency mode is much better than it was, but no better than the AirPods.

And of course the price is 400 dollars, which is 150 cheaper than AirPods Max. The difference is also enough for simple (or not so simple) TWS headphones.

And I won’t make excuses for Apple here – I see a bunch of people around wearing Sony headphones, and I literally see only a few wearing AirPods Max. The Cupertino people were greedy with the price and the mass product did not work out. But in their defense, I will say that I have already fallen in love with their sound, as well as with the transparency mode. In addition, Airpods make you a hostage to the Apple ecosystem – because it is convenient.

As I said at the beginning, I chose the main headphones for myself and I still stick to Airpods Max as my main ones, even though they have their shortcomings! But if I bought my ears for Android, I would not hesitate to take the latest version of the Sony WH1000XM5!