Best Sony headphones 2025: Our favourite wireless headphones and earbuds

The Sony WH-1000XM5 aren’t just our favourite pair of Sony headphones, they’re one of the best headphones you can buy right now. 

The headphones are an evolution of the WH-1000XM4. We found the audio quality offered more texture and depth with the low frequencies, with a richer and more detailed midrange, and a more expressive high frequency performance. The WH-1000XM5 are Sony’s best-sounding noise cancelling over-ears yet.

The design no longer folds flat like previous generations, the reason given is to improve noise cancelling performance by reducing the surface area that could cause wind noise and resistance. That proved to be true during tetsing, with wind noise virtually removed.

Testing out the ANC, we did find that the XM5 were more adept at suppressing high frequency sounds than the XM4 although we didn’t find them be quite as good at dealing with voices. That said, the headphones perform an excellent job, plus with the clear and detailed Transparency Mode you can hear what’s around you in crystal clear clarity. 

Features like Speak-to-Chat and Quick Attention mode make it possible to hold conversations while still wearing the headphones, and built-in voice assistance offers convenience for hands-free operation. The Adaptive Sound Control builds custom sound profiles based on the locations you frequent most, and there’s 3D sound support with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. 

The battery life is 30 hours, and we managed to get through a week before needing another charge. Battery life is the same as the older model, so we’ll have to wait until the WH-1000XM6, due later in 2025, to see if they boast for longer battery.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony WH-1000XM5

While the audio performance of the WF-1000XM4 was fantastic, the WF-1000XM5 manage to improve on them by taking a more balanced approach.

Sporting Sony’s Dynamic Driver X, the bass performance isn’t as powerful or as fun as on the WF-1000XM4; but bass carries more detail and clarity. The midrange offers a better sense of fine detail, especially with voices, and the high frequencies are sharper, clearer and more detailed.

The noise-cancelling performance is another area where the XM5 improve on the WF-1000XM4, able to suppress voices and general noise better for a much quieter performance. The transparency mode is clear and detailed, although we find the WF-1000XM4 to be slightly clearer.

Battery life matches the WF-1000XM4, with 8 hours per earbuds and 24 in total with the charging case. The design is smaller and lighter, making for a more favourable and comfortable fit. With the introduction of an extra small ear-tip size, there’s more wiggle room for a wider range of ears.

Wireless performance is good in both AAC and LDAC playback modes, and the WF-1000XM5 is bundled with an array features that make these earphones one of the smartest on wireless earbuds on the market. Call quality is decent but it does leak in background noise whenever we spoke but silent when we weren’t. Like a lof of Sony’s true wireless efforts, the call quality could be better.

With the WF-1000XM6 thought to be launching later in 2025, expect the price for the WF-1000XM5 to fall, making it even better value than it is now.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony WF-1000XM5

The WF-C510 build on the foundation the C500 set and push the performance and feature set forward, all for pretty much the same price as before ($55 / £50).

The WF-C510’s audio offers a spacious and balanced performance. We compained about the lack of bass with the previous model but this pair delivers more weight and punch. The mid- to high frequencies feature good clarity and detail and while they’re not the most dynamic, they are wholly enjoyable for the asking price.

Build quality is solid and functional for the money. They offer an excellent fit that blocks out most external sounds and they come with physical controls, which we feel are better than touch controls at this price. An IPX4 rating means they’re protected against some sweat and water, so, if you fancied, you could use the C510 for exercise too.

There’s no noise-cancellation support, which at this price we’re not fussed about considering the quality of cheap ANC earbuds. Sony has added an Ambient Sound mode that lets outside sounds in, and it’s a performance we found to be loud and clear, making it easy to listen announcements and get a better sense of the environment around us.

Bluetooth 5.3 covers SBC and AAC streaming, so these headphones lack wireless Hi-Res Audio but again, like ANC, we don’t that’s a big miss at this price. Sony says the battery life has gone from 10 to 11 hours per charge but in our tests we found the battery life was the same as the original. Still, 10 hours is plenty enough, and if you do run out of battery, there is fast-charging support but no wireless charging.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony WF-C510

The WH-1000XM4 over-ears were replaced by the WH-1000XM5, but they’re still available as a more affordable mid-range option if the XM5 model are too expensive. 

They look similar to the WH-1000XM3, but Sony tightened up the design and improved on the already great sound. They weight a gram lighter than the XM3 model, feel more comfortable with softer earpads and feature a headband structure redesigned to distribute weight better. The pressure they exert on the head is minimal, which makes them perfect for both casual wear and long-distance travel. One advantage these headphones have over the XM5 model is that these can be folded up and collapsed for travel.

The noise-cancelling was the strongest we’ve heard from a Sony headphone until the WH-1000XM5. But they still manage to hold their own against newer and less expensive ANC headphones from other brands. We found they reduced outside sound effectively, hushing voices more effectively than the XM5, although it does do this with a slight noise-cancelling tone. 

Combined with smart features that allow you to speak to other people without taking the headphones off, as well as Adaptive Sound Control that learns the places you frequent most often and tailors the ANC performance, these Sony headphones remain one of the ‘smartest’ on the market. 

They sound better than the XM3 with a more musical approach to audio that adds an extra layer of refinement and detail. They extract more detail from mid-range, with instruments better defined, and the separation of elements within a track is clearer, the result is a performance with greater fidelity than the XM3. We also found the DSEE Extreme feature was impressive in terms of how much noise it removed from older tracks.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony WH-1000XM4

We don’t get the opportunity to test many headphones from Sony, so we were intrigued when we were offered the chance to test the MDR-MV1. They did not disappoint.

They are primarily designed with sound mixing and mastering in mind, but for high quality listening at home, the MDR-MV1 deliver a fun, energetic performance. The soundstage is very wide thanks to the open-backed design, with plenty of midrange detail. Like with Sony’s wireless headphones, there’s excellent clarity with voices; while for an open-backed pair, there’s impressive levels of bass.

For a pair of headphones, there’s not much to speak of in terms of features, but they are well specificed. The impednace is just 24 ohms, which makes it easy for them to be driven by a smartphone or laptop. Sensitivity is 100db, so the headphones can get solidly when with the volume is upped, and the frequency range covers 5Hz to 80kHz. You won’t be able to hear all of that in the audio, but there’s certainly more impact with the bass and high frequencies.

They are very comfortable to wear, which made it easy to listen to these headphones for hours on end. The lightweight design is also very practical for long sessions with no fatigue settling thanks to the soft earpads and headband.

For a pair of reference headphones, they’re a surprisingly fun listen.

The LinkBuds S are Sony earphones that are more for the casual / lifestyle crowd who want wireless earbuds that are easy to use, but still provide good audio. The current price of the LinkBuds S puts them in the £100 / $100+ range, which is much less expensive than the WF-1000XM5.

We felt that the sound quality was very reminiscent of the WF-1000XM4. The midrange is rich in tone but well detailed, the soundstage described in wide and spacious terms. Bass carries more of an impact than it does on the original LinkBuds. The top end of the frequency spectrum isn’t as bright or as defined as we’d like, though.

Weighing 4.8g per bud, we found their compact and light design easy to get a good fit with. Made from recycled plastics, the LinkBuds S’ build quality is tough enough, though a drop on concrete did result in a small chip in our review sample. IPX4 protection against sweat and water is included, so you could use these earphones for exercise or the gym.

The charging case features less battery life than the LinkBuds, but the life per charge is slightly more at six hours. We found that with real-world use, the battery life is more towards five hours when used with the higher-quality LDAC codec. We also found the strength of its wireless connection to be mostly good aside from a few jitters in busy places.

The noise-cancellation isn’t as complete as either WF-1000XM4 or XM5, but we found the fit and seal created by the LinkBuds S helped minimise traffic noise and heavily reduce the impact of what was alround us. The transparency mode picks up a little noise, but nothing that becomes a bother. There are smart features in Spotify Tap and Endel, the latter offers personalised soundscapes for relaxation and sleep though you have to pay for the full service.

There is the LinkBuds Fit, which essentially replaces these headphones but they do cost more money.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony LinkBuds S

The WH-CH720N are Sony’s most affordable noise-cancelling over-ears, putting in a strong performance for its sub-£100 / $100 price.

The sound quality is similar to the WH-CH520 on-ears with it’s smoothness with an emphasis on bass. The bass performance is punchy, the midrange described with clarity and detail, while treble is bright and clear enough to impact. They’re certainly not in the same league as the WH-1000XM4, but these headphones were never going to be. For those whose budget can’t stretch to a purchase of these headphones, the CH720N is our recommendation for the best affordable ANC headphones from Sony.

When we tested the battery life we found it could go as far as 40 hours with noise-cancelling on. Features for a headphone of this price are extensive, with active noise-cancellation and transparency mode, as well as Bluetooth multipoint, app support (for customisation) and voice assistant support in Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Noise-cancellation is rarely strong with budget headphones, but it’s solid enough at this price. The ANC focuses on reducing low frequency sounds and clearing away ambient noise, making the daily commutes and journeys more tolerable.

The headphones are mostly constructed from recycled plastic, and the quality is good with no noticeable creaks or groans when we bent the frame. The use of plastic keeps the headphones lightweight at 192g, and the CH720N felt comfortable to wear thanks to the padding on the headband and earcups.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony WH-CH720N

If you’re in the market for a wireless gaming headset for the PS5, one option to have a look at is non other than Sony’s Inzone H9.

The design borrows cues from the WH-1000XM5, with a smooth and clean appearance that also borrows from the aesthetic of the PlayStation 5. At 325g, they’re lighter than the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max and we found them to be very comfortable during our gaming sessions. 

The headphones offer some of the best passive noise isolation we’ve experienced on a gaming headset, blocking out music from a room over and loud neighbours with ease. They also come with noise cancellation to block out loud sounds and we found the performance to be decent, though not on par with the likes of the WH-1000XM5. 

The playback controls are thoughtfully placed on both the headphones’ earcups, and compatibility is good as you’re able to connect to a PC or PS5 using Bluetooth or the bundled USB receiver. Unsurprisingly there’s no Xbox Wireless compatibility, nor is there a headphone jack to support connections. 

The InZone H9 offered refined and detailed audio with good tonal balance. The soundstage is decently sized, which makes it possible to pinpoint enemies based on their speech. The low end offers more depth than other headphones and certainly better than what the InZone H7 could muster. 

Reviewer: Reese Bithrey
Full Review: Sony Inzone H7

The WH-CH520 are one of the cheapest pairs of Sony headphones we’ve reviewed at just £50 / €70. They’re in the impulse buy column if you’re looking for a pair of on-ear headphones.

In terms of their sound quality we found these headphones to be a smooth listen, but they don’t offer as finessed a performance as other similarly priced headphones, with a slight lack of definition and sharpness to instruments and voices not helped by a soundstage that sounds small. Bass is decent for an on-ear and there’s some nice brightness to high frequencies, while the midrange is handled in a smooth, clear manner.

We found they were comfortable to wear, though the on-ear design can pinch on the earlobes. Passive noise isolation isn’t as good as true wireless and over-ear pairs, so external sounds mesh with what you’re listening too.

The build quality is predominantly plastic, but it keeps the weight down to just 147g, making them light to wear on our heads. There’s no carry case so you’ll either need to wear them around your neck or stuff them in a bag when not using them.

The WH-CH520 doesn’t have access to the same level of features through the Sony Headphones Connect app, but what it offers is very good for its price and for on-ears in general. Battery is rated at 50 hours and in our testing we found that the battery goes for a very long time. A nine-hour battery drain didn’t result in any loss of battery whatsoever.

There is Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format for immersive audio, and Bluetooth support equates to SBC and AAC codecs. The wireless connection with our phone was great during testing with no stutters or dropouts even in busy areas. Call quality is also very good in terms of clarity, though in busy areas it can become harder for the other person to hear what’s said.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony WH-CH520