By Emerson Lam
Illustrated by Jessica Chan
Out of the many brands that produce headphones nowadays, from Apple and JBL to Soundcore and Nothing, Sony stands out as the producer of high-quality yet reasonably priced headphones. Having used the Sony WH1000XM5s for a while, I agree with the high praise that many reviewers give it, considering its high audio quality and comfortable feel it provides. Yet, the downsides not only ruin its functionality, but also reflect the state of modern-day headphone use (and, to a larger extent, electronic consumption around the globe).
At a glance, the XM5’s uniformity in the design allows it to look like a standard pair of headphones, not trying to wow the buyer. Although it doesn’t have the foldable design of its predecessor, it still fits in a neat case that can be decorated with stickers. The padding itself for the ear is also quite comfortable, clearly designed for extended usage. Looking deeper into its functionality, it continues to wow the user with its various technological improvements. The sound quality for playing music and videos is consistently high, with the speaker being able to accurately represent both high-pitched and bass sounds.
Yet, the real standout feature lies in its ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) abilities. Even with the many grievances I have with the product, I have yet to try any other piece of hardware that successfully does noise cancellation like this. It is to the point where when flying on a plane, the outside world is able to be successfully cancelled, and you can feel as if you’re in a concert hall instead of on a 12-hour plane ride. This alone helps them stand out from other headphones, creating a substantial market of users.
Unfortunately, this pair of headphones is also plagued by a myriad of issues. First, you have the pricing. Listed by The Independent to be priced at around £380 in 2022, this is almost at the price of some mid-range mobile phones. Even though the features offer some explanation as to the pricing, it is reasonable to assume that many customers would feel uncomfortable paying this much for a product that could be found at much lower prices.
This leads into the next issue, which is the now notorious problem with the hinges that connect the stereo to the main headphone itself. Even with its high pricing, swarms of users have complained about the hinge breaking, including myself. After around 1.5 years of usage, the hinge on one side simply gave way, and I could no longer use the headphones. I managed to get it repaired after bringing it to a repair shop deep inside a tech mall, but the risk of it failing bothered me enough that I simply left it at home and got a new pair of headphones.
To me, this is just one problem in a wider trend of modern-day technology usage. Why can a product like this fail so easily? Why should we even allow these technology failures to happen?
Prior to these headphones, I had used a large variety of earbuds, from different brands and at different price ranges. Many of them often ended up malfunctioning after around a year of usage, suddenly being unable to play sound nor connect to my phone. Sure, you can blame it partially on my rough handling of these products, but they simply shouldn’t fail like this after such a short lifespan. Often with minimal warranty and little repairability, these electronics end up creating large amounts of waste that our planet is simply unable to handle, causing even more problems.
If you’re reading this piece to see if you should purchase this pair of headphones, my advice honestly still ends up being “no”! The risk of breaking it, combined with the high price tag, simply isn’t worth the upsides that this device offers. Go explore some other headphones in the ever-expanding electronics market, and I’m sure you’ll find another set that suits you better.
