AirPods Max or Sony WH-1000XM5: which is better?

It will be available towards the end of May for the price of420 eurosin France: Sony's new wireless headphones, numbered WH-1000XM5, are cheaper thanApple AirPods Max (629 euros). But is its technical sheet really worth the detour in the face of this high-end alternative which is still struggling to find its audience? This is what we will see in this comparison.

Design

A headset must be comfortable, especially if you plan to use it for several hours a day (be careful of the volume). To begin with, it is therefore interesting to look at the case of the weight of our two competitors:around 250 grams at Sony for 384.5 grams at Apple. And that's without counting the Smart Case, its storage case, which adds 134.5 grams to the scale.

Moreover, we see that the design of the WH-1000XM5 is more sober than that of the AirPods Max even if the latter offer morecolors. With Sony, you will have to limit yourself to black or silver againstArgent,Space gray,Sky blue,RoseorVertfor Apple. Finally, for comfort, know that the AirPods Max are satisfied with a simple net stretched between two pads above the skull where the WH-1000XM5 is much more padded.

Audio and features

Both Sony and Apple offer active noise reduction on these accessories, equipped with a Bluetooth chip to connect to the iPhone or a Mac. On the other hand, only Sony makes the essential effort to provide precise information regarding the sound performance of its headphones, capable of broadcasting frequenciesbetween 4 and 40,000 Hz.

For controls, the sensor is tactile on the WH-1000XM5 whereas you have to use theDigital Crownon AirPods Max. Finally, note that both devices are compatible with voice assistants but only Siri for the Apple model, unsurprisingly.

• Comparison Sony WF-1000XM3 vs AirPods Pro

Autonomy

The Sony WH-1000XM5 can last up to forty hours straight if you deactivate active noise reduction, which is recommended for safety. It's simplytwice as muchthan AirPods Max. In conversation, Sony also wins but by only four hours, according to the manufacturer's official data.

So, have you made your choice?