Products
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
Sonos Ace
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Oct 25, 2025 07:00 AM
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Dec 16, 2025 04:45 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Very Emphasized (6 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Emphasized (3 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (-1 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
Our Verdict
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
Sonos Ace
The Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless and the Sonos Ace are both top-of-the-line headphones; depending on your preferences, you may enjoy either one. The Sony have much more customizability thanks to their companion app, which offers a graphic EQ, presets, and a virtual soundstage feature. They also support LDAC for streaming high-quality audio, and you can even use the headphones passively. On the other hand, the Sonos are more comfortable, are better built, and have a less bassy sound, which some users may prefer. The two have a comparable overall noise isolation performance, capable of blocking out a wide spectrum of sounds. The Sonos have aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless compatibility plus support USB audio. Finally, their TV Audio Swap feature is also a unique addition to the headphones, allowing you to receive the audio from your compatible Sonos soundbar. However, there have been some user reports that the app is buggy and lacks features.
Variants
- WH-1000XM5 (Black)
- WH-1000XM5 (Midnight Blue)
- WH-1000XM5 (Silver)
- WH-1000XM5 (Smoky Pink)
- Ace (Black)
- Ace (Soft White)
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black
Ace
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Soft White
Ace
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Silver
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Smoky Pink
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Main Differences for
Sports And Fitness
Sports And Fitness
Threshold
Sports And Fitness
7.2
7.5
Comfort
7.0
8.5
Bluetooth Connection
8.7
7.8
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
1,450 Hz
1,150 Hz
Bass Amount
Very Emphasized (6 dB)
Emphasized (3 dB)
Treble Amount
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
Balanced (-1 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
7.5
7.0
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
0.99 dB
1.11 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
7.4
8.8
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.6 dB
3.2 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
4.95 dB
1.49 dB
Mid Bass
5.47 dB
4.29 dB
High Bass
6.37 dB
3.46 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.3
8.6
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.24 dB
1.88 dB
Low Mid
3 dB
1.87 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.55 dB
-0.78 dB
High Mid
-0.88 dB
-1.4 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
9.8
7.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.51 dB
3.77 dB
Low Treble
1.25 dB
-2.95 dB
Mid Treble
0.51 dB
0.48 dB
High Treble
-5.32 dB
-6.66 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.3
7.4
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
0.9 dB
1.53 dB
Dips
1.64 dB
1.81 dB
Stereo Mismatch
7.5
8.7
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.32 dB
0.00 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
1.50 dB
1.40 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.7°
1.6°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
PRTF
4.8
4.5
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
3.68 dB
3.55 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
7.72 dB
4.54 dB
PRTF Distance
6.74 dB
4.68 dB
Harmonic Distortion
9.1
9.1
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.07%
0.07%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.23%
0.20%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
113.0 dB SPL
N/A
Bluetooth Max SPL
104.9 dB
103.2 dB
Virtual Soundstage
4.1
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Head Modeling
On/Off
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
Dolby Atmos
Test Settings
Firmware
2.3.1
3.9.9-01c251022
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX HD, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Off
No EQ
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.0
8.5
Comfort Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Weight
0.55 lbs
0.7 lbs
Clamping Force
0.8 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
7.6
7.9
Controls Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Great
Feedback
Decent
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Portability
6.0
6.1
Portability Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
L
8.1" (20.5 cm)
7.9" (20.1 cm)
W
6.9" (17.6 cm)
7.2" (18.4 cm)
H
1.8" (4.5 cm)
1.7" (4.2 cm)
Volume
99.08 in³ (1,623.60 cm³)
94.79 in³ (1,553.33 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
7.0
Case Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
9.3" (23.6 cm)
8.9" (22.5 cm)
W
8.0" (20.2 cm)
7.5" (19.1 cm)
H
2.3" (5.9 cm)
1.9" (4.9 cm)
Volume
171.64 in³ (2,812.60 cm³)
128.50 in³ (2,105.78 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Stability
7.0
7.0
Stability Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Side Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Rear Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Top
Top Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
9.4
9.5
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-25.81 dB
-26.68 dB
Bass
-17.63 dB
-24.48 dB
Mid
-28.25 dB
-24.81 dB
Treble
-33.04 dB
-31.43 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
9.1
8.8
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-21.43 dB
-24.42 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-19.38 dB
-16.55 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-24.28 dB
-26.21 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
7.7
7.7
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
35.69 dB
35.16 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.7
7.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
236.29 Hz
281 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.43 dB
2.81 dB
HFE
7,240.77 Hz
6,267.15 Hz
Weighted THD
N/A
11.345
Gain
-13.92 dB
27.95 dB
Noise Handling
8.3
6.6
SpNR
SpNR
7.61 dB
26.04 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
8.5
7.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.0
6.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.5
8.5
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
27 hrs
35.6 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
27 hrs
35.6 hrs
Charge Time
3 hrs
2.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
No
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
8.0
8.0
App Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
App Name
Sony Sound Connect
Sonos
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
Yes
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Two Band EQ
ANC Control
On/Off
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.8
6.3
Cable Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
USB-C
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
4.04 ft (1.23 m)
3.87 ft (1.18 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
USB-C
Latency - Analog
0.4 ms
43.2 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
65.1 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
USB
Bluetooth Connection
8.7
7.8
Bluetooth Version
5.2
5.4
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
330.71 ft (100.80 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
Latency - SBC
241 ms
272 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
265 ms
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
353 ms
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
75 ms
Latency - LDAC
233 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black
Ace
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Soft White
Ace
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Silver
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Smoky Pink
WH-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
To access
and
Become an Insider
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
other exclusive site features
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
Sonos Ace
Comments
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless vs Sonos Ace: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.
Cannot see the data of SONOS in comparsion