Sony’s best-selling ANC headphones are back under $200

Sony’s WH-1000XM5 is back to $198 on Amazon. That’s $50 off its usual $248 price, and it’s the lowest price we’ve ever seen for these headphones. You can grab the Sony WH-1000XM5 on Amazon while it lasts, and it’s still one of the top picks in our best Bluetooth headphones guide.

For some perspective, these launched at $399.99. So you get Sony’s previous flagship for about half the original price.

The big reason to buy these is noise cancellation. Sony packs in two processors and eight microphones, and the result is that they block out almost everything around you. Whether you’re on a plane, a train, or working in a busy coffee shop, these do an incredible job of shutting out the world.

Comfort is another strong point. Sony has redesigned the XM5 from the ground up compared to the XM4, making them lighter and more comfortable for long listening sessions. Battery life tops out at 30 hours, and it offers USB-C charging plus a 3.5mm jack if you want to go wired.

My favorite feature is still Quick Attention. Just place your hand over the right earcup and the music pauses while ambient sound kicks in. That way you can have a quick conversation without taking them away.

Now Sony has the new WH-1000XM6, which just dropped to $378 before Prime Day. But as we noted when the XM5 first hit $198 in August, the difference in noise cancellation between the two is pretty small. That makes the XM5 the smarter buy for most people at almost half the price.

If you prefer to go with headphones, check out our Sony WF-1000XM6 review. But for over-ear headphones under $200, it doesn’t get much better than this.