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Last spring, Sony launched its newest generation of luxury headphones. The verdict? Sony's newest WH-1000XM6 are spectacular headphones. But let's not forget about their predecessor, the WH-1000XM5, that are also amazing, and have held steady on our top headphones lists ever since they debuted.
In nearly every category, the XM5 out-competes its over-ear headphone rivals. While they usually come at a steep price of $400, you can now grab a pair on sale for $289 at Walmart or $270 at Amazon, depending on what color you like -- close to the lowest-ever price of $250 we saw them last spring.
Also: Sony WH-1000XM5 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Which headphones should you buy?
So if you've been considering upgrading your old pair of headphones, or are shopping for the music lover and listener in your life ahead of graduation season, now is a good time to jump on this deal. Here's why.
The WH-1000XM5 headphones offer 30 hours of battery life, unmatched sound quality, impressive noise cancellation, multi-point connection, and a comfortable fit.
Also: Sony WH-1000XM5 review
When ZDNET contributing writer Matt Miller got his hands on them, he called them "basically perfect." Since this is a luxury Sony headphone, you can expect off-the-charts sound quality, a comfortable design, and distraction-minimizing noise cancellation.
If you're deciding between buying the XM5 or the XM6, the main differences include the foldable nature of the XM6 (the XM5 headphones don't collapse), spatial audio, and stronger noise cancellation. Both headphones have similar battery life and generally admirable sound (though you will get marginally better sound on Sony's latest headset). "Audio quality is superb, the active noise-canceling creates an environment of isolation and focus, and the customization available means the headset can be set up for your specific needs," Miller writes in his review.
This is a significant deal on one of our favorite products we've tested.
How I rated this deal
At about $111 (or roughly 27%) off, I gave this deal a 3/5 editor's deal rating -- while it isn't the biggest savings on these headphones we've seen, it is very close, making it a worthy deal to consider.
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