One of the top headphones in the world, especially in the ANC category, now has a newer version. Since its launch, Sony’s Best Gaming Headphones Without Mic WH-1000XM4 over-ear noise-canceling headphones have consistently ranked among the finest in the industry, if not the best globally. However, by failing in just one area—design—with the introduction of their replacement, the Sony WH-1000XM5, Sony is going a step further.

The latter is much superior in terms of performance and ANC, but not in terms of design. Sony looks to have moved forward two steps and backward one. The Sony WH-1000XM3 was perfect and had a design that was extremely similar to that of its twin, the WH-1000XM4. The headband wasn’t new, but it could bother a few users with bigger heads.

The earcups of the XM5 are bigger and the headband is narrower since the earcups cannot fold as they can on the XM4 and XM3. They are well-padded and comfy to wear, which is a plus. Even though the XM5 fits well, I think the XM4 and XM3 designs were far more simple and more comfortable.

Sony characterizes its ANC as always being “industry-leading noise cancellation” and says that it has advanced in many areas. The microphone has a new ANC technology that makes it better than its previous one. I can hear a difference between the XM5 and the XM4 in terms of sound quality, with the XM5 having a better overall sound quality and now including a nice bass that wasn’t there on the XM4.