This Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones deal has…

This Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones deal has saved my friends and me from a huge Black Friday disappointment

Before the start of Black Friday, I prepared my friends – most of whom were asking for the best wireless headphones to buy this Black Friday – to be ready for a deal on the Sony WH-1000XM4. As these headphones are now over five years old, yet still remarkably talented, I had huge expectations for a massive Black Friday discount.

Alas, there hasn't really been a deal worth shouting about. Sure, the XM4 wireless headphones are down to £178 at Amazon, which is a nice saving, but I was expecting more.

With the official Black Friday sales now being well established, I began to lose hope. It looked like none of Sony's five-star flagship headphone series would drop to a price that I could heartily recommend to my friends. As I mentioned in my original feature, we're a group of mid-20s living in London, so we don't have cash to burn.

I was ready to throw in the towel and tell my friends not to bother, but then a Black Friday miracle happened.

Just as it looked like all hope had been lost, Amazon has delivered what can only be described as an absolute banger of a deal, and it's on a newer and, in many ways, better pair of headphones.

In a surprise twist, the Sony WH-1000XM5 are the headphones I'm now recommending to my friends, as they are now hugely discounted to just £150. We initially reviewed this pair of headphones at £380, and since the launch of the WH-1000XM6 earlier this year, the price has slowly come down, with Amazon quoting a recent price of £260.

Regardless of how you look at it, that is an incredible deal; in fact, these headphones ar now cheaper than their predecessors.

You'll notice that these are labelled as the WH-1000XM5SA, which is a slightly different model number from the original model. This is because Sony gave these headphones a light refresh that swaps the hard-shell case of the originals for a soft carrying bag. Otherwise, we've been assured that these are the same headphones.

Sony has a habit of doing this: tweaking a couple of minor things and attaching a new model number to their existing products, and dropping the price while doing so. We've seen the company do something similar with the Bravia 8 OLED TV, which now has a cheaper counterpart in the form of the Bravia 8A.

Regardless, these headphones will deliver the same excellent sonic capabilities of the standard XM5 headphones, including punchy, agile and precise bass mixed with top-notch clarity and top-notch timing.

This comes with a host of creature comforts, including a claimed 30-hour battery life, and a ten-minute charge via a supported USB PD charging brick will enable five hours of listening time if that battery runs flat.

On a personal level, I prefer the design of the WH-1000XM4 as I found these cans to be sturdier and easier to travel with as they fold away, which the XM5 do not, but the build remains sleek and premium regardless of how you look at it.

These are a seriously talented pair of headphones, and they happen to be the cheapest way to gain access to Sony's stellar flagship WH-1000XM range currently. This year's WH-1000XM6 are currently retailing for £299 at Amazon, which is a considerable step up.

I've already spread the news that these headphones are on sale to every group chat I can think of, and multiple friends of mine are now scrambling to Amazon to snatch up this deal.

If I were a betting man, I'd guess that this deal will sell out quickly (much like the Apple AirPods Pro 2 deal I missed out on by not being quick enough), so I wouldn't hesitate if these headphones are on your wishlist.

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This Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones deal has saved my friends and me from a huge Black Friday disappointment

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