Sony - MDR-1000X

Big budget - Sony WH1000XM(x) I still have my original MDR1000x and while the mic leaves a lot to be desired, they're amazing for music and blocking out the outside world. Find a new old stock on sale. Barring that, Bose, Sennheiser, pick your poison/price point, unless you love Apple, then the Airpods Pro2 are amazing for this if you like in-ear. Max if you hate everyone. Airpods4 with ANC are honestly fine for office environments if you have some music going, if you hate over/in ear stuff. If you're on a budget, the Anker ANC stuff is shockingly good for the price, both in sound quality and NC ability. Not 'no music on a plane of crying babies' good, but definitely good enough for an office.

Nah I'm still rocking the MDR1000x too and the sound quality is awesome, even in 2025. Only downside was the hinge which broke after a few years but I got Sony to replace those for free even though I was outside warranty. I've also replaced the ear pads from wear and tear of years of daily use but I reckon I'll get another few years out these legendary earphones. I tested the XM5 in store and sound is not noticeably better (I did a back to back comparison).

Same here buddy! Love these, keep considering upgrading since these have been so good but each time I check the new model out, I can't justify spending so much for what will only be a minor improvement at best, even the battery life is still going well after all these years.

As if the hinges on the mdr1000x forward were great, right! Everything sucks compared to other brands.

There's definitely no need to upgrade every version....but man the original 1000x was a muddy mess of horrible sound.

While you’re right on paper, my Sony MDR-1000X that I got in 2016 and use daily are still doing just fine, with battery life about as good as when I first got them, so…

No, I still have my original Sony MDR-1000X headphones from over 8 years ago, and they’re still going strong. Only consider upgrading if your headphones break (not just the hinges, which can be replaced for about $30), they get stolen, or you have $1,200 to spare. If you can’t comfortably afford twice the original price, then you likely don’t have money to spare for an upgrade.

I still have the original MDR1000X, they still do the job great compared to the XM5 I was gifted.

When I got my xm5s I was fortunate enough to have roadworks outside my window to test the ANC against my battered old first-gen wh-1000xm, and the older model was actually slightly better (just in terms of overall NC). These generational improvements are often underwhelming. I would consider the xm6 if call quality was noticeably better as some reviews say, as that was the achilles heel up to now. Sound quality and ANC have been 'good enough' for me for ages.

Haha, I also had these until very recently... they looked terribly worn but I was happy with them until, yes, the hinge broke. Seems to be in the DNA of Sony headphones. :-)

I still have a set of the original MDR-1000X's. Very much looking forward to the upgrade!