Sony's noise-canceling flagship from 2022 is back down to $198, matching its lowest price ever.
Amazon has the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones marked down to $198, half off their $399.99 list price, as of October 12. The deal cuts $201.99 off the sticker price and ties the lowest price the headphones have hit on Amazon. The XM5 are a generation behind Sony's current lineup, which now starts with the WH-1000XM6 at $458, but reviewers still rate the XM5's noise cancellation among the best available and note solid call quality as a bonus.
That $198 price tag puts flagship-grade noise cancellation about $260 below Sony's newest model, with reviewers suggesting you aren't giving up much to get there. For anyone still getting by on uncomfortable or noisy headphones, that's the gap between a real upgrade and a stretch purchase.
Worth remembering: the newest version of a product isn't automatically the one worth buying, especially when the old one is on sale for less than half the price.