Amazon just dropped the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones down to 50% off - the lowest price yet

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When Sony released its WH-1000XM6 headphones last year, I was instantly floored by the new headset's stellar noise cancellation and classic Sony sound. They fit and sounded simply amazing. The headphones had such strong noise cancellation that, while listening to them on a recent flight, I didn't realize the plane had embarked on an emergency landing.

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The XM6 headphones are great, and that's for sure. They're also nearly $500 -- not terribly affordable. If $460 is out of your price range, you might be better off opting for the last-gen XM5 headphones that Sony unveiled a few years ago. It's a good time to buy them, too, since Amazon is offering the lowest price we've seen yet ahead of Labor Day -- 50% off, taking them down to $198.

The XM5 headphones don't have the updated Bluetooth version or as strong noise cancellation, but that doesn't mean they aren't great headphones. They have the same battery life as the newer XM6. What Sony improves on from the last generation to the present one is its noise cancellation.

Side-by-side comparisons prove that the noise cancellation on the XM6 is stronger. Still, the XM5's noise cancellation is still great. In fact, if you never listened to the XM6, you probably would have no idea what you're missing, anyway.