i have the xm4 so not quite the newest but they are designed for traveling on a plane. every part of it is optimized for that kinda high volume constant rumbling environment and they are in my opinion the best headphone for that environment. but they are not critical listening headphones nor do they try to be. so i would say that if you are planning on doing a lot of traveling with them i would go woth the sonys if you are going to be using them in like an office there are better sounding headphones