Sony's Sound Connect app is not available on macOS, even though the headphones expose most of their controls over Bluetooth. Sony XM5 Controller brings those settings to a compact, native menu bar app — without changing your Mac's audio output or running a background cloud service.
- Noise Cancelling, Ambient Sound and Off
- Live noise-control mode icon in the menu bar
- Ambient Sound level and Focus on Voice
- Equalizer presets, Clear Bass and five frequency bands
- Speak-to-Chat, sensitivity and automatic close time
- Pause when removed, touch panel and DSEE
- Multipoint, including the XM5 reconnect confirmation handshake
- Sound-quality / stable-connection priority
- Automatic power off and NC/AMB button cycle
- Battery, charging state, codec, firmware and supported capabilities
- English and Russian interface, selected from the macOS language
Controls are shown only after the headphones advertise support and report their current value. Opening the app performs read-only queries; a setting changes only when you operate its control.
- Download
Sony-XM5-Controller-macOS-arm64-v1.2.3.zipfrom the latest release. - Unzip it and move Sony XM5 Controller.app to Applications.
- On the first launch, Control-click the app and choose Open.
- Allow Bluetooth access when macOS asks.
The current build is signed but not notarized. If macOS still blocks the first launch, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway. The app then lives only in the menu bar.
- macOS 13 Ventura or newer
- Apple silicon Mac
- Sony WH-1000XM5 paired and connected in macOS Bluetooth settings
Everything runs locally on your Mac. The app has no analytics, accounts, telemetry, update service or internet connection. It requests Bluetooth access only to read and change settings on the headphones.
Logs are stored locally at:
~/Library/Logs/SonyXM5Controller/controller.log
Xcode Command Line Tools and Swift 6 are required.
git clone https://github.com/exeshka/SonyMacosMenuController.git
cd SonyMacosMenuController
./script/build-app.sh
open "dist/Sony XM5 Controller.app"To create the same ZIP used by Releases:
./script/package-release.shTags matching v* also run the included GitHub Actions release workflow.
The app talks directly to Sony's Serial HPC Bluetooth service using the Sony MDR v2 protocol. It does not automate playback, change the default audio route, or emulate Sony Sound Connect.
The protocol implementation was validated against the capability tables reported by a WH-1000XM5 and cross-checked with the open-source SonyHeadphonesClient and Gadgetbridge projects.
Sony XM5 Controller is an independent community project tested with the WH-1000XM5. Other Sony models may use related protocol messages, but they are not currently supported. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony.