Summary
The WF-1000XM4 earphones from Sony were recognized as a TKGap Editors’ Choice when they were released. We have a few complaints about them, despite the fact that they are of high quality. They are on the larger side, and some people’s ears may not be able to accommodate them.
It is very clear that Sony took such complaints into consideration when it set out to develop its flagship noise-cancelling earphones, the WF-1000XM5 of the next generation. XM5s are not only more compact than their predecessors, but they also provide enhanced performance in almost every aspect, including enhanced noise cancellation, sound, and voice calling capabilities. Is the Mark 5s an ideal product? No, not exactly.
Sony WF-1000XM5 Earbuds Review
With a price tag of $300 (£260), which is $20 more than their predecessor, they are also rather expensive. In general, however, they are rather remarkable and certainly rank among the very best earbuds now available on the market.
Design for the Sony WF-1000XM5
According to Sony, the XM5s are 25% smaller and 20% lighter than the XM4s. Additionally, each bud weighs 6 grams, while the XM4s weigh 7.3 grams apiece. The XM5s are available in either black or silver. To put that into perspective, each pair of Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 weighs 5.3 grams. Additionally, the charging case of the XM5s is around fifteen percent smaller than the one of the XM4s, and it is also capable of wirelessly charging its contents.
As I said before, the XM4s are a little bit on the larger side. In spite of the fact that they suited my ears quite well, they did not necessarily fit people with tiny ears very well. One of the primary goals of this redesign is to make the buds more suitable for accommodating a broader variety of ears. I was expecting that the new XM5s would be a decent fit for my ears, but I wanted to make sure that someone with smaller ears put both the XM4s and the XM5s through their paces and let me know what she thought of them. You are able to see my companion video review to witness my coworker Tara test out the buds, and it is evident that the smaller XM5s provided a better fit for her.
It is the matte surface of the XM4s that I find appealing. These, on the other hand, have a glossy finish, which first made me a bit nervous. However, the outer section of the buds, which is where the touch controls are located, has a matte texture, which means that it does not pick up fingerprints. Even the glossy area on the black version of the buds is able to avoid smudging rather well. The fact that the buds do not protrude as far out of your ears as their predecessors did is another thing that I love.
Although the XM4s only came with three sets of eartips, the XM5s come with a fourth pair of eartips that are very tiny. They simply don’t quite provide me with the tight seal that you really need for the best sound quality and noise-canceling function. Furthermore, despite the fact that they should fit most ears just fine, they still have a shortcoming that was present in the prior generation.
For the purpose of ensuring that the earbuds remain firmly in place inside your ears, the tips are constructed from a high-tech polyurethane foam substance that is meant to contour to your ear canal and provide some additional grip. My ears need tips that are somewhat broader and rounder, and I had to replace them with a pair of my favorite silicone tips in order to get a better seal. However, the form of these tips is not quite ideal for my ears. It would be wonderful if Sony supplied a larger selection of tips, but as I said earlier, most of you shouldn’t have any issues with the ones you receive; many of you should be able to obtain a fit that is secure enough to run with these. The XM5s are splashproof and sweat-resistant, much as the XM4s, which have an IPX4 rating.
Functions of the Sony WF-1000XM5
There has never been a time when Sony’s flagship headphones and earbuds did not come packed with functionality. When you begin a conversation with another person, these XM5 buds allow you to select a mode called Speak-to-Chat, which instantly stops your music and enables the ambient mode of the headphones. These new enhancements are in addition to the current favorites that are included with the XM5 buds. The ambient mode is comparable to the transparency mode that Apple offers, but with Sony headphones, you have the ability to customize the amount of ambient sound that you wish to allow in. The AirPods Pro 2 will be able to take advantage of Apple’s version of this capability when iOS 17 is released.
I am not going to go over all of the features of the earphones here, but I will highlight the ones that jump out to me since they are special. First and foremost, you are provided with multipoint Bluetooth pairing, which enables you to link the earbuds with two different devices at the same time and effortlessly choose between the music from each of them. There are also a large number of equalization options that can be used to adjust the sound, as well as various adaptive sound modes and support for hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant.
During my early review sample, I was only able to get Alexa to function, although Sony claims that hands-free Google Assistant is supported. By using this capability, you will be able to access Amazon’s voice assistant without having to push anything on the buds themselves. You may also build a custom equalization setting by using the “find your equalizer” beta option, which is a new beta setting that allows you to pick between a series of EQ setting modifications to discover the sound that corresponds to your preferences the most. My opinion was that it was a valuable addition.
Similar to the XM4s, these buds have ear-detection sensors that halt your music when you remove one earbud from your ear (yes, you can use a single earbud if you so desire) and restart playing when you replace the earbud in your ear. Instead, what’s novel is head-tracking in conjunction with spatial audio. Currently, Sony claims that it is only accessible to users of Android, and it is not known whether or not it will ever be made available to users of Apple products. In my experiments, however, it seemed to function in a manner that was quite similar to Apple’s spatial audio for viewing videos.
A brand new gesture control for answering and terminating phone conversations is one of the new features that I nearly failed to notice being available. The ability to answer or stop calls by nodding your head is a feature that may be activated or deactivated, depending on your preference. At this time, there is no feature that would enable you to skip music tracks forward or backward by shaking your head to the left or right. However, it would seem that it would be easy to include this gesture control.
According to Sony, they are also compatible with the new LE Audio standard. This means that in the future, you should have access to capabilities such as Auracast broadcast audio, which would enable you to, for instance, tap into an audio stream that is being broadcast from a specific TV at the gym while you are on a treadmill.
Last but not least, devices that support Sony’s LDAC audio codec are compatible with the XM5s. If you are streaming high-resolution audio songs from streaming services such as Qobuz, Tidal, or Amazon Music, using LDAC may provide you with slightly improved sound quality. Users of the iPhone are provided with the AAC audio codec, but a significant number of Android phones support LDAC. However, in order to enable this support, you may need to activate it via the developer mode in the settings.
The Sony Headphones app is lacking a function that would allow users to locate their headphones, and it would be a “find my buds” feature of some kind. The AirPods Pro 2 come equipped with a technology called Precision Find My, which may be quite helpful in certain situations.
Performance of the Sony WF-1000XM5 noise-cancelling headphones
In terms of performance, they seem to be an improvement over the XM4s; however, it is not a significant jump in comparison to the XM4s. The V2 Integrated processor and the QN2e Noise-Canceling Processor, two new proprietary Sony chipsets with greater processing power than their predecessors, power them. Additionally, each bud has three microphones and new speaker driver units that measure 8.2 millimeters.
Bose and Sony have been engaged in fierce competition for the greatest noise cancellation technology, and Sony claims that these earbuds offer the best noise cancellation based on the results of their testing. In comparison to the noise cancellation that the XM4s provided, this one is not a significant improvement; yet, it is a touch more effective and is rather amazing in general.
Along the same lines as Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds 2, these buds are designed to be more effective in reducing the volume of a wider spectrum of frequencies. The results of my anecdotal testing indicate that they are on par with the Bose buds in terms of noise cancellation; nevertheless, it is difficult to determine which one is superior since the Bose buds also have excellent noise cancellation. AirPods Pro 2 from Apple also do this.
There is adaptive noise cancellation built into all three of these earbuds; however, the Bose headphones allow you to customize the level of noise cancellation by using a variety of mode settings.
In addition, all of these devices make use of ever-more-powerful computers and software algorithms to analyze the sounds that are occurring around you in order to eliminate them.
The reason I feel it is difficult to declare a winner is because the noise cancellation capabilities of one pair of earbuds may perform somewhat better in specific situations than those of another set of earbuds, and vice versa. And it’s possible that the tips of the AirPods Pro 2 will fit better, resulting in a more secure seal than the Sony’s.
You might also have a better seal if the Bose buds fit you better. Unfortunately, when it comes to noise-cancelling dominance, things are not as black and white as they may seem, even if a manufacturer claims that its noise-cancelling technology is the finest. Software algorithms are subject to regular updates and modifications.
The sound quality of the Sony WF-1000X5
It is also possible to hear increases in sound quality as a result of the new drivers and enhanced processors. However, this is not a significant improvement in comparison to the XM4s, which already had superb sound quality. Having said that, I found that the XM5s had a somewhat more polished sound; the treble is slightly more refined, the mids (which are where voices reside) come across with a bit more clarity, and the bass has a slightly better definition. Everything has been tightened up a little bit so that the earbuds sound more authentic, which is what you want to achieve from the point of view of an audiophile. I am not certain that the soundstage has been increased in any way, but the earbuds produce a sound that is large and powerful, and it has a wonderful depth and delicacy to it (in more difficult recordings, you can clearly hear various elements).
My test tracks include songs such as “Knock Knock Knock” by Spoon, “Don’t Wanna Be Normal” by Athletes of God, “Touch Me (Take 3)” by The Doors, “Dirty Rat” by Orbital, “Vigilante Shit” by Taylor Swift, “Golden Hour” by Jvke, and “Passionfruit” by Drake. It was on both my iPhone 14 Pro and my Pixel 7 Pro that I used Qobuz.
In terms of their tonal quality, they offer a somewhat warmer sound than the AirPods Pro 2, which also have exceptional sound quality for their size. However, the Sony XM5s are perhaps superior in terms of their overall tonal balance. It is just a really nice experience to listen to these earphones, and they are among the best-sounding earbuds that are currently available.
I had to down the level a little bit while switching between the two buds with my iPhone 14 Pro, streaming music from Qobuz. The AirPods Pro 2 have a little more bite or sizzle to them when playing Spoon’s Knock Knock Knock tune. I had to do this since the AirPods Pro 2 had a bit more bite or sizzle. The voices, in particular, come across as being somewhat more natural while using the Sonys, whilst the XM5s just seem little more polished overall. The sound quality, on the other hand, is very subjective, and it is possible that some individuals may prefer the sound of the AirPods Pro 2.
Sony WF-1000X5’s performance in terms of voice calling
Concerning the quality of voice calls, Sony claims that you are experiencing its “best-ever call quality.” The bone conduction sensors in the earbuds, according to Sony, “pick up the vibration of your voice directly from your skull bones.” This helps to isolate your speech from ambient noises and background noise, allowing for crisp calls even in areas with a lot of background noise.
Overall, I was extremely happy with the call quality, and the noise reduction in particular was really impressive. It seems to be a pretty big increase over the XM4s, and the new processors are likely a contributor in those gains. A few callers did mention that my voice warbled a little bit when the circumstances were more severe; however, we test under some very hard settings on the loud streets of New York (in my companion video, I present a test call that gives you a flavor of the call quality).
Lifespan of the Sony WF-1000XM5 battery
What you get with the XM4s is the same as what you get with the WF-1000XM5 in terms of battery life: At moderate volume settings, the noise cancellation feature can be turned on for around 8 hours on a single charge, while it may be turned off for up to 12 hours. Additional charges have been added to the case. In comparison to the AirPods Pro 2, this is a couple of hours longer, which indicates that the battery life of the AirPods Pro 2 is extremely excellent overall.
Concluding remarks on the Sony WF-1000XM5
These earphones are very remarkable, as I said in the introduction to this piece. Certainly, they are not flawless, and I am certain that Sony will release some firmware upgrades in order to address some flaws (the Sony Headphones iOS beta app that I was using for this review did crash on me a number of times) and maybe enhance the performance of the headphones significantly. However, the most important thing to take away from this is that Sony has been able to make its flagship earbuds substantially smaller while also enhancing their functionality. This includes making modest improvements to noise cancellation and sound quality, as well as making a somewhat larger improvement to voice calling. Additionally, there is spatial audio with head tracking available for Android users, without a doubt.
It is possible that Apple customers may find the AirPods Pro 2 to have some benefits, whether it be in terms of how well they fit or the functionality they provide. As I’ve said previously, the AirPods Pro 2 are rather difficult to beat for Apple fans. Not only do they have an outstanding noise cancellation feature, but they also have remarkable sound quality for their size. Additionally, they are now being reduced to about $200, which is $100 cheaper than these.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 and the new Beats Studio Buds Plus, which are substantially more affordable than the former, are two more headphones that I like using. However, the WF-1000X Mark 5s are really the best of the best, especially for those who utilize Android on their devices. You may make a complaint about the fact that they do not come with a greater selection of ear tips, that they could be lacking one or two features, and that they are so expensive. On the other hand, they do, for the most part, live up to expectations.
