A few months ago, I reviewed Sony’s flagship over-ear headphones, the awkwardly named WH-1000XM5. While they offered great audio and active noise cancelation (ANC), the design was way too clunky, especially compared to the cans by main rival Bose and even its last-generation counterpart.
This past week I’ve been testing Sony’s new flagship earbuds, the also awkwardly named WF-1000XM5, and they seem to fix a lot of the issues I had with their larger sibling. They offer great audio, ANC, and a new sleek, compact design, especially compared to earbuds by main rival Bose.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 are easily some of the very best wireless earbuds on the market right now. The big question is if they’re worth the higher $300 asking price.
Source: Sony
Sony WF-1000XM5
Superb design and performance
And much smaller than before
The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds feature a more compact design than their predecessor while retaining excellent sound quality and active noise cancelation.
- Brand
- Sony
- Noise Cancellation
- Yes
- Microphones
- Six-microphone array
- IP rating
- IPX4
- Supported codecs
- SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3
- Charging
- USB-C, wireless via case
- Driver size
- 8.4mm
- Weight
- 5.9g (per earbud) 39g (with case)
- Chip
- QN2e chip, V2 processor
- Spatial Audio
- Personalized 360 Reality Audio, Head tracking
- Earbuds battery life
- 8 hours (ANC on) / 12 hours (ANC off)
- Charging case battery life
- 24 hours
- Color
- Black, Silver
- Price (MSRP)
- $300
Pros
- New design is much sleeker than before
- Excellent audio quality
- Earbuds look unique and stylish
Cons
- Noise cancelation isn’t as good as Bose QC Earbuds 2s
- Foam eartips may be too stiff for some
- Companion app looks very dated
Sony WF-1000XM5: Price and availability
The Sony WF-1000XM5 are on sale now at retailers worldwide. In the U.S., the earbuds are priced at around $300 and can be purchased on retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, or Sony’s own online store. The earbuds come in two colors: black or silver
Design and hardware
Downsizing without compromise
Sony’s previous flagship buds, the WF-1000XM4, were critically acclaimed for their audio quality, but almost everybody agreed they were too bulky. The XM5 fixes this completely. The XM5 buds weigh 5.9g each compared to the predecessor’s 7.3g, and they don’t protrude from the ear nearly as much as before. The case is also 25% smaller than the previous model and can now fit into the small jeans pocket. This new case form factor is about the same size as Apple’s AirPods Pro case, and it makes the Bose QC Earbuds 2 look bulky in comparison.
What’s somehow more impressive is that Sony managed to downsize without sacrificing specs or battery. The XM5 offer the same battery life as before, and the audio drivers are actually bigger, going from 6.4mm to 8.4mm. There’s even an additional microphone in each bud, making for three each.
I mostly love the earbuds’ look, particularly the jet black color I received for review. I say mostly because Sony made the odd decision to give the case a matte coating, which is great, but a glossy coating for the buds, which isn’t as great. The glossy coating not only attracts fingerprints but also makes the buds a bit slippery. Factor this with the relatively cramped case, and these earbuds are slightly harder to take out than others from Bose or Apple. It’s not enough to be a dealbreaker, but it just takes a bit more effort and concentration to take these earbuds out of the case.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 (left) and the AirPods Pro (middle) and Bose QC Earbuds 2 (right)
The earbuds themselves use a stem-less design, which means the core part is relatively bulky compared to stemmed earbuds like the AirPods Pro 2 or Nothing Ear 2. Like with the XM4, Sony is using polyurethane-coated foam ear tips instead of the silicon tips most other earbuds use. The foam is stiffer than silicon and is meant to provide a stronger seal around the ear canal. However, I found this material to be quite uncomfortable for the first two days, despite trying each of the four sizes available in the box.
Thankfully, either my ears got used to the stiffer-than-usual ear tips or the foam did its advertised job of conforming to my ear canal over hours of use. By day three, they became way more comfortable to wear. I still can’t wear them for longer than, say, 45 minutes before I have to give my ears a rest, but I concede I have particularly sensitive ear canals. I fiddle with earbuds in my ears much more than my partner or friends, even when we’re wearing the exact same earbuds. Still, the foam ear tips do provide the promised stronger seal. If you have sensitive ear canals like me, you can always buy a pair of third-party silicon ear tips for a few bucks.
Sony XM5 earbuds’ extra foam tips
The earbuds have touch-sensitive panels on the outside, as expected, but they can only register taps, not swipes. As a result, Sony has given the earbuds the ability to register up to four taps, so you have more control options (although I’d rather just swipe up and down). On the inner body (the part that touches your ear canal) is the usual proximity sensor, but also a bone conduction sensor to better detect when you’re speaking and automatically turn down the audio accordingly.
Under the hood are the aforementioned larger audio drivers with a redesigned diaphragm and the new Sony V2 chip. Sony is marketing this chip as being able to help pump out a wider range of frequencies, including refining vocals and bass reproduction. The earbuds support SBC, AAC, and LDAC, and can also connect to two devices simultaneously. There’s also IPX4 splash resistance for the buds, and the case supports Qi-wireless charging. So in terms of hardware, the XM5 checks every box.
Software
Lots of controls, outdated app
The Sony XF-1000XM5 can be used immediately out of the box. Just press the pair button on the back of the case to initiate pairing. But of course, there’s a companion app; unfortunately, it’s terrible. The app is simply called “Headphones” and has one of the most generic, lazily-designed app icons in recent memory. The UI is clunky and the graphics are outdated. It looks like it came from TouchWiz circa 2011.
The app does allow you to customize the touch controls, so I recommend everybody use it at least once to set them up. But otherwise, all other features offered by the app are useless or too complicated to use. There’s spatial audio, for example, but it requires you to install a separate app that only offers a free trial — yes, a subscription is required. Even the free trial is annoying to activate; you have to input a 16-digit code that’s buried in one of the pamphlets that come with the packaging.
There’s an “Activity” tab in the app that apparently tracks your listening habits. It requires you to sign in, but you can’t actually do that from the app. You’ll be redirected to Sony’s website in a web browser, which is slow to load. To sign in, you need to first sign up for a Sony account, a tedious process that requires email confirmation and an overly long password.
No one wants to jump through hoops, sign up for all these extra accounts or download additional apps just to use a feature that likely doesn’t add anything of value. Everything about the app experience is awful.
But like I said, it’s worth using the app once to set the controls because they are useful. I like that Sony buds allow you to separate or differentiate tap actions between the right or left buds, so you get double the control options. For example, tapping once on the right earbud will start or pause audio, but the same tap on the left earbud cycles between ANC or transparency mode. A tap and hold on the right activates voice assistance (can be Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Siri), while the same long press on the left turns on “aware mode,” which turns down the music and switches to transparency mode until you remove your finger from the touch panel. If you don’t like having separate controls for left and right earbuds, you can turn this off in the app.
Performance
Superb audio out of the box
Sonically, the Sony WF-1000XM5 are exactly my jam. They produce refined treble for piercing and striking highs, clear mids for more vocal clarity, and slightly thumpy but not overbearing bass. Audio preferences can be subjective, but I didn’t feel the need to adjust the EQ in the app at all, unlike the Bose QC Earbuds 2 or Nothing Ear 2. Whether it was K-Pop tracks, 90s pop-punk from Blink 182, or Jimi Hendrix’s guitar riffs, the XM5 pumped out very satisfying audio. I think I like the audio performance here more than Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro or Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, and both rank high on my list.
The ANC is also quite strong, and easily better than lower-priced earbuds from Nothing, Jabra, and OnePlus that I’ve tested recently, although it’s still a bit behind both the Bose QC Earbuds 2 and AirPods Pro 2. The latter two earbuds are, by consensus, the two best ANC earbuds around, and I think they do a better job of muting every type of noise (air conditioning whirs and chatty humans) than Sony’s buds, which let in a surprisingly high amount of these kinds of noises. I think the Bose QC Earbuds 2 are still the best in class in terms of being able to shut out outside noise.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 are exactly my jam.
The XM5’s transparency mode fares better. It’s about on par with Bose’s, but it falls short of the AirPods Pro’s undisputed best transparency mode. There’s just a bit of over-processing on the XM5 when I’m hearing human voices through this mode, while the AirPods Pro are so good that it sounds like I’m not wearing earbuds at all. If I have to give ANC scores out of 10, I’d give the XM5 an 8.5. The Bose would be 10, and AirPods Pro a 9.
The XM5 play very nice with Android phones, allowing me to summon Google Assistant with a long tap of the earbud or via voice using “Hey Google.” The three microphones on each bud and the bone conduction do a good job of identifying my voice. (It’s worth noting that with an iPhone, I can only access Siri with a long tap and not voice.) The XM5’s excellent mics also carry over to phone calls, with the other party saying he can hear me loud and clear.
Battery life can be considered good, especially for earbuds of this size. I did get close to the advertised eight hours of playtime on a single charge, and the case adds another two charges for a total of 24 hours of audio time. Charging can be done via USB-C or wireless charging. No real complaints here at all.
Should you buy the Sony WF-1000XM5?
You should buy the Sony WF-1000XM5 if:
- You want a pair of excellent-sounding earbuds
- You want a sleek design and great looks
- You find the Bose QC Earbuds 2 or WF-1000XM4 too bulky
You should not buy the Sony WF-1000XM5 if:
- You want the absolute best ANC
- You are an iPhone user who wants hands-free Siri access
- You need more affordable options
Sony’s newest earbuds look and sound great, and manage to address a universal complaint of their predecessor. For that, it’s a winner in my book. I still think the Bose QC Earbuds 2 are better at totally tuning out outside sound, but I find those earbuds unattractive, the case too bulky, and the audio performance not as pleasing as the XM5. Apple’s AirPods Pro probably still strike the best balance of all worlds (sleek design, audio performance, ANC prowess), but I rarely carry an iPhone as my main phone, so I prefer earbuds that give me access to Google Assistant.
As for my original question: is the XM5 worth the higher $300 price tag? I’d say yes if you’re an Android user with disposable income, and $300 doesn’t sound like a big hit on your bank balance. If that does sound like more money than you’d like to spend on earbuds, then I recommend the Nothing Ear 2, which is half the price and definitely not 50% worse. If you’re an iPhone user, I still think the AirPods Pro are a slightly better choice due to having access to hands-free Siri and Apple’s excellent spatial audio, which just works out of the box and doesn’t require you to install a second app and sign up for an account and insert a 16-digit code.
Sony, you fixed the earbud design; now fix that clunky app and poor third-party app services integration.
Source: Sony
Sony WF-1000XM5
Superb design and performance
The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds feature a more compact design than their predecessor while retaining excellent sound quality and active noise cancelation.