Sony WF-1000XM5 The Best Truly Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds Headphones, Bluetooth WF XM5 Earbuds with Alexa Built-in, Smoky Pink

Took me a while to do so, but I finally bought these earbuds – and they really are as good as people claim it to be.

I’ve had it for a couple of days so far, and the ANC is spectacular (as I’ve come to expect from Sony), sound quality is great and the battery holds up for about 6.5h per charge (the case recharges them about 2-3 times, so you can easily get close to 20h without having to charge the case).

It comes with 4 different foam eartips, and I found the fit to be very comfortable. I don’t notice the weight or shape of the buds when I am wearing them, unlike with my previous Galaxy Buds Pro 1. All in all, well worth the money and I hope to be using these for the next few years!

I bought these because I had a gift card to spend, and in hopes that I could completely separate from my Airpod Pro’s (1rst gen). I wanted to get rid of my Airpod pro’s because I have become so completely fed up with popping them in my ears and having only one earbud connect. That happens about 25% of the time I use them, and of course it’s always right when I’m in a hurry and need them now. I have to reset them every time it happens and frankly I’m fed up with it – unacceptable reliability.
So, it’s only been a little more than a week but I haven’t had this happen once. Nor has it ever happened on any of my other true wireless earbuds (Soundcore Liberty 4 NC’s and some cheap no-name sports hook-style earbuds). The Sony’s have had stellar reviews, but my one reservation was that I’m in a full Apple ecosphere, and I had read that if you’re in the Apple ecosphere, you’ll want the Airpod Pro series II. Using anything else would mean missing out on that typical Apple integration – things work great together. Well, I’ve never tried the Airpod Pro II’s, but I couldn’t get myself to reward Apple by ordering another pair of headphones from them after my dissatisfaction with the AirPod Pro I’s.
So, how are the Sony’s? Absolutely fantastic and boy, am I glad I went with them! First of all, in terms of integration/functionality with my Apple world, best I can tell so far its flawless. Transitions between my iPhone 15 and iPad Pro are just as smooth as my AirPods were. I can send/receive calls just as easily, and the Sony has one feature I don’t think AirPods have – you can just nod your head to answer calls! I also find the touch sensor vastly superior to Apple’s squeeze surface (or whatever it’s called). Much more intuitive to me, and it works every time on the first try.
Another big advantage the Sony’s have over the Airpod Pro I’s is battery life. One reason I picked the Sony’s was better sleep. My wife makes quite a racket sleeping at night and I had read that these were great for sleeping. My Airpod Pro’s were also quite good at that, but they wouldn’t last through the night – only about 4.5 hours (w/NC on). Not sure how long the Sony can last, but I’ve gone over 8 hours (w/NC on) – and they still had some battery left! As for the noise cancelling, I’d say it’s slightly disappointing. I also own the over-ear WH-1000XM5’s, and they have AWESOME noise cancelling! I’d say the WF-1000XM5’s are nowhere near that level – I’d say they are about the same as my Airpod Pro I’s. Good enough to attenuate my wife’s snoring (at least enough that I can sleep), but not completely block it (so I hear nothing at all) as on the WH-1000XM5’s. But of course, the WH-1000MX5’s are way too big to sleep with (full size over-ear headphones). Another minor disappointment is no “find my earbud” functionality, which makes me a little paranoid about losing them, but hopefully not a big deal.
Saving the best for last is the sound quality. I bought the big-brother WH-1000XM5’s a year ago and was quite surprised at their sound quality. Same thing here – these sound fantastic! I’m a fairly serious audiophile and have quite a collection of high-end headphones, including one pair of earbuds that are more than triple the cost of these Sony’s (JH Audio J13 v2’s). And all the electronics to go with it (DAP’s, DAC’s, amps, cables, etc.). They took a while to break in properly (maybe 30-50 hours) but they are really wonderful. They are among the most natural sounding earbuds I’ve heard and I’m a bit stumped how that could be possible since it uses crappy Bluetooth. My high-end headphones are fed almost exclusively high-rez files. Bluetooth AAC (can’t use LDAC on an iPhone) is the best I can run, which of course are only a small fraction the bitrate resolution of true high-rez files. But somehow these sound absolutely wonderful – just a natural “rightness” that’s hard to describe. BY FAR the best bass I’ve ever heard from an earbud. They have a confidence, an “assertiveness” (yes, that’s a new audio metaphor) – not aggressiveness – that I just love. I’m not saying that they are flat-out better than my high-end earbuds (my Shure M535’s are my favorite), but I will say they are at least in the same ballpark. I can pop these in and really enjoy listening for hours – and not feel like I’m missing out in not using my much more expensive earbuds. Very high compliment indeed! So, great job Sony! BTW, I read that Sony bought Audeze (high-end true audiophile headphone brand), which means I can’t wait to see what they come out with in the future – if these are as good as they are, I can’t wait to find out what the XM6’s or XM7’s will sound like!
Update 4/16/24: Just wanted to mention one more remarkable thing about these. I am an avid cyclist and I’ve been on a long search to find the best earbuds for cycling – which for me, is mostly about reducing WIND NOISE. That is by far my biggest goal for cycling headphones. These are downright spooky in their ability to hugely reduce wind noise – BY FAR the most effective I’ve ever tried, and I’ve tried quite a few (AirPod Pro’s, Soundcore Liberty 4 NC, etc…). So now I face an interesting dilemma – do i dare use a $300 pair of earbuds for cycling? The problem with using them for cycling is that cycling is of course brutal on earbuds (constant sweat). So I’ll have to decide if I dare to do that long term, but I can say that these are by far the best headphones I have ever used in terms of wind blocking. So these really are amazing – fantastic sound, powerful noise cancelling, long battery life and the best wind noise blocking I’ve ever heard…

I’ve had a pair of the previous generation XM4s for a couple of years. They were fabulous buds, but the battery life on them started to go way down. It was time to replace them. I decided to give the latest generation a try. Once again, Sony has hit it out of the park with the XM5s. The sound quality and noise cancellation are incredible. The new buds are physically smaller and lighter than the previous ones. The case is slimmed down a bit. The magnets that hold the buds in the case are not as strong, making it easier to get them out. The battery life on these new ones is fantastic!

Some of the cons: The bass is a bit more punchy than the old ones, but that’s not a huge deal. I just went into my music player app and reduced the bass a little. The buds themselves are very smooth, and can slip out of the fingers pretty easily. Would be nice to have a rubberized coating for more traction. In the Sound Connect app, it would be nice to be able to select a default option for Ambient Sound Control when wearing just one bud.

Conclusion: If you have a pair of XM4s that still work, you would do fine to stick with them for the time being. But when they do die, get yourself a pair of XM5s. You’ll be pleased!

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