From what i gather about the fit and wear of the foam tips is that Far East Asians(Japanese, Korean, Chinese) don't have the problems that the Westerners are experiencing. Asians typically have smaller ears, narrower ear canals, and dryer ears. Asians actually have dry flakey ear wax and almost never have ear sweat, unlike westerners that have greasy "wet" ear wax and sweat in their ears. Guess Sony did most of their testing domestically.
*EDIT* I forgot to mention with the new chip these have dynamic head tracking which give them spatial audio. Although its done fairly well on this pair I still feel spatial audio is pretty gimmicky with music and I never use this feature
As someone who actually uses it all the time when listening to music I find it makes the music sound BETTER and I just think it’s AWESOME to hear the music “move” as I do
For someone using the XM4 after trying the XM5 I think the difference is nice and day and I suggest you to check if you are not using a faulty one…I’ve managed to use both of them while travelling just to see the difference before selling the Xm4. The major thing that I don’t like is the price tag.
I mean, he literally said he switched to silicone tips, which will not have the same isolation as foam. That part of the review is literally contradictory with all the others online, all because of the different tips, it would be the same with the XM4, you need a good seal.
I have the XM5s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
I have the XM5s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
Had xm4s and with the seal test good on both ears ANC and sound was just ok until switched to 3rd party foam tips. With xm5 after perfect seal was acheaved ANC and sound/instrument separation are unreal! Great job, SONY!
I have xm5's, and they have plenty of bass. Chek it if your buds seal good in your ears. When you find best eartips for your ear, they is an exellent for sound and also for NC. And dont put any eartips on the buds because original eartips have a small net for blocking earwax to enter in buds.
Just got mine and they’re less bulky than the xm4’s and while I absolutely love the xm4, I have to say for my smaller ears the design of the xm5 fit better and offer me better noise canceling in return. Absolutely worth the upgrade on my part.
1:38 Multipoint pairing: you cannot use ANC or ambient sound when using this. 2:48 Speak-to-chat: you have to be the one to initiate the conversation to trigger it. and depending on your sensitivity setting and background noise, it doesn't always get triggered. 3:55 Touch controls: you do not have control over everything. you can select preset groups of controls, but not fully customizable.
1) you can 2) it's a expected as if it's not designed this way, you will have false detection from time to time. And if yours are not triggered everytime, means your setting are not as accurate.
Thanks so much for an excellent review and I'm sooo happy that you're continuing doing reviews. You would have been sorely missed! I had a similiar experience with the XM4s, meaning, no matter how many EQ settings I tried, I couldn't get the volume, bass and overall soundstage I wanted for my personal tastes. I also had issues with comfort. I ended up selling mine. The price vs performance ratio was disspointing.
Awww man, sorry to hear your experience. I'm having a much different experience. Sound is superb and ANC is on par with Bose QC II and Airpod pro 2. I have all 3 and the sonys are my new favorite right now.
I hate that this has been my experience as well because I have been a huge fan of the XM4's and I love the Linkbuds S. I could just never get a good fit which means I never got a good seal and it's caused me to not have a good experience with these. I wish they would just offer silicone eartips in the box as an option like other companies do
The included tips are really bad, after switching to full foam that I also had on XM4. I can easily say that the ANC is the best compared to them and airpods pro. The sound also got improved. But only after using foam eartips
Ohh also, not only does the foam eartips make the anc a lot better than silicone, but the thing you said about the tracks sounding different, here's what the audiofile I spoke to said: "when earbuds are with amazing sound quality you're gonna be able to hear way more details in different songs, like how they were recorded for example. Old songs haven't been recorded as well as some new songs and with better quiality earbuds you can now hear that more clearly, and get disapointed. It might make you start to change your entire music taste to songs that have been recorded better and such, just to get that amazing feeling". Basically it's actually normal if different tracks sound completely different with them. Even when you go between spotify and youtube or other places, there's massive differences in the sound track, so.. some songs will underperform, which you couldn't hear before, but now you can :) I will try to judge if this is the case with the earbuds when they arrive at my apartment. Really hoping they have even better sound than the MTW 3 did, cus I was loving that sound quality :3 (But there I noticed the recording differences already between the tracks I was listening to, which I never used to notice on my old jabra 75T elite active)
Would be able to give an update on how these sound? I thought his review was skewed due to not using the same type of ear tips, so I would like to have another opinion especially regarding what you noted.
@@BarzulRei Yea sure :) They are not impressive at all. They sound kind of boring, and certainly not worth their high price tag. When I got them, I noticed how big of a deal it is that they are glossy. (Because they are extremely hard to pull out of the case, and really easy to drop..) The MTW 3 sounds a lot better for a much lower price, but honestly also has some issues. If you MUST buy in ear headphones then I recommend the MTW 3 with a good warranty. But I suggest you buy the OVER EAR WH-1000XM5 instead, since they are actually quite good, and has EXCELLENT ANC :)
I went JBL Reflect Flow Pro for sport (inline skate) and really I have no complaints whatsoever. Only had to EQ the bass a bit low cause they're overpowered. Other than that they're perfect, great cancelling too.
Sound quality is excellent on my xm5's and i have no Battery drain issues like I did on my previous XM4s. Its a good thing you can be successful on the internet with weird and peculiar takes and get praised for it in an echo chamber.😁
I had issues with the foam tips, could not get a good seal per their app test, both sound quality and ANC were not good Switched to some foam tips from a 3rd party and got a good seal Significant improvement in ANC and Sound quality Suggest you change tips and re-evaluate
We agree with your statement about ear buds getting way too expensive for what they are. Also agree about these particular ear tips. Had to replace them with more money spent on a third party silicone tips. Also agree about these not sounding the best. Even spending a lot of time in the app trying out various settings did not compare with our faves. Have to say that some weeks ago you reviewed a pair of ear buds that seemed to impress you. They were on sale for $35, in llieu of their usual $50 tag. We chuckled and thought...why not. Ordered. Arrived. They blew us away. Comfortable with some really good audio. Worth the money indeed. Thank you.
Don't believe this guy I work in a factory and I have both the xm5s noise cancelling is scary good. He used the incorrect tips and didn't get a proper seal do his noise cancelling suffered
The reason you think the noise canceling is worse is probably because they don't fit you well. The seal is critical to an ANC algorithm working properly. Most reviewers found the noise cancelling to be improved.
I got mine 2 days ago and they are great but I only have a problem with comfort. They feel (not are) kinda loose although they fit snug so they won't fall out easily. And because they're kept into place solely by the ear tip itself, they don't feel great. My previous earbuds were the Sennheiser MTW3 and they were a lot more comfortable imo. A wing on the earbud like Bose or Sennheiser does would've been great to fix that problem
I bought the M4 a year ago and I was really disappointed because it was so quite no matter how much you played with the EQ, After that I bought the Bose Quietcomfort earbuds 2. Should I I buy they M5? all I care about is sound quality, I want to feel music experience and loud sound. Thanks!! Great video!!
I need difference size tips on the xm5 than on the xm4. The silicones are different material on this one. The xm4 felt and looked more bulky, glad it is now bit smaller. Sound is great on both. I have the feeling these tips on the xm5 will hurt my ears less than on the xm4. With the xm4 tips, the tips damaged so quickly, that was such a disappointment. I tried aftermarket tips, but they werent as good as the sony ones. The sony ones are much more expensive though. They should make the eartips more accessable tho if they break.
Honestly I haven't been that impressed with Sonys sound quality for the last few earbuds. So far, the anker soundcore liberty series have been the best, and my samsung galaxy buds pro 2 have become my number 1! Galaxy buds pro 2 are best for sound quality right now.
Ima trynna tell ppl, they sleeping on the Samsung line up. The buds2 pro are my babies❤. But the Samsung buds live are my daily, all day use buds. I bought four of them, just cuz.
It defiantly sounds like you didn’t have a good seal with these eaerbuds you need to experience the true noise canceling feature with a good seal. Also sound is also effected.,,.i also returned my first pair because i had the same problems you did. Once i had everything done correctly it wash crazy differance
I really appreciate your honest review. It seems like so many tech reviews just gush all over these. My experience with the XM5's has been terrible. Maybe I have a bad pair but the sound is awful and noise cancelling is abysmal. At this price, I decided to initiate a return with Sony and that has taken me a week of run around to finally get the RMA setup so I can mail them back. I have better sounding buds that cost $100-200 less than the XM5's.
Same here. Got the first par XM5 last week. ANC really weak, sound only ok. Sent them back. Ordered second pair from Amazon, will try them out today. What I experienced with the first pair I've to say by far not worth 319 euros
Your description of poor sound and noise canceling indicates you weren't getting a good seal with the tips. The stock tips don't seem to work well for many users. I get great sound and noise cancelling using the XM5 with SpinFit W1 or CP100 tips.
Galaxy buds 2 pro is a lot cheaper and quite good enough for outdoor use. Sound quality is over rated if using outside. I had the xm4 with bad battery drain + over heating during use / charging so lost trust in Sony who did nothing for those of us who bought their flaky / unreliable product. I will never recommend Sony as a brand to anyone ever again.
I don't care about gimmicky features for me sound quality is the first priority and earfun S1 is crazy good for me compared to top brands and those overpriced earbuds its not worth spending $200 or $300 to get what you want you can spend much less and get great sound quality.
Boy, you weren't kidding about the ANC. I actually thought they were broken at first. After making sure that I had a perfect seal, it performed much better, but the ANC my Liberty 4 NCs absolutely put these to shame, especially in the voice department.
@@stopdalies Well if its true, that shit wasn't subtle. At least if you're gonna sabotage my electronics do it slowly. My headphones went from working to unusable.
Thanks for this honest review man. I am personally very disappointed on this one. First of all I don’t like the case design I really like much more the case design from XM4 and the Linkbuds S which I have. The earbuds design on the other hand I can see that they are a hybrid between the XM4 and the Linkbuds S. I was looking to buy the XM4 but after reading comments about the issue with the drain battery, awful call quality and the size I declined on buying them. And now with XM5 to know that the ANC is not better than XM4. I can say without a doubt that Linkbuds S are the king although they don’t have wireless charging but for me that’s not an issue. It is a shame than Sony instead of improving is getting worst. For 300 dollars and knowing all that they’re not worth buying.
What would you suggest trying if my XM5 gets cut out like each 1-2 minutes for a fraction of a second? It happens when im walking and my phone is in my pocket (lets say left pocket), so the right ear would cut out. I tried switching phones and it didnt help, i am using already AAC codec. Really annoying thing when listening to music and given that these are really expensive earbuds, previously i owned XM3 and it worked just fine (the mic sucked though), it never cut off like this
Dope video. It's good to know. I have the link buds S in my current rotation and I really like them. They sound awesome in many different environments. They replaced 2 of my previous rotation combos
While these XM5s seem like a poor value, the Sony Linkbuds S are so good. I bought them for my wife because her ears are tiny and the Linkbuds S fit her. I was curious to check the sound quality. I wasn't expecting much because they are really tiny. THEY SOUND GREAT.
I agree with the ear tips not fitting well and also went to silicone. Unfortunately, I was also disappointed by the ANC. Not as good as AirPods Pro 2 or XM4 and I’ve gotten every single XM model. Thanks for your work!
I have the XM5s and the XM4s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
Remember that you need to have the mesh in your tip because the bud itself doesn't have a mesh on it, it's on the tip. Otherwise all the dirt can get into the bud.
Your new genre scoring slides are excellent! Great addition! We really appreciate an honest review and you not getting on the hype train. As someone who mainly listens to heavy rock/metal hardcore ect. This is exactly my concern with these. I'm looking at Technics AZ-80's instead. What trimmer do yo use for your beard/neckline. Looking clean!
Thanks, interested to try the AZ-80's myself. Not all earbuds are good with rock/metal so it's hard to find the perfect pair for those genres. I use some electric trimmer from Philips. Not sure which model
im using a samsung galaxy buds pro at first the fit was not so great but i think better now because of the eartips im using & im very happy with it but would love to try does sony xm4 or maybe the new xm5 but for some reason i love & always wanted to buy the xm4s over the samsung buds pro
Talking nonsense the noise cancelling on these are amazing im shocked on just over half volume people are sneaking up on me and I don’t realise you need to change your ear tips!
I bought and tried the XM5's - and sent them back. The reason - the noise cancelling. I use the XM4's when I sleep - they damp down ambient noise. The XM5's do not do this. The noise cancellation may be better - but you can hear ambient noise easily. There was no mode that replicated the XM4 noise cancellation. They were more comfortable - but I prefer sleeping.
I purchased the XM4s once but returned them. I'll say everything was great with them in including fit, but, I couldn't stomach paying $280 for a pair of earbuds.
Waiting on the LP4s. You can make anything $300 and call it premium sound. But seems like Sony only cares about blocking out sound and forgetting that they used to MAKE SOUND. THE SOLE PURPOSE OF AUDIO. and if I’m alone in that regard. Then so be it. But I can’t be the only one 🤷🏻♂️
I've found the sound quality for the XM5s to be very good, BUT only when using 3rd party ear tips because apparently my ear canals are large. Regarding noise cancelling I too have found them no where near the QC IIs.
I have the XM5s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
@@nulla9601 they do occasionally have connection issues for me but wow their noise cancelling is far superior to any of the others I've tried, so I keep returning to them.
Does anyone know how I put my new pair of Sony WF-1000XM5 in pairing mode? I used to hold both sensors for around 5 seconds on my WF-1000XM4, but this does not work on my XM5s.
Thanks for the review. My XM4 died on me (yeah, one of the battery victims) and I was thinking of replacing it with the XM5 Then I saw the price tag and I knew I had to do some research all of over again to justify the insane 150% price increase. And I am not liking what I am seeing and hearing in all the reviews, with regard to the XM5. Did Sony shit the bed with these? What if they would be able to solve the battery XM4 issue? Would the XM5 even being sold at all? Personally I don't think so.
Thanks Keith, I was waiting for your opinion, so me being a bass head and I'm not crazy about the extra high price, 😮 it's a NO for me for now!😔 They would have to lower the 💵 & do a bass update for me to want these ✌.
Makes no sense , I just bought a soundpeats mini pro hs for 30 bucks and let's be practical if you need better anc pop up the volume , you want ambient sound pop the volume down or remove it if you need to talk with someone , brands are trying to create problems we don't really have , great review as always
First of all i would like to congrats u doing a nice and honest job of reviewing.. I'm a long term follower on ur channel.. Keep up 👍👍👍 Always support to ur channel
I have not got a set of tips to register a good seal in the app. I went through all of the tips and ending up on the large. They have the best seal but they squeeze right out of my ears. I wound up going to SpinFit CP-360's. These don't register a seal either but the app thinks they are better than the foam tips. ANC performance is not good for me. I think the buds work well enough and I bet they would work well if I could get a good seal. I am thinking about sending the xm5's back. I honestly think my Linkbuds S are better.
This is exactly the same experience for me as well. If Sony would simply ship them with silicone eartips along with the foam eartips it would at least fix alot of these fit issues people are having
Excellent and honest review as usual. I was very disappointed with the Wf-1000xm5's. Not comfortable for me and keep coming loose in my ears. Tried every size tips and they are no better. I don't like the foam tips either and for me ANC is nowhere near as good as the Bose Quietcomfort earbuds II or airpods pro 2
Hehe no wonder they botched the last firmware update for the XM4 which killed the battery longevity. They had to make this one a clear winner. 😅😅😅 Awesome vid as always, looking forward to attempts to dethrone this one.
xm5's anc on really doesn't make a difference with anc off, it just a tiny bit of difference, like 1%? I can even hear me typing on my red switch keyboard. But however, i bought this around 150usd from a sony authorized seller, these buds are legit since its able to register on the website. But still going to Sony center near me to have a check up.
Your review is the only one that I can relate to. They indeed seem to be a step down from the 4s... I plan to keep them as a spare and just hope future updates will enhance their performance, but honestly, I'm not too impressed.
Your complaints about the XM5 noise canceling and sound quality suggest you weren't getting a good seal with the tips you used. Maybe you didn't notice the feature within the Sony Headphones app that tests for a good seal. I also couldn't get a good seal with the XM5 stock tips, but got great sound quality and noise canceling using SpinFit W1 or CP100 tips.
I can completely confirm his opinion. As a XM4 owner for several years, I bought these hoping they would be a marked improvement over the predecessors. And while I would say they do sound better, they suffer from lack of volume. The ANC was far inferior and I did not feel like they were worth 300. There's better alternatives nowadays, especially at that price
There is a night and day difference when using my iPhone 12 Pro Max and SAMSUNG S24 Ultra. On iOS, the sound is muddy, really I was disappointed. But when I used the android, the sound was clear and with punchy bass. This is my experience.
I had the bose and they were trash! constantly losing connections and I had two of them and I found the anc to not be as good as everybody claims. The xm4 too big and uncomfortable to wear more than 2 hours, plus out of nowhere the right one only works for 10 min. I use the b&o eq silicone tips for the xm5 and they sound great and the anc sound good. Now I constantly buy Bluetooth headphones to try to find the perfect one and really have been enjoying these, the status between anc and the b&o eq. Airpod second gen is mid at best I use them as a default backup they sound very mediocre.
I was able to get these for half the price and I think they're cool. I agree the noise canceling is okay and I wasn't too crazy about the sound until I got another phone (s24 ultra) and they sound better. To each his own.
I feel like the Air Pro 3 has a more dynamic sound. Bass has better presence and treble is slightly brighter than the Sony's. For the price difference it makes the Air Pro 3's a hell of a deal
This is it, i am still processing it, i just bought sony wf1000xm5 with high expectations, but it feels like something not right. I already sold wf1000xm4 two times, xm3 1 times. I ended up with beoplay EX that got missing on my travel. So i bought this wf 1000xm5 with expectation: yes, sony will level up their game in terms of sound, maybe they will different tuning. And i can now : no, they’re not. Yes, its better but not worth the price. When everyone says yo tws is just a bit junk of over processed sound you hear, yes when you use sony. Any suggestions?
I have XM4 paired with Samsung galaxy note 8 and iphone 14, the sound from note 8 is way better and louder with LDAC on and Dolby atmos on on movie preference. Big difference in sound.
Man, The SoundPEATS ENGINE 4 earbuds ranked all sorts of higher on all fronts compared to these. I mean on the sound dept. Like for different media etc. I don't know if I could even spend 300 dollars on earbuds anyways. It's pretty shocking.
Damn, tell Sony how you really feel.😅 I'm just playing around. Basically you're saying they're good buds just not worth $300. Thanks for your honesty.👍
Pretty much. That $300 price tag is overkill with these in my opinion. But what is happening is every new model is getting a price hike and I can't say that I think these deserve the price hike when they aren't a step up from the previous model in my opinion. I also feel like the Linkbuds S is a much better buy
I had XM4s and lost them I now bought XM5s. I bought brand X foam tips for both and they provide much better comfort and noise cancelling. I miss my XM4s as I think they are better than the XM5s.
I just got these and very disappointed about the tone that plays with each tap to the earbuds. There's no option in the app to disable the tone. It takes alot a taps to adjust the volume up or down & a tone included with each tap is a deal breaker for me, I'll be returning them.
this is GREAT review, i returend it after 1 day and i can agree with absolutely everything you said. I would just add that i had REALLY much problem with call... people could not hear me all, but they hear noise, voices etc in background. I also had problem with bluetooth connection (randomly disconnect) and all that in just few hours of using. I think they need to work seriosly on software
Great review thanks! So as far as sound quality around this price range, could you please give me a couple of suggestions that you would recommend as the best? TIA 🤘
Honesty I've just been rocking my 1more evos over everything I have (which is like 12 other pairs) because well the sound is great and the noise cancelling is pretty damn good.
Love the video as always man. Please could you state what is better...these or the liberty 4 nc? Not bothered about the price difference Many thanks and keep up the good work
I honestly had a better experience with the Liberty 4 NC. It mainly comes down to the fact that the eartips they send with the Sony's are awful (not a fan of foam eartips). So the fact that I could never get a good fit/seal meant it affected my sound and ANC experience. Also, it's hard not to notice the huge price difference when you're still getting so much with the Liberty 4 NC
i bought 2 xm4 and when i upgraded the software last april they suddenly started overheating and the left earbuds are draining faster that the right. I sent them to Sony service center and theyre charging me 200$ per pair. Really disappointed with Sony😡
From what i gather about the fit and wear of the foam tips is that Far East Asians(Japanese, Korean, Chinese) don't have the problems that the Westerners are experiencing. Asians typically have smaller ears, narrower ear canals, and dryer ears. Asians actually have dry flakey ear wax and almost never have ear sweat, unlike westerners that have greasy "wet" ear wax and sweat in their ears. Guess Sony did most of their testing domestically.
Speak for yourself
Dude as an Asian man, I 2nd this statement
😂
Yeah, that checks out. The foam ear tips on the xm4 didn't work for me. Had to buy aftermarket silicone tips.
Ear sweat? Wtf? White people have in-ear sweat?
*EDIT* I forgot to mention with the new chip these have dynamic head tracking which give them spatial audio. Although its done fairly well on this pair I still feel spatial audio is pretty gimmicky with music and I never use this feature
Agreed. It's a gimmick I tried for 5 mins, then turned it off for good
Agree, I never use it
Is it good with movies?
Improvements upon updates Sonys good for this
As someone who actually uses it all the time when listening to music I find it makes the music sound BETTER and I just think it’s AWESOME to hear the music “move” as I do
For someone using the XM4 after trying the XM5 I think the difference is nice and day and I suggest you to check if you are not using a faulty one…I’ve managed to use both of them while travelling just to see the difference before selling the Xm4. The major thing that I don’t like is the price tag.
Shocking as I have heard the noise cancellation was better than the xm4.
You have to get the absolute perfect seal, unlike on the wf-xm4s. Which can't be possible depending on the users ears.
I mean, he literally said he switched to silicone tips, which will not have the same isolation as foam. That part of the review is literally contradictory with all the others online, all because of the different tips, it would be the same with the XM4, you need a good seal.
I have the XM5s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
I have the XM5s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
Had xm4s and with the seal test good on both ears ANC and sound was just ok until switched to 3rd party foam tips. With xm5 after perfect seal was acheaved ANC and sound/instrument separation are unreal! Great job, SONY!
I have xm5's, and they have plenty of bass. Chek it if your buds seal good in your ears. When you find best eartips for your ear, they is an exellent for sound and also for NC.
And dont put any eartips on the buds because original eartips have a small net for blocking earwax to enter in buds.
Just got mine and they’re less bulky than the xm4’s and while I absolutely love the xm4, I have to say for my smaller ears the design of the xm5 fit better and offer me better noise canceling in return. Absolutely worth the upgrade on my part.
1:38 Multipoint pairing: you cannot use ANC or ambient sound when using this.
2:48 Speak-to-chat: you have to be the one to initiate the conversation to trigger it. and depending on your sensitivity setting and background noise, it doesn't always get triggered.
3:55 Touch controls: you do not have control over everything. you can select preset groups of controls, but not fully customizable.
1) you can
2) it's a expected as if it's not designed this way, you will have false detection from time to time. And if yours are not triggered everytime, means your setting are not as accurate.
Do they still have the drawback where you can't use just one earbud unless you turn off the voice assistant?
Incorrect
Thanks so much for an excellent review and I'm sooo happy that you're continuing doing reviews. You would have been sorely missed! I had a similiar experience with the XM4s, meaning, no matter how many EQ settings I tried, I couldn't get the volume, bass and overall soundstage I wanted for my personal tastes. I also had issues with comfort. I ended up selling mine. The price vs performance ratio was disspointing.
Awww man, sorry to hear your experience. I'm having a much different experience. Sound is superb and ANC is on par with Bose QC II and Airpod pro 2. I have all 3 and the sonys are my new favorite right now.
I hate that this has been my experience as well because I have been a huge fan of the XM4's and I love the Linkbuds S. I could just never get a good fit which means I never got a good seal and it's caused me to not have a good experience with these. I wish they would just offer silicone eartips in the box as an option like other companies do
The included tips are really bad, after switching to full foam that I also had on XM4. I can easily say that the ANC is the best compared to them and airpods pro. The sound also got improved. But only after using foam eartips
Ohh also, not only does the foam eartips make the anc a lot better than silicone, but the thing you said about the tracks sounding different, here's what the audiofile I spoke to said: "when earbuds are with amazing sound quality you're gonna be able to hear way more details in different songs, like how they were recorded for example. Old songs haven't been recorded as well as some new songs and with better quiality earbuds you can now hear that more clearly, and get disapointed. It might make you start to change your entire music taste to songs that have been recorded better and such, just to get that amazing feeling". Basically it's actually normal if different tracks sound completely different with them. Even when you go between spotify and youtube or other places, there's massive differences in the sound track, so.. some songs will underperform, which you couldn't hear before, but now you can :) I will try to judge if this is the case with the earbuds when they arrive at my apartment. Really hoping they have even better sound than the MTW 3 did, cus I was loving that sound quality :3 (But there I noticed the recording differences already between the tracks I was listening to, which I never used to notice on my old jabra 75T elite active)
Would be able to give an update on how these sound? I thought his review was skewed due to not using the same type of ear tips, so I would like to have another opinion especially regarding what you noted.
@@BarzulRei Yea sure :) They are not impressive at all. They sound kind of boring, and certainly not worth their high price tag. When I got them, I noticed how big of a deal it is that they are glossy. (Because they are extremely hard to pull out of the case, and really easy to drop..) The MTW 3 sounds a lot better for a much lower price, but honestly also has some issues. If you MUST buy in ear headphones then I recommend the MTW 3 with a good warranty. But I suggest you buy the OVER EAR WH-1000XM5 instead, since they are actually quite good, and has EXCELLENT ANC :)
I went JBL Reflect Flow Pro for sport (inline skate) and really I have no complaints whatsoever. Only had to EQ the bass a bit low cause they're overpowered. Other than that they're perfect, great cancelling too.
Sound quality is excellent on my xm5's and i have no Battery drain issues like I did on my previous XM4s. Its a good thing you can be successful on the internet with weird and peculiar takes and get praised for it in an echo chamber.😁
Most reviews I've watched, people say the xm5s are better then the air pods and the bose. Idk maybe they updated it I'm confused.
I had issues with the foam tips, could not get a good seal per their app test, both sound quality and ANC were not good
Switched to some foam tips from a 3rd party and got a good seal
Significant improvement in ANC and Sound quality
Suggest you change tips and re-evaluate
"This is what it would sound like to take a call in public." CLASSIC line as always.
We agree with your statement about ear buds getting way too expensive for what they are. Also agree about these particular ear tips. Had to replace them with more money spent on a third party silicone tips. Also agree about these not sounding the best. Even spending a lot of time in the app trying out various settings did not compare with our faves. Have to say that some weeks ago you reviewed a pair of ear buds that seemed to impress you. They were on sale for $35, in llieu of their usual $50 tag. We chuckled and thought...why not. Ordered. Arrived. They blew us away. Comfortable with some really good audio. Worth the money indeed. Thank you.
That's pretty crazy and disappointing that the sound and the noise cancelling are so mediocre for $300. Thanks for making this review.
XM5 are a Step up from the xm4s especially with the infamous battery issue on the xm4s...
Don't believe this guy I work in a factory and I have both the xm5s noise cancelling is scary good. He used the incorrect tips and didn't get a proper seal do his noise cancelling suffered
The first thing you do with XM 4 or 5 is change the ear tips to regular Plano rubber ear tips you will get better sound and more Bass
The reason you think the noise canceling is worse is probably because they don't fit you well. The seal is critical to an ANC algorithm working properly. Most reviewers found the noise cancelling to be improved.
I got mine 2 days ago and they are great but I only have a problem with comfort.
They feel (not are) kinda loose although they fit snug so they won't fall out easily. And because they're kept into place solely by the ear tip itself, they don't feel great.
My previous earbuds were the Sennheiser MTW3 and they were a lot more comfortable imo.
A wing on the earbud like Bose or Sennheiser does would've been great to fix that problem
Comply foam always does it for me. Great eartips on almost all of my collection of TWS buds
Thanks for your honest review this will most likely save me 299 time to move on to other brand Sony is getting worst
I bought the M4 a year ago and I was really disappointed because it was so quite no matter how much you played with the EQ, After that I bought the Bose Quietcomfort earbuds 2.
Should I I buy they M5? all I care about is sound quality, I want to feel music experience and loud sound.
Thanks!!
Great video!!
I need difference size tips on the xm5 than on the xm4. The silicones are different material on this one. The xm4 felt and looked more bulky, glad it is now bit smaller. Sound is great on both. I have the feeling these tips on the xm5 will hurt my ears less than on the xm4. With the xm4 tips, the tips damaged so quickly, that was such a disappointment. I tried aftermarket tips, but they werent as good as the sony ones. The sony ones are much more expensive though. They should make the eartips more accessable tho if they break.
Honestly I haven't been that impressed with Sonys sound quality for the last few earbuds.
So far, the anker soundcore liberty series have been the best, and my samsung galaxy buds pro 2 have become my number 1!
Galaxy buds pro 2 are best for sound quality right now.
Ima trynna tell ppl, they sleeping on the Samsung line up. The buds2 pro are my babies❤. But the Samsung buds live are my daily, all day use buds. I bought four of them, just cuz.
It defiantly sounds like you didn’t have a good seal with these eaerbuds you need to experience the true noise canceling feature with a good seal. Also sound is also effected.,,.i also returned my first pair because i had the same problems you did. Once i had everything done correctly it wash crazy differance
I really appreciate your honest review. It seems like so many tech reviews just gush all over these. My experience with the XM5's has been terrible. Maybe I have a bad pair but the sound is awful and noise cancelling is abysmal. At this price, I decided to initiate a return with Sony and that has taken me a week of run around to finally get the RMA setup so I can mail them back. I have better sounding buds that cost $100-200 less than the XM5's.
Same here. Got the first par XM5 last week. ANC really weak, sound only ok. Sent them back. Ordered second pair from Amazon, will try them out today. What I experienced with the first pair I've to say by far not worth 319 euros
@@stephanfussel1976 I am glad to hear that I'm not alone in my experience. Let me know what the second pair are like.
@@stephanfussel1976 Sound only okay???? Get the wax buildup out of your ears troll.
Your description of poor sound and noise canceling indicates you weren't getting a good seal with the tips. The stock tips don't seem to work well for many users. I get great sound and noise cancelling using the XM5 with SpinFit W1 or CP100 tips.
Galaxy buds 2 pro is a lot cheaper and quite good enough for outdoor use. Sound quality is over rated if using outside. I had the xm4 with bad battery drain + over heating during use / charging so lost trust in Sony who did nothing for those of us who bought their flaky / unreliable product. I will never recommend Sony as a brand to anyone ever again.
I don't care about gimmicky features for me sound quality is the first priority and earfun S1 is crazy good for me compared to top brands and those overpriced earbuds its not worth spending $200 or $300 to get what you want you can spend much less and get great sound quality.
Boy, you weren't kidding about the ANC. I actually thought they were broken at first. After making sure that I had a perfect seal, it performed much better, but the ANC my Liberty 4 NCs absolutely put these to shame, especially in the voice department.
Here the same. ANC is quite bad even compared to the pixel buds pro from Google.
I hesitate to trust Sony headphones after the battery issues on the XM4. Never thought an update could physically nuke your battery life.
Samsung and Apple have been doing it for years to their phones, and both companies have been sued for doing it.
@@stopdalies Well if its true, that shit wasn't subtle. At least if you're gonna sabotage my electronics do it slowly. My headphones went from working to unusable.
@strangelandian sorry to hear that. They did it to my phone, and that's how I found out, searching Google.
Sadly Sony's earbuds have fallen behind in the Sound category as they've been going after stronger ANC.
Thanks for this honest review man. I am personally very disappointed on this one. First of all I don’t like the case design I really like much more the case design from XM4 and the Linkbuds S which I have. The earbuds design on the other hand I can see that they are a hybrid between the XM4 and the Linkbuds S. I was looking to buy the XM4 but after reading comments about the issue with the drain battery, awful call quality and the size I declined on buying them. And now with XM5 to know that the ANC is not better than XM4. I can say without a doubt that Linkbuds S are the king although they don’t have wireless charging but for me that’s not an issue. It is a shame than Sony instead of improving is getting worst. For 300 dollars and knowing all that they’re not worth buying.
Can the Sony WF-1000 XM5 be used as a hearing aid by passing the ambient sounds through, amplified? I cannot figure out how to make that work...
What would you suggest trying if my XM5 gets cut out like each 1-2 minutes for a fraction of a second? It happens when im walking and my phone is in my pocket (lets say left pocket), so the right ear would cut out. I tried switching phones and it didnt help, i am using already AAC codec.
Really annoying thing when listening to music and given that these are really expensive earbuds, previously i owned XM3 and it worked just fine (the mic sucked though), it never cut off like this
Dope video. It's good to know. I have the link buds S in my current rotation and I really like them. They sound awesome in many different environments. They replaced 2 of my previous rotation combos
i would love to see a comparison bettween the new sony xm5 ,xm4, & samsung buds 2 pro & buds pro
Been waiting for you to review them!!
While these XM5s seem like a poor value, the Sony Linkbuds S are so good. I bought them for my wife because her ears are tiny and the Linkbuds S fit her. I was curious to check the sound quality. I wasn't expecting much because they are really tiny. THEY SOUND GREAT.
would love a comparison between these and the status between 3 anc
Thinking of buying these, but I wanted to know how they are for running and gymming? And do the ears hurt from long term use? Thank you!
I agree with the ear tips not fitting well and also went to silicone. Unfortunately, I was also disappointed by the ANC. Not as good as AirPods Pro 2 or XM4 and I’ve gotten every single XM model. Thanks for your work!
I have the XM5s and the XM4s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
Remember that you need to have the mesh in your tip because the bud itself doesn't have a mesh on it, it's on the tip. Otherwise all the dirt can get into the bud.
@@casse82 The XM5s ALL have MESH in the ear bud tips specifically to catch ear wax.
@@Slick1020 I was responding to him going to silicone tips. My point was exactly what you said.
@@casse82 Ear wax will not hurt the ear buds. My XM4s have never had a problem even with all my ear wax.
Your new genre scoring slides are excellent! Great addition!
We really appreciate an honest review and you not getting on the hype train. As someone who mainly listens to heavy rock/metal hardcore ect. This is exactly my concern with these. I'm looking at Technics AZ-80's instead.
What trimmer do yo use for your beard/neckline. Looking clean!
Thanks, interested to try the AZ-80's myself. Not all earbuds are good with rock/metal so it's hard to find the perfect pair for those genres.
I use some electric trimmer from Philips. Not sure which model
im using a samsung galaxy buds pro at first the fit was not so great but i think better now because of the eartips im using & im very happy with it but would love to try does sony xm4 or maybe the new xm5 but for some reason i love & always wanted to buy the xm4s over the samsung buds pro
What ear tips do you use?
Talking nonsense the noise cancelling on these are amazing im shocked on just over half volume people are sneaking up on me and I don’t realise you need to change your ear tips!
Returned same day. ANC is very poor (hard to tell if it is on) and they are uncomfortable. Sound quality and connectivity are good.
I bought and tried the XM5's - and sent them back. The reason - the noise cancelling. I use the XM4's when I sleep - they damp down ambient noise. The XM5's do not do this. The noise cancellation may be better - but you can hear ambient noise easily. There was no mode that replicated the XM4 noise cancellation. They were more comfortable - but I prefer sleeping.
You named the Bose as best in ANC, What are the best in pure Audio quality in your opinion / Which ones would you prefer over the xm5's?
I’m a huge fan of Sony. But I expected a lot from the XM5
The jump from xm3 to Xm4 was so drastically better. But xm5 is just slightly better than Xm4
Listening to this review with the XM5s, they are really very good. Top notch ANC, very good sound quality, excellent comfort in the ear.
They better sound good for $500 CAD after tax. Yikes!
I purchased the XM4s once but returned them. I'll say everything was great with them in including fit, but, I couldn't stomach paying $280 for a pair of earbuds.
@@whiteknight5100the best pair of earbuds around that range I think is worth it is Klipsch ones. They are fantastic
Waiting on the LP4s. You can make anything $300 and call it premium sound. But seems like Sony only cares about blocking out sound and forgetting that they used to MAKE SOUND. THE SOLE PURPOSE OF AUDIO. and if I’m alone in that regard. Then so be it. But I can’t be the only one 🤷🏻♂️
What buds would give the best bass if not these then?
Look at the OnePlus buds pro 2 reviews. But I got the Samsung Galaxy buds2 pro and they got great bass compared to my Xm4s.
I've found the sound quality for the XM5s to be very good, BUT only when using 3rd party ear tips because apparently my ear canals are large. Regarding noise cancelling I too have found them no where near the QC IIs.
I have the XM5s. The Sony app will tell you if you have a good seal or not. I can tell after working out for 2 hrs at the gym if my ear bud has shifted and the app will confirm it by running a test.
What 3rd party ear tips did you use? I have a similar problem
The QC IIs are notoriously unreliable though. I'm literally on my 4th pair
@@JDotvaporz true I returned mine after a month at release because of constant issues. Luckily Bose has a 90 day return policy
@@nulla9601 they do occasionally have connection issues for me but wow their noise cancelling is far superior to any of the others I've tried, so I keep returning to them.
Glad you’re still rocking your channel 🤙🏽
Does anyone know how I put my new pair of Sony WF-1000XM5 in pairing mode? I used to hold both sensors for around 5 seconds on my WF-1000XM4, but this does not work on my XM5s.
Earbuds are tricky.. ready to upgrade from the Bose QC gen 1.
I'm hoping Bose comes strong causeI heard Denon Pro Perl is killer
Thanks for the review.
My XM4 died on me (yeah, one of the battery victims) and I was thinking of replacing it with the XM5
Then I saw the price tag and I knew I had to do some research all of over again to justify the insane 150% price increase.
And I am not liking what I am seeing and hearing in all the reviews, with regard to the XM5.
Did Sony shit the bed with these? What if they would be able to solve the battery XM4 issue? Would the XM5 even being sold at all? Personally I don't think so.
Get your earbuds replaced
hey man thank you for still doing these videos, I really appreciate this.
Hey there! How do these compare to melomania m100 in regards to sound quality?
Thanks Keith, I was waiting for your opinion, so me being a bass head and I'm not crazy about the extra high price, 😮 it's a NO for me for now!😔 They would have to lower the 💵 & do a bass update for me to want these ✌.
Makes no sense , I just bought a soundpeats mini pro hs for 30 bucks and let's be practical if you need better anc pop up the volume , you want ambient sound pop the volume down or remove it if you need to talk with someone , brands are trying to create problems we don't really have , great review as always
I wish you would have gone over the full controls a bit more. This is a Huge change over the xm4s, in which you have to pick 2 of 3 controls, ya know?
Given the updates it would be great if you did a refresh on your review as it’s done down in price.
First of all i would like to congrats u doing a nice and honest job of reviewing.. I'm a long term follower on ur channel.. Keep up 👍👍👍 Always support to ur channel
I really appreciate it
Any chance you had a defective unit? I'm seeing a lot of other reviews of the XM5's raving about it
I have not got a set of tips to register a good seal in the app. I went through all of the tips and ending up on the large. They have the best seal but they squeeze right out of my ears. I wound up going to SpinFit CP-360's. These don't register a seal either but the app thinks they are better than the foam tips. ANC performance is not good for me. I think the buds work well enough and I bet they would work well if I could get a good seal. I am thinking about sending the xm5's back. I honestly think my Linkbuds S are better.
This is exactly the same experience for me as well. If Sony would simply ship them with silicone eartips along with the foam eartips it would at least fix alot of these fit issues people are having
In your opinion, which earbuds sound the best?
Every track preforms different portable device because of compression rates you need a dac to help
Excellent and honest review as usual. I was very disappointed with the Wf-1000xm5's. Not comfortable for me and keep coming loose in my ears. Tried every size tips and they are no better. I don't like the foam tips either and for me ANC is nowhere near as good as the Bose Quietcomfort earbuds II or airpods pro 2
Hehe no wonder they botched the last firmware update for the XM4 which killed the battery longevity. They had to make this one a clear winner. 😅😅😅 Awesome vid as always, looking forward to attempts to dethrone this one.
Didn't think of that but makes sense
xm5's anc on really doesn't make a difference with anc off, it just a tiny bit of difference, like 1%? I can even hear me typing on my red switch keyboard. But however, i bought this around 150usd from a sony authorized seller, these buds are legit since its able to register on the website. But still going to Sony center near me to have a check up.
Are you able to turn off the speak to chat feature?!?!
Woah not enough bass from these? Im also a bass head so im curious on what would be good bassy earphones that dont sound muddy or muffled
Sennheiser true momentum wireless 3. I've tried a lot in ears but none of them I've tried can compete with the Sennheisers on bass level.
I can’t believe you can’t answer a 2nd incoming call if you’re on a call with theses (call waiting)
I disabled my absolute volume feature on my s22 ultra, and they get really loud.
I'd say as the updates come, keep trying them and maybe in 6 months from now, do an update at that time and let us know if they became more worth it.
will definitely do that
Mtw3 or xm5 for sound quality? Upgrading from mtw2
I just got mine few weeks ago.
This XM5 blew me away.
Your review is the only one that I can relate to. They indeed seem to be a step down from the 4s... I plan to keep them as a spare and just hope future updates will enhance their performance, but honestly, I'm not too impressed.
Your complaints about the XM5 noise canceling and sound quality suggest you weren't getting a good seal with the tips you used. Maybe you didn't notice the feature within the Sony Headphones app that tests for a good seal. I also couldn't get a good seal with the XM5 stock tips, but got great sound quality and noise canceling using SpinFit W1 or CP100 tips.
I can completely confirm his opinion. As a XM4 owner for several years, I bought these hoping they would be a marked improvement over the predecessors. And while I would say they do sound better, they suffer from lack of volume. The ANC was far inferior and I did not feel like they were worth 300. There's better alternatives nowadays, especially at that price
what alternatives would you reccimend
@@finncasey1910 Sennheiser Momentum 3 . And they are cheaper
@@o7raven Thank you! I will make sure to check them out.
There is a night and day difference when using my iPhone 12 Pro Max and SAMSUNG S24 Ultra. On iOS, the sound is muddy, really I was disappointed. But when I used the android, the sound was clear and with punchy bass. This is my experience.
I had the bose and they were trash! constantly losing connections and I had two of them and I found the anc to not be as good as everybody claims. The xm4 too big and uncomfortable to wear more than 2 hours, plus out of nowhere the right one only works for 10 min. I use the b&o eq silicone tips for the xm5 and they sound great and the anc sound good. Now I constantly buy Bluetooth headphones to try to find the perfect one and really have been enjoying these, the status between anc and the b&o eq. Airpod second gen is mid at best I use them as a default backup they sound very mediocre.
What would you suggest for best bass?
So basically what you're saying is that you prefer the mainstream V-shaped sound signature, correct?
At times yes, sometimes I like a more mid-forward sound signature. My main problem with these were how inconsistent they were from genre to genre
I was able to get these for half the price and I think they're cool. I agree the noise canceling is okay and I wasn't too crazy about the sound until I got another phone (s24 ultra) and they sound better. To each his own.
So the anc is better on the Sony headphones?
How do the earfun air pro 3. Do against these sound wise... just want to know..?
I feel like the Air Pro 3 has a more dynamic sound. Bass has better presence and treble is slightly brighter than the Sony's. For the price difference it makes the Air Pro 3's a hell of a deal
This is it, i am still processing it, i just bought sony wf1000xm5 with high expectations, but it feels like something not right. I already sold wf1000xm4 two times, xm3 1 times. I ended up with beoplay EX that got missing on my travel. So i bought this wf 1000xm5 with expectation: yes, sony will level up their game in terms of sound, maybe they will different tuning. And i can now : no, they’re not. Yes, its better but not worth the price. When everyone says yo tws is just a bit junk of over processed sound you hear, yes when you use sony. Any suggestions?
I have XM4 paired with Samsung galaxy note 8 and iphone 14, the sound from note 8 is way better and louder with LDAC on and Dolby atmos on on movie preference. Big difference in sound.
Man, The SoundPEATS ENGINE 4 earbuds ranked all sorts of higher on all fronts compared to these. I mean on the sound dept. Like for different media etc.
I don't know if I could even spend 300 dollars on earbuds anyways.
It's pretty shocking.
Damn, tell Sony how you really feel.😅 I'm just playing around. Basically you're saying they're good buds just not worth $300. Thanks for your honesty.👍
Pretty much. That $300 price tag is overkill with these in my opinion. But what is happening is every new model is getting a price hike and I can't say that I think these deserve the price hike when they aren't a step up from the previous model in my opinion. I also feel like the Linkbuds S is a much better buy
I had XM4s and lost them I now bought XM5s. I bought brand X foam tips for both and they provide much better comfort and noise cancelling. I miss my XM4s as I think they are better than the XM5s.
I just got these and very disappointed about the tone that plays with each tap to the earbuds. There's no option in the app to disable the tone. It takes alot a taps to adjust the volume up or down & a tone included with each tap is a deal breaker for me, I'll be returning them.
this is GREAT review, i returend it after 1 day and i can agree with absolutely everything you said. I would just add that i had REALLY much problem with call... people could not hear me all, but they hear noise, voices etc in background. I also had problem with bluetooth connection (randomly disconnect) and all that in just few hours of using. I think they need to work seriosly on software
For $300, there shouldn't be these kind of issues where you have to wait and hope they fix with firmware updates
Nope, this is a niche review to appease the minority of weirdos on the internet who Loves to troll against highly praised items.
Hey Gamesky ! Thank you very much!
Great review thanks!
So as far as sound quality around this price range, could you please give me a couple of suggestions that you would recommend as the best?
TIA 🤘
Honesty I've just been rocking my 1more evos over everything I have (which is like 12 other pairs) because well the sound is great and the noise cancelling is pretty damn good.
Love the video as always man.
Please could you state what is better...these or the liberty 4 nc?
Not bothered about the price difference
Many thanks and keep up the good work
I honestly had a better experience with the Liberty 4 NC. It mainly comes down to the fact that the eartips they send with the Sony's are awful (not a fan of foam eartips). So the fact that I could never get a good fit/seal meant it affected my sound and ANC experience.
Also, it's hard not to notice the huge price difference when you're still getting so much with the Liberty 4 NC
@OfficialGamesky thank you very much for your sweet input
i bought 2 xm4 and when i upgraded the software last april they suddenly started overheating and the left earbuds are draining faster that the right. I sent them to Sony service center and theyre charging me 200$ per pair. Really disappointed with Sony😡
Galaxy buds 3 pro or sony wf1000xm5 ?
How do these compare to the technics EAH AZ 80s
Haven't had the chance to try those yet