The term “AirPods killer” has been thrown around loosely for years. You’ve often seen it attached to new releases from Bose, Samsung, Sennheiser and Sony. Truth be told, only Sony has legitimately challenged Apple for the true wireless throne. Some critics believe the excellent Sony WF-1000XM4 put them over the top, though the majority still favor Apple and the AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro 2 as the better overall models. It’s time to revisit this conversation because the Sony WF-1000XM5 has plenty to say.
The WF-1000XM5 outperform the AirPods Pro 2 and other luxury wireless earbuds in many key categories, including audio performance, battery life, call quality, connectivity, noise cancellation, and special features. Are they worth the splurge at $300? Yes.
After two weeks of testing, I’m convinced that Sony’s latest buds aren’t just the greatest threat to Apple’s true wireless series – they’re easily the best true wireless earbuds any audiophile or casual consumer can buy right now.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 are a masterpiece that package intelligibly powerful ANC, superior sound and tons of features into one of the most attractive true wireless designs ever created.
What we liked about them
Category-leading sound and noise cancellation
All the sound-enhancing features in the Headphones Connect app pushed audio to the next level. DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) upscaled the fidelity on poorly engineered tracks and ripped MP3 files. Equalizer made sound customization a breeze. On top of several well-engineered presets that complemented their respective music genres, I could manually adjust frequencies to create my own sound profile. However, the new Find Your Equalizer feature is what you’ll gravitate towards. It effectively tailors audio to your hearing based on a series of listening tests. I loved the balanced lows and emphasized highs my profile delivered, especially on tracks like Daft Punk’s “Instant Crush,” where the electric guitar chords and synthesized vocals were free of distortion and were more transparent. Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC codec support also produced smooth, clear-sounding streams at faster bitrates.
360 Reality Audio returns and introduces head tracking for the first time to make music and movies more immersive. I was mostly satisfied with the results. Optimized playlists on Tidal had a livelier, more natural-sounding presence. Headtracking performed well to pinpoint effects and instruments on most tracks, and it properly adjusted sound to my head movements.
The default ANC setting worked extremely well for keeping background noise absent from the soundscape. I wore the buds many times on my balcony and wasn’t disturbed by loud poolgoers or the construction taking place in the garden. Chatty consumers at the grocery store went unnoticed, along with the high-speed trains that pass by every hour near my house. What I missed most was Sony’s 20-level Ambient Sound mode, since it provides full control over how much noise you want to hear. The feature was still effective for communicating with the missus around the house and it increased environmental awareness when out on strolls with my toddler. As of right now, I would say Sony’s ANC technology is on par with the class-leading Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2.
A beautiful design made even more refined
Sony flexed its creative muscle when crafting the WF-1000XM4, which are a complete revamp of the elongated and unflattering WF-1000XM3. I had questioned the WF-1000XM5’s slight facelift based on the leaked images, then I fell in love with it after unboxing the buds.
The WF-1000XM4’s full matte finish complemented their striking design, but the WF-1000XM5’s matte touch panel with polished plastic shell is even more stunning. You get a nice blend of textures that look as good as they feel. The protruding ANC mic housings have been replaced with small wind-resistant mesh grilles that sit flush at the bottom of each touch panel. IPX4 certification protects the buds from sweat and heavy splashing.
Sony made these buds 25% smaller and 20% lighter than their predecessor, which is evident the moment you wear them. Sliding them into my ears felt less cumbersome. The memory foam tips formed a tight seal that provided pleasant comfort and terrific on-ear stability. I wore the buds for four-hour stretches throughout the day and never felt fatigued.
The charging case is also lighter, slimmer and smaller than the previous version. On the front is a tiny LED, while the back features a pairing button and USB-C charging port. Overall, you’re looking at one handsome audio product.
Plenty of battery life and special features to go around
The WF-1000XM5 maintain the series’ lengthy playtimes. Expect up to eight hours with ANC on and 10 hours with ANC off. Using LDAC or spatial audio decreases usage by about 2 hours. You’re getting more use per charge than luxury models like the AirPods Pro 2 (five and a half to seven hours) and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 (six and a half to seven hours).
Sony’s charging case holds between 24 and 36 hours, depending how you use the buds, and comes with stronger quick charging than the previous versions — a three-minute charge now gets you one hour of listening time. This surpasses the AirPods Pro 2’s Fast-Fuel charging (five minutes = one hour). The case also supports Qi-enabled wireless charging.
I previously mentioned key sound features like 360 Reality Audio, ANC/Ambient Sound, EQ, DSEE and LDAC. The Headphones Connect app has plenty more features to play with. You can assign different control schemes and enable on-board volume controls. Shortcuts like Spotify Tap automatically pull up the service and play a favorited playlist when double-pressing the ANC button. There’s the option of choosing between hands-free Alexa or Google Assistant, both of which demonstrate great speech recognition to execute voice commands accurately. Turning on Quick Attention lowers volume to 10% when performing a long-press, while Speak-to-Chat automatically pauses content when detecting your voice. Multipoint technology allows for pairing to two devices simultaneously. Rounding out the app are battery level indicators for both buds and the charging case, toggle controls for multiple functions, a music player and firmware updates.
The Auto Play app is the second app launched alongside the WF-1000XM5, though it’s a beta version with very few extras. It links to Spotify, Endel and Apple Music and allows you to play music at preferred times. Audio notifications can also be enabled to keep track of important events without turning to your phone.
What we didn’t like about them
NFC, we miss you
Not every popular Sony feature made the cut. I’ve held out hope that Sony would bring back tap-to-pair NFC to its true wireless models, but it remains MIA. This is shameful since the technology is so convenient for connecting to recognized devices. Certain mid-range Sony headphones carry it, as well as the older WF-1000XM3. Why not the WF-1000XM5?
Setting up 3D audio is annoying
Sony must figure out a better way to set up 360 Reality Audio on its headphones and earbuds. The feature still struggles with capturing selfies of your head and ears. It turns out the head-tracking test is even more frustrating and takes several tries to register movements.
Another price boost
The WF-1000XM5 retails for $300, making it $20 more than the last-gen WF-1000XM4 and $70 more than the WF-1000XM3. I get Sony’s reason for increasing the price (again) since the hardware and software in these bad boys are top tier, but a lower price tag will always be more enticing. Some consumers may feel their money is better spent on the $250 AirPods Pro or $280 WF-1000XM4, both of which are frequently discounted.
Bottom line
Sony didn’t have to do much to make the WF-1000XM5 a category leader, but it went the extra mile to ensure these buds snagged the No. 1 spot. The newly developed QN2e and V2 processors deliver impeccable ANC that should make Apple and Bose sweat. Audio is unprecedented, courtesy of Sony’s high-end sound features and the Dynamic Driver X unit that widens frequency range for spacious, well-balanced sound. Improvements to design, fit and spatial audio add to their high-priced value.
I’m not thrilled about the high price, nor the 360 Reality Audio setup or NFC omission. However, these are mostly small nitpicks, which speaks to the product’s greatness.
That being said, the Sony WF-1000XM5 are the AirPods Pro killer we’ve sought for years and have finally received.