Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Headphones Review

The Sony WF-1000XM5 have a rounded teardrop shape that looks much smoother in design than the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless. The previous generation have copper accents that protrude outward for their mics, but this model uses flat copper grilles that are flush with the touch-sensitive surface instead. They come in two color variants: 'Black' and 'Silver'.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 Earbuds have a comfortable fit. They have a more ergonomic fit than their predecessor since the bud's shape puts less overall pressure on the lower part of your inner ear. They're also quite lightweight. Even though the buds aren't as bulky, the charging elements and surrounding plastic can still feel sharp and irritating against your inner ear, depending on your ear shape.

They come with four pairs of memory foam ear tips, ranging from extra small to large. This material is comfortable since they're more malleable and form-fitting and less stiff than those included with the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless. This material choice also helps improve the seal of the buds in your ears as it can mold to the shape of your ear canal for a more flush fit. That said, the memory foam will degrade over time and eventually needs to be replaced to maintain similar noise isolation levels. Some users have also reported that the ear tips aren't very comfortable and put pressure on the ear canal. A few users have also suggested using completely different ear tips to get a better fit. If you have small ear canals, you may also have difficulty achieving a snug and stable fit, even with the smallest included tip size. However, even with these negatives, the XM5's updated design is more comfortable than their predecessor's.

These buds have good controls. Each bud has a touch-sensitive surface that provides beeps to let you know when you've registered a command. You can turn on voice prompts if you prefer, though, and you can also remap controls via the companion app to add features like 'Spotify Tap', which allows you to access Spotify, as well as head gesture recognition, so that moving your head allows you to answer and reject calls. When receiving a call, the buds will enter 'Capture Voice' mode, which allows you to monitor your voice while you talk. Unfortunately, it's easy to accidentally tap the controls if you need to adjust the buds' fit in your ear.

On the left earbud:

• Single tap: Cycles between ANC mode and Ambient Sound mode, which allows you to hear your surroundings without taking off the buds.
• Double tap: This is a quick access control, so you can remap particular commands to this control via the companion app.
• Triple tap: This is also a quick access control, which you can remap controls to this command via the companion app.
• Continuous tap: Lowers the volume.
• Tap and hold: Activates 'Quick Attention' as long as you have your finger on the earbud. Turns down your audio and allows you to hear ambient sound.

On the right earbud:

• Single tap: Plays and pauses audio.
• Double tap: Skips the track forward.
• Triple tap: Skips the track backward.
• Continuous tap: Raises the volume.
• Tap and hold: Uses or cancels voice assistant.

These buds are pretty small, lightweight, and portable, so you won't have trouble putting them into most pockets or bags. Their carrying case also helps protect the buds when not in use.

The carrying case is great. It feels less flimsy than the one with the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless, as the material feels sturdier and more premium. There are magnets to hold the buds in place, too, and there's a pairing button on the back of the case. However, the plastic hinge feels like a weak point as it can degrade over time. We'll continue monitoring the case's durability as time passes, though.

These buds have a good build quality. They're mostly made of recycled plastic and come with memory foam ear tips. Overall, the buds feel dense and sturdy. That said, the ear tips will likely need replacing over time due to wear and tear as well as foam degradation, which can affect the sound quality and effectiveness of the ANC. There's no guarantee that they'll be available for purchase down the line, either. The buds are certified IPX4 for resistance, which protects against splashes of water. If you're looking for high-end earbuds with more protection from the elements, the Jabra Elite 10 True Wireless are rated IP57 for dust and water resistance.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 have a stable fit, provided you get a good fit with the provided ear tips. Although they lack the stability fins that come with earbuds like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Truly Wireless, they won't move around or fall out with moderate or intense head movements, so you can wear them during workouts without sweating.

• Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds
• 4x foam tip sizes
• Charging case
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• Manuals

Sony has re-tuned this generation of the WF-1000XM lineup, flattening the upper range of their predecessor's sound a bit. The Sony WF-1000XM5's sound is still bassy and warm with the ANC on, resulting in cozy vocals and instruments. However, these headphones now have more detail and articulation in the treble range. They're well-suited for various genres out of the box, but if you prefer a different sound, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets so you can fine-tune their sound to your liking. You can also see a comparison of all the EQ presets here. There's also a 'Find Your Equalizer' feature, which generates an EQ based on your unique hearing preferences. When using this feature, your personal EQ will replace the 'Custom 2' preset.

Although we expect most people to use these headphones with the ANC on, it's worth noting that there's a minor difference in sound profile when the ANC is off compared to on. With ANC off, you get more thumpy low bass but slightly weaker vocals and instruments, which are nudged to the back of the mix. Keep in mind that you won't experience a difference in frequency response if you're using LDAC or SBC codec either.

The Sony WF-1000XM5's frequency response consistency is excellent. Once you get a good fit using the provided memory foam ear tips, you'll achieve consistent bass and treble delivery each time you use them.

These buds do a great job of following our target curve in the bass range. The response is overemphasized and slightly tilted, so mixes have more warmth and boom than thump and rumble. In songs like Feeling Good by Nina Simone, the brass instruments following the refrain are punchy and weighty but slightly clutter the higher-pitched piano. If you want a more neutral bass response with the option of making those frequencies boomier, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 offer a flatter bass response that you can easily tweak for the times you want a more bass-heavy sound.

Regarding the mid-range, these buds do a great job of following our target curve. Some overemphasis comes from the bass range into the low-mid, resulting in a slightly cluttered sound. A dip in the mid-mid also nudges vocals and instruments to the back of the mix, but the high-mid is still fairly neutral and flat, resulting in adequate detail.

They also do an excellent job of following our target curve in the treble range. Compared to their predecessor, the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless, their response in this range is much more flat and with less roll-off. While still slightly underemphasized, vocals and instruments are detailed, while the sibilants, like cymbals, sound rounded without becoming completely dulled and lispy.

The Sony WF-1000XM5's peaks and dips performance is great. For the most part, these buds make few deviations across the range, so they can control their sound profile well. However, the most significant peaks and dips are in the treble range. The peaks here cause vocals and instruments to sound harsh while sibilants like hi-hats are piercing. A severe dip in the high treble also causes mixes to sound closed off and lifeless. However, this can be hard to hear, especially as we lose sensitivity to this range over time.

Sony's high-end products tend to have good ergonomics and quality control, ensuring a solid imaging performance. Imaging varies from unit to unit, though. Our unit's L/R drivers are well-matched regarding group delay, ensuring tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. Our unit is also well-matched in amplitude and frequency response, which helps ensure stable and even stereo image. However, there's a significant phase mismatch. The right driver struggles to center mid-range sounds like voices, so mixes sound a little unbalanced.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds have a bad passive soundstage, but that's normal from their in-ear fit. They bypass your outer ear by design, and sound needs to interact with it to create a wide and natural soundstage. As a result, audio feels like it's coming from inside your head and doesn't seem spacious or immersive.

These headphones are compatible with Sony's 360 Reality Audio feature. You can only access this feature via the companion app, and it can analyze your ear shape to create a custom sound profile. It also optimizes compatible audio through supported apps like 360 Reality Audio Live and TIDAL to give you a more immersive and 3D audio experience. However, you may also need a subscription to these services to take advantage of this feature.

If you're listening to audio at moderate volumes, it'll sound clean and pure. However, if you tend to crank your buds up to the max setting, you'll notice subtle distortion in the mid-range, mainly affecting vocals and instruments. Distortion can be hard to hear with real-life content, though, and it's unlikely that most people will be listening to audio at very high volumes to encounter this issue to begin with.

If you're using LDAC, you'll encounter a slight difference in distortion compared to our SBC results. However, the distortion itself is quite minor, and overall, you'll experience similar results as described above.

These are the settings used to test the Sony WF-1000XM5 Earbuds; our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 have memory foam ear tips, which form a tight seal within your ear canal and help them passively block out a lot of background noise. They also have noise cancelling (ANC). We enabled Sony's 'Adaptive Sound Control' (ASC) feature, which allows the buds to automatically shift between ANC on and ambient sound mode depending on your environment and use. All four of its modes have the same ANC strength.

Using the ASC mode, 'Staying,' these buds block out bass range noise like the rumbly plane engines well, so you can enjoy your commute in peace. These buds stand out from other ANC headphones, including the Bose QuietComfort 45/QC45 Wireless, due to how well they isolate in the mid to treble range. However, a lot of the noise reduction is due to their form-fitting seal, and even when the ANC is on, the passive performance still does a slightly better job of reducing noise, particularly in the treble range. You may also prefer this if you work in a noisy office.

There's an adjustable transparency mode called 'Ambient Mode' in their companion app. With the Ambient Sound mode set to its strongest setting, it sounds less clear and natural-sounding than the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Truly Wireless. The Apple headphones' transparency mode makes background sounds crisp and clear. In contrast, the XM5 can muffle more background noise than the Apple. You'll hear sounds around you quite well, though.

After user feedback, we've looked into possible ANC changes after firmware 3.0.1. You can see the results comparing ANC on and off between 2.0.1 and 3.0.1, and that the overall isolation performance is very similar. The slight deviations in passes are largely due to the fit of the foam ear tips as they expand and contract in our test rig's ears and aren't because of a change in ANC performance.

When it comes to common scenarios, these buds can block out a great amount of sound. They can tackle rumbly plane cabins and busy streets so that you can travel in peace. They're also well-suited for reducing office noise like coworkers chatting. If you find the isolating memory foam ear tips uncomfortable, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 can accomplish similar amounts of noise reduction with silicone ear tips instead.

Wind noise is a bit different than other sounds as it directly interacts with the ANC microphones. This leads to loud and annoying noise as the ANC system is countering a sound that isn't reaching your ear. Unfortunately, the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless struggle with wind noise. They also lack a wind reduction feature to help make this noise more manageable, so you'll want to avoid windy environments if it's too bothersome for you.

These buds have an outstanding leakage performance. Audio bleed is concentrated mostly in the bass and treble ranges but very low overall. As a result, you can crank up your favorite tunes to max volume without disturbing others around you.

The integrated mic's recording quality is poor. Your voice is understandable and crisp but lacks a lot of depth. It doesn't sound as dull as the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless.

The mic's noise handling performance is decent. Background noise is still present if you're talking, but it's hard to hear it clearly. Your voice will still be understandable if you're taking a call from a moderately noisy environment like a busy office or street.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 also have a windshield feature. However, wind noise can still be heard when using this feature during calls and even when you've turned the ANC on. Compared to the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless and the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Truly Wireless, the XM5 have a slight edge in reducing wind noise, but it's negligible. The XM5 can block wind noise when the mic isn't picking up your voice, but if you're talking, the wind noise is audible and can distract from speech.

The Sony WF-1000XM5's battery performance is good. Sony advertises eight hours of continuous playback time with the ANC on, and we measured just over that. This is great if you want to use the buds throughout your day without having to recharge them, and it even beats out the battery life of premium buds like the Devialet Gemini II True Wireless, which last under five hours continuously. If you're worried about battery life, turning ANC off will give you up to 12 hours of playback time. Keep in mind that battery life varies depending on use, though. Additionally, some Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless owners have reported that the batteries in their buds drained rapidly and unevenly, resulting in one bud dying significantly faster. Unfortunately, we can't confirm whether this problem extends to the XM5 model. However, we'll monitor the issue, and if you've encountered it with your XM5 model, please let us know in the forums.

The carrying case supplies a couple of extra charges if needed, and the buds have an auto-off mode that you can turn on and off in their companion app. This feature helps conserve battery life if you forget to put them back in their case. If you take the buds out of your ear, they'll also automatically pause your audio and turn off the ANC.

These buds are compatible with the Sony | Headphones Connect app; you can see a video of how it works here. Some features aren't available on the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless, like Ambient Sound Control, which allows the buds to automatically shift between ANC on and ambient sound mode depending on your environment and use. There are four actions: 'Walking,' 'Staying,' 'Running,' and 'Riding a Vehicle.' You can also adjust Ambient Sound between levels 1-20, with 1 being full transparency and 20 being full noise cancelling. Head gesture commands allow you to answer and reject calls by moving your head.

In addition to the features above, there are a few tried and true features like a graphic EQ and presets for tweaking the buds' sound to your liking and 360 Reality Audio, their virtual soundstage feature. You can also remap controls, adjust audio playback, update the firmware, adjust the mic's sidetone, and adjust the automatic power-off feature. If you're looking to adjust your Bluetooth performance, you can adjust the Bluetooth's connection quality and toggle DSEE Extreme on and off, which is an AI low-bitrate upscaling feature for audio.

With Firmware 4.0.2, Sony renamed the Sony | Headphones Connect app to Sony Sound Connect. This update also brought a few new features. First, a Find My Device feature for the earbuds. As long as one of the buds is connected to the case, activating this feature will help you locate your buds by playing a chime that gradually increases in volume. Second, an Auto Switch feature that lets you quickly change your audio output device between your headphones and Sony's LinkBud Speakers. When using this feature, if you're listening to audio via your compatible LinkBuds speaker and then remove your headphones from their case, the audio should automatically switch to playing back via your headphones. Finally, the buds now support Google Fast Pair, allowing for a streamlined pairing process with Android devices.

You can't use these headphones wired. However, they come with a USB-A to USB-C cable to recharge the case. You can always check out the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 True Wireless if you need to connect devices via a wired connection, as their 'smart case' acts as a transmitter between the buds and wired input sources.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 have great Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II Truly Wireless, they support multi-device pairing, so you can stay connected to your smartphone and PC simultaneously. If you need to connect to more devices than this at the same time, it's worth considering the Technics EAH-AZ80 True Wireless for their 3-way multipoint instead. Like the Sony buds, the Technics also support Google Fast Pair for quick pairing with your Android device. If you're an Android user, check out our article on the best wireless earbuds for Android.

In terms of codecs, they support LDAC, a hi-res audio codec that allows you to stream your favorite tunes over Bluetooth with better sound quality, AAC, the default codec used by Apple, which has better sound quality than SBC, and LE Audio, for low-power audio transmission. However, they don't support the aptX Lossless codec, unlike the Denon PerL Pro True Wireless. That said, these buds have high latency on PC, whether you're prioritizing latency or audio quality via their companion app, causing lip sync issues. That said, latency won't be an issue if you're only using the buds for streaming audio. Some apps and devices also compensate for latency.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds have full audio and mic compatibility when connected via Bluetooth to supported PCs. However, this is the only connection you can use.

These buds come with a hard carrying case that supplies three additional charges. It has a USB-C port for charging the case and supports Qi wireless charging.