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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Sennheiser CX True Wireless vs Sony WF-C500 Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Sennheiser CX True Wireless
Sony WF-C500 Truly Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jan 15, 2024 08:49 PM
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Updated May 14, 2024 05:18 PM
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TypeIn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeIn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- CX (Black)
- CX (White)
- WF-C500 (Black)
- WF-C500 (Green)
- WF-C500 (Orange)
- WF-C500 (White)
Our Verdict
Sennheiser CX True Wireless
Sony WF-C500 Truly Wireless
The Sony WF-C500 Truly Wireless are better for most purposes than the Sennheiser CX True Wireless. The Sony have a much more comfortable fit, better noise isolation, and a more neutral default sound profile that some may prefer. They also have longer continuous battery life and a significantly better mic recording quality. However, the Sennheiser are better-built, have a more stable fit, and their Βluetooth latency with iOS and Android devices is lower.
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Black
CX
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WF-C500
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CX
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WF-C500
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WF-C500
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WF-C500
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Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
6.7
7.4
Bass Accuracy
7.2
9.3
Mid Accuracy
8.0
9.0
Imaging
9.3
6.9
Treble Accuracy
6.6
7.5
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
In-ear
In-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
6.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.03 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
6.8
6.8
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
9.2
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.8 °C
Portability
9.3
9.5
Portability Picture
L
1.4" (3.5 cm)
1.2" (3.1 cm)
W
1.2" (3.1 cm)
1.1" (2.9 cm)
H
1.2" (3.0 cm)
0.9" (2.2 cm)
Volume
1.96 in³ (32.20 cm³)
1.20 in³ (19.60 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.5
7.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
1.3" (3.3 cm)
3.1" (8.0 cm)
W
2.3" (5.9 cm)
1.4" (3.5 cm)
H
1.7" (4.2 cm)
1.2" (3.1 cm)
Volume
5.01 in³ (82.10 cm³)
5.30 in³ (86.80 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
2.49 dB
0.81 dB
Treble Amount
-3.27 dB
-0.81 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
9.2
9.3
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.17 dB
0.15 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
7.2
9.3
Std. Err.
4.38 dB
0.92 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
10 Hz
Low-Bass
2.5 dB
1.66 dB
Mid-Bass
4.9 dB
-0.18 dB
High-Bass
6 dB
-0.47 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.0
9.0
Std. Err.
2.64 dB
1.29 dB
Low-Mid
4.06 dB
0.01 dB
Mid-Mid
0.01 dB
-1.69 dB
High-Mid
0.18 dB
0.64 dB
Treble Accuracy
6.6
7.5
Std. Err.
5.02 dB
3.72 dB
Low-Treble
-5.35 dB
0.42 dB
Mid-Treble
-0.06 dB
-1.79 dB
High-Treble
-2.62 dB
-5.05 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.4
7.7
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.58 dB
1.4 dB
Dips
1.68 dB
1.31 dB
Imaging
9.3
6.9
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.13
0.16
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.14
40.44
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.28
1.19
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.11
1.46
Passive Soundstage
0.9
0.8
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
3.5
3.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
0.5
0.6
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
4.1
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
No
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
360 Reality Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.7
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.325
0.278
WHD @ 100
0.122
0.158
Test Settings
Firmware
1.6.8
1.0.4
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0
Codec
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
EQ
Neutral
Off
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
6.5
6.8
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-18.46 dB
-20.06 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
-5.22 dB
-6.86 dB
Mid
-18.11 dB
-18.67 dB
Treble
-33.29 dB
-35.74 dB
Leakage
9.6
9.4
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
23.61 dB
24.41 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
5.4
6.9
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
334.17 Hz
250.34 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
4 dB
2.61 dB
HFE
2,248 Hz
6,834.38 Hz
Weighted THD
10.521
3.271
Gain
20.22 dB
0.28 dB
Noise Handling
7.1
6.3
SpNR
35.42 dB
12.32 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
6.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.5
6.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.2
7.0
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
6.6 hrs
11.8 hrs
Additional Charges
2.0
1.0
Total Battery Life
19.8 hrs
28 hrs
Charge Time
1.1 hrs
1.8 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
7.5
7.5
App Picture
App Name
Sennheiser Smart Control
Sony| Headphones Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
Connectivity
Bluetooth
7.0
6.9
Bluetooth Version
5.2
5.0
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
226.38 ft (69.00 m)
250.33 ft (76.30 m)
PC Latency (SBC)
377 ms
241 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
321 ms
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
36 ms
142 ms
Android Latency
23 ms
231 ms
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connection
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
USB-C
USB-C
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CX
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WF-C500
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CX
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WF-C500
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WF-C500
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WF-C500
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Sennheiser CX True Wireless
Sony WF-C500 Truly Wireless
Comments
Sennheiser CX True Wireless vs Sony WF-C500 Truly Wireless: Main Discussion
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