The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is the continuation of ASUS's Strix lineup. Like most others in this lineup, this is a wired-only, high-performing gaming option. However, it now includes an upgraded 8000Hz maximum polling rate, a hot-swappable printed circuit board (PCB), and a LED display on the top right that you can use to showcase a custom gif or image.
Our Verdict
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is an incredible gaming keyboard. It has exceptionally low latency and a higher-than-average 8000Hz maximum polling rate. The RGB backlighting is fully customizable using the companion software, and you can also use the companion software to program macros to any key and create animations for the LED screen on the top right. On top of it all, it's a comfortable keyboard to use, thanks to the included wrist rest.
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Exceptionally low latency.
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Included wrist rest adds comfort.
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All keys are macro-programmable.
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Feels well-built.
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Cable is quite thick and inflexible.
Although not designed for this, the ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a good keyboard for office use. It feels well-built and comfortable for long periods thanks to its ergonomic features. Its companion software is only available on Windows, so you'll have to save your settings to the onboard memory to access them on Mac or Linux systems. Overall, the typing quality is great, and it has a full range of dedicated media keys, so you can skip through media while you work.
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Included wrist rest adds comfort.
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Feels well-built.
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Wired-only.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a wired-only keyboard and isn't recommended for use with mobile devices and tablets.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a good keyboard for programming. It feels well-built and comfortable to use for long periods, and its RGB backlighting is fully customizable to add some good glow to your setup. The companion software allows you to program macros to any key and set animations for the LED screen on the top right. However, the companion software is only available for Windows, so you'll have to save your settings to the onboard memory to access them on Mac or Linux. Plus, this keyboard is wired-only, so you can't use it easily in a multi-device setup.
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Included wrist rest adds comfort.
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All keys are macro-programmable.
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Feels well-built.
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Wired-only.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a poor keyboard for entertainment and home theater PC setups. It's a wired-only unit, and the cable is thick and inflexible. It also lacks a trackpad or trackball for any on-screen navigation, so you'll require a remote or an additional peripheral. On the upside, it's sturdy and won't flex while propped up on your lap, and the RGB backlighting is quite bright and makes the key legends easy to read.
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Feels well-built.
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Wired-only.
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Lacks trackpad for on-screen navigation.
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Feels well-built.
- 8.8 Gaming
- 7.2 Office
- 1.0 Mobile/Tablet
- 7.7 Programming
- 3.8 Entertainment / HTPC
- 9.0 Raw Performance
Changelog
- Updated Nov 29, 2023: We've added a link to the newly-reviewed ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless in the <#test_3424">Dimensions section of this review.
- Updated Nov 29, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3.1, which adds a new estimated PCB latency test to the Single-Key Latency section and a new Analog test to the Switches section of this review. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Oct 27, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3, which overhauls how key input is evaluated. We've added new tests for Single Key Latency, Multi Key Latency, Data Transmission, and Chord Split. We've also introduced a new Raw Performance usage and adjusted how the Gaming and Office usage scores are calculated. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Jun 15, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.2. This update introduces new Backlight Features and Backlight Clarity test boxes. We've also added a new Switches test box, added additional test comparisons to our Hardware Customizability test box that we introduced with our last Test Bench. For an in-depth look at our changes, you can see our full changelog here.
- Updated May 26, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.1. This update adds several new tests addressing Hardware Customization, Macro Keys And Programming, and Wireless Mobile Compatibility. We've also added new objective evaluations to the Typing Noise test, and we've simplified several tests and removed several others that were no longer relevant. For an in-depth look at all our changes, you can see our full changelog here.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
There are two different variants of this keyboard available. The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate has an LED display in the top right and comes with your choice of proprietary ROG NX or Cherry MX tactile Brown, linear Red, or clicky Blue switches. The other variant, the ASUS ROG Strix Flare II, lacks the LED display and only comes with your choice of ROG NX switches. We bought and tested the Animate version with the LED screen, but we expect the non-Animate version to perform similarly, though the typing experience will vary depending on what switches you choose to get with it. You can see the label of the unit we bought and tested here.
Compared To Other Keyboards
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a fully-loaded gaming keyboard that continues the ASUS ROG Strix lineup. It features a higher-than-average 8000Hz maximum polling rate, a reconfigured suite of media keys, and RGB backlighting that integrates into the wrist pad. Notably, the Strix Flare II has an LED display in the top right corner that you can program to display custom animations, media, or system settings. This keyboard is also a hot-swappable unit, meaning you can change out the stock switches for any 3-pin switch of your choosing. Overall, it's a solid unit targeting gaming enthusiasts who are looking for a keyboard with split millisecond latency, high performance, and fun extra features.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best gaming keyboards, the best RGB keyboards, and the best mechanical keyboards.
The ASUS Rog Strix Flare II Animate and the ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless are mechanical gaming keyboards with comparable performance. The Strix Flare II Animate is a full-size wired-only model. It has a scroll wheel, dedicated media keys, a USB passthrough, and a programmable LED screen. On the other hand, the Strix Scope II 96 Wireless has a slightly smaller compact (96%) form factor. It also has a multi-function button and a multi-function wheel.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scope TKL and the ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate are both wired-only gaming keyboards. However, the Strix Flare II performs much better overall thanks to its exceptionally low latency, higher maximum polling rate, and included wrist rest for better ergonomics.
The ASUS ROG Falchion and the ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate are both exceptional gaming keyboards that offer incredible gaming performance with low latency. They do have some differences in that the Falchion is a compact wireless model that doesn't have nearly as many extra hardware features, while the Strix Flare II is a full-sized, wired-only unit that boasts an 8000Hz maximum polling rate in addition to several extra hardware features.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate and the HyperX Alloy Rise are full-size mechanical gaming keyboards that support maximum polling rates of 8000Hz and have hot-swappable PCBs. The ASUS has better raw performance, with significantly lower and more consistent latency performance. It also has several extra features the HyperX lacks, including a programmable LED screen, a USB passthrough, and an included wrist rest. Comparatively, the HyperX's performance is lacking in no small part because its effective update rate acts as a significant bottleneck, so it can't take full advantage of its 8000Hz polling.
The HyperX Alloy Origins and the ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate are two wired-only gaming keyboards, but the ASUS outperforms the HyperX. That said, the HyperX is more of a budget model, so it lacks many of the extra features found on the ASUS, but overall the two keyboards perform fairly similarly.
The Corsair K100 RGB and the ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate are both feature-loaded gaming keyboards. They perform very similarly in their RGB backlighting customization, maximum polling rate settings, and extremely low latency. However, the Corsair only comes in two switch options at checkout, whereas the ASUS has a wider variety of switch options. The ASUS has a hot-swappable circuit board, so you can change the stock switches for whatever 3-pin switch you prefer.
Test Results
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a full-sized keyboard with a detachable wrist rest. It takes up quite a bit of space on desks.
If you're looking for a slightly more compact gaming keyboard with a compact 96% form factor, check out the ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate has a very good build quality. The plastic chassis has only a little bit of flex, but it isn't noticeable during regular use. Plus, the solid metal baseplate keeps the whole unit very rigid. The six rubber feet on the bottom of the keyboard do a great job of keeping the board in place. The double-shot PBT keycaps have shine-through legends, and they feel very nice on the fingertips. Unfortunately, the keys themselves don't feel very stable, and there's a noticeable wobble, especially in the left shift key. Also, this keyboard is hot-swappable, and you can see a shot with the keycaps and some switches removed here.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate has acceptable ergonomics. It's a straight board with one incline setting to help alleviate wrist strain. There's an included detachable wrist rest that has a nice leatherette covering and feels very plushy and comfortable.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate has full RGB backlighting with individually lit keys. You can customize the backlighting in the companion software to perform several effects. Notably, the included wrist rest has its own RGB lighting that creates a nice underglow effect when it's connected. There's a frosted plastic light diffuser included, which connects with magnets to the front edge of the keyboard when you don't have the wrist rest attached.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate comes with a very thick cable with two USB-A plugs on the end. Both ends need to be connected to use the USB passthrough feature. The cable will require cable management as it's stiff and retains kinks easily.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a wired-only keyboard.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is a feature-loaded keyboard. Along the top left of the keyboard, there's a scroll wheel and dedicated media keys for skipping and playing media. To the right of the scroll wheel, there's a Windows key lock button and a button to adjust the brightness of the RGB backlighting. This keyboard has a USB port along the top for USB passthrough purposes. The most notable feature of this keyboard is the LED screen in the top right corner. You can use this screen with one of three modes: system, audio, or animation. Each of these modes displays different images on the LED screen, including the key functions, song title and artist, or any of the preset animations available to you. You can customize the animations and use your favorite gif if you want. Additionally, this keyboard is hot-swappable and supports most 3-pin switches.
- ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate
- Wrist rest
- RGB diffuser strip
- Keycap puller
- Switch puller
- ROG stickers
- User documentation
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate offers a great typing experience. It has a standard layout that doesn't require any getting used to, and the wrist rest adds extra support while typing, so you won't have to worry about wrist fatigue. The PBT keycaps have a nice texture that feels nice on the fingertips. However, the keys themselves aren't very stable and wobble noticeably during use. Also, the tactile NX Brown switches are light to type on, but they feel a bit heavier at first since the tactile bump is nearly instantaneous. Overall, the typing experience feels and sounds satisfying right out of the box.
With the tactile NX Brown switches installed, the ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is fairly quiet to use. There's a layer of sound-dampening foam inside the case that also reduces any extra noise. However, if you get the board with other switches, like the clicky blue switches, the typing noise will be much louder.
The ROG NX Brown switches have a light actuation force and a fairly short pre-travel distance. The tactile bump comes early in the keypress, so the tactility is quite noticeable. However, you can get this keyboard with your choice of ROG NX tactile Brown, clicky Blue, or linear Red. Or, you can get this board with Cherry MX switches in the same offerings. If none of those choices suit you, you can make use of the keyboard's hot-swappable PCB that has a 3-pin socket compatible with most switches.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate has exceptionally low latency. As a note, this keyboard has a higher-than-average polling rate of 8000Hz, which was used for this test. You can also set the polling rate to 1000Hz, in which case the latency is a very low 1.2ms.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate uses Armoury Crate software for customization. The software is easy to use thanks to the included tutorials that show you how to program macros, change the RGB backlighting, and remap keys. You can also change the animation in the top right of the board, but the animation effects don't save to the onboard memory, meaning you'll need to have the software open to see them.
The score of this test box is based solely on the companion software's features and not its overall performance. We didn't experience any issues during testing. However, community members have identified a range of issues with this software.
The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate is fully compatible with all major desktop operating systems. However, the companion software is only available on Windows.
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Comments
ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate: Main Discussion
Let us know why you want us to review the product here, or encourage others to vote for this product.
- 21010
I’d avoid all Sony products for now. Their earbuds (Sony WF-1000XM4) had a firmware bug that tremendously shortened battery life. The patches haven’t fixed it, and their product support has been far from ideal. It’s a shame because they used to be good (example: MDR 7506 come with a part diagram).
Update: We’ve converted this review to Test Bench 1.6, which updates how we measure latency. We’ve updated and renamed the following test groups: Wired Connection, Bluetooth Connection, and Wireless Connection (Dongle). We’ve also added new codec latency measurements and provided an audio sample of recorded latency.
- 21010
U say in the review that the Sony wh-1000xm4 are leaking sound, but is it much of leaking compared to other headphones or is it the same?
Update: We’ve converted this review to Test Bench 1.7, which updates our Noise Isolation test. We’ve also expanded the scope of this test to include Common Scenarios in addition to Voice Handling and Wind Handling.
- 21010
U say in the review that the Sony wh-1000xm4 are leaking sound, but is it much of leaking compared to other headphones or is it the same?
Hi there,
The Sony WH-1000XM4 certainly aren’t the worst when it comes to leakage (especially if you compare them to other over-ear headphones), but there are better options out there if you care about leakage performance. You can check out a table of over-ear headphones, sorted by leakage performance here. However, keep in mind that our tests are done at 100dB. This is a very loud volume, and the leakage will be lower if you also keep your volume lower.
- 21010
These reviews for ANC REALLY need to have criteria for OS. These headphones work great on mobile and mac but are absolute garbage for windows environment.
- 21010
Bought this pair last year, chose them over XM5. Although I found XM5 better in terms of sound, but the adaptive noise cancelling was a deal breaker. If I new that you cannot connect them to the Samsung TV’s due to a software issue , I would have gone for Bose. Such a deal breaker, maybe connectivity is something to include in reviews in future. I now have to buy Bose anyway. Also after a year of usage, I found that XM4 do not block the sound as well as last year. I leave 10 min away from the airport so the noise is very considerable. Last year they were doing a great job to reduce it, but now there is almost no difference when the plane is passing! Wonder if this is due to the cans tear, the foam does look quite squished compared when they were new.
Edited 10 months ago: Spelling mistake - 21010
Just had a pair from Amazon on Prime Day and was really disappointed. They sound dull and muffled. Have to use the DSP to get a reasonable sound and seems pointless when they are meant to handle LDAC (which I cannot get switched on) and I want it as per the original file. I am quite surprised that these are being raved about. Am I doing something wrong? They are being returned to Amazon
- 21010
I just picked up a pair of WH-1000xm4’s on Amazon Prime day. Sound is great… BUT… the two Bluetooth device connection is flaky… absolutely refuses to connect and play on the phone, even though the player shows that it is playing music. I must disconnect my Windows PC to get the phone to play through the headphones.
THE REAL BIG PROBLEM: I wear hearing aids. I cannot get rid of the feedback. I adjust the phones on my head. I use the personal optimizer. All is well until the music has a few high notes. Then the feedback starts and it won’t stop until I move the headphone away from my ear. Then it’s quiet for a few minutes before the feedback starts up again. They are going back.
RTINGS Folks: Any recommendation for noise canceling, over the ear headphones that work with hearing aids? I assume that a deeper/larger headphone would do the trick. Thank you.
- 21010
I just picked up a pair of WH-1000xm4’s on Amazon Prime day. Sound is great… BUT… the two Bluetooth device connection is flaky… absolutely refuses to connect and play on the phone, even though the player shows that it is playing music. I must disconnect my Windows PC to get the phone to play through the headphones. THE REAL BIG PROBLEM: I wear hearing aids. I cannot get rid of the feedback. I adjust the phones on my head. I use the personal optimizer. All is well until the music has a few high notes. Then the feedback starts and it won’t stop until I move the headphone away from my ear. Then it’s quiet for a few minutes before the feedback starts up again. They are going back. RTINGS Folks: Any recommendation for noise canceling, over the ear headphones that work with hearing aids? I assume that a deeper/larger headphone would do the trick. Thank you.
Hi and thanks for this question. Sorry to hear the Bluetooth multipoint was so ropey with the XM4 - we’ve read some reports online about issues when switching between devices between different OS but haven’t been able to replicate them. Sometimes it’s due to having LDAC enabled too, which disables BT multipoint.
As for a pair of wireless ANC-equipped over-ears, I have a few ideas, but would it be possible to know what type of hearing aids you have? I’m assuming they’re probably some form of In-the-Canal or In-the-Ear HAs but it’ll help me figure out how much space you’ll need within the earcup.
One other thought: I know that the Apple AirPods-line are well-received among those with hearing impairments due to the ability to import audiogram data and have the headphones adjust their sound profile accordingly. A few folks even wear the AirPods Pro instead of hearings aids. The AirPods Max would fit the bill in this case and would mean you wouldn’t have to wear your hearing aids when wearing them. Obviously they’re expensive and not everyone’s cup of tea, but they could be a more permanent workaround. Of course feel free to disregard this suggestion if you know of this already
- 21010
Hi and thanks for this question. Sorry to hear the Bluetooth multipoint was so ropey with the XM4 - we’ve read some reports online about issues when switching between devices between different OS but haven’t been able to replicate them. Sometimes it’s due to having LDAC enabled too, which disables BT multipoint. As for a pair of wireless ANC-equipped over-ears, I have a few ideas, but would it be possible to know what type of hearing aids you have? I’m assuming they’re probably some form of In-the-Canal or In-the-Ear HAs but it’ll help me figure out how much space you’ll need within the earcup. One other thought: I know that the Apple AirPods-line are well-received among those with hearing impairments due to the ability to import audiogram data and have the headphones adjust their sound profile accordingly. A few folks even wear the AirPods Pro instead of hearings aids. The AirPods Max would fit the bill in this case and would mean you wouldn’t have to wear your hearing aids when wearing them. Obviously they’re expensive and not everyone’s cup of tea, but they could be a more permanent workaround. Of course feel free to disregard this suggestion if you know of this already
Thanks for the info. The hearing aids I use are over the ear Costco brand, which are manufactured by Phonak, a major supplier. You can see a pretty close representation here: https://www.phonak.com/en-int/hearing-devices/hearing-aids/audeo-lumity
I returned the XM4’s (unfortunately) because I could not resolve the feedback. I purchased the Soundcore Space Q45’s. They are better but if a musical tone kicks off the feedback, the only way to resolve is pull the headphone away from my ear.
Oddly enough, an old pair of Cowin E7’s I have do not have any feedback. I can only guess that is is because of a larger cup volume. Which leads to the question: Is it possible to find extra thick ear pads to increase the cup volume?
The Q45’s have a better equalizer, and in fact, the app has a built in tone generator to measure hearing loss. This then develops an equalizer profiler which can be further modified manually. I’m also going to visit my audiologist to see what I could do about blocking more sound in the ear canal.
- 21010
Thanks for the info. The hearing aids I use are over the ear Costco brand, which are manufactured by Phonak, a major supplier. You can see a pretty close representation here: https://www.phonak.com/en-int/hearing-devices/hearing-aids/audeo-lumity I returned the XM4’s (unfortunately) because I could not resolve the feedback. I purchased the Soundcore Space Q45’s. They are better but if a musical tone kicks off the feedback, the only way to resolve is pull the headphone away from my ear. Oddly enough, an old pair of Cowin E7’s I have do not have any feedback. I can only guess that is is because of a larger cup volume. Which leads to the question: Is it possible to find extra thick ear pads to increase the cup volume? The Q45’s have a better equalizer, and in fact, the app has a built in tone generator to measure hearing loss. This then develops an equalizer profiler which can be further modified manually. I’m also going to visit my audiologist to see what I could do about blocking more sound in the ear canal.
Very interesting - I’m wondering if there’s even a way to use the Q45s equalizer to pull down the frequency band that’s causing the feedback? Kind of like a how a live sound engineer might subtract particularly resonant frequencies. Of course this might not be ideal for listening but it would at least take care of the feedback.
As for the earpads, it makes sense that the Cowin’s would help mitigate feedback. I also know that B&O make headphones with pretty large earcups, although again, they’re pretty expensive. You can certainly buy after-market earpads that will do a similar job though. Amazon has a few that are XL size. if you want to go the more premium route, I know Dekoni has some really nice larger earpads that could be attached to whichever headphones you prefer in the moment.
- 21010
I just bought XM4 but with the latest version of Windows 11 without enabling the connection to two devices I didn’t feel too much latancy. I think it’s about 100ms because I have another headphones that takes 250ms. It’s quite a lot for games that i can feel it but xm4 good for gaming.Is it possible to retest with the latest version 11 for you?
- 21010
I just bought XM4 but with the latest version of Windows 11 without enabling the connection to two devices I didn’t feel too much latancy. I think it’s about 100ms because I have another headphones that takes 250ms. It’s quite a lot for games that i can feel it but xm4 good for gaming.Is it possible to retest with the latest version 11 for you?
Hi there,
Our Latency Rig is on Windows 11 Pro. Our test is designed to capture the “Relative Latency,” so the version of Windows we use should not be an issue. For more information about our test, see our Test Bench 1.6-Latency article.
- 21010
I have many headphones, but this one has a little delay, there is definitely something wrong with your tests
- 21010
Hi there,
Thanks for your input. There’s a difference between AV Sync Latency and Relative Latency. To learn more about our test, you can read this article here. If you have any suggestion on how we can improve it, we would be happy to hear them 🙂
Cheers, Dagobiet
- 21010
These headphones are an example of more brand exposure offering less value compared to comparable models in other brands. Many people buy Sony because it’s a Sony.
As far as sound quality, one important thing to point out much of the difference in natural sound between this and competing models is typically in the bass response from 20-120hz which also is commonly the spectrum area most susceptible to personal preference differences. The fact the EQ for the Sony cannot be adjusted in the range below 400 hz introduces a major limitation in fine-tuning the frequency response to one’s personal preference.
Compared to models such as the JBL Live 770NC, while the Sony offers a clear benefit in far superior noise cancelling, the JBL offers more than adequate noise canceling for the vast population. Given the current fact the JBLs can be had for half the price and the ability to more finely tune the frequency response, the JBL in my opinion offers a far better value to both the average consumer and the audiophile on a tight budget. The JBL app also has the ability to create a custom EQ setting based on a hearing test which is valuable especially to older users. Anker offers this also but as far as I know this is not a feature for these much more expensive headphones.
Edited 7 months ago: Added mention of Anker having hearing eq feature - 21010
Hi there, Thanks for your input. There’s a difference between AV Sync Latency and Relative Latency. To learn more about our test, you can read this article here. If you have any suggestion on how we can improve it, we would be happy to hear them 🙂 Cheers, Dagobiet
I turned off the ability to connect to two devices at the same time and my delay decreased, although I think the delays are different between different Bluetooth dongles. However, this model has less delay between the Samsung and Anker headphones that I have, although the delay is noticeable. But it is not annoying like other models and it can be played even with a 4090 graphics card with 120 frames at a rate of 120 Hz. Also, I used the silver sound cable, the clarity of the sound was clearly better, because this headphone does not have enough sound clarity, but it has a wonderful bass.
Edited 7 months ago: nothing - 21010
i found alternative a2dp driver that can enable aptx and ldac. i test it and ldac work for me. is it work with momentum 4 for aptx low latancy mode? If this works, then there is no need to buy an expensive dongle to activate it
We’ve just released a new video that mentions the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless here.
- 21010
The 2.6.0 update has many users on Reddit suggesting that the ANC is now worse and the sound profile has changed, making this review now out of date. Would you consider retesting with the new update, considering the popularity of these headphones?
- 21010
The 2.6.0 update has many users on Reddit suggesting that the ANC is now worse and the sound profile has changed, making this review now out of date. Would you consider retesting with the new update, considering the popularity of these headphones?
Hi there,
We plan on bringing the headphones on to our latest Test-Bench Version 1.8 After this, we will check the ANC performance and adjust the review accordingly. At the moment, we do not have a specific timeline since we are converting our headphones backlog onto the latest Test-Bench Version.
Cheers, Dagobiet.
Update: We’ve converted this review to Test Bench 1.8, which updates our target curve and Sound tests. You can read more about this in our changelog.
- 21010
In the ANC wind handling section of this article, the comment that the headphones lack a wind noise reduction mode is false, the feature is just hidden by poor UI choices. You can find it in the ambient sound control section of the phone app, when you move the slider by just a tiny bit to the right (1 pip) it will switch to wind noise reduction mode, which works rather well overall. Don’t understand why Sony didn’t put a checkbox or something instead of this but eh. This probably also applies to the XM5, though I don’t own a pair to confirm.
- 21010
In the ANC wind handling section of this article, the comment that the headphones lack a wind noise reduction mode is false, the feature is just hidden by poor UI choices. You can find it in the ambient sound control section of the phone app, when you move the slider by just a tiny bit to the right (1 pip) it will switch to wind noise reduction mode, which works rather well overall. Don’t understand why Sony didn’t put a checkbox or something instead of this but eh. This probably also applies to the XM5, though I don’t own a pair to confirm.
Hi Fitch,
Thanks for the suggestion! We’ll take a look on our unit and update the Wind Handling section after we re-test it.
Thanks, Matt
Update: We updated the ANC Wind Handling section of this review after re-testing these headphones with the wind reduction feature turned on.
- 21010
These headphones do indeed have excellent active and even passive noise isolation. However, after about a year or so of heavy use, the headphones without warning blasted my eardrum with the ear-splitting feedback screech. That sound is absolutely loud enough to cause harm to one’s hearing. I cannot recommend anyone buy and use headphones that have the potential to, without warning, inflict permanent hearing damage and even tinnitus.
Moreover, after the catastrophic failure of the active noise cancellation system, I continued using the headphones wired and unpowered, and after some time they started falling apart in two places on the band, losing all their clamping force even after I duct-taped the failure points. The build quality of these headphones is disappointing considering their price. But by far their worst issue is the feedback problem. I recommend avoiding these and any other Sony-made noise-cancelling headphones.