Sony WF-1000XM5 Review: Good Made Better

By Prateek Pandey Updated June 10, 2024

Sony has, time and again, captivated the market with its flagship TWS offerings. The Sony WF-1000XM4 TWS, for instance, was on everyone’s lips at the time of its launch, thanks to its advanced ANC tech and stellar sound quality. The scenery remains unchanged with the WF-1000XM5 TWS earbuds, which further its predecessor’s acoustic capabilities and tout a more compact design that nestles in a user’s ears better – talk about being as snug as a bug in a rug.

Of course, as is the case with most flagship TWS earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM5 costs a fortune. So then, should you spend your hard-earned bucks on Sony’s latest? Let’s find out in this review.

Design and Comfort

At the WF-1000XM5 launch event, Sony displayed several slides that highlighted the size disparity between the company’s latest TWS earbuds and its predecessor. Per the brand, the WF-1000XM5 is 25 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter than the M4s. Naturally, I took the company’s claims with a pinch of salt.

Boy, was I in for a treat because once I took the buds out of their eco-friendly packaging, I was pleasantly surprised with the case and the buds’ compact footprint.

The M5’s case dwarfs in comparison to the M4’s charging cradle. More notably, the earpieces don’t protrude outwards as much, so you can rest your head on a pillow without the buds biting your ears. Usually, reducing a gadget’s footprint comes at a cost. In the case of a pair of wireless earbuds, you might not get the same acclaimed battery backup or have to contend with smaller drivers.

Surprisingly, the M5 boasts the same battery backup at eight hours. Better yet, the buds are powered by a pair of 8.4mm drivers this time around. In contrast, the M4s utilized a set of 6.4mm drivers. That’s not all, as the earbuds also ship with more mics to cancel out noise better. I’ll have more to say about how the changes translate to real-world usage later, but the Sony WF-1000XM5 undeniably stays anchored in the ear better. You can even wear the buds to a gym or when you’re out for a run without worrying about the earpieces falling off.

Speaking of which, you should know that the earbuds come with an IPX4 rating. Additionally, the company bundles different-sized foam ear tips with the headset, which fit my ear like a glove. Your mileage could vary, though, as some of my peers in the industry preferred using silicone ear tips for a better in-ear seal. What most of us will agree on, however, is against using a glossy finish for the WF-1000XM5 earbuds.

Put simply, the finish looks tacky, and it picks up on smudges willy-nilly. Also, the earpieces feel slippery, so removing them from the case is a bit of a chore. Moving on, the Sony WF-1000XM5 uses tap-based gestures to control the music playback. You can tap up to four times on either earbud to invoke a command. For instance, tapping four times on the left or the right headset could turn the volume down or up.

Similarly, tapping thrice on the right earbud would take me back to the previous soundtrack. The control scheme works as advertised, and the buds were quick to register my input, so no complaints here.

App and ANC

As prefaced previously, you can modify the WF-1000XM5’s touch inputs to your liking. To do so, you’ll have to download the company’s Headphone Connect app, which is available for both, iOS and Android users.

The app also lets you update the M5’s firmware, tweak the EQ, and sift through other features like Speak-to-Chat, which, when enabled, automatically pauses the music playback and enables a transparency mode, thereby ensuring you can have a conversation without taking out the earbuds.

You can also set the duration for the Speak-to-Chat feature to stay enabled after you stop speaking. Further, you can use the app to analyze your ear shape for the best possible audio experience. Note that you’ll have to sign up to the company’s web portal to access this feature. Other than that, the app can also give you useful insights about the earbuds and the case’s battery levels, which is great.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 ships with three microphones on each earbud, up from two on the M4s. The mics work in tandem with the company’s in-house HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN2e to eliminate environmental noise.

Now, in my testing, the M5s did cancel out noise better than the M4s. The same was evident when I was strolling in a garden near my apartment complex, and the earbuds managed to keep noises emanating from car engines and the sound of a hammer striking a metal plate at a distance at bay.

I also noticed the difference when typing away on my mechanical keyboard. The key taps sounded more subdued when using the M5s vis-a-vis the M4s. Now, it’s hard to objectively state whether the earbuds cancel out noise to the same degree as other flagship TWS headsets like the AirPods Pro.

Having used the latter, I am of the opinion that they do, but then again, the difference isn’t night and day. That being said, the Sony WF-1000XM5 offers an excellent transparency mode that sounds more natural and clearer than what you’d get with competing TWS headsets.

Sound Quality and Performance

As stated earlier, the Sony WF-1000XM5 is backed by a pair of 8.4mm dynamic drivers. The headset can operate across a frequency range of 20Hz-40KHz and supports LDAC, AAC, SBC, and LC3 Bluetooth codecs. For my testing, I sampled the earbuds with lossless streams from Apple Music via the LDAC codec.

First and foremost, you should note that the WF-1000XM5 sounds more clinical than its predecessor, the WF-1000XM4. Now, remember that both earbuds offer a warm sound signature that sways in favor of the low-end. However, Sony has polished the M5’s sound output to sound more – for the lack of a better word – balanced. In other words, the earbuds bring out more details from the midrange and the highs.

That’s not to say the earbuds don’t pack a punch in the low end. In fact, out of the box, the bass output can seem a tad overbearing, so I’ll recommend you bring it down a notch via the company’s Headphones Connect app. Once done, the M5 relays precise and weighted beats that don’t muck up a soundtrack like the M4s.

The same is evident in DaBaby’s Practice, which opens with a powerful beat that will surely rattle your ears. But, with some adjustments in place, the M5 overturns meaty beats with lots of texture and depth. At the same time, the beats don’t eat into the vocals, and the singer’s voice is relayed blissfully to the listener.

Turn the page over to a track with more instruments, like Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys, and you’ll get a similar result. The M5 showers listeners with details, and you’ll pick up on the notes from the guitar, to the energetic vocals, the shimmery cymbals, and everything in between.

The M4s do a good job, too, but the audio output feels a tad more dreary and muddled to my ears. Needless to say, the M5s offer much better imaging than their predecessors, so if your playlist is replete with instrument-heavy songs, you’ll find a lot to like here.

The same goes for listeners who enjoy acoustic blues, too. Tom Odell’s Another Love, for instance, sounds fantastic via the XM5s. The earbuds don’t sound sibilant, and they reciprocate the singer’s pitch to a tee. The XM4s sound quite good, too, although I feel that the vocals don’t have the same sizzle and energy.

As for the battery backup, Sony states that the earbuds can last up to eight hours off a single charge, and the claims are in line with my testing, too. Additionally, the earbuds support Qi wireless charging and can connect to two devices simultaneously, thanks to support for Bluetooth Multipoint. The WF-1000XM5 relays your voice clearly over to the other end, too, so it’s a terrific headset to take calls when you’re on the go.

Verdict

So, where does that leave us? Well, the Sony WF-1000XM5 retails for $300 in the USA, and buyers residing in India will have to shell out Rs 24,990 for the earbuds. For the price, the earbuds get a lot right and improve upon the M4s in more ways than one. The M5’s sound quality, for instance, is right up there (and arguably, even better) with the best TWS earbuds money can buy. The pair cancels out noise really well, too, and can last a while on a single charge.

Honestly, the M5 is the most complete TWS headset I’ve auditioned in a hot minute, and I am confident that the earbuds will not disappoint music aficionados in the slightest. As such, if you don’t mind dropping a couple of benjamins on a pair of TWS earbuds, you should get the Sony WF-1000XM5.