So, Sony is back with a new WF-1000XM5, the long-awaited sequel of the WF-1000XM4. So, if you have been wondering what has been improved from the previous generation, you’ve come to the right place because you might just be as surprised as I am!

 

Unboxing

First, let’s see if there are any differences between what comes inside the box. Firstly, the box looks very similar and the unboxing process was also pretty much the same. 

Both come with a USB-A to USB-C cable, and the differences come with the addition of the SS or the extra-small ear tips compared to just S and L sizes on the previous XM4, where the M size is, of course, on the earbuds itself. 

 

Design & Build

Now, remember this – the WF-1000XM3s? It is not exactly the most portable pair of earphones with the mega-size pill shape. So, the completely redesigned XM4 was a welcome change that was much smaller than the XM3. 

So, in my mind, there’s no way that Sony could improve much more from this, but oh, I’m so GLAD I was wrong!

Now, while both are IPX4 rated, looks-wise, it looks very similar to the XM4s in terms of the design language but shrunk down in size. It’s like they put the XM4 into the washing machine and came out with the XM5! 

Now, the XM5s are 20% lighter and smaller than before, which is 25% smaller to be exact.

And according to Sony, for those of you who have a smaller area outside of your earholes, what is this called? 

…

…Ah, it’s called “concha”! 

So yeah, if you have a smaller concha, you would really appreciate this change a little more. But, of course, if you have a smaller ear canal, you can always use the smaller SS size tip as seen in the unboxing earlier, so that was great.

Speaking of ear tips, if you ever had any earwax jamming into your earbud speaker, well, the good news is that this has a mesh in between the ear tips and the speaker. So yeah, it’s like a bouncer at a club keeping any pesky earwax from crashing the “sound quality” party. 

Then the XM4 has a full matte finish, whereas the XM5’s matte finish is only at the outer area.

(left: XM4, right: XM5)

I was worried at first because glossy means very slippery earbuds, but a good balance of the matte finish on top made it pretty easy to grip compared to the fully glossy finish earbuds which are available out in the market today. But there were times that it was harder to take off, especially if your hands are really wet or even a little oily.

Now, as for the actual driver itself, since the earbuds are smaller, one might think that the speaker drivers are also smaller, right? Well, no, my friends. Sony is using mechanical engineering magic here because they’re using newly designed 8.4 mm drivers that are 2.4 mm bigger than the previous version. 

But, having smaller earbuds also means a smaller case, right? Well, in this case, yes, actually it is around 15% smaller in volume. So, for those of you who like to stuff your earbuds case in the tiny pocket above your jeans pocket, you can rejoice! 

And when it comes to holding both of the cases with the earbuds inside, the XM4 feels a bit hollow compared to the more solid and “filled” feeling of the XM5. So yes, it did feel compact and very solid indeed.

Now it also features Qi wireless charging and even a faster charging rate than before. 3 minutes will now give you 60 minutes of playing time, while the older XM4 is rated at 5 minutes for 60 minutes of playtime. 

Now, as for playtime, it is around the same with the older pair, which isn’t a bad thing considering the fact that it should last you 1.5 days / 2 days of constant use before needing to recharge. And because the earbuds are smaller, I could even actually fall asleep easily by wearing this when I’m sleeping.

Do check out my YouTube video for a #SawanModeTest to see how it holds in a headbanging situation!

So yeah, when it comes to casual music listening or watching videos, the XM5 snugly fits much nicer and easier compared to the previous XM4 too. Even just by looking at the previous XM4, it does not look as comfortable as how the new XM5 looks.

Now, another addition to the XM5 is the ability to have the additional 4 tap functions, which by default control the volume down and volume up. Believe it or not, the previous XM4 did not have this. 

Also, the feature of pausing the music automatically when removing the earbuds is still here on the XM5. 

And the biggest change or improvement, rather, is what exactly is under the hood – there’s a switch from a single processor in the XM4 to two processors in the XM5. 

Now, Sony is using one dedicated processor called the QN2e to control the 6 microphones in both of the earbuds. It’s also for low noise distortion and better audio quality.

Then the other chip, the V2, is here to focus on connectivity and lower power consumption. So yeah, Sony claims that these super processor buddies can achieve a 20% improvement in noise reduction, and that is definitely music to our ears, well, maybe less noise to our ears.

 

Sound Comparison

So, how does the sound compare to the previous XM4? 

Well, to tell you the truth, this is the very first time that I put on Sony earbuds and I didn’t feel the urge to fiddle around with the EQ in the app. It’s like you’re walking into a perfectly clean room where you can just sit down, enjoy the view, and really be immersed in the sound quality without adjusting any equalizer at all. 

The bass was spot on, not too boomy, even for tracks like Tiesto’s “Hot In It”, where Sony is known to bring up the bass a little extra when it comes to their over-the-ear headphones, and that was not the case over here. 

Now, one major improvement on the XM5 compared to the XM4 is the vocal clarity, specifically for the mids and highs. When listening to tracks like FINNEAS’ “Medieval” and Jorja Smith’s “On My Mind”, again, something that the previous generation Sony did not do as well compared to the XM5.

Now, the sound stage for both was quite similar when I listened to Polyphia’s “Playing God” or “Crush” when listening to both earbuds side by side. 

If you’re interested to know what other music I have listened to test out these two earbuds, here’s a link to that: https://music.apple.com/my/playlist/2023-audio-quality-test/pl.u-e98lGp5i2pG1a7

 

Connectivity

Now, in terms of connectivity, the XM5 has Bluetooth 5.3 instead of version 5.2 on the XM4. Then, as for codecs, the buds are also LDAC and DSEE Extreme compatible.

It claims very low latency when it comes to gaming, under 80 milliseconds. But I’m still a wired earphone purist when it comes to competitive gaming. But for casual gamers out there, the XM5 should do just fine. 

Now, if you’re using an Android phone, it does support Google Fast Pair on both, and you can connect to more than one device, which is awesome to know. 

 

Don’t forget to follow us on our Discord channel, where we are in the midst of a massive giveaway every single week. So head on over there if you haven’t joined us on Discord. Join here: https://discord.gg/taRdMMwBYk

 

Call Quality

Now, as for call quality, Sony uses a bone conduction sensor and also a wind noise reduction structure to really improve the sound captured when it comes to talking on the phone. The XM4 has 2 mics on each bud, but the XM5 has 3 microphones on each earbud.

Do check out my Youtube video for a microphone test on 3 different scenarios.

Now, a small feature which is very unique for Sony earbuds, or probably any other earbuds, is that if you happen to get your hands dirty while eating a plate of Nasi Kandar and if you’re sitting in a Mamak Stall and enjoying a nice movie on Netflix, and you can’t pick up your phone. If you manage to get a phone call while you put these earbuds on, you can pick up the phone by nodding your head and rejecting the call by shaking your head. True story. 

Now, the earbuds also activate the transparency mode when I ordered my third Teh Tarik (milk tea). Yeah, that one lonely day… and I could even hear him say, “Okay, boss!” very clearly and loudly back at me.

However, passive noise cancellation on the XM4 is better due to its larger form factor. But of course, it comes at a price or an expense of comfort because just take a look at this size.

Active Noise Cancellation

All right, now let’s talk about the active noise cancellation. You know, the feature that digitally says, “Talk to the hand,” where it blocks out the whole world for you.

Now, the extremely good news is that it has been very much improved compared to the last generation. And no, it’s not a placebo effect. You know, because I’m using a new generation, so it’s better than a previous generation… I can tell you because I did a side-by-side comparison between both the new XM5 and the XM4. And yes, I am pretty impressed by how much sound it managed to block.

Overall, I would say that all the frequencies are dialed down more than the previous version. But when it comes to vocal noise cancellation, that, for me, is the biggest improvement. Because when I was at the cafe and there were people all around me just busy chatting away, I managed to block them out, but not completely, of course. But overall, there is a huge improvement when it comes to noise cancellation compared to the XM4, indeed.

 

Spatial Audio

Then, last but not least, is the spatial audio experience, especially for head tracking. Now, for me, it is still not as good as Apple’s, but we are still in the early stages of spatial audio. But I feel that Sony could improve this in better firmware updates in the future. 

Now, speaking of head tracking, it is now available on the XM5, which is not present on the previous XM4. 

 

App Connectivity

As for any Sony earphones or headphones, I highly recommend installing their Sony Headphones app to really fine-tune the device to your personal liking.

Now, looking at both app interfaces side by side, at first glance, everything looks pretty much the same with battery indication towards the top and the player controls below. 

Even the tabs like the Sound are the same, but under the System tab, there’s the “Capture Voice During a Phone Call” feature, which helps you hear your own voice during a phone call. That works during noise-canceling phone calls, which based on my tests had quite a difference indeed.

Then, beside the Quick Access, there’s the “Head Gesture” feature toggle, as mentioned earlier, to nod your head to accept phone calls and shake your head to reject a phone call. 

Then, there’s also a brand new tab called Services, which has a Spotify tab for going into Spotify with a single tap. But since I’m not a fan of Spotify because it has horrible sound quality compared to, say, Tidal or even Apple Music, I didn’t bother with this feature at all.

Then there’s Endel app quick access as well, which is another app that I don’t particularly use. But if you do, there is that function for you to use. 

 

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, I’m overall very ecstatic that Sony has released a very worthy follow-up to the WF-1000XM4. It is way much more comfortable, has better sound quality, and is of course more portable and overall has better ANC as well. If you are a user of the WF-XM4 and wanted a smaller and overall better package, well, this is definitely a great fit.

For those of you who are interested in picking this up, you know what they say, with a great product comes a great price. So, it comes at a price of RM1,399 (~USD308). 

…What?!

Calm down because Sony is having an early bird promotion specifically here in Malaysia where you can get a limited passport holder and stand a chance to win a Sony ZV-1F camera!