Sony’s latest reveal of the WF-1000XM5 earbuds is one of Sony’s strategy in bringing in improvement enhancement, a smaller footprint and certain quality of life stuffs that is packed in, but still deliver audio that is on par with some premium earbuds in the market. Today we will quickly look at it on what it has to offer in this review.
Unboxing
The SONY WF-1000XM5 came with the following
- Charging Case + Pair of earbuds with M size Eartips
- USB A to C Cable
- Fitting eartips (SS, S and L size)
- User Manual/User Guide
Design
The exterior of the case is neither oval nor round but is slightly longer, taller in shape, with no edges, and at the same time smaller due to its shape compared to the XM4 case and not pebble-shaped, as is the case, slightly larger to store the earbuds inside, and still easy to put on and take off with the right portability yet lightweight to stow in your pocket or bag without too much trouble. At first glance, holding and picking up feels solid even though the material is hard plastic and doesn’t affect the ergonomics of the headset when worn with its more subtle curves, more rounder making it easier to wear. The overall texture, feels smooth and non-slip. The weight of each earbuds is 5.9 grams, while the charging case weighs only 39 grams. A button on the back of the box also allows re-syncing with existing or new paired devices with multipoint support.
The SONY WF-1000XM5 comes in choices of two colors only, White/Beige, and Black. The color that we will be reviewing the is the Black color, which is the safest color with the earbuds matching same colors to the case. Of course to mention each of the earbuds side has a touch sensor that is rounded, big and allows for multiple presses/gesture control to the user’s need.
Performance – Battery and Connectivity
Based on my experience, the SONY WF-1000XM5 will last around 9 hours with ANC ON for a single charge, and recharging using the included case will provide you with an additional 2 to 3 cycles of battery life over your pair of earbuds. In my case, this allows for continuous music listening, streaming, and gaming, at least for a few episodes and a few sessions of Genshin Impact. In terms of charging time, 15 minutes gives you approximately 2 hours of music time, while charging the case via the supplied cable took approximately less than 2 hours. In any typical normal use cases, a full charge will last anyone approximately 2 days if you are solely using it for music listening and possibly a couple of drama episodes streaming. Of course wireless Qi charging are supported too giving it another convenience for charging options.
The SONY WF-1000XM5 is connected via Bluetooth 5.x with backwards compatibility within the Bluetooth 5.x specifications; just turn on the Bluetooth on your phone and scan, open up the charging case, take out the Earbuds, and place them to your ears, and it will be connected via a notification on your phone (Android 10 or iOS 11). That easy. The earbuds will recognize each other automatically in stereo mode at the same time, and you may further tune the earbuds settings and functions using the Sony Connect App.
You can also connect up to 2 device at the same time with a combination of a phone and PC/Laptop, as long it is logged in with the same account credential where it will also populate all companion Android devices that you owned, allowing seamless connection across devices that you are carrying along with ease.
Performance & Features – Sound and User/App experience
The SONY WF-1000XM5 has one of the premium features commonly found in most headphones we’ve come across so far. In terms of performance, it allows for instant selection and a connection is established almost instantly, with day-to-day use with the headphones near zero when streaming via YouTube and Spotify. It features a QN2e HD Noise Canceling Processor that drives all six microphones, on both ears, to deliver effective, voice-transmitted noise cancellation when you’re outdoors while still being able to respond to reception be aware of the surroundings, especially useful when someone is there. crossing or driving by, or when you need to quickly handle an actual conversation, and you can set it to automatically pause for a few seconds and resume later. There is an equalizer preset and priority setting in the sound settings of the Sony Connect app if you need more bass or treble to your music, analyze your ear shape and enable DSEE Extreme. Also, among the settings, you get Ear Shape Analysis, Dynamic Delay and Activity Tracking with location, while 360° Reality Audio only offers a limited number of music apps like Tidal or the experience. Full surround live music. The Ear Shape Analysis tool guides the user on how to wear the headphones properly and analyzes the sensitivity of the ears so that you can hear every tune clearly. Another interesting mention is that it has a sensor for head gestures, nods in response, and rejects call by shaking your head, which is especially useful if you’re holding something in both hands and not the other. phone. Certainly HiRes Audio with LDAC is fully supported and compatible with all audio formats like AAC, FLAC and MQA.
During conventional conversations and video calling using Zoom, the call quality is good with no distortion. Keeping it at the default settings is sufficient for any kind of music, but using Bass Boost adds a lot of flavor to heavier bass combo type genres. Other features include IP4 water splash resistance, AAC sound compatibility, adaptive sound management, and a manual switch audio route with other compatible devices such Smartphones, Tablets, and Laptops. During our testing, we discovered that the earbuds manage to attain a robust, loud average of 86 decibels, which is undoubtedly one of the groovy sounds we experienced owing to the 8.4mm driver unit.
Specifications
| Bluetooth Version | Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Bluetooth Range | 10m |
| Play Time | 12h / TTL 8h (ANC ON) |
| Splash, Water, and Dust Resistant | IPX4 |
| Charging Port | USB C |
| Bluetooth Protocol | HFP, AVRCP, A2DP, HSP, VCP, CCP (SBC, AAC) HiRes Audio Support with LDAC, LC3 |
| Sensor | Touch Sensor |
| Compatibility | Devices running Android 10, iOS 10 or higher |
Conclusion and Rating
The SONY WF-1000XM5 is a high tier, highly customizable earbuds that delivers along with the price that is retailing, which includes few innovative features that is meant to blend in from beginner who wanted a taste of high quality audio to audiophile enthusiast that wanted to customize all they wanted, while all highs mention, we find that the busy going ones around the town would take advantage towards it, as it notches up on its intelligent noise cancellation and gestures. Purchasing it may cost you RM1399, but with all of its bells and whistles, this is one set of earbuds that you can buy and enjoy for a long time with all the tunes it can give, delivering one of the highest quality music to your ears.