BEST EVER noise cancelling?! Sony WF-1000XM5 review

In my Sony WF-1000XM5 earbud review, I answer the big question: are these the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market? The answer might surprise you.

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CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
02:20 - Sound
06:06 - Noise cancelling
09:32 - Design (and everything else)
10:56 - Conclusion

[MarkEllisReviews]

What's more important to you - sound or noise cancelling? You can only pick one.

[singlelegstretch]

I have recently bought these, and I`d agree the sound is excellent. I`m a bit confused however about the ANC. Like you, I can hear quite a lot of sound coming through with ANC enabled, although the buds do keep the music at the front, and you can definitely enjoy whatever you are listening to. Some reviewers have implied that these buds are every bit as good as, for example, the Airpod Pros, and others have said Sony takes a different approach to Noise cancellation? Perhaps we are not able to get a good seal using the provided tips. I noticed when using the in-app test for a good seal, one or other of the buds is apparently not properly sealed. I have tried them all, and don't seem to be able to get an adequate fit. This has not really spoiled my listening experience at all, and i am definitely satisfied with this product. However, i don't really have much to compare them with, and different reviewers seem to have a differing experience of the actual noise-cancelling performance.

[shi]

Have you ever tried Bose's QuietComfort? All the tech review channels that I follow claim that Bose's earbuds are the very best at noise cancelling for in ear earbuds. Most of them put the Bose QuietComfort II first and the previous version second place in noise cancelling in particular followed closely by the airpods pro second gen. If you haven't tried them yet I'd love to see a comparison video of the Bose QuietComfort II and the Airpods pro second gen. Even though I'd never buy the Airpods as I'm an Android user and Airpods won't work best for me, just wanted to know your opinion on the noise cancelling features of both earbuds. I've owned the Bose QuietComfort original version but they got stolen from me and would probably get the QuietComfort II but I purchased the Sennheiser Momentum 3 (which also have a great noise cancelling but still not even close to the first version of the Bose) as at the time QuietComfort II were not released and I didn't knew that they're coming.

[patrichcerpa]

Hello, thanks for this review! I totally agree, I received mine a few days ago and the exact same thing happened to me regarding the ANC, in fact, until now I'm wondering if I have a defective unit, but seeing your review, it made complete sense to me. I tried all the tips and no change, I have some Xiaomi buds pro3 (U$30) and after comparing them again and again, I think the buds have a better ANC. I know the comparison is unfair but I also have the WH1000xm4, and their ANC is truly brilliant).
Now, about the sound, for me they are excellent, the transparency mode also seemed very good, but the ANC is definitely NOT what Sony claims.

[n.h]

Any plans on reviewing the Jabra elite 10 or a Active 8s?

[TheBigKing]

I hear the Jabra elite 10 are very very good, would you be able to review?

[somedudethatchillshard]

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the Bose QC Earbuds 2

They have ANC that is widely considered better than Airpods Pro 2. Their transparency mode is quite good as well.

[christoskokkolis]

Great review Mark, so if I only care about sound quality, what would you recommend? These Sony? The Marshall Motif II? Or Melomania M100? Or something else? Thank you!

[binman]

Sorry to hear about your medical discharge, but wow what a career.
I have compared my XM5 against Bose ultra and Jabra Elite 10. I compared them whilst listening to a bathroom extractor fan, out door air con unit, passing traffic and on an aircraft. The XM5 are not in the same league when it comes to Noise Cancelling. I can get a slight muting of background noise after a lot of pushing and twisting into the ear canal. I have changed tips, bought pricey silicon replacements, completed firm ware updates and done a reset to no avail.

[geoffclarke]

Sound but noise cancelling as well. Can you not have both ?!? Still prefer Apples air pods. Great, honest review again

[clivesinclair]

Im one of the lucky ones.... Galaxy Buds 2 Pro fit me and never come loose. Sound great and the ANC is good enough, especially at the current price.

[Gustavo_St]

Please review the WM5 call quality using the latest 3.2.1 firmware. I noticed a very clear improvement. In my tests, it is now one of the best for calls in noisy places.

[Popdog]

I would be interested in your thoughts of Sony linkbuds s - I find them better for the price than most

[knuckleskaboom]

How's the ANC when riding a bike and listening to music? Does it cancel wind noise like xm4?

[marcrichter]

Hi Mark
after using apple products since more than over 30 years, the last 3-4 years I`ve been a little bit disappointed with the quality with all kinds of airpods. Yes, they look cool, stylish and easy to use out of the box. But they never fit my ears, even with aftermarket ear tips. Every day they slipped out of my ears, had to search them…
Each Airpods either pro or max started with crackling noise issues, bluetooth interruptions, and at the end a constantly squaking noise without any sound after 12-18 months.
I never had the promised sound experience with them. Airpods max made a perfect job with ANC.
So I had to switch my favorite brand.
Airpods max to B&W Px7se. Ingenious.
Airpods pro 1 and 2 gave up, no Apple Support…
Switched to XM5.
Yes I know wearing comfort is
individually, but they fit much better, ANC is nearly perfect, Sound is great.
First I didn`t like the touch gestures, but after two day I managed it.
My conclusion after over 30 years using Apple products: other brands did their homework and made a really good job.
Life is too short for bad sound an bad beer, cheers mate
Marc from Switzerland

[najeebrehman]

You really need to use an Android flagship with LDAC codec and high bitrate enabled in developers options to get the best sound out of these XM5s. Using iPhone that supports AAC bluetooth codecs doesn't do justice with the quality of these earbuds.

[heireuhre]

Hey Mark, do you feel that the WH-1000XM5 headphones has better, worse, or equal noise cancellation capability as the AirPods Pro 2?

[eriktred]

I have the xm4s, and while I normally upgrade product lines I like, I haven’t heard anything compelling enough to do so with these.

[Patrickmathieu]

Hahahaha your first reaction at the beginning 😂😂😂😂

[zoltankurucsai]

I had issues with the WH-1000XM5 and also with the WF-1000XM4-s ANC. I have a small head and small ears, the WH-1000XM5 was so big it didnt create any pressure, therefore the ANC was really bad, worse than the WH-1000XM3. I wondered how could that be, and figured it was a fit problem, when i pushed the headphones on my head it was really good, but when i loosened the pressure with my hands the ANC didnt work properly.

It was similar with my WF-1000XM4, no tips in the box could do a proper seal, It was like there was no ANC turned on, just like in your case it was just a little bit muffled. I bought simple silicone tips, and ANC was working properly after finding a right size and fit. Now I have aftermarket foam tips, and at the gym i barely hear the music even if i turn my music off.

I dont think this saves sony, because I had to buy 3rd party accessory to enjoy the full performance of the buds, but cant say ANC is bad. Im looking forward to buy the WF-1000XM5-s later on, also there are graphs where people objectively measure the ANC performance, and it looks good.