Heads up! If you're considering buying this product, it may be prudent to investigate some of the battery issues that have plagued the previous generation. Sony's handling of that situation could have implications for XM5 customers as well. ---- What do you think of these new earbuds from Sony? What wireless earbuds are you using? Let us know below! Buy Sony WF-1000XM5 Wireless Earbuds: geni.us/SPd6kj Buy Apple AirPods Pro: geni.us/oe9ikv Buy Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II: geni.us/i49ag Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
A huge problem with Sony WF earbuds is foam eartips. They degrade with time and need to be replaced. Depending on the use case they need to be replaced every 3 to 12 months. But Sony make it almost impossible to buy original Sony eartips at a reasonable prices. They are hard to find and when found cost about 40-50 dollars for a single pair of eartips. That is ridiculous. Even Apple original eartips for Pro 2 are reasonably priced and readily available to buy. That is why Sony users don't even bother with original eartips. They just use some random eartips from Amazon with unknown properties.
bro sony is engaging in consumer fraud with these earbuds because they are substituting the 3.85v battery with 3.7v batterys guaranteeing battery failures and reduced capacity because they failed to correct the firmware for these lower voltage batts secretly extending the warranty Louis Rossmann has made a video before the release of this video
The Jabra Elite 10's look much better to me. Please review those next. As an owner of XM4 and the Jabra 85t, the Jabra have much more comfort, have a nicer sound to my ears (I'm not an audiophile, but I am a professional musician) phisical buttons are superior to touch sensors. The control scheme is better. The only thing xm4 had going for them is better ANC. I haven't tried these but I really would look at the Jabra before buying these
Louis Rossmann just dropped a good piece on previous sony earbuds issues and how sony treats customers who have them, worth watching before you buy them
Idk I had the thing with the xm4s where one earbud died almost twice as fast as the other and customer support sent me a new pair for free, havent watched the video but I personally haven't had a bad experience with Sony customer support
XM4 had an issue on a firmware version which caused right ear to drain heaps faster than left rear. After firmware update my right earbud still only charges to about 90%
My main problem ith XM4 is this. The right one always charges up to 88% and left one to 95%. It's really weird. i tried resetting both of them and fixed the issue for 2 days. After that the problem returned.
Yeah my xm4s are basically garbage because the battery lasts about 10 minutes on the left bud now. Out of warranty sadly. Bad firmware definitely broke them.
This video is right above the video from Louis Rossman talking about how Sony was putting the wrong batteries in the MX4, and that they would run out quick overheat due to charging at the wrong voltages. Sometimes, the batteries are different in even each earbud!
I tried xm4s for a bit and they stuck out a bit too far and had sharpish edges that made wearing them while sleeping against a pillow painful. Otherwise I really liked them.
I got the MX4, love them, and fortunately I managed to get them repaired just days before the warranty expired. Hearing all the stories of repair refusal, I would not recommend buying any Sony product anytime soon until there's a commitment for better customer support. For the price it's inexcusable
I had issues with the ambient sound mode on mine. One of them just gave a feeling of being underwater. Anywho Sony replaced mine no questions asked and extended my warranty by a month.
@@RobBrody2999 as they should. The main issue, besides the earbuds issues, is the lack of consistency with their customer support. It feels like the Asus faulty motherboards handling all over again
I really appreciate the more simple charts. Also that James walks us through in a slower pace. Thanks guys. Keep up the good work and never stop innovating!
Be wary, the predecessor is plagued with battery issues with some reports of that happening with the WF-XM5's as well. I returned these for several reasons: The ANC heavily relies on the passive noise isolation, which means if you can't get a good seal with the tips, the ANC performance will be subpar. I could not achieve a proper seal without hurting my ears. Running with these with ANC on is annoying because there is an audible plop with each stride (same as XM4s).
@@midnightwolf3134 I think the "pop" is referring to the buds kind of float in your ear and ONLY rely on the tip size to stay on. Meaning every stride you take the earbud bumps against your ear and the sound is VERY noticeable. I can confirm this is 100% an issue and hardly ever mentioned in reviews. I tested These XM5's against the Bose QC2 and Galaxy buds 2 pro. I really wanted these to win, but ultimately went with the QC2's for the NC, fit, and tighter sound. The default sound is the worst on the QC's, but the bass is noticeably tighter and I can eq any of them. You can't eq tight bass no matter how hard you try.
@@Jefafa73 Can't say I've experienced this though I do know the XM4s were rather big earbuds and I have bigger ears so they fit perfectly in my ears. Even if it's just the tip sitting in there. I guess we can say your mileage may vary.
@@midnightwolf3134 I've heard that from other XM4 users as well! I kinda wished I tried the XM4's along with the other buds as that popping didn't sound like an issue with the older pairs.
@@Jefafa73 i can confirm the pop can be annoying when walking and even more so when jogging. and yes, anc relies heavily on the foam tips which disintegrate within a month of regular use. i am now using moondrop spring tips with reduced anc
The biggest issue with the XM earphones is the Sony's screwup with the firmware that killed batteries in these earbuds (mine included, but affected thousands), which they are replacing quietly now.
from my experience, my XM4 battery issue started 3 months after warranty ends. But when i take it to sony repair center, they told me if the issue really is from defective battery they will replace the buds free of charge even outside warranty (make sure you have the purchase receipt)
Got my ones last week. I'm in love with it. I've never been a fan of intra-aural headphones, but this one proved to me that it's possible to use an in-ear headphone and still have exceptional audio quality!
Iems (in ear moniters) are some of the best for sound quality you can get (besides real headphones) ranging anywere form 20$ all the way up to a few thousand dollars while most of thoes are wired but the sound quality makes up for it
I’ve owned every generation of the Sony wf series and the xm5 is definitely a step up, primarily in terms of form factor even compared to the xm4 it’s a huge step up in pocket feel
it's important to note that you didn't even try to tweak the equalizer which makes the listening experience about 5x better. Listening to the default preset does indeed sound flat and boring because that's what it's set to.
FYI - to remove them from the case you put your thumbs in the center of the case and then push them both outwards. It is in the instructions (which nobody reads).
I am returning these as everyone I talk to complains about the bad mic quality when I take calls outside with the usual vehicle sounds. If the noise cancelling is on when you walk, you can hear the thud sound of the steps. I didn't buy the ANC buds to keep ANC off while I walk. But I must say the sound quality of these are really great.
But isn‘t bad mic quality a general problem on ture wireless headphones? All my friends have AirPods Pro and the soundquality is horrific too. When they walk by a street I cannot understand a word they say. Also the phone quality in general sounds like a 2G call with 1 bar of reception. The ANC issue must be annoying but was the mic quality that big of a deal for you?
Sound quality of Huawei freebuds pro 2 are way better for clean base. I returned these due to low quality lows (when compared to the best), bad mics, and nasty ear tips. Not all mics suck btw, best mics I think are on the nothing earbuds (but no ldac). The freebuds pro 3 also have very good ones from a test I've seen (won't know for another 3 weeks when it arrives, but due to Chinese hype that one is now overpriced for at least the next 4 months.) , but freebuds pro 2 did not have great mics (it ironically does improve if you turn off their enhancement option).
Here is my update. I returned the Sony back to Amazon. Bought a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro. So far, I haven't got any complaints from the other side. Also, I no longer hear my foot steps with and without ANC. Sound quality isn't as good as the Sony's and no LDAC. But, I'd say it's not bad as I thought for that price point.
Would’ve been nice to see a comparison to the previous generation for reference. I don’t know the charts by heart. Especially since you guys aren’t using industry standard curves. In addition it would've been great to compare the thickness of the case as that is in my opinion the issue of the previous generation compared to the Airpods.
Hey, could you add a harman curve or something like that to the frequency response charts? That way we can compare it to something more familiar, as most people wouldn't know what the lmg target is all about
@AL-lh2ht "if it did not happen to me, it is not true", you are defending a company that is treating the consumer of a high end product like crap. Refusing to fix a problem they caused with a firmware update. This is why they keep doing this, because people accept it.
@@joaovguedes The left one of my MX4 started draining battery so fast (depletes when right one are still at 80%) and Amazon refunded all I paid 21 months ago (bc out of stock) so now i'm planing to buy the MX5. Guess they broke them just in time to make me a favour.
@@AL-lh2ht it'd be a hit piece if it's a selected few, but from what I've seen many are affected. A friend of mine managed to get their 1st XM4 exchanged, but his 2nd unit has battery drain as well
Another issue moving from the XM4s to the XM5s is the noise cancelation is actually worse in some situations. The XM4s have an option for automatic wind noise cancelation that works beautifully. However the XM5s have a new design with a new microphone location Sony believes eliminates the need for such a mode. It is desperately needed if you're in a windy environment, trying to ride a bike with one earbud in is pretty much a lost cause
That’s what the AirPods do. They used to be really bad at cancelling wind but after an update it seems to do fairly well automatically. However I have had zero success with any earbuds riding a bike. Be it AirPods or XM4s. They are decent at cancelling wind when walking around but on a bike there’s zero chance. I’d probably say the MTW3s are the best for wind.
"Not loud enough"? Where did that come from? You must have done something really wrong; I have never ever been even close to maxing the volume on any of my WF headphones Maybe if somebody had extremely severe hearing damage
I tried the XM4's for a while, but found them so uncomfortable and difficult to get a good seal to ensure the anc worked properly that I ended up sending them back before my return window had closed, so luckily I avoided all the battery issues that others are reporting in these comments. As far as the 360 audio, didn't it actually come out before apple's version?
I don't think I would spend more than $199 on any wireless bud, given that they live such short life spans. If the battery doesn't crap out first, some other thing will bug out.
I think $200+ for any pair of easy to lose earbuds is insane. The only way I can justify my airpods pro 2s is because a) I got them on discount, b) the ANC/passive does wonders for my sensory issues and c) I listen to music or podcasts for 6+ hours a day. I probably use my earbuds more than any other piece of tech I own including my phone itself. If the following are true for you I would say get whatever earbuds you want, but otherwise the Linkbuds S are cheap, comfortable, and always on sale. There are tons of good wired IEM options for under $75, too :)
Maybe I want to sleep on them, literally. You should keep testing side sleeper comfort! Linus covered it last time! That info would help me more than 10 frequency response curves. Just saying.
Having purchased Sony Linkbuds about 9 months ago, I have recently faced an issue with the right bud - it became much quieter (2-3 times as it feels) than the left one. After sending them for repair to Sony, I got them back in about 2 weeks. Apparently in the service center they have replaced the right earbud, and now I have buds from different pairs which can't work together (case gives error code with 3 orange flashes) - you can't even connect/pair them to your phone anymore. Resetting the buds doesn't help in this case, so I sent them back again. Two weeks later, I'm gonna pick them up tomorrow and see if Sony managed to fix the buds this time. But yeah, Sony's repair services don't seem that good when it comes to other models as well.
I just got my xm4 earbuds back from repaired in less than 2 weeks. They replaced both earbuds. My right earbud drained in one hour while the left one worked properly and lasted 8 hours still. At first i regretted getting these, but since sony repaired them at no charge, I'm glad to have these working again.
I just bought these some notes: They are tough to get out of the case, Noise cancelling isn't great the tozo x1 is better, and half the price I got these with free potable charger for 250 dollar's. Still very expensive. They aren't very comfortable laying down. They are ok for the gym but they don't cancel out all the noise which is annoying. Battery is fine They are light The app isn't great the custom ear identification doesn't really help or didn't for me. I like that the ear buds know when they are in your ear unlike the x1 Also the just randomly pause over and over and its very annoying Wireless charge is fine Overall 250 is to much for these
I'm starting to keep an eye out for some replacement ear buds, so this could be neat. The right ear bud of my Galaxy buds 2 died abruptly (got 'em free anyways) and my old Galaxy buds are showing their age in battery life, so maybe it's time to try Sony.
XM4 mic quality bombed so hard. It was so bad in any semi nosiy environment like an office, so bad so that I had to stop using it for office calls. Lets hope that the XM5 mic quality is better this time around. The sample shared in the video is still in a relatively quiet environment so I am really skeptical to its real world performance.
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.
i also have the XM4s, i like the others have the battery drain issue in the right ear, the battery would go from 100% to closing without notice in 40 minutes, i bought 2 pairs for me and my father and both have developed the same symptoms at the same time (we had them for a year and a few months) so i know it wasn't my fault, its strictly that the battery shelf life is very bad, i have requested repair and was denied, they offered to give us "refurbished" ones or the money back. I have opted to pay a difference and get the XM5, lets see how these hold up over time.....
@Supershlickity i noticed only once that the XM5 were 20% R and 80% L battery but cant tell for sure since it could have been user error. Since its been only 8 months i cant tell for sure. To be honest they dont seem like an improvement over the XM4, one big downgrade for me is the fact that now you cant activate/deactivate wind noise suppression, on the xm4 i was able to ride my bike and have noise cancelling without the wind noise and now on the XM5 its no longer possibile, you van hear significant windnoise. I dont think i will be buying Sony and in ear again despite the good audio quality. In ear headphones have hearing related problems since they bypass the sound baffles of your ear canals.
Man with the new charts Id love to see the Airpods Pro 2nd gen revisited. Especially with the new features like Conversation Awareness and Adaptive Audio
I feel that particular firmware update that brought those features actually also notably improved the ANC, finally. Its the first improvement, rather fix or degradation to ANC strength since the launch
I own a pair of the original Sony WF-1000X wireless earbuds, got them on sale and it was an instant love! A good couple years later they dropped out of my pocket (my fault..) and I ran them over in my car (a big station wagon) and they actually survived!! To be fair it was on grass & the case was dinged & didn't shut quite right after that.. but they went on work with no issue! I was initially worried they would stop working, so I ordered a pair of the WF-1000XM3's which I started wearing after a couple months & still wear them daily even now! I hope a battery replacement is possible as they are so comfy & sound so good, I really don't care to upgrade...
i bought these last week. the sound is SOOOO good. Not vibing with the sound tracking like at the gym i always had to put it back to noise canceling, might be a way to fix this IDK.
As a user they are amazing. The sound is like from the XM3 (over the ear), but don't have that much of a spatial sound. The last to keep in mind is that they are big or should I say chunky (so people with small ears are a no no), but they are not heavy. Also, don't use them in the gym because of the sweat they fall out of my ear 100% of the time.
I'm probably not. For me, Jabra are the most comfortable and have great build quality. I've just upgraded to Jabra's Elite 10, feels like I'm not wearing earbuds, and to my ears has a very detailed and polished sound profile.
2:30 That's the first thing I noticed in the video... they look cumbersome to get out of the case. These little details always seem to be overlooked in reviews. My current Jabra Elite 7 Pro's come in a case that I find nearly impossible to open even with two hands! i've glued a bit of foam on to aid with it but it makes dropping and potentially losing a bud very possible. Form over function again.
i sent my xm4s for free repair out of warranty after experiencing the battery drain issue, received the xm5s instead and am so far very happy with them!
I've had the XM5s for about a month now, and they are by far one of the buggiest pieces of tech I've ever owned. More than half the time I take them out of the case, one or both buds has an issue connecting and they stay in transparency mode (as if only one bud is in). About half the time they do both manage to connect to whatever device I'm using, the EQ and software settings don't kick in and everything sounds terrible. It particularly struggles with multi-point, often randomly switching which device it feels like controlling or playing audio from, which does help keep things fresh and exciting. I have to keep sticking them in and out of the case until they work properly, and even when I do finally get them to work right, the right ear bud's battery drains significantly faster than the left (which I've seen is an issue on previous generations too). Even worse is that while the ergonomic design of the buds makes them incredibly comfortable in your ears, it makes them equally as awkward to handle when you're not wearing them. Because they're shaped to fit your ears (and not the case), and there're no tactile feedback when you pop the buds in the case, you never feel confident both buds are actually in right. More than once I've put them in after a full night of charging only to get a "low battery" warning because one or both were a microscopic fraction of an inch off the contact pads. I feel like a lot of the issues I'm having can be ironed out through firmware updates, but others (like the charging issue) are inherent design flaws which can only be addressed by hardware revisions, but I would not recommend them to anyone as is. Wait for Sony to fix the firmware issues, but also look at other options.
Little late to the party here, but I would LOVE IT if the labs would test more than just frequency response. I would personally prefer to see distortion measurements broken down by harmonic and THD, intermod distortion, and left vs right driver comparisons on all of these. Or at least put it up online if you guys don't wanna muddy up the video with all of these data points.
I have xm4 and even the smallest eartips makes my ears hurt after using them for about 30 minutes, if these tips are even smaller then maybe they’ll be better for some people
When testing the ANC performance was transparency mode on/off? After 500Hz there was mention of the ANC being off? I’m assuming that was just a way of saying they were no longer effective (but still technically “on”)? Interesting that there were several areas after 500Hz where the ANC was “louder” than ANC off (2k, 4k, >10k). I wonder if that was because of the hissing sound they present. Thanks for the video!
Can you please do a short video on those dumb Lenovo GM2Pro earbuds. I need someone to trash them! Seriously show up in like every 4th video on TikTok and im about to go insane
Personally I would not, recommend. I tried it and the controls are finicky, have some connectivity issues, the foam eartips are not the most confortable, and have some problem with the fit as well depending on your ear shape. I think the link buds s is a better choice, or fanky anything else for 250 it has too many drawbacks, just get anything else or an airpod pro 2 the usb c variant is out :)
I have the xm4. I got the battery problem to manage. I am not impressed considering the cost and the brand name. Thanks for the comment in description about this issue.
I will always say it: audio "quality" is subjective. Some people prefer the tinny sound of the apple earphones, some people prefer the bass heavy Sony earphones.
That’s like saying TV picture quality is subjective when both picture and audio both have established standards. Preferences mean nothing when standards have been established and currently exist
@@AzumiRM If I wanted to do that then I’d have to get something like the discontinued xRGB mini Frameister or OSSC with the appropriate cables. Currently I play those systems (NES-N64) on a CRT my parents gave to me
There's a very noticable low pitched electric noise throughout the entire video. Pretty annoying. I don't know if it's coming from the mic or if it's some kind of post processing artifact
Considering how relatively niche this product is, the amount of comments mentioning battery issues is crazy. I thought I might be unlucky, but now it seems like the failure rate is just insane, I wouldn't be surprised if like 80% of buyers got those problems.
You guys did it! This video is standard/above standard audio/audophiletuber quality, and you're so new to audio! BUT what others don't do as well, you seem to give us a well balanced mix of both objective AND subjective, AND with the measurements, I love to see information what you used to measure the earphones on the graph, and you guys mentioned your target as well! Good to see you guys put your resorces into getting better and getting so good so quickly! Only thing I see missing now is the measured graph's relation to the standard Harman curve/curves that are made by real audio scientists at Harman, by Sean Olive and others. Those are what audio objectivists on AudioScienceReview forums use. You guys are so going to make changes in the audio industry, good job!
my warranty replacement xm4's are shitting out on me and I'm wondering if these new xm5's are really worth upgrading too. I have a pixel so not considering airpod pros, is there anything else that is better than the sonys?
Honestly look into the Sennheiser MTW3. They have gone down in price. My only problem is no option for transparency mode on a phone call. You’re forced to ANC. They are also ugly, and the case is huge. But they are arguably better for music and I think ~$200 now.
would like to see transparency frequency response too. I wear mine full time and need transparency for safety reasons. would like to see what the mode compares to having them out.
Heads up! If you're considering buying this product, it may be prudent to investigate some of the battery issues that have plagued the previous generation. Sony's handling of that situation could have implications for XM5 customers as well.
----
What do you think of these new earbuds from Sony? What wireless earbuds are you using? Let us know below!
Buy Sony WF-1000XM5 Wireless Earbuds: geni.us/SPd6kj
Buy Apple AirPods Pro: geni.us/oe9ikv
Buy Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II: geni.us/i49ag
Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
sony xm4 are having battery issues, not recommended, and i know its review of xm5. who knows if its fixed.
A huge problem with Sony WF earbuds is foam eartips. They degrade with time and need to be replaced. Depending on the use case they need to be replaced every 3 to 12 months. But Sony make it almost impossible to buy original Sony eartips at a reasonable prices. They are hard to find and when found cost about 40-50 dollars for a single pair of eartips. That is ridiculous. Even Apple original eartips for Pro 2 are reasonably priced and readily available to buy.
That is why Sony users don't even bother with original eartips. They just use some random eartips from Amazon with unknown properties.
bro sony is engaging in consumer fraud with these earbuds because they are substituting the 3.85v battery with 3.7v batterys guaranteeing battery failures and reduced capacity because they failed to correct the firmware for these lower voltage batts secretly extending the warranty Louis Rossmann has made a video before the release of this video
The Jabra Elite 10's look much better to me. Please review those next.
As an owner of XM4 and the Jabra 85t, the Jabra have much more comfort, have a nicer sound to my ears (I'm not an audiophile, but I am a professional musician) phisical buttons are superior to touch sensors. The control scheme is better. The only thing xm4 had going for them is better ANC.
I haven't tried these but I really would look at the Jabra before buying these
@@AhmadAli-ws3vy Mine had a battery issue last month, I preordered them so had them from release day, I sent them back and Sony fixed them for free.
Louis Rossmann just dropped a good piece on previous sony earbuds issues and how sony treats customers who have them, worth watching before you buy them
Oh really? I have some problem with the last update and indeed the customer support is bad
Idk I had the thing with the xm4s where one earbud died almost twice as fast as the other and customer support sent me a new pair for free, havent watched the video but I personally haven't had a bad experience with Sony customer support
Yeah i started watching LR and got notification SC :)
Sony has been doing a great job from what I've heard, replacing even those that aren't still in warranty
I have the xm3 for over 3 years. 0 issues, I dropped them from over 30 feet multiple times and not a scratch. So yeah, experiences may vary
XM4 had an issue on a firmware version which caused right ear to drain heaps faster than left rear. After firmware update my right earbud still only charges to about 90%
mine was the opposite, left only stays powered for like 1 minute now and the right can last about 15 minutes
This. Just got mine back from RMA, both sides got replaced
@TheTekknician google search wf-1000xm4 battery drain or issues. Just because you did not have the issue does not mean it does not exist.
My main problem ith XM4 is this. The right one always charges up to 88% and left one to 95%. It's really weird. i tried resetting both of them and fixed the issue for 2 days. After that the problem returned.
Yeah my xm4s are basically garbage because the battery lasts about 10 minutes on the left bud now. Out of warranty sadly. Bad firmware definitely broke them.
This video is right above the video from Louis Rossman talking about how Sony was putting the wrong batteries in the MX4, and that they would run out quick overheat due to charging at the wrong voltages.
Sometimes, the batteries are different in even each earbud!
1000%
I had both videos recommended as well. Don't buy these at all.
I noticed that straight up. Both videos released at the same time, close to each other
The algorithm suggested these two videos to me, too. TH-cam's finally doing a good job
I laughed when I saw both videos in my recommendations, only separated by one other video
I tried xm4s for a bit and they stuck out a bit too far and had sharpish edges that made wearing them while sleeping against a pillow painful. Otherwise I really liked them.
I got the MX4, love them, and fortunately I managed to get them repaired just days before the warranty expired. Hearing all the stories of repair refusal, I would not recommend buying any Sony product anytime soon until there's a commitment for better customer support. For the price it's inexcusable
I had issues with the ambient sound mode on mine. One of them just gave a feeling of being underwater. Anywho Sony replaced mine no questions asked and extended my warranty by a month.
@@RobBrody2999 as they should. The main issue, besides the earbuds issues, is the lack of consistency with their customer support. It feels like the Asus faulty motherboards handling all over again
@@RobBrody2999 hell this is happening to me. I've placed them with customer support 3 times already, I had no idea it was a general problem
yeah if you want good sony audio get their mid to high end wired IEMs. a lot more reliable than wireless.
@@your_average_cultured_dude so far the MX4 have been very reliable, excluding the battery draining issue
I really appreciate the more simple charts. Also that James walks us through in a slower pace. Thanks guys. Keep up the good work and never stop innovating!
Be wary, the predecessor is plagued with battery issues with some reports of that happening with the WF-XM5's as well. I returned these for several reasons: The ANC heavily relies on the passive noise isolation, which means if you can't get a good seal with the tips, the ANC performance will be subpar. I could not achieve a proper seal without hurting my ears. Running with these with ANC on is annoying because there is an audible plop with each stride (same as XM4s).
I’ve never heard a pop with the XM4. Might just be really shitty luck.
@@midnightwolf3134 I think the "pop" is referring to the buds kind of float in your ear and ONLY rely on the tip size to stay on. Meaning every stride you take the earbud bumps against your ear and the sound is VERY noticeable. I can confirm this is 100% an issue and hardly ever mentioned in reviews. I tested These XM5's against the Bose QC2 and Galaxy buds 2 pro.
I really wanted these to win, but ultimately went with the QC2's for the NC, fit, and tighter sound. The default sound is the worst on the QC's, but the bass is noticeably tighter and I can eq any of them. You can't eq tight bass no matter how hard you try.
@@Jefafa73 Can't say I've experienced this though I do know the XM4s were rather big earbuds and I have bigger ears so they fit perfectly in my ears. Even if it's just the tip sitting in there. I guess we can say your mileage may vary.
@@midnightwolf3134 I've heard that from other XM4 users as well! I kinda wished I tried the XM4's along with the other buds as that popping didn't sound like an issue with the older pairs.
@@Jefafa73 i can confirm the pop can be annoying when walking and even more so when jogging. and yes, anc relies heavily on the foam tips which disintegrate within a month of regular use. i am now using moondrop spring tips with reduced anc
One of the biggest issues with the XM4 earphones were how bulky and heavy they were so this looks great.
They still are pretty bulky ngl, but they are amazing, the anc is out of this world. Sound quality is a bit better, didn't feel any huge improvement.
The biggest issue with the XM earphones is the Sony's screwup with the firmware that killed batteries in these earbuds (mine included, but affected thousands), which they are replacing quietly now.
they are having battery issues
@@AshLordCurry xm4 is awful, are these better?
@@AhmadAli-ws3vy Mine doesn't. The Sennheiser CX I used to have had an unchangeable case.
from my experience, my XM4 battery issue started 3 months after warranty ends. But when i take it to sony repair center, they told me if the issue really is from defective battery they will replace the buds free of charge even outside warranty (make sure you have the purchase receipt)
Got my ones last week. I'm in love with it. I've never been a fan of intra-aural headphones, but this one proved to me that it's possible to use an in-ear headphone and still have exceptional audio quality!
Iems (in ear moniters) are some of the best for sound quality you can get (besides real headphones) ranging anywere form 20$ all the way up to a few thousand dollars while most of thoes are wired but the sound quality makes up for it
Got my ones? Are you in preschool?
I’ve owned every generation of the Sony wf series and the xm5 is definitely a step up, primarily in terms of form factor even compared to the xm4 it’s a huge step up in pocket feel
Do they hurt the ears with long term use? And how do they work with running or gymming ?
2:50 I noticed they were hard to get out, but all you have to do is push them slightly towards the outside and the magnet disconnects.
it's important to note that you didn't even try to tweak the equalizer which makes the listening experience about 5x better. Listening to the default preset does indeed sound flat and boring because that's what it's set to.
FYI - to remove them from the case you put your thumbs in the center of the case and then push them both outwards. It is in the instructions (which nobody reads).
I am returning these as everyone I talk to complains about the bad mic quality when I take calls outside with the usual vehicle sounds. If the noise cancelling is on when you walk, you can hear the thud sound of the steps. I didn't buy the ANC buds to keep ANC off while I walk. But I must say the sound quality of these are really great.
But isn‘t bad mic quality a general problem on ture wireless headphones?
All my friends have AirPods Pro and the soundquality is horrific too. When they walk by a street I cannot understand a word they say. Also the phone quality in general sounds like a 2G call with 1 bar of reception.
The ANC issue must be annoying but was the mic quality that big of a deal for you?
Sound quality of Huawei freebuds pro 2 are way better for clean base. I returned these due to low quality lows (when compared to the best), bad mics, and nasty ear tips.
Not all mics suck btw, best mics I think are on the nothing earbuds (but no ldac). The freebuds pro 3 also have very good ones from a test I've seen (won't know for another 3 weeks when it arrives, but due to Chinese hype that one is now overpriced for at least the next 4 months.) , but freebuds pro 2 did not have great mics (it ironically does improve if you turn off their enhancement option).
You are gonna hear yourself walk with any decent noise canceling earbuds, it’s just inherent in the design!
@@RechtschreibrichterReiner Yes, it was. Maybe it was a faulty unit. I couldn't talk to anyone without me being repeating every other word.
Here is my update. I returned the Sony back to Amazon. Bought a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro. So far, I haven't got any complaints from the other side. Also, I no longer hear my foot steps with and without ANC. Sound quality isn't as good as the Sony's and no LDAC. But, I'd say it's not bad as I thought for that price point.
Would’ve been nice to see a comparison to the previous generation for reference. I don’t know the charts by heart. Especially since you guys aren’t using industry standard curves.
In addition it would've been great to compare the thickness of the case as that is in my opinion the issue of the previous generation compared to the Airpods.
They cant do a comparison because sony earbuds dont last the year before the batteries go bust…
Hey, could you add a harman curve or something like that to the frequency response charts? That way we can compare it to something more familiar, as most people wouldn't know what the lmg target is all about
The irony of the fact that this video came out only an hour after Rossman made his video about why you should never buy Sony air buds…
Except they are really good and people experiences are different then from the hit piece video.
@AL-lh2ht "if it did not happen to me, it is not true", you are defending a company that is treating the consumer of a high end product like crap. Refusing to fix a problem they caused with a firmware update. This is why they keep doing this, because people accept it.
@@joaovguedes The left one of my MX4 started draining battery so fast (depletes when right one are still at 80%) and Amazon refunded all I paid 21 months ago (bc out of stock) so now i'm planing to buy the MX5. Guess they broke them just in time to make me a favour.
I'd pay far more attention to Rossman's article than this.
@@AL-lh2ht it'd be a hit piece if it's a selected few, but from what I've seen many are affected.
A friend of mine managed to get their 1st XM4 exchanged, but his 2nd unit has battery drain as well
Do these ones have the cool feature from the XM4s where they try to overcharge one of the earbuds permanently damaging the battery?
No
Another issue moving from the XM4s to the XM5s is the noise cancelation is actually worse in some situations. The XM4s have an option for automatic wind noise cancelation that works beautifully. However the XM5s have a new design with a new microphone location Sony believes eliminates the need for such a mode. It is desperately needed if you're in a windy environment, trying to ride a bike with one earbud in is pretty much a lost cause
That’s what the AirPods do. They used to be really bad at cancelling wind but after an update it seems to do fairly well automatically. However I have had zero success with any earbuds riding a bike. Be it AirPods or XM4s. They are decent at cancelling wind when walking around but on a bike there’s zero chance. I’d probably say the MTW3s are the best for wind.
"Not loud enough"? Where did that come from? You must have done something really wrong; I have never ever been even close to maxing the volume on any of my WF headphones
Maybe if somebody had extremely severe hearing damage
I tried the XM4's for a while, but found them so uncomfortable and difficult to get a good seal to ensure the anc worked properly that I ended up sending them back before my return window had closed, so luckily I avoided all the battery issues that others are reporting in these comments.
As far as the 360 audio, didn't it actually come out before apple's version?
May I ask which buds you switched them for? I love the sound of them but they too are extremely uncomfortable in my ears.
@@nooneeeyI work long shifts so swap between two pairs, Jabra elite 10 (upgraded from 5) and the Anker soundcore liberty 4.
I don't think I would spend more than $199 on any wireless bud, given that they live such short life spans. If the battery doesn't crap out first, some other thing will bug out.
I've had the Airpods Pro 1st gen since launch and the battery still lasts me a good 3-4 hours. Used them pretty much daily since I have them.
I think $200+ for any pair of easy to lose earbuds is insane. The only way I can justify my airpods pro 2s is because a) I got them on discount, b) the ANC/passive does wonders for my sensory issues and c) I listen to music or podcasts for 6+ hours a day. I probably use my earbuds more than any other piece of tech I own including my phone itself. If the following are true for you I would say get whatever earbuds you want, but otherwise the Linkbuds S are cheap, comfortable, and always on sale. There are tons of good wired IEM options for under $75, too :)
@@ted9254"Paying over 200$ for earbuds is insane! Anyway, heres why the 200$ earbuds I bought are great and worth the money."
Maybe I want to sleep on them, literally. You should keep testing side sleeper comfort! Linus covered it last time!
That info would help me more than 10 frequency response curves. Just saying.
These specifically look way too wide, but I am generally looking for that info too!
Having purchased Sony Linkbuds about 9 months ago, I have recently faced an issue with the right bud - it became much quieter (2-3 times as it feels) than the left one.
After sending them for repair to Sony, I got them back in about 2 weeks. Apparently in the service center they have replaced the right earbud, and now I have buds from different pairs which can't work together (case gives error code with 3 orange flashes) - you can't even connect/pair them to your phone anymore.
Resetting the buds doesn't help in this case, so I sent them back again.
Two weeks later, I'm gonna pick them up tomorrow and see if Sony managed to fix the buds this time.
But yeah, Sony's repair services don't seem that good when it comes to other models as well.
While presenting freqency charts, you can put other earphones too. And harmon target can also be dotted along with the in-house target.
I just got my xm4 earbuds back from repaired in less than 2 weeks. They replaced both earbuds. My right earbud drained in one hour while the left one worked properly and lasted 8 hours still. At first i regretted getting these, but since sony repaired them at no charge, I'm glad to have these working again.
Once you use the buds for a while, they get extra slippery due to the gloss. It was not an issue right out of the box
Haven’t had this issue and I’ve been using daily since they released
10:40 "You have to get used to a more neutral sound" ... Or you use the custom EQ in the app?!
Whoa. This was my first time hearing the spatial audio in this video. Kind of glad I bought them.
Funny Rossmann made a video about Sony headphones and bad battery a few minutes ago
Why is the lmg target curve so bumpy at the high frequencies
What a coincidence! Louis Rossmann posted a video about the XM4 earbud battery issue (which I had) just before your video release.
10:06 Yeah a discrepancy from LTT preference curve, this means nothing on it's own.
300€ for in ear headphones, this is crazy
That gets you the very best, just buy a less expensive pair...
I just bought these some notes:
They are tough to get out of the case,
Noise cancelling isn't great the tozo x1 is better, and half the price
I got these with free potable charger for 250 dollar's. Still very expensive.
They aren't very comfortable laying down. They are ok for the gym but they don't cancel out all the noise which is annoying.
Battery is fine
They are light
The app isn't great the custom ear identification doesn't really help or didn't for me.
I like that the ear buds know when they are in your ear unlike the x1
Also the just randomly pause over and over and its very annoying
Wireless charge is fine
Overall 250 is to much for these
LTT : You're probably buying these
My wallet : nope
I'm starting to keep an eye out for some replacement ear buds, so this could be neat. The right ear bud of my Galaxy buds 2 died abruptly (got 'em free anyways) and my old Galaxy buds are showing their age in battery life, so maybe it's time to try Sony.
Dont.
Funny to see this and Luis' video side by side in my subscriptions list.
That right ear placement, like how??
XM4 mic quality bombed so hard. It was so bad in any semi nosiy environment like an office, so bad so that I had to stop using it for office calls.
Lets hope that the XM5 mic quality is better this time around. The sample shared in the video is still in a relatively quiet environment so I am really skeptical to its real world performance.
4:30 Had to go back and relisten when James said "you can just start dogging".
2:31 that's what she said
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.
I don't know whether to hate James for having WAP as his low bass 'test track', or to love him for it?! 8:38
i also have the XM4s, i like the others have the battery drain issue in the right ear, the battery would go from 100% to closing without notice in 40 minutes, i bought 2 pairs for me and my father and both have developed the same symptoms at the same time (we had them for a year and a few months) so i know it wasn't my fault, its strictly that the battery shelf life is very bad, i have requested repair and was denied, they offered to give us "refurbished" ones or the money back. I have opted to pay a difference and get the XM5, lets see how these hold up over time.....
How’s it been so far
@Supershlickity i noticed only once that the XM5 were 20% R and 80% L battery but cant tell for sure since it could have been user error. Since its been only 8 months i cant tell for sure. To be honest they dont seem like an improvement over the XM4, one big downgrade for me is the fact that now you cant activate/deactivate wind noise suppression, on the xm4 i was able to ride my bike and have noise cancelling without the wind noise and now on the XM5 its no longer possibile, you van hear significant windnoise. I dont think i will be buying Sony and in ear again despite the good audio quality. In ear headphones have hearing related problems since they bypass the sound baffles of your ear canals.
@@TheLTcousins as for the noise cancellation itself as well as the sound quality are they an improvement from the xm4s? Similar?
@@Supershlickity yes, they are better than XM4s, both sound quality and noise cancelling
13:15 they didnt upscale drivers, they downsized them from XM4..
Wish they had physical controls instead of touch
Man with the new charts Id love to see the Airpods Pro 2nd gen revisited. Especially with the new features like Conversation Awareness and Adaptive Audio
Yeah the new AirPod features are killer! ANC was amazing but having it be seamless is next level.
I feel that particular firmware update that brought those features actually also notably improved the ANC, finally. Its the first improvement, rather fix or degradation to ANC strength since the launch
You refer to a rest button on the back. Are you sure? I believe that button is used for pairing.
I own a pair of the original Sony WF-1000X wireless earbuds, got them on sale and it was an instant love! A good couple years later they dropped out of my pocket (my fault..) and I ran them over in my car (a big station wagon) and they actually survived!! To be fair it was on grass & the case was dinged & didn't shut quite right after that.. but they went on work with no issue!
I was initially worried they would stop working, so I ordered a pair of the WF-1000XM3's which I started wearing after a couple months & still wear them daily even now! I hope a battery replacement is possible as they are so comfy & sound so good, I really don't care to upgrade...
i bought these last week. the sound is SOOOO good. Not vibing with the sound tracking like at the gym i always had to put it back to noise canceling, might be a way to fix this IDK.
As a user they are amazing. The sound is like from the XM3 (over the ear), but don't have that much of a spatial sound. The last to keep in mind is that they are big or should I say chunky (so people with small ears are a no no), but they are not heavy. Also, don't use them in the gym because of the sweat they fall out of my ear 100% of the time.
Just came from the Louis Rossman video, never buying sony headphones again. 😂
Would be nice if LLT had a host who has uses the last generation 1000xm4's for a comparison.
I'm probably not. For me, Jabra are the most comfortable and have great build quality. I've just upgraded to Jabra's Elite 10, feels like I'm not wearing earbuds, and to my ears has a very detailed and polished sound profile.
Was there a comparison chart of ANC between the XM4 and XM5?
do they stay secure during workout? thank you
can I connect 2 DEVICES at same time?? Multipoint??
Yes
Fyi, you can make v shape sound with the integrated equalizer. Clear bass, DSEE extreme, and Ldac make a huge difference as well.
2:30 That's the first thing I noticed in the video... they look cumbersome to get out of the case. These little details always seem to be overlooked in reviews. My current Jabra Elite 7 Pro's come in a case that I find nearly impossible to open even with two hands! i've glued a bit of foam on to aid with it but it makes dropping and potentially losing a bud very possible. Form over function again.
Last update they did ruined my xm4 so I don't know about that
i sent my xm4s for free repair out of warranty after experiencing the battery drain issue, received the xm5s instead and am so far very happy with them!
Hope the battery lifespan is better on these, my 2 year old XM4's only last a bit longer than an hour lately, and my warranty just ran out :(
I've had the XM5s for about a month now, and they are by far one of the buggiest pieces of tech I've ever owned. More than half the time I take them out of the case, one or both buds has an issue connecting and they stay in transparency mode (as if only one bud is in). About half the time they do both manage to connect to whatever device I'm using, the EQ and software settings don't kick in and everything sounds terrible. It particularly struggles with multi-point, often randomly switching which device it feels like controlling or playing audio from, which does help keep things fresh and exciting.
I have to keep sticking them in and out of the case until they work properly, and even when I do finally get them to work right, the right ear bud's battery drains significantly faster than the left (which I've seen is an issue on previous generations too). Even worse is that while the ergonomic design of the buds makes them incredibly comfortable in your ears, it makes them equally as awkward to handle when you're not wearing them. Because they're shaped to fit your ears (and not the case), and there're no tactile feedback when you pop the buds in the case, you never feel confident both buds are actually in right. More than once I've put them in after a full night of charging only to get a "low battery" warning because one or both were a microscopic fraction of an inch off the contact pads.
I feel like a lot of the issues I'm having can be ironed out through firmware updates, but others (like the charging issue) are inherent design flaws which can only be addressed by hardware revisions, but I would not recommend them to anyone as is. Wait for Sony to fix the firmware issues, but also look at other options.
Are you using a iphone with these buds?
Must be a new new set as you can hear the echo of the studio space.
When I pay attention to the contrast it does sound like I am at conference in a real time event
I own the XM4, unfortunately my eartips fell apart within WEEKS and I haven't found a way to order a genuine sony replacement.
Little late to the party here, but I would LOVE IT if the labs would test more than just frequency response. I would personally prefer to see distortion measurements broken down by harmonic and THD, intermod distortion, and left vs right driver comparisons on all of these. Or at least put it up online if you guys don't wanna muddy up the video with all of these data points.
I have xm4 and even the smallest eartips makes my ears hurt after using them for about 30 minutes, if these tips are even smaller then maybe they’ll be better for some people
The battery on my x4 only last like 30 min on the left and 15 min on the right. Sucks the battery craps out so fast
When testing the ANC performance was transparency mode on/off? After 500Hz there was mention of the ANC being off? I’m assuming that was just a way of saying they were no longer effective (but still technically “on”)?
Interesting that there were several areas after 500Hz where the ANC was “louder” than ANC off (2k, 4k, >10k). I wonder if that was because of the hissing sound they present.
Thanks for the video!
Can you please do a short video on those dumb Lenovo GM2Pro earbuds. I need someone to trash them! Seriously show up in like every 4th video on TikTok and im about to go insane
Personally I would not, recommend. I tried it and the controls are finicky, have some connectivity issues, the foam eartips are not the most confortable, and have some problem with the fit as well depending on your ear shape. I think the link buds s is a better choice, or fanky anything else for 250 it has too many drawbacks, just get anything else or an airpod pro 2 the usb c variant is out :)
It will be the same issue with the battery like the previous model?
I wonder if these will die in 13 months too? (yea I saw Louis' video also)
me listening this with my $30 tws : "yeah, probably gonna buy that"
Now try the 360 audio, I was not able to get it to work
I got the xm4s and I'm so disappointed. What a waste of money with that sound quality and noise reduction
I have the xm4. I got the battery problem to manage. I am not impressed considering the cost and the brand name. Thanks for the comment in description about this issue.
I will always say it: audio "quality" is subjective. Some people prefer the tinny sound of the apple earphones, some people prefer the bass heavy Sony earphones.
That’s like saying TV picture quality is subjective when both picture and audio both have established standards. Preferences mean nothing when standards have been established and currently exist
@jollama would you prefer to play a 90's console on a 55 inch 16:9 TV ?
@@AzumiRM If I wanted to do that then I’d have to get something like the discontinued xRGB mini Frameister or OSSC with the appropriate cables. Currently I play those systems (NES-N64) on a CRT my parents gave to me
@@AzumiRM And why are you even moving the goalpost from audio quality being subjective to where I prefer to play legacy game consoles huh?
@@AzumiRM Bro stopped yapping real quick 💀
There's a very noticable low pitched electric noise throughout the entire video. Pretty annoying.
I don't know if it's coming from the mic or if it's some kind of post processing artifact
There is not enough surprised face in the thumbnail to buy any wireless earphones.
Would have been nice to hear the mic quality with people talking around you/other environmental noises.
Considering how relatively niche this product is, the amount of comments mentioning battery issues is crazy. I thought I might be unlucky, but now it seems like the failure rate is just insane, I wouldn't be surprised if like 80% of buyers got those problems.
Are these things integratable into the Playstation Ecosystem for sexy gaming sensation?
You guys did it! This video is standard/above standard audio/audophiletuber quality, and you're so new to audio! BUT what others don't do as well, you seem to give us a well balanced mix of both objective AND subjective, AND with the measurements, I love to see information what you used to measure the earphones on the graph, and you guys mentioned your target as well! Good to see you guys put your resorces into getting better and getting so good so quickly! Only thing I see missing now is the measured graph's relation to the standard Harman curve/curves that are made by real audio scientists at Harman, by Sean Olive and others. Those are what audio objectivists on AudioScienceReview forums use. You guys are so going to make changes in the audio industry, good job!
Yes I am an owner of the XM4 and the right ear bud does not charge to 100%. I like the sound of them. Do I dare buy the XM5, battery issue fixed?
i'd love to see more of the app, if there is an EQ in specific
There is a EQ in app, I use the XM3s
Can they be disassembled like the WF-1000XM4? Those are great because you can change the batteries.
According to iFixit, xm3 are good, xm4s you can fix with some skill, xm5 requires pro-level skills and tools
I hear they're more neutrally balanced than the XM4s... But I listen to filthy dubstep, I *want* that Sony agressive bass!
my warranty replacement xm4's are shitting out on me and I'm wondering if these new xm5's are really worth upgrading too. I have a pixel so not considering airpod pros, is there anything else that is better than the sonys?
Honestly look into the Sennheiser MTW3. They have gone down in price. My only problem is no option for transparency mode on a phone call. You’re forced to ANC. They are also ugly, and the case is huge. But they are arguably better for music and I think ~$200 now.
Around the 8 minute mark, you put the left one in properly... which is something.
Curious how these will compare to the new Bose earbuds
is there also punk and hardcore music on the phone?
Wait a second didn’t I just see this on Louis Rossmanns channel? Uh oh…
Love how this came out 1h after Louis’s video
Considering the price of them, I won't be adding these to my shortlist.
"not too bad" is not something i wanna hear on buds this expensive
would like to see transparency frequency response too. I wear mine full time and need transparency for safety reasons. would like to see what the mode compares to having them out.