Sony WF-1000XM5
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- Tips
- Foam, silicone on request
- Price
- About $300
Why it ranks here. The XM5 is the earbud every review measures against: the best sound in the category, cancelling close to Bose, and multipoint. It ranks first for that, with three warnings its owners repeat: the foam tips, the soldered battery, and the $300 price.
'The audio is crisp, well-separated, and reveals details in your music you may have never noticed before'↗, says one owner. Another 'still love them after 6 months'↗ and wears them 'without realising that they are in my ears'↗. An upgrader from the XM4 finds 'the comfort is better, the music is louder, noise cancellation is a bit better, and mics are way improved'↗. Then the tips: 'The foam ear tips are my biggest complaint. They're uncomfortable, put pressure on the ear canal, are difficult to clean, and wear out fairly quickly'↗. Owners swap them for silicone and accept that 'ANC suffers a little'↗. The battery is 'hard soldered into the buds and not at all repair friendly'↗, unlike the XM4, whose batteries died for one owner 'after about just 2 years'↗. And one verdict: 'THEY ARE NOT worth $300'↗.
What owners like
“The sound quality is excellent. The audio is crisp, well-separated, and reveals details in your music you may have never noticed before. The noise cancellation is impressive... The foam ear tips are my biggest complaint. They're uncomfortable, put pressure on the ear canal, are difficult to clean, and wear out fairly quickly.” — Reddit post · u/Low_Performer9212 · r/headphones · 2026-07-31
4 positive · 5 mixed · 3 negative · 12 voices · ✓ all 12 linked to source
Read all 12 quotes (12 voices)
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I still love them after 6 months. Battery and sound quality are excellent, and they are really comfortable. I use them 6-8 hours every day, without realising that they are in my ears. I am still using my xm4s to watch my telly. I'm as happy as I can be. 😊
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Not worth $300. The only reason I haven't returned them is because I'm sick and tired of researching earbuds. They work and I guess that's fine but let me be rightly understood, THEY ARE NOT worth $300.
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I jumped from XM4 to WF 1000 XM5, and the comfort is better, the music is louder, noise cancellation is a bit better, and mics are way improved.
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Appreciate you highlighting the battery replacement. Here's the kicker, the wf1000xm4s do have batteries that can be replaced easily through repair shops. The xm5 buds come with battery hard soldered into the buds and not at all repair friendly. Sony is walking apple's path.
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Noise cancellation is amazing. Sound is top notch. But the connectivity problems I have with it is very frustrating. Also when the case battery is low you can't use them until you charge it. Also the foam and the mesh installed collect wax like no other and block the mesh easily and I have to clean it with rubbing alcohol almost twice a week
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I got these because as much as I like the airpods pro for the ease of use, my ears just hurts so much. Putting these on was like night and day in terms of comfort and the noise cancelling feature doesn't give me weird headaches.
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Great video! The first couple of days the fit felt like they could slip out but after about a week it's like my ears adjusted and the fit was more secure. I love these things.
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I bought em second hand off of eBay. Right ear stopped working. I threw it at the wall. It worked again. I use em for immersive movie watching on my Apple TV and my Sony Walkman earbuds. For the $150 I paid for them, I bought a second pair and gotta say I'm pleased.
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Excellent point regarding the batteries. I have to Buy this newer model because the batteries of my xm4 earbuds are dead after about just 2 years. What a shame for such expensive earbuds
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The sound quality is excellent. The audio is crisp, well-separated, and reveals details in your music you may have never noticed before. The noise cancellation is impressive... The foam ear tips are my biggest complaint. They're uncomfortable, put pressure on the ear canal, are difficult to clean, and wear out fairly quickly.
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Yeah I ditched the foam tips on my Sonys immediately and replaced them with some Moondrop spring tips. ANC suffers a little but the comfort difference more than makes up for it imo
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The cons you brought up on both sides are all things relevant to me (especially those cursed Sony foam eartips). And given how Sony tunes ANC for those foam tips, it just feels like swapping to silicone alternatives will immediately sacrifice ANC for the sake of comfort and ease of insertion.
