Hello, everyone. I’ve been thinking about getting the WF-1000XM5, but I’m not sure if it’s a good investment. I’ve heard that the WF-1000XM4 had a major battery drainage problem. Is this still the case with the WF-1000XM5?
Right now, I am using the WH-CH710N. They’ve been great, but recently they started to break. They still work, but the ANC doesn’t isolate the same way on the right ear as in the left ear, and they aren’t really compact. So I’m looking for an upgrade. I know that over-ear headphones are superior when talking ANC, but they aren’t as compact as in-ear. I’ve also heard that the AirPods Pro are a good option. But as an Android user, I usually tend to avoid Apple products.
Do you guys have any recommendations?
I’m all in on headphones. Been using IEMs for a decade but the annoyances they have always ruin the experience for me. Wireless IEMs are also made to be as non-repairable as possible, so if those WF XM5s break after 2 years you’ll have to buy new ones. Headphones are usually somewhat repairable.
Over-ear for me (both for wired and wireless). In-ear devices will fall off my ears every 5 minutes.
For a specific recommendation, I’d recommend the Monoprice BT600-ANC. It has really good ANC for just $100-$150, good battery life, and the sound quality of it is on par with my $70 wired headphones. You can also use it with a wire (albeit without ANC) if the battery dies.
Lots of good comments here so we’ll keep this up, but I’ll flag rule 2 in the sidebar. Open-ended general discussions are welcome here, but we ask that recommendation requests and those seeking advice be posted to !askandroid@lemdro.id instead. Thanks!
If you’re itching more towards to the over-ear one, I can personally recommend the q45 and q35.
If you got no problems with IEMs, they produce incredible sound for a fraction of the price. Just check Truthear Zero.
If you’ve got issues with IEMs such as ear infections due to ear wax pushed inward, then you more or less don’t have a choice but to go with on-ear / over-ear. I had an infection once a decade ago and went over-ear ever since. It costs more to get good quality sound out of over-ear compared to IEMs.
I’d recommend against Sony IEMs. I know multiple people who got theirs replaced under warranty (WF-1000XM4 and 5), one of them twice. They tend to not last for very long.
I have some WH-1000XM4 over-ears and they’re not terrible, but not worth the money either. They need an equalizer to sound decent.
But before you buy anything: Can you wear IEMs comfortably for a long time? I got some weirdly shaped ears and horrible earwax, so I don’t bother with those at all.
I used my WF-1000XM4s daily for 2 years until the batteries gave out. They were already out of warranty, but Sony replaced them anyway. I still use mine daily and am quite happy with the performance. They’re great IEMs if you’re fine with the batteries croaking after a couple of years – not a big deal if you’re comfortable installing aftermarket cells.
It’s not ideal, but I’ve had worse exeriences with other IEMs. My worst experience was actually with the GalaxyBuds, which unfortunately I developed an allergy to (Don’t roll your eyes – I’m not the only one! It was an issue with the rubberized coating in a few specific batches). Those assholes accepted my in-warranty RMA, but then never sent anything back. I literally only wanted a replacement, not even money back! Support completely stonewalled me even though I had the UPS receipt from their return slip 😤
Interesting, I still have the original Galaxy Buds (4.5 years now!) and they are working just fine on their original batteries. They don’t last quite as long now of course but there are no other issues
I tried the XM5s and 4s and didn’t care for either of them. They wouldn’t stay in while I was moving around, relaxing, eating etc.
So I started looking at alternatives for both in and over ear pods. Settled on the OWS Pro for pods that don’t go in the ear but sit outside it and Logitech zone true wireless for in ear. The zones I got for about 200 on sale and like a lot, but the real winner has been the OWS pros which come with a 16 hour battery life which lets me wear them through the night. I liked them so much I bought a second pair for when the first are charging haha.
I have both in ear XM4 and over ear XM5s and I don’t like either. The xm4 is just too big and too heavy. It feels like it’s barely hanging onto my ear. I’ve tried using the for running or bike riding and they fall out. If you try to force them to stay in your ear it can wedge itself in too tight and get painful.
The XM5s are too tight and they hurt right below my ear if I wear them too long. The anc is good but I had some Bose QC35s before and they were waaay more comfortable and worked just as good.
I wish I had got the AirPods Pro and whatever new quiet comfort headphones Bose had now. Still thinking of switching.
As far as price/performance ratio, iems are unbelievable. I used to be an over-ear purist but the quality of iems have blown me away that I’ve moved over almost completely. I keep a pair of high quality iems at my desk for listening/daily use at my computer, and a pair of galaxy buds 2 are my knock-arounds for daily use while out and about, doing chores, or even while sleeping (foam tips make them remarkably good as both earplugs and also for listening to whatever helps you fall asleep)