Disappointed in WH-1000XM5s, need suggestions.

ShadowChaser · December 29, 2022

I got WH-1000XM5s for myself as a Christmas present and I have to say that I'm extremely disappointed in them - to the point where just handling them for a few minutes made me no longer want to use them at all. Period.

Context:

The wireless headphones I've been using for the last few years have been the Plantronics BackBeat Pros. I have been using them since March of 2018, and they are pretty worn out. Both earpads have been replaced once already and they were starting to die a few months back, so I decided that they've served me long enough and I deserve an upgrade.

My needs were simple:

similar sound profile (slight emphasis on bass with neutral mids and highs)
comfortable fit (the BBT Pros are heavy but they are very comfortable to wear)
ANC (doesn't have to be very strong, but does have to be natural)
tanky (BBT pros are built like tanks - I've never bothered with the carrying case and it's still in great shape apart from the peeling leather

I was pretty much set on a pair of Sonys since it seems to be the general consensus that they had the best ANC in town. I've used QC25s in the past and didn't like how much pressure and underwater feeling I was getting so I had high hopes for Sony's ANC. I waffled between the XM4 and XM5 before settling on the XM5 reasoning that I didn't need the extra folding capabilities of the XM4 and it had the faster quick charging curve for when I inevitably forget to charge these before a trip.

I received the XM5s today.

I had written an extra1k+ word rant on them, but I think I can drop that and condense my main gripes into two points.

Terrible feeling plastics despite excellent build quality
Inconsistent controls that can't be changed.

I have third complaint, but that's because I have a very minor case of tinnitus - I will address this third point later since it really only applies to me and is not a fault of the headphones.

Cheap Feeling Plastic

I know this is subjective but I'm sure we've all been there. That BestBuy chromebook or lenovo ideapad or hp stream. You know the one. Soft touch finish on the plastic that doesn't last a week before wearing away. Yeah, these $350 headphones feel the same.

Now I know (or hope, rather) that this finish is far more durable but I'm not feeling very confident. Dell's gaming laptops from a few years back had a higher quality soft touch finish on the palmrest and mine still wore off after about 3 months of regular use. Even thinkpads wore down after a year or two. The matte plastic on my BBT Pros have some scratches from zippers but that's about it. The XM5s I am worried about my fingernails.

This plastic is an oil trap and fingerprint magnet. Never mind greasy hair, they picked up skin oils from my ears and jaw. The touch region on the right earcup looked like a warzone after skipping a few tracks and adjusting the volume. I cannot overstate this. This plastic is worse than glossy piano black at picking up oils. I should know. I own a piano.

In my opinion, the carry case should be a nice to have that stows extra cables and keeps the headphones safe when travelling in a packed backpack, not a need to have that keeps them from getting scuffed from anything and everything.

Oh, and the earcups facing away when around the neck only makes this worse, by the way, as it exposes the headphones to being scratched by anything you might be wearing. Please just keep the earcups facing in, guys. I don't understand the whole facing out thing that manufacturers are adopting. The XM4 earcups faced in! Why did you have to go and change this, Sony?

Inconsistent, Non-adjustable Controls

Why can't I choose to use triple tap to skip? Oh, it's because there's only a single touch zone on the right earcup. Right.

Why is the AMB/ANC function tied to a button? Why can't I tap or swipe to access the different modes? Give me options, please, Sony.

Dunno if this is anti-lefty or anti-righty by placing all track functions on the right ear and all power/noise functions on the left. I am of the opinion that touch controls should be on both ears, but buttons can be on either side.

Oh, but wait! You do let me adjust what a double and triple click of the AMB/ANC button do! Except that there's only one option out of the box and it's Spotify. Thanks for nothing, Sony.

Oh, all of this makes me just wish physical buttons were a thing. The rings that controlled volume and skip/back on the BBT Pros were so tactile and satisfying to use, and I'd take a single play/pause press over a double tap any day of the week. Seriously. It's faster and less likely to go wrong. I harbor the same feelings towards increased reliance on touch inputs for vehicles, so I don't think I'm alone on this seeing how much backlash touch input gets on cars. Now on smaller earbuds I totally get it, but these earcups are plenty large, y'know?

ANC Strength Woes (Tinnitus louder than noise floor)

Speaking of options, the ANC is a touch too strong for me. I don't want the entire outside world to be gone, just only to drop the noise floor, please. Unfortunately the ANC strength is not adjustable so that means that anything that makes it past the ANC is jarring and when there's a lull in what I'm listening to (or when I'm not listening to anything) I hear just the very minor tinnitus I occasionally experience. It's incredibly frustrating to the point that I might just switch back to the BBT Pros since they hiss every so slightly when ANC is on and it's just enough to overshadow my poor ears.

I dislike how active the ANC is on these. For closed backs they're actually not that great at passively isolating noise - with my BBT Pros I only turn on ANC during takeoff, for example, before turning them off in flight once the engines spool down as the passive NC is enough to have them melt into white noise. With the XM5s it's all or nothing. I like my white noise since it fills the gaps in the lulls of whatever I'm listening to or watching. Again, this is a personal thing due to tinnitus.

So what's next? I think I'll just have to return these. I will keep using my BBT Pros until the XM4s drop to a more appealing price, then I'll probably jump ship to those. I personally like the look of those more anyway. The XM4s have previously been as low as $230, I believe as recently as BF/CM, and for that price I'd accept these shortcomings. They even swivel the earcups correctly when worn around the neck, woohoo!

If I sound really disgruntled, it's because I just dropped $350 on a pair of headphones that are barely an improvement over a pair of $125 headphone from 2018 (or, to be more fair, a pair of $250 headphone from 2015) for my specific usecase. All the improvements in sound quality I barely feel with my shitty mp3 rips while I do feel the lack of passive isolation and overpowering ANC. Guess I just got unlucky.