Sony WF-1000XM5 Black

With the Sony WF-1000XM5, I can isolate myself from my environment thanks to strong noise cancellation. Thanks to the intense and detailed sound, I am also completely absorbed in my favorite music. Unfortunately, the controls in the earbuds are sensitive, so I don't always have control over my music.

Strong noise canceling I immediately noticed how strong the noise canceling of these earplugs is. Normally I notice a difference between the noise canceling of headphones and that of earbuds, but in this case the noise canceling of the earbuds is worthy of headphones. The noise canceling strongly isolates me from my surroundings, so I don't hear any noise on a train.

Earplugs fit comfortably in my ears I had some trouble finding the right fit, but here's a trick. When I want to put the earphones in, I first make sure that the eartips are firmly in my ear canal. Then I rotate the earbuds so that they sit firmly in my ears and do not fall out easily. The ear tips themselves are sturdier than silicone ear tips as those of the WF-1000XM5 also have memory foam. This makes the eartips shape to my eyes and feel nice in my ears. This is comfortable when you listen to music for a long time.

Touch controls too sensitive The earbuds are sensitive to touch controls, which you can use to adjust the noise cancellation and fast forward your songs. I find them very sensitive, so he responds very quickly to the smallest, unconscious, touches. This makes me lose control over my music at times.

Get lost in the music I think the sound quality of these earbuds is very high. The bass sounds are solid and this is not at the expense of midrange and high tones. This allows me to listen to intense and balanced sound, making rock music and electronic music sound as if I am there live. That is why this earplug is suitable for fans of these music styles. If you like podcasts or less intense music, I don't recommend this earbud.

If you like very good music quality and you care less about peripheral matters such as operation and build quality, then these are the buds for you. If you're someone who looks more at the big picture, like me, then you might have to think twice about these earphones. I bring this review under the heading "Yes, recommended" because I think "No, not recommended" is a bit too much, but actually my opinion is somewhere in between. The earplugs are pricey and you expect top quality for that. Starting with the positives:

1. The music quality is very good. With headphones as my previous music player, I was a bit skeptical that earbuds could also provide the music experience I was used to from headphones. However, my expectations were far exceeded. The sound is full, no facets of songs are lost, the bass is good and even 8D audio feels spacious.
2. The memory-foam caps are very pleasant and ensure that the noise canceling comes into its own even better, because it takes the shape of your ear and closes things extra well. There is also a function in the app that allows you to check how airtight it is, which is also useful when choosing the right caps. Because of these caps I can also hold the buds in for hours without them getting annoying (and luckily the battery allows that).
3. Sony supplies four pairs of earplugs, so that (hopefully) each ear can find a suitable earplug.
4. The case is very small, making it easy to fit in your pocket.

But unfortunately there are also some disadvantages to these earplugs:

1. The first thing I ran into was the ability to set the function of each "tap" on my buds. At the moment you can set a preset per earpiece: Ambient Sound Control/Quick Access, Playback Control or nothing. In the first option there is an action, double tap, that is not linked to any action. I would like to do that so that I could solve drawback number 2. And I would prefer to be able to set any action in addition to presets.
2. Sony offers a feature called "speak to chat" for the buds. This ensures that when you talk, the buds go into a kind of transparent mode: sound that the buds hear is amplified, the noise cancellation stops and the music pauses. However, this only happens when you talk yourself. If someone says something back and it takes longer than the set time threshold, the music will play again, the noise cancellation will switch back on and you will no longer hear your conversation partner. I would like to be able to turn this option off and on myself, for example with that double tap that does nothing now (this is possible with the Sennheiser Momentum 3 True Wireless, for example). At the moment I have to take off my earplugs to hear someone, so that the memory-foam earphones go back to their normal state and the buds are a bit less comfortable afterwards.
3. The quality of the box is poor. I think the size of the case was a higher priority than the quality of the case. The plastic is very thin and therefore feels a bit cheap. In addition, there is already a smudge on my case where the matte has been wiped away. I hope I can still get it off.
4. Although the build quality of the buds themselves is better, the material is very slippery, which makes taking the earbuds out of the case a bit awkward at times. In addition, you can easily leave fingerprints and dust sticks.

All in all, some mixed feelings. I have long read reviews of various buds and I wonder whether I find the additional price compared to competing buds to be justified with the above positive and negative points.

Both the noise canceling and the sound are very impressive. The earphones are easy to use and quick to use.