Sony WF-1000XM5

Cancellation Is The Reason To Buy

Active noise cancellation in earbuds is harder than in over-ear headphones because there is less space for microphones and less passive isolation to build on. The WF-1000XM5 is among the best implementations available.

It works best on the low-frequency, continuous noise that dominates travel — engine drone, cabin rumble, air conditioning. It does much less for sudden or high-frequency sound like speech, which is inherent to how cancellation works rather than a shortcoming.

For commuting and flying, the difference between good cancellation and mediocre cancellation is the difference between listening at a sane volume and pushing it up to cover the noise, which matters for hearing over years.

Fit Determines Everything

This deserves emphasis because it is the single largest variable in earbud performance and it has nothing to do with the electronics. If the tip does not seal, both the bass and the cancellation collapse.

A poor seal is the reason people report that expensive earbuds sound thin and cancel poorly. It is almost always the tips, and trying every supplied size — and aftermarket foam tips if necessary — is more consequential than any specification.

Ear shapes vary enough that no single earbud fits everyone. A bud that is superb for one person can be unusable for another, and this is the one category where trying before buying, or buying where returns are easy, genuinely matters most.

The App Dependency

Much of what the product does — cancellation profiles, equalisation, adaptive behaviour, multipoint pairing settings — lives in Sony's app.

That is convenient and it is a dependency. The buds work as buds without it, and the features that differentiate them from cheaper ones largely do not, and an app that stops being updated or supported eventually takes those features with it.

It is worth being aware of rather than alarmed by, particularly for a product that may be in use for four or five years.

Battery, Codecs And Practicalities

Battery life is good rather than exceptional and shortens with cancellation active, which is normal. The case provides several additional charges.

Codec support matters only if your phone supports the same ones — high-resolution Bluetooth codecs require both ends, and on an iPhone much of that capability is unused.

Like all true wireless earbuds, the batteries degrade and are not replaceable. In three or four years the runtime will be meaningfully shorter and there is no service option, which makes them a consumable in a way headphones are not.

Against The Alternatives

Against over-ear cancelling headphones, earbuds are far more portable and cancel less and are less comfortable for very long sessions.

Against cheaper earbuds, the cancellation gap is genuinely large and the sound quality gap is smaller than the price suggests.

Against wired earbuds, wireless buys convenience and costs sound quality per pound, battery degradation and an app dependency.

Anyone who has not found a tip that seals properly is not going to get the performance, and should sort fit before spending.

Anyone who objects to a device whose features live in an app should consider that a substantial part of the product does.

Anyone wanting a device that lasts a decade should buy wired headphones, as true wireless batteries degrade and cannot be replaced.

The Verdict

The best noise cancellation available in an earbud, with deep control and good sound, which for travel and commuting is a genuine quality-of-life improvement.

Fit determines everything and varies by person, key features depend on an app, and the batteries degrade with no replacement option.

Get the seal right before judging them — a poor tip fit makes expensive earbuds sound cheap and cancel badly, and it is the commonest reason for disappointment.