Headphones and earbuds · Sony
Owners keep these as their everyday earbuds because the sound holds up, especially with the EQ dialled in and noise cancelling on, and most say they would struggle to find better.
Owners who have lived with them say they cannot fault them and are unsure what a successor could even improve. Several went looking for something better and came back to the XM5 as the benchmark.
One owner who otherwise likes the buds says the right earbud drops out at random while working out. This is a single account against a mostly positive tally, not a pattern the site can confirm yet.
Pick up to three. You get a page with just those, side by side, on the subjects owners raised.
Once the novelty passes, the thing owners keep mentioning is that the sound stays good enough that they stop thinking about replacements. One owner notes the buds sound noticeably better with noise cancelling switched on than off, the same behaviour seen on other ANC headsets, and another says a good EQ setting is what makes them sing. Several owners use them alongside Sony's over-ear headphones and are happy with both.
What owners adjust to is smaller stuff. One finds the voice announcements longer than they need to be. One who moved on to another brand described the XM5 as the pair they were coming from, which is about as neutral a verdict as a former owner gives. Nobody in these accounts describes them as a chore to live with.
The one durability complaint on record is the right earbud cutting out at random during workouts. That owner still says they love the buds, and does not describe a fix. No other account mentions a hardware fault, a battery issue, or a return.
Long-term accounts are thin here. Nineteen owners were labelled, but only a handful speak to how the XM5 holds up over months rather than weeks, and none describe a failure that ended their use. Treat the reliability picture as encouraging but unproven until more owners report back.
Parts named in the 4 accounts that describe a failure
Nothing has a clear majority against it yet. Counted from the owners who raised each subject, not from everyone. A subject is judged once at least 4 owners raise it.
9 more subjects came up from fewer than 4 owners each, which is not enough for a fair reading. To see how it stacks up, compare it with another machine.
The same owner, asked again at each point. Fills in as owners answer.
Two questions: how long you have had it, and anything you would like to say about it. Then we ask again as it ages. This helps our mission.
More in headphones and earbuds: Sennheiser Momentum 4, Sony xm5, Sony xm4.
Among the 6 owner accounts here that gave a duration, 4 described a failure. Parts named most: volume/driver, battery, whole unit (water damage).
Before you buy one used, ask the seller: how old it is, whether it was ever repaired and by whom, and whether any of the parts above have been replaced. Ask to see it run. A receipt tells you the warranty start date; most makers honour the term only for the first owner.
Public discussions we read and summarised in our own words. Nothing here was submitted to Still Kicks.
Counted from public accounts by people who said they own it, and summarised by Still Kicks in its own words. Not a manufacturer claim, a lab test or an estimate.
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