[psikey]

Just received my XM5 and if you are not a basshead, the sound of the XM5 is good. I have tried my friend's XM4 and the bass was too much for me and it makes the sound muddy. The XM5's bass is enough imho and the vocal seems to be more forward than the XM4. The sound is more open and airy than XM4.
I have been using Aful P8 for the past month so if the bass is too much on the XM5, I will be able to hear it clearly. But luckily, the bass is just enough for me.

Did you go for black or grey version? Mine is Grey and should be delivered next week.

 

[Bazaar]

Just received my XM5 and if you are not a basshead, the sound of the XM5 is good. I have tried my friend's XM4 and the bass was too much for me and it makes the sound muddy. The XM5's bass is enough imho and the vocal seems to be more forward than the XM4. The sound is more open and airy than XM4.
I have been using Aful P8 for the past month so if the bass is too much on the XM5, I will be able to hear it clearly. But luckily, the bass is just enough for me.

Very encouraging, as I'm def not a basshead...I like to 'hear' the bass, not feel it thumping in my ears/head.

Ordered mine last Wed - initially 8/4, then Sun, now arriving tomorrow (Sat).

 

[voicemaster]

Very encouraging, as I'm def not a basshead...I like to 'hear' the bass, not feel it thumping in my ears/head.

Ordered mine last Wed - initially 8/4, then Sun, now arriving tomorrow (Sat).

It is definitely not as bassy as the XM4. I have tried my friend's XM4 before and I didn't like the sound at all. Too much bass imho.

 

[thescientist]

I received my XM5s today but I'm leaning towards sending them back. I really like my XM4s but I find them uncomfortable for long listening sessions and their noise cancelling isn't the best that I've tried. I was excited about the improvements to the XM5s in these areas but ended up unimpressed:

• I could not get the XM5s to seal with any of the XM5 tips or the XM4 tips. For comparison I have no issue getting a good seal every time using the XM4s and the default tips. I had to use Azla Max to get a good seal on the XM5s.
• I'm really not a fan of the redesigned shells. Although the XM5s are a lot smaller I find that they wedge between my tragus and antitragus and the portion of the XM5 that does this is somewhat bulky. For this reason I find the XM5s actually less comfortable then the XM4s.
• The XM5's noise cancelling doesn't seem noticably improved compared to the XM4s in my testing. Both lag behind the Linkbuds S which I find have fantastic ANC (though I seem to be in the minority in this opinion). Passive sound isolation for the XM5s seems noticably better than the XM4s though.
• I prefer the stock tuning of the XM5s to the XM4s. I still find the bass to be too much, but it's more reigned in and the mids and treble are boosted giving an overall more balanced sound. I do think the treble is a bit much on the XM5s though. I also found that I preferred my EQ'd XM4s to my stock or EQ'd XM5s.

Overall I find that the XM5s aren't an upgrade over the XM4s for me. I'm particularly surprised that I had issues with the tips because the XM4 tips were fine but there were so many complaints about the XM4 tips that I assumed Sony would have made real progress here.

 

[jsmiller58]

For those who are Android users… is there a trick to enabling LDAC? I have many BT audio devices, so this is not my first rodeo, but there is no option to enable LDAC in the Bluetooth device settings, so there isn’t anything in developer settings as it isn’t enabled in the device Bluetooth settings.

I did update the firmware which is required to have LDAC if you use multipoint, and I even disabled multipoint in the app hoping that would help…

My phone is a Samsung S22U, on Android 13.

Edit:

Well, like enough monkeys hitting enough keys on enough typewriters can reproduce the works of Shakespeare, I finally enabled LDAC by trying enough things… I am pretty sure the magic was in the Sony app, under sound, I set Bluetooth connection quality to prioritize sound quality. Then LDAC showed up as an option in the Bluetooth settings, and the usual developer options appeared. That seems overly convoluted…

 

[jsmiller58]

I haven’t listened enough to draw any conclusions, but the form factor is a bit problematic. In particular the high gloss plastic is VERY slippery. They probably should have gone with at least a matte finish…

 

[The1Signature]

I just sold my XM4 to buy the XM5, but after the first comments here... I get scared .

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I haven’t listened enough to draw any conclusions, but the form factor is a bit problematic. In particular the high gloss plastic is VERY slippery. They probably should have gone with at least a matte finish…

They are almost entirely made from recycled plastic, earbuds and case. There is a price for being eco friendly.

 

[jsmiller58]

They are almost entirely made from recycled plastic, earbuds and case. There is a price for being eco friendly.

Yeah, I do appreciate the attempt to be more eco friendly, but could they have roughed up the finish a bit to improve grip…!

I like the much smaller form factor of the XM5… I have big enough ears that the XM4 never really bothered me, but I knew they were there, and I am getting the impression that the XM5 will more easily be forgotten.

The sound is also not nearly as dark as the XM4, so I definitely prefer the sound.

Bottom line, after my initial frustration getting LDAC enabled, the first couple of hours with the XM5 have been good.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Yeah, I do appreciate the attempt to be more eco friendly

I don't, nothing but virtue signaling, "look we care".

 

[jsmiller58]

I don't, nothing but virtue signaling, "look we care".

I get it, part of why I used “the attempt”…

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

Whats the Runtime with AND without LDAC?

 

[psikey]

Whats the Runtime with AND without LDAC?

I thinks is 8 with, 12 without for Music Playback, 6 with , 7 without for comms.

 

[The1Signature]

The available operating times of the headset with the battery fully charged are as follows:

 

[PhenixS1970]

Is the case of the XM5 smaller than XM4 in all dimensions? Didn’t find a protective case for XM5 yet but for XM4 RLSOCO has a nice one on Amazon. Leaving on holidays in 2 weeks time so might get the XM4 RLSOCO one.