Sony WF-1000XM5
Shares rank 5 of 6 wireless earbuds by recommenders
Recommended mainly for comfort; critics say noise cancelling is inconsistent and Bluetooth features can be unreliable, especially on Windows.
Recommended mainly for comfort; critics say noise cancelling is inconsistent and Bluetooth features can be unreliable, especially on Windows.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Bluetooth features unreliable
“I've tried multiple combinations with my WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM5, but nothing works stable on Windows.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Bluetooth 6.2 – more responsive, improves security, USB comms, and testing” “my experience has been that bunch of features just don't work when LE is used”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Bluetooth 6.2 – more responsive, improves security, USB comms, and testing” Touch controls and UX annoy
“The UX is reportedly worse and a bit buggy, but the sound should be better.”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “GitHub – librepods-org/librepods: AirPods liberated from Apple's ecosystem” “it was always super-annoying to accidentally tap ANC off or tap "play" while taking them off or putting them on”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “Open Sound Connect – Control Sony Headphones from Your Mac”
Other wireless earbuds people recommend
The four most recommended other wireless earbuds, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple AirPods | 257 | 229 | 53% | 12 | 3.5 yrs15 owners | — |
| Apple AirPods Pro | 115 | 62 | 65% | 11 | 3 yrs9 owners | — |
| Fairphone Fairbuds | 7 | 2 | 78% | 5 | — | — |
| Pine64 PineBuds | 7 | 2 | 78% | 5 | — | — |
| Sony WF-1000XM5This page | 5 | 5 | 50% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it was always super-annoying to accidentally tap ANC off or tap "play" while taking them off or putting them on”
“they're much more comfortable, but the noise cancelling is less consistent”
“The UX is reportedly worse and a bit buggy, but the sound should be better.”
“The WF-1000XM5 is the worst model of the line!”
“Sony doesn't even give a shit enough to give them a name people can remember.”
“So far, sony wf1000-xm5, but they're also the most expensive I've tried.”
“Examples of affected vendors and devices are Sony (e.g., WH1000-XM5, WH1000-XM6, WF-1000XM5)”
“I've tried multiple combinations with my WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM5, but nothing works stable on Windows.”
“The WF-1000XM5 beta Bluetooth is pretty good in the latest firmware update.”
“my experience has been that bunch of features just don't work when LE is used”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.