Why I Wouldn’t Recommend Sony XM5 For Business Communication

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

Use our headset quiz tool and be matched with the best headset for your work calls: headsetadvisor.com/pages/headset-advisor-quiz

[@ThatWellnessGuy]

Great real world comparison, thanks! Based on your tests, it sounds like the Sony performs excellently for people who work from a home office, as we typically don't (shouldn't) have people talking directly next to us during meetings. It sounded like it's perfect for blocking out noise in the background, but not noise within very close proximity. The EPOS is the clear winner if you need a headset for an office with coworkers nearby, but the XM5 comes out far ahead if you want a headset for both the home office and personal use (especially music). I'm interested in hearing how both of these headsets' mics noise cancellation perform while also using Zoom/Teams/Apple's built-in voice isolation features.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

@@ThatWellnessGuy thanks for watching! Aside from just a microphone standpoint, the other factors we talk about make all the difference. XM5 is great for personal audio and some calls but isn’t the best way to go for those on business calls and meetings for a living (whether at home or in the office)

[@ThatWellnessGuy]

@@HeadsetAdvisor totally agree that it's not the best headset for the office, but I still think it's the best all around set if you need something that does both personal and work exceptionally well. I personally rather have one headset that does a great job at both than to buy separate pairs for each scenario, but I understand that some professionals may want the absolute best for their work setup, which is not the XM5s. However, I have no issues with them as someone who works from home with yappy dogs downstairs on Teams/Zoom meetings all day long.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

​@@ThatWellnessGuy As long as it's working well for you, that's what matters most! We unfortunately don't hear the same feedback from many customers we speak with who contact us looking to replace their XM5 (and other comparables, Bose, Apple etc..) because of no sidetone, unreliable connectivity to computers via Bluetooth, no integration with Teams/Zoom and others, no mute button and it seems some find the mic quality to be acceptable while others have an entirely different experience 🤷‍♂ If Sony focused on creating headphones like XM5 for both personal use and with work in mind, they would probably create the ultimate 2 in 1 headset you could get.

[@ThatWellnessGuy]

@@HeadsetAdvisor very fair assessment! It's definitely all personal to the user. I have no need for a mute button (space bar shortcut works fine for me) and never even knew what sidetone nor Zoom/Teams integration was until your video. So thanks for educating me on those! For basic office users like myself that take scheduled meetings throughout the day, I think the XM5s are more than sufficient. For someone with calls/meetings as their primary job function, I can see how they would want those additional functions. I probably average 2-4 hours in meetings in a typical workday, and I just need a headset that is great at suppressing the noise in my background and allows others to hear me clearly. My biggest con for the XM5s is comfort. I've got a large head and ears, and the padding isn't thick nor wide enough in either of those places. The Sony ULTs were better for me from a comfort (and more subjectively, music) standpoint, but the mics were poor for voice isolation with loud noise in the background. I'm with you in hoping that the ultimate personal/professional headset hits the market in the next couple of years! I'm selfishly hoping it's the next gen of AirPods Max, since I'm so deep into the Apple ecosystem that I couldn't get out even if I wanted LOL.

[@timw39251]

The absolute most important thing is to be heard and to hear each other. All other aspects are ‘nice to have’. I can’t imagine trading off sound / mic quality on behalf of a muting option or the ability to answer a call from your headset. I know the teams integration sells, but it isn’t the holy grail. Most of the time I need to join scheduled meetings and need to press a button manually anyway. I am stunned with the mic / anc quality of the MX5. I haven’t seen any other business headset performing better. The only downside is a colleague sitting next to you directly. But in all other scenarios; the MX5 overclasses most business headsets which require NEEP to get to the same quality. I noticed you don’t actively sell the MX5, and I do understand this results in a biased video. But I think you can’t ignore this is one of the best headsets out there regarding ANC and microphone. If it had the teams integration, it would probably be the best headset on the market.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts, and I agree the XM5's are one of the best consumer headphones for personal audio and some calls when being used on a mobile phone. 1. Any good quality business headset like the one we demonstrated against the XM5 is going to give you great audio for voice calls. 2. I wish we were always able to do our microphone tests with real background noise vs the noise coming from a speakerphone because we learned the results are different with real noises vs digital noises. like you noticed on the co-worker test, the XM5's don't do well blocking out real world noises like people talking around you, a baby crying, kids screaming etc.. 3. neep isn't turned on in these microphone comparisons and isn't always required, it all depends which headset you get. 4. Even if we sold Sony, we still wouldn't recommend them for those on calls and meetings for a living. 5. If Sony wanted to get into the business headphones market, I think they'd create something great but XM5 isn't it. No USB Dongle for the computer, no sidetone, no ability to charge while being used, no capability to answer/end calls when away from the computer and no integrations with platforms like Teams, Zoom etc.. is the reasons a proper business headset is a better way to go.

[@iscooking5372]

What about gaming headset? There are pretty solid choices out there which has noise canceling mic as well?

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

We haven't personally tested many gaming headsets to give you our thoughts but there are nice gaming headsets to consider and some customers do use them, but that's usually in cases where someones maybe working at home buying a headset for themself. Most companies don't invest in music headphones or gaming headsets for a team of people.

[@toruninthehouse]

That final sound effect almost gave me a heart attack.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

Sorry!

[@spiritmorin]

What about the Jabra Evolve 2 85. Isn't a better match to compare with the Sony? Noise of my environment disturbing me is my issue. I want the best noise cancelling for my ears.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

The Evolve2 85 would be a good comparable to the XM5 if you prefer over-ear headphones, but this was just one example to illustrate a point, there's a ton of different options. Although the Epos Impact 1000 isnt over your ears, it does a pretty good job to reduce the background noise for your ears as well.

[@thecurdge5934]

I love the in depth reviews you guys are doing! I'm having an issue with my XM5 WF ear buds and WH headphones I bought a set to use for making phone calls while doing hybrid work. I'm using a business cell mostly. For some reason the mic noise cancellation feature is not working for me at all. When I first tested it out with firmware 3.2.1 it worked great better than I expected. The headphones WH however never worked in cancelling background noise for calls like in the reviews which I found odd. After the update however for the buds, they seem to not work at all as well when it comes to mic noise cancellation. I am really bummed out because the buds worked at first and I experienced how cool it was to have that feature. Am I connecting it wrong? Should I not be using the app? Should I reset them somehow? Does simultaneous connection make it less effective? Since you're the expert I thought I'd reach out to you first before I return them because I reached out to Sony as well and no one knows how to resolve the issue. Sorry for the long comment but I thought I'd share all the info just in case there were more details needed. Thanks!

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

Thanks for your feedback! I wish we could be of more assistance but we're not sure why the mic noise cancellation isn't working. If you have an iPhone or Android phone you can try turning on voice isolation or noise suppression to see if that helps. Any earbuds we've tested usually don't do the best to block out the background noise.

[@DG-ss2zd]

When you say bluetooth connection is unrealiable, what do you mean, for example, the connnection, mic not working etc.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

Bluetooth drivers and software vary across different computers which causes connectivity issues. Meaning: 1. The headset may have issues pairing with the computer or when paired it can struggle staying paired and working as you think it should. 2. Less wireless range and more susceptible to intereference from other Bluetooth devices. 3. Poor audio quality, chances of audio being delayed and the headset might pair for audio but the microphone isn't recognized so it won't work to be heard.

[@DG-ss2zd]

@HeadsetAdvisor Thank you very much!

[@SuperIMARKO]

WH1000XM5 is a great headphones for listening. Its ANC is the best! But its mic performs terribly in a noisy environment.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

Yep if you need a headset with a good mic reach out to our team [e-mail] we can help

[@lobo_cojo]

I need one, i think Evolve85 wirreless..​@@HeadsetAdvisor

[@Creamy_Durian]

The EPOS Impact 1000 sounds a tad better than the XM5 imo. What's crazy though is you would think headsets designed for calls/meetings would sound better in 2024. If I could only choose one however, it would be the XM5.

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

Whenever you add noise cancellation to any microphone, there's a slight trade off of voice quality for the benefit of being heard clearly in noisy environments. Aside from the microphone quality, the other factors mentioned are very important to consider in order to make the proper buying decision. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

[@erikgrafenschnell1036]

Business headsets degrade the voice quality by deliberately limiting the supported frequency range for the microphone substantially. That way the headset electronics can be cheap(er) and voice processing is much less challenging. Much of today's voice communication happens via TEAMS and others (even WhatsApp) as those support a much broader "natural" bandwidth. If you make calls to POTS lines trying to sell vitamins then plain business headsets may be OK because they match with the restrictions of the legacy POTS. - For today's business communications via TEAMS (or high-quality mobile phone connections) the restricted bandwidth is a real drawback. The Sony XM5 plays much better than "professional/legacy" headsets in such modern communication environments. . Receiving calls from a call center are more often than not an auditory nuisance. "Let's get over with this call as soon as possible." The headset industry is not up for this challenge yet and is outright lazy and sluggish, resting on past laurels. The more communication moves to TEAMS and others, the more the auditory quality of "business" headsets will become less acceptable. my 2cents

[@HeadsetAdvisor]

We appreciate your 2cents. We can agree to disagree for the reasons we outlined in this video. Given that most people rely on computers for work communication, and considering the challenges often encountered when connecting Bluetooth headsets to computers, headphones like XM5 and other comparables just aren't the best way to go for a work setting with people who are on phone calls and meetings for a living.

[@erikgrafenschnell1036]

​@@HeadsetAdvisor I criticize the professional headset makers that they limit the bandwidth of the microphone and the according signal processing that goes with it to that the old, legacy POTS standard. TEAMS and other tools can take and do take advantage of a higher bandwidth as is does not need to use the POTS. And thus, can provide much better voice quality. Unfortunately, those "professional" headsets are staying within the legacy limitation even though the call itself uses the internet or 5G connection. The Sony headset does not do this, I noticed. It takes advantage of the bandwidth that the connection offers, be it internet or 5G. Hence it delivers (under the right circumstances) a much more pleasant call experience. It is up the professional headset makers to catch up with this. I would encourage HeadsetAdvisor to include in its tests the usable microphone bandwidth a professional headset offers for internet-based calls and also say 5G calls. .