I’ve been daily driving the AirPods Pro 2 and thought I could get an upgrade. So I got the WH-1000XM5s, hoping for a better anc experience and audio quality. Ik audio is subjective and all but what I’ve found is that the AirPods have very noticeable better anc than the xm5s, leaving me very confused cuz I thought the xm5s will have much better anc given its size and it’s overhead nature. Also I’m using an iPhone so could that be the reason that I find xm5s r not significantly better than the AirPods in terms of audio quality? The xm5s sounds more mushed and has less clarity in the high freq zones
According to Rtings, the Airpods cancel bass and low-mid frequencies much better than the XM5. The XM5 blocks higher frequencies better, although that’s mostly from the physical design of the headphones, not so much the noise cancelling tech. So yup, the Airpods do actually have better noise cancelling.
the AirPods Pro 2 definitely surprised me with its ANC compared to the WH-1000XM5s. I was expecting more from the XM5s but found the AirPods to have noticeably better ANC. It’s strange, given the size and design of the XM5s. Using an iPhone, I expected the XM5s to outperform the AirPods in audio quality, but the XM5s sound more muffled and lack clarity in the high frequencies.
Apple is constantly hiring top audio engineering talent.
Doesn’t the Sony ones rely more on passive noise insulation compared to the Airpods?
The Airpods Pro 2 has more “negative pressure” to its ANC over the WHXM5. In recent years a lot of people have realized they biologically can’t tolerate this pressure, leading to brands like Sony carefully tweaking their algorithm to try and minimize it, but this pressure can also give you the sensation that ANC is more effective.