Apple AirPods Pro 2 vs Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless: Which Headphones Are Better?

B&H

Tested using Methodology v2.0

Updated Dec 02, 2025 02:58 PM

See Apple AirPods Pro 2 Review

TypeIn-ear

Noise CancellingYes

EnclosureClosed-Back

Bass Amount Balanced (0 dB)

WirelessTruly Wireless

TransducerDynamic

Treble Amount Underemphasized (-5 dB)

MicYes

Sound Signature Warm

TypeIn-ear

Noise CancellingYes

EnclosureClosed-Back

Bass Amount Emphasized (4 dB)

WirelessTruly Wireless

TransducerDynamic

Treble Amount Balanced (-1 dB)

MicYes

Sound Signature Warm

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3

Our Verdict

Apple AirPods Pro 2

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless

If you care about customizability, you'll want to check out the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless over the Apple AirPods Pro 2. While the Apple earbuds have better ANC, the Sony headphones' companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets. The buds also have wider support for multi-device pairing, so you can stay connected to your PC and smartphone simultaneously. However, the Apple headphones are better built and have an H2 chip for seamless pairing with Apple devices.

Variants

AirPods Pro 2 (White)
AirPods Pro 2 (USB‑C) (White)

WF-1000XM5 (Black)
WF-1000XM5 (Silver)
WF-1000XM5 (Smoky Pink)

Review

See Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Review

Check Price

White

AirPods Pro 2

Amazon.com

Black

WF-1000XM5

White

AirPods Pro 2 (USB‑C)

B&H

Silver

WF-1000XM5

Smoky Pink

WF-1000XM5

Main Differences for

Sports And Fitness

Threshold

0.10

Sports And Fitness

7.9

8.1

Stability

7.5

8.0

Full Comparison

Sports And Fitness

7.9

8.1

Travel

8.4

8.1

Office Work

7.7

7.5

Wireless Gaming (In Development)

5.7

Wired Gaming (In Development)

5.5

Audio Reproduction Accuracy

7.9

7.8

Noise Isolation

9.2

8.6

Microphone (In Development)

5.9

6.1

Frequency Response Consistency

8.0

8.1

Sound

Sound Profile

Normalization Frequency

600 Hz

1,100 Hz

Bass Amount

Balanced (0 dB)

Emphasized (4 dB)

Treble Amount

Underemphasized (-5 dB)

Balanced (-1 dB)

Sound Signature

Warm

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Frequency Response Consistency

8.0

8.1

Consistency L

Consistency R

Std. Deviation

0.84 dB

0.80 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

9.9

8.1

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

0.6 dB

4.2 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

20 Hz

Low Bass

0.57 dB

3.08 dB

Mid Bass

-0.51 dB

4.87 dB

High Bass

0.38 dB

4.76 dB

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Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

8.9

8.8

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

1.58 dB

1.65 dB

Low Mid

1.15 dB

2.02 dB

Mid-Mid

-0.41 dB

-0.97 dB

High Mid

-2.25 dB

0.82 dB

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Treble Profile: Target Compliance

6.0

9.3

Treble Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

5.23 dB

2.24 dB

Low Treble

-5.36 dB

-0.77 dB

Mid Treble

-4.58 dB

-2.29 dB

High Treble

-8.34 dB

-6.69 dB

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Peaks/Dips

8.6

7.9

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

0.83 dB

0.95 dB

Dips

1.07 dB

2.44 dB

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Stereo Mismatch

8.6

9.1

Frequency Response Mismatch

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.14 dB

0.05 dB

Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch

1.04 dB

1.46 dB

Weighted Phase Mismatch

1.2°

0.6°

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Group Delay

8.5

Group Delay

Weighted Group Delay

0.6 ms

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Cumulative Spectral Decay

CSD

Compare High-Res

Compare High-Res

PRTF

0.0

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)

N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.)

N/A

PRTF Distance

N/A

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Harmonic Distortion

9.3

6.9

Harmonics Levels

THD Ratio

WHD @ 94 dB SPL

0.06%

0.27%

WHD @ 104 dB SPL

0.17%

1.36%

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Electrical Aspects

Impedance

Sensitivity @1kHz-1V

N/A

Bluetooth Max SPL

104.9 dB

102.9 dB

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Virtual Soundstage

5.0

Virtual Soundstage

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

On/Off

Speaker Modeling

On/Off

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

On/Off

Virtual Surround

Personalized Spatial Audio

Spatial Audio/ 360 Reality Audio

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Test Settings

Firmware

8A358

4.0.2

Power

Connection

Bluetooth

Codec

SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz

Test Instrument

Audio Precision APx517B

EQ

Adaptive EQ

Off

ANC

Tip/Pad

Silicone (small)

Foam (small)

Microphone

Integrated

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Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Design Picture 2

Type

In-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Truly Wireless

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.5

Comfort Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight

0.02 lbs

0.03 lbs

Clamping Force

0 lbs

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Controls

8.2

7.7

Controls Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Good

Feedback

Great

Good

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing

Noise Cancelling Control

On/Off

Talk-Through

On/Off

Additional Controls

Voice Assistant

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Portability

9.6

9.4

Portability Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Portability Picture

L

1.2" (3.0 cm)

1.4" (3.7 cm)

W

0.9" (2.3 cm)

1.2" (3.0 cm)

H

0.9" (2.3 cm)

1.0" (2.5 cm)

Volume

0.99 in³ (16.20 cm³)

1.69 in³ (27.75 cm³)

Transmitter Required

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Case

9.0

8.0

Case Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Case Picture

Type

Hard case

L

1.8" (4.5 cm)

2.5" (6.4 cm)

W

2.4" (6.1 cm)

1.0" (2.6 cm)

H

0.9" (2.2 cm)

1.6" (4.0 cm)

Volume

3.67 in³ (60.10 cm³)

4.06 in³ (66.56 cm³)

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Build Quality

8.0

7.5

Build Quality Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Build Quality Picture

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Stability

7.5

8.0

Stability Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless In The Box Picture

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Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range

9.1

8.8

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph

Noise Cancelling

Yes

Overall Attenuation

-24.49 dB

-23.37 dB

Bass

-19.97 dB

-14.43 dB

Mid

-27.28 dB

-24.82 dB

Treble

-26.90 dB

-32.63 dB

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Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios

9.6

8.2

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph

Airplane Noise Attenuation

-23.46 dB

-18.81 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio

Office Noise Attenuation

-21.69 dB

-18.64 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio

Street Noise Attenuation

-25.48 dB

-21.56 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio

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Noise Isolation - Voice Handling

Female Voice 1

Male Voice 1

Female Voice 2

Male Voice 2

ANC Wind Handling

ANC Wind Handling Graph

ANC Wind Noise

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Leakage

8.3

9.4

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

31.85 dB

24.97 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Boom

Detachable Boom

Mic

Yes

Recording Quality

5.3

4.9

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

216.68 Hz

190.27 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

4.98 dB

6.14 dB

HFE

3,466.89 Hz

5,830.6 Hz

Weighted THD

57.033

265.475

Gain

-4.91 dB

-4.07 dB

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Noise Handling

6.4

7.0

SpNR

SpNR

10.15 dB

9.51 dB

Noise Gate

Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

7.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

5.5

7.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

7.0

7.7

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

5.9 hrs

8.75 hrs

Additional Charges

4.0

2.0

Total Battery Life

29.5 hrs

26.25 hrs

Charge Time

0.9 hrs

1.4 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Standby mode

Auto-Off Timer and Standby Mode

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Charging Port

Lightning

USB-C

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App Support

6.5

8.0

App Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless App Picture

App Name

iOS Interface

Sony Sound Connect

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

Yes

Windows

Equalizer

Graphic + Presets

ANC Control

On/Off

Mic Control

Room Effects

Playback Control

Yes

Button Mapping

Yes

Surround Support

Yes

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Connectivity

Wired Connection

0.0

Cable Picture

Compare High-Res

Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio

USB Audio

Detachable

Length

N/A

Connector

No Wired Option

Latency - Analog

N/A

Latency - USB

N/A

Recorded Latency

N/A

Recorded Latency Connection

No Wired Audio

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Bluetooth Connection

8.0

8.4

Bluetooth Version

5.3+H2 chip

5.3

Multi-Device Pairing

Yes (Apple Ecosystem)

2 Devices

Quick Pair (Android)

Yes

Quick Pair (iOS)

Yes

Line Of Sight Range

334.65 ft (102.00 m)

269.03 ft (82.00 m)

Latency - SBC

160 ms

226 ms

Latency - aptX

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)

N/A

Latency - LDAC

N/A

252 ms

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Codec

SBC

AAC Support

Yes

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Wireless Connection (Dongle)

0.0

Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Latency - Dongle

N/A

Recorded Latency

N/A

PC Compatibility

Analog

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

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PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

PS4 Wired USB

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PS5 Analog

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

Base/Dock

2.2

Type

Charging Case

USB Input

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Yes

Power Supply

Lightning

USB-C

Show Text

Check Price

White

AirPods Pro 2

Amazon.com

Black

WF-1000XM5

White

AirPods Pro 2 (USB‑C)

B&H

Silver

WF-1000XM5

Smoky Pink

WF-1000XM5