Products
Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless
Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Oct 28, 2025 05:17 PM
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Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Nov 24, 2025 11:27 PM
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TypeIn-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Emphasized (4 dB)
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (-1 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
TypeIn-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
Our Verdict
Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless
Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2
The Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 are a better choice for most use cases than the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless. Both buds offer similar levels of comfort and stability, though the Jabra are better built with an IP68 rating against dust and water damage. The Jabra headphones have a 'smart case' that allows you to connect devices via a wired USB-C or AUX connection. While the Sony headphones are well-known for their excellent noise isolation performance and passively isolating tips, the Jabra buds offer even more attenuation, and their silicone tips also provide a solid seal. The Jabra have a better-quality mic with better noise handling. That said, the Sony headphones have access to Hi-Res audio through their proprietary LDAC codec.
Variants
- WF-1000XM5 (Black)
- WF-1000XM5 (Silver)
- WF-1000XM5 (Smoky Pink)
- Elite 8 Active Gen 2 (Black)
- Elite 8 Active Gen 2 (Coral)
- Elite 8 Active Gen 2 (Navy)
- Elite 8 Active Gen 2 (Olive)
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Black
WF-1000XM5
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Black
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
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Silver
WF-1000XM5
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Coral
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
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Smoky Pink
WF-1000XM5
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Navy
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
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Olive
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
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Main Differences for
Sports And Fitness
Sports And Fitness
Threshold
Sports And Fitness
8.1
8.1
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
1,100 Hz
750 Hz
Bass Amount
Emphasized (4 dB)
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
Treble Amount
Balanced (-1 dB)
Balanced (0 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
8.1
8.4
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
0.80 dB
0.72 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
8.1
9.0
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
4.2 dB
2.9 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
3.08 dB
2.6 dB
Mid Bass
4.87 dB
3.29 dB
High Bass
4.76 dB
-0.01 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.8
9.6
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.65 dB
0.75 dB
Low Mid
2.02 dB
-0.27 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.97 dB
0.13 dB
High Mid
0.82 dB
1.14 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
9.3
9.6
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.24 dB
1.93 dB
Low Treble
-0.77 dB
1.23 dB
Mid Treble
-2.29 dB
-0.91 dB
High Treble
-6.69 dB
-4.94 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.9
7.7
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
0.95 dB
1.31 dB
Dips
2.44 dB
1.47 dB
Stereo Mismatch
9.1
7.2
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.05 dB
0.60 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
1.46 dB
0.65 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
0.6°
2.2°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
PRTF
0.0
0.0
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Harmonic Distortion
6.9
8.8
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.27%
0.12%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
1.36%
0.27%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
N/A
N/A
Bluetooth Max SPL
102.9 dB
103.5 dB
Virtual Soundstage
5.0
2.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
On/Off
No
Virtual Surround
Spatial Audio/ 360 Reality Audio
Dolby Audio
Test Settings
Firmware
4.0.2
1.0.8(1033)
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Off
Neutral
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Foam (small)
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
In-ear
In-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.03 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
7.7
8.0
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Decent
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Portability
9.4
9.5
Portability Picture
L
1.4" (3.7 cm)
1.2" (3.0 cm)
W
1.2" (3.0 cm)
1.1" (2.8 cm)
H
1.0" (2.5 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
Volume
1.69 in³ (27.75 cm³)
1.08 in³ (17.64 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
8.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.5" (6.4 cm)
2.6" (6.5 cm)
W
1.0" (2.6 cm)
1.9" (4.7 cm)
H
1.6" (4.0 cm)
0.9" (2.4 cm)
Volume
4.06 in³ (66.56 cm³)
4.47 in³ (73.30 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
8.0
8.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
8.8
9.3
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-23.37 dB
-25.39 dB
Bass
-14.43 dB
-18.87 dB
Mid
-24.82 dB
-26.32 dB
Treble
-32.63 dB
-32.40 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
8.2
9.3
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-18.81 dB
-22.08 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-18.64 dB
-20.40 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-21.56 dB
-24.95 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
9.4
9.2
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
24.97 dB
25.65 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
4.9
6.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
190.27 Hz
126.99 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
6.14 dB
4.86 dB
HFE
5,830.6 Hz
7,346.09 Hz
Weighted THD
265.475
1.887
Gain
-4.07 dB
-17.28 dB
Noise Handling
7.0
8.0
SpNR
SpNR
9.51 dB
12.54 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
8.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.0
8.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.7
7.6
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
8.75 hrs
7.9 hrs
Additional Charges
2.0
3.0
Total Battery Life
26.25 hrs
31.6 hrs
Charge Time
1.4 hrs
1 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer and Standby Mode
Auto-Off Timer and Standby Mode
Audio While Charging
Yes
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
8.0
8.0
App Picture
App Name
Sony Sound Connect
Jabra Sound+
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
On/Off
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
Yes
Yes
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
0.0
2.7
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
Yes
USB Audio
No
USB-C
Detachable
No
Yes
Length
N/A
2.62 ft (0.80 m)
Connector
No Wired Option
USB-C
Latency - Analog
N/A
99.9 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
98.1 ms
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
USB
Bluetooth Connection
8.4
8.3
Bluetooth Version
5.3
5.3
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
269.03 ft (82.00 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
Latency - SBC
226 ms
274 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
252 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
Audio Only
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
Audio Only
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
Audio Only
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
5.2
Type
Charging Case
Wireless USB Dongle + Charging Case
USB Input
No
Yes
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
USB-C
USB-C
Check Price
Black
WF-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Silver
WF-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Coral
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Smoky Pink
WF-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Navy
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Olive
Elite 8 Active Gen 2
SEARCH
Amazon.com
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Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless
Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2
Comments
Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless vs Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.
Thanks for your question. I guess the first thing to say is that we’ve been recommending both headphones widely. The Sony have a few premium features that the Jabra don’t, such Hi-Res audio via the LDAC codec. For some users, that’s important and worth the extra money. But where things such as microphone quality are a priority, we’ve not hesitated to recommend the Jabra. Our recommendations aren’t simply a case of adding up the scores and seeing which wins. We try to take into account things like probable use cases, support quality, and user feedback. That said, we’re always delighted to receive feedback and comments from our readers on our recommendations.
The second thing to note is that we’re currently phasing out the Jabra as a recommendation, because they are hard to find now and out of stock with most retailers. So, of the two, the Sony is a more useful and practical recommendation going forward.
I hope that helps. Thanks again!
If the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 is better than the Sony WF-1000XM5 in almost every category, why is Sony recommended over the Jabra