Products
Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless
Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Jan 08, 2026 09:07 PM
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Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Dec 02, 2025 02:58 PM
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BestBuy.com
TypeIn-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Underemphasized (-4 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
Our Verdict
Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless
Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless
The Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless are somewhat better in-ears than the Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless. While both buds are comfortable and well-built, the WF-1000XM5 can block out more ambient noise, largely due to their memory foam ear tips creating a tight seal within the ear. Their battery performance is better, too.
Variants
- LinkBuds S (Black)
- LinkBuds S (Desert Sand)
- LinkBuds S (Earth Blue)
- LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo (Violet)
- LinkBuds S (White)
- WF-1000XM5 (Black)
- WF-1000XM5 (Silver)
- WF-1000XM5 (Smoky Pink)
Check Price
Black
LinkBuds S
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Black
WF-1000XM5
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BestBuy.com
Desert Sand
LinkBuds S
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Amazon.com
Silver
WF-1000XM5
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BestBuy.com
Earth Blue
LinkBuds S
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Amazon.com
Smoky Pink
WF-1000XM5
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BestBuy.com
Violet
LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo
SEARCH
Amazon.com
White
LinkBuds S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Main Differences for
Sports And Fitness
Sports And Fitness
Threshold
Sports And Fitness
7.9
8.1
Stability
7.5
8.0
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
700 Hz
1,100 Hz
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
Emphasized (4 dB)
Treble Amount
Underemphasized (-4 dB)
Balanced (-1 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
8.3
8.1
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
0.75 dB
0.80 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.5
8.1
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.1 dB
4.2 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
1.19 dB
3.08 dB
Mid Bass
2.38 dB
4.87 dB
High Bass
2.69 dB
4.76 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.0
8.8
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.42 dB
1.65 dB
Low Mid
-0.23 dB
2.02 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.52 dB
-0.97 dB
High Mid
1.58 dB
0.82 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
5.4
9.3
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.7 dB
2.24 dB
Low Treble
-2.29 dB
-0.77 dB
Mid Treble
-7.33 dB
-2.29 dB
High Treble
-12.75 dB
-6.69 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.7
7.9
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.23 dB
0.95 dB
Dips
1.99 dB
2.44 dB
Stereo Mismatch
8.8
9.1
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.05 dB
0.05 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
0.81 dB
1.46 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.4°
0.6°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
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
7.9
6.9
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.17%
0.27%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.72%
1.36%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
N/A
N/A
Bluetooth Max SPL
103.6 dB
102.9 dB
Virtual Soundstage
4.1
5.0
Virtual Soundstage
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Head Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
Spatial Audio/ 360 Reality Audio
Test Settings
Firmware
4.2.1
4.0.2
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Off
Off
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Silicone (medium)
Foam (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
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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
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Weight
0.02 lbs
0.03 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
7.6
7.7
Controls Picture
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OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Decent
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Portability
9.5
9.4
Portability Picture
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L
1.2" (3.1 cm)
1.4" (3.7 cm)
W
1.0" (2.6 cm)
1.2" (3.0 cm)
H
0.9" (2.4 cm)
1.0" (2.5 cm)
Volume
1.18 in³ (19.30 cm³)
1.69 in³ (27.75 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.5
8.0
Case Picture
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Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.4" (6.0 cm)
2.5" (6.4 cm)
W
1.7" (4.3 cm)
1.0" (2.6 cm)
H
1.1" (2.7 cm)
1.6" (4.0 cm)
Volume
4.25 in³ (69.70 cm³)
4.06 in³ (66.56 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
7.5
Build Quality Picture
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Stability
7.5
8.0
Stability Picture
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Headshots 1
Angled Picture
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Side Picture
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Headshots 2
Front Picture
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Rear Picture
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Top
Top Picture
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In The Box
In The Box Picture
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Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
8.5
8.8
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-22.18 dB
-23.37 dB
Bass
-14.69 dB
-14.43 dB
Mid
-24.27 dB
-24.82 dB
Treble
-28.97 dB
-32.63 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
8.1
8.2
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-18.56 dB
-18.81 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-18.56 dB
-18.64 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-21.04 dB
-21.56 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
9.3
9.4
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
25.17 dB
24.97 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
5.4
4.9
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
257.68 Hz
190.27 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
4.44 dB
6.14 dB
HFE
7,896.12 Hz
5,830.6 Hz
Weighted THD
1,274.475
265.475
Gain
-46.22 dB
-4.07 dB
Noise Handling
6.3
7.0
SpNR
SpNR
31.81 dB
9.51 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.5
7.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.0
7.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.3
7.7
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
7.1 hrs
8.75 hrs
Additional Charges
2.3
2.0
Total Battery Life
23.4 hrs
26.25 hrs
Charge Time
1.7 hrs
1.4 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
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
Compare High-Res
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App Name
Sony| Headphones Connect
Sony Sound Connect
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
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
Yes
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Analog Audio
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connector
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Latency - Analog
N/A
N/A
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
No Wired Audio
Bluetooth Connection
7.9
8.4
Bluetooth Version
5.2
5.3
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
233.92 ft (71.30 m)
269.03 ft (82.00 m)
Latency - SBC
304 ms
226 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
255 ms
252 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
LDAC
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
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
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
LinkBuds S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
WF-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Desert Sand
LinkBuds S
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Silver
WF-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Earth Blue
LinkBuds S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Smoky Pink
WF-1000XM5
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Violet
LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo
SEARCH
Amazon.com
White
LinkBuds S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
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Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless
Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless
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Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless vs Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless: Main Discussion
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