Are there no perfect earbuds yet? (Wf-1000XM5 and Huawei Freebuds 5 Pro)
Hey all,
I just got some Huawei Freebuds 5 Pro yesterday and I'm...dissapointed.
I guess I got too hyped up from all the posts saying they are the best thing ever.
I have used the Sony Wf-1000xm5 for some time but unfortunately the left one died recently, so I thought it's a good time to look for "the perfect earbuds" for me.
While the XM5 have great sound and ANC, there were some things I didn't like about them: Most importantly, I really hate the way they handle the controls. For those who don't know: on either earbud you have to decide whether you can toggle the ANC/Ambient mode OR start/stop/skip songs. So when I'm just using the left earbud while listening to a podcast (which I do quite often), I always have to pull out my phone whenever I want to start / stop. The volume controls are also quite bad (tapping the left / right earbud at least 4 times for - / + volume) as the touchpads don't register the touch half of the time and you end up skipping a song accidentally.
Other than that, I also didn't really like the foam tips which did fit my ears bud were not comfortable for longer than one hour. So I bought some AZLA silicone tips and they were great. They were comfortable and really made the XM5 feel "light" (I don't know how else to describe it - Foam tips give me a feeling of being separated from my surroundings which silicone tips don't do).
So there I was, looking for a "light" pair of earbuds with great sound, ANC and controls. I stumbled upon all the posts praising the Freebuds 5 Pro and after some research, I bought them.
When I tested them yesterday for the first time, I was immediately disappointed by the sound. Coming from the XM5, the sounds all seem to mix. I know sound can be very subjective and I wouldn't say I'm an audiophile. And still, it seems like such an obvious difference between the sound quality of these 2 pairs of buds.
Don't get me wrong, the sound is "good". They really don't sound bad. Depending on the genre, they can even sound very good. But a soon as I play a "busier" genre like metal core or some kinds of rock or punk music, everything just starts to blend together whereas with the XM5 you can clearly hear the different instruments.
From what I read, the Freebuds are supposed to play in the same league as the XM5 and other flagship models. Well...
The next thing is the ANC:
Based on my first tests, I think that the ANC is pretty impressive, considering the thin silicone tips.
However, when I sat in the train, there was a really uncomfortable booming feeling in the ears (the same thing that happens when driving fast in a car while having only one window open). I also had the XM5 with me for comparison and the anc worked as it should and there was no such uncomfortable feeling.
Finally, that lead me to turning off the ANC, which should really not happen...
Do you also experience similar things with these buds?
Am I missing something?
Is there a possibility I got a bad pair? (I don't really think that).
I didnt yet see the option to change the codes to high res, but from my experience, for me changing codecs doesn't make make big difference.
Do you have recommendation for the custom eq? I managed to improve the sound a little bit, but it still doesn't come close the the quality of the Sonys.
I really want to like these buds. I love the controls, the look and that they have many features missing other earbuds, like 360° sound (that doesn't suck), multipoint, a 10 band eq and so on.
Right now I'm a bit lost.
I'm between keeping them dipite the things that I don't like (the easiest option), buying another pair of used XM5 and looking for different buds.
Before stumbling upon the Freebuds, I was eyeing the Samsung Galxy buds 4 Pro that also got pretty good reviews over all. The even higher price (and a post on reddit comparing them to the Freebuds pro 5) was keeping me from buying them but right now I a considering it..
P.S.:
I also already tested the Pixel buds 2 Pro (liked almost everything except the ANC) and the JBL Tour pro 3 (great (!) sound but bad controls and huge case).
Sorry for the long post. Maybe someone has a tip for me (regarding the Freebuds 5 pro or other buds to consider) or can otherwise at least get something useful out of it :)