Here's my experience, this could get quite lengthy:
I was in the market for earphones a couple of week a ago. After reading and watching many reviews I still couldn't decide which to buy, so in the end I bought a couple.
My first priority at the time was sound quality. My choices of earphones ware the Sony WF-1000XM5, the Technics EAH-AZ80 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE which are a third of the price of the other two to make sure I could even "hear the difference".
The XM5's and the Galaxy Buds had a very similar sound profile, a "classic" earbud sound, something you would expect from normal earbuds if you've used any before.
The Galaxy Buds were good with adequate noise cancelling. Good for sporting with the wingtips.
The Sony XM5's sound was very good with a bass heavy profile but became very uncomfortable in my ear after half an hour of use, bringing comfort into the equation, something I never even considered before. Their noise cancelling is outstanding, even dangerous as passing cars on the street became almost inaudible.
However the sound of the AZ80's ABSOLUTELY BLEW ME AWAY! They sound so much better to my ears than the other two pairs. I suddenly understood what the reviews meant by "clear open soundstage" and "instrument separation". Before this experience I had no point of reference, so these subjective terms in the reviews didn't really mean anything to me. Their noise cancelling is also very good.
My take always from this experience are:
- earphones can sound vastly different depending on their construction and tuning
- comfort is way more important than I previously though
- active noise cancelling has gotten very good even on cheaper models
- sound profiles like "open" or "closed" sound completely change the listening experience
- unless you listen to high resolution FLAC, you won't notice a massive difference in sound reproduction quality especially over Bluetooth
- if you just want to "listen to something" and "block out outside noise" save you money and get lower to mid range ANC earphones
The only way to actually know which earphones you like the most, is to try them. If you are able to return purchased goods in the first few weeks, go and buy like 3 or 4 pairs and try them all.
TLDR; I stuck with the Technics EAH-AZ80 for sound enjoyment. I was very disappointed with the Sony XM5's comfort and would recommend the Galaxy Buds for casual listening and sporting activities.
Hope this is helpful.
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