I know the term typically is for something that cause great stress and in a someways it has. But I will admit, just as Bane was one of my favorite and dominating villains to the Batman saga, the wf1000xm5 have become this for me. And it all came down to rolling the tips before inserting them in my ears. You see, my ears, like others that have not found the wf10000xm5’s all that superior, didn’t allow for natural insertion with the foam tips. Just taking them out of the case and attempting to put them into your ears never created the proper depth or seal. This affected the sound and ANC.
So without that, the beauty that most others heard or felt just wasn’t experienced by me and some others. And I imagine this is exactly the way others have attempted to place the xm5’s inside their ears when they experienced less than awesome results heard from other reviewers. Sites like Wired magazine reviewed the same issues and matched my opinion about the xm5 originally. But once I started rolling the tips and inserting them in fast into my before they expanded(they expand pretty fast), I got the perfect seal and proper depth for awesome sound and fit. So if you are having any problems with lack luster sound from the xm5’s be aware there is hope with rolling.
And once this is done, what you’ll find is amazing sound and fit. Now, you still won’t beat the Bose QCII’s in ANC, that’s still a lie. But I found myself preferring the fit and overall sound on the xm5’s over the Bose. Mainly it was do to how the xm5 created a better stability that didn’t move and I found myself almost falling asleep with them. I also preferred the vocals, placement and direction of sound zones more. You mix this with the features and gimmicks and you’ll find yourself having a lot of fun and unique moments with the Sonys. And so this is how they became my most vicious and dominating earphone and yet kinda frustrating at times. Hence the term “Mask of Bane”.
Tech-N-Things 