Now that we have an understanding of the greatest-sounding Bluetooth earphone in the world, aka Noble Osprey, we can return to the best “overall” earphone in the world, at least right now: Sony’s XM6s. It’s crazy how quickly the conversation has changed around them being the best overall, just mere months after their release. Nothing negative has happened to them either; no weird issues or mass failure rates. And yet, as it stands today, most people barely talk about them anymore. I personally still think this was the fault of the Samsung Buds 4 Pro launch that happened right after the Sonys. They truly didn’t get the market time they deserved, in my opinion.
They have one of the best sounds in the world of Bluetooth. They have one of the best apps and most useful feature sets on the market of Bluetooth earphones. They have arguably some of the very best ANC, if not tied for the very best. They have good, useful gimmicks like auto-reading your text messages and touch-to-listen ability. They offer nice phone quality and very nice hear-through ability. And one of my favorite features that doesn’t get enough credit is the battery preserve option to make sure your earphones last years, something I’m still a bit sore about with the Samsung Buds 4’s battery efficiency already failing in less than 6 months of ownership. The Sony XM6s basically are perfect earphones in operation, features, and reliability. They literally have no glitches or problems. They do exactly what they promise.
But even when the Sonys launched, I knew that for me they wouldn’t have a true competitor until Sennheiser released their new, upcoming Momentum 5s, and I knew they were coming this year. They will possibly have rival sound, rival ANC, and rival battery life with replaceable batteries, and based on your ear shape, a better fit for those who don’t like the bulk of the XM6s. So, in my opinion, the true competitor for the XM6’s crown for “overall” best earphone is just now arriving.
But we will have to wait to see what everyone is saying and confirming after the hype, because you already know that people will claim it’s the best and how all other things suck that they just finished telling you were absolutely the best. For me, I won’t be getting them regardless unless the Sonys stop working, which I have very little concern about happening. I am glad, though, that the Sennheisers showed up, proving that they had not given up on the Bluetooth world. Competition is needed.
*Well, spoke too soon and forgot about this continued issue I have with Sony’s. Their Google voice activation doesn’t remain active. Way too many times do I have to reset Google Voice activation by voice, even after setting it up prior. It doesn’t stay connected, and it always seems to stop at the worst time. I find myself with things in my hands and needing information, only to find that the “Hey Google” doesn’t work after trying multiple times to get it to activate.
My concerns about the Sennheiser reside in the fit and overall slick casing and shape, for starters. Phone call quality is another one I would be concerned about, if they can nail it. They have always been competitive with their ANC, so I don’t think anyone has to worry about that part. But things like reading text messages, voice controls, translation, and other gimmicks have not been their strong suit. So it’s going to be interesting if they remain lazy in those areas or not. Something tells me this isn’t going to bring a lot of changes from what you had in features, apps, and possibly even the sound, as they ship with the exact same drivers as last gen. Lastly, I’m really concerned about the venting. This is something Sennheiser hasn’t been able to deliver on. They always create pressure in my head/ears because of the plugged-up feel they have when they are being worn, due to very little proper venting or none at all.
At the end of the day, trust me, the shiny new penny will still be the talk of the town, and all other earphones will magically have problems never spoken of prior by the same reviewers that hyped those up months ago. Everyone will do their typical “It’s the greatest earphone ever” because they are the latest. Sennheiser is also pretty smart about coming out after the others have launched. They still might have to worry about Devialet, Technics, or Denon if they decide to launch this year, but as of right now, there is no evidence or rumors that say they are on their way out.
So the real battle will be with Sony vs. Sennheiser as far as the “overall” earphone crown (Noble Osprey has the sound game locked up). The Xm6’s earphones present what I think is the best complete package in the earphone world, being great not just in sound, but having great and superior ANC, Hear-through, gimmicks like reading my text messages and others, battery life, charging, app, and phone call ability. Whereas things like the Noble Osprey don’t match the complete package. So for me personally, the Sonys are the complete package, and Sennheiser might bring something similar, but I don’t know yet. But I do know that when I pick up the Osprey, I know I’m going to give up phone call quality, superior ANC, and hear-through, along with things like reading my text messages. This is true with almost all my earphones. Hence why the Sonys are the “Once and Future King” because they don’t just sound great; they do everything great( Except my issue above that I was just reminded about). And as long as they fit you, you will be happy with them as well.
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