Throughout this year, a ton of earphones have launched, but of them all, none measure up to these three. The Sony XM6s, Sennheiser MTW5s, and the Noble Osprey are the best I have experienced for sound. They are literally challengers for IEM-like performance once you use the EQ setups all three provide in their apps.
The once and future king of earphones, the XM5s, lead the way. Their sound quality is masterful, wide, and expansive, but what they do differently is that they have amazing features. They read you text messages, you can activate Google voice AI with only your voice, and you can even use voice controls. They have DSEE and LDAC sound options, along with killer ANC that is either number one or number two in the world. They have very nice hear-through abilities and killer battery life, along with environmental adjustment and many other gimmick features that make you feel complete and special. They are my most useful engineered earphones and won my earphone of the year award this year. Phone call ability and fit are the areas that could be more useful..
Then we have the Noble Osprey, which is nothing short of masterful art. The look and build of these earphones are beyond any other Bluetooth earphone brand on the market today. They look different, fit differently, and have IEM-like sound quality. Their hear-through performance is so good that it nearly rivals Apple’s. Their ANC is just under the top three most effective in the world today. They are packed with a 10-band EQ system and are very pocketable. When you walk inside a mall or airport, you will be the only person wearing such uniquely designed earphones. Some could argue that they are easily the most unique and best-looking Bluetooth earphones ever created. They have LDAC for the codec and deliver seven hours of battery life with 35 total in such a small case. They only lack features, as their app is very basic. They are made for listening and they aren’t trying to apologize for it. Their fit, however, is dependent on your ear shape and might not work for everyone, and their touch controls are very limited and not sensitive enough, requiring some harder taps. Their phone call quality might not be something you can get away with outside of a perfect environment, either. But at $199, you forgive this and the lack of wireless charging..
And finally, we have the Sennheiser MTW4, my favorite earphones of the year. While not my awarded earphone of the year because they lack the features the Sonys have, the core aspects are what make them my favorite. In my opinion, they have the best, most realistic midrange in Bluetooth earphone history; Sennheiser are simply masters of the mids. This, mixed with their amazing bass and treble extension and the tonality and timbre of the tuning, makes for the most convincing, euphoric, “super -position” like sound I have ever experienced in wireless audio. Their fit plays a big part in this too, because the shape is so perfect that it seals and disappears at the same time. Never has another earphone in the world accomplished this; the best sealing typically makes you feel them in your ears, but not these. They truly fool your brain into believing sound exists outside and around your body. They have killer battery life and come with an amazing case that is so pocketable and nice to open and close. But all that still isn’t the best part: these are among the first earphones to allow user-replaceable batteries for both the case and the earbuds. This means you could potentially make these your last earphones for the next 10 years or so if you want.
At the end of the day, we win as consumers. There are so many choices, and no truly impossible advantage exists anymore for Bluetooth earphones like it used to. Yes, you can still prefer the AZ100, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8s, and even the AirPods Pro 3s. I have them too, love them all, and can make an argument for them as well. These three I have written about today are just my personal choices based on my habits and usage for one reason or another.
