I have had the wf-1000xm4s for a long time and really liked them. I saw reviews pointing out xm5 improvements in size, comfort, and sound. I agree with the positive reviews. I am hearing detail I didn’t hear with the mx4s. One issue I had with the mx5s was I couldn’t get a tight fit with the included ear tips. I switched the ear tips to Comply foam eartips ordered on Amazon and got much improved bass and volume. Great earbuds.
I was looking for an upgrade over my WF1000MX4's to improve the ANC and with a more comfortable fit. That's not these XM5's. The XM5's are much smaller while providing fantastic audio quality and vastly improved phone call microphone pickup. But, they're no more comfortable and in my case less effective ANC (yes - I get the suitable seal test in the app with the largest ear pads).
I will use these for phone calls while on the road though - much improved there.
The app is starting to show it's age, and a word of advice - I needed NFC enabled on my phone for the earbuds to fully pair with my phone (why??) on an Android Pixel.
Bass, seperation, sound stage, ANC these earbuds check all the boxes (they better for the price) . At first I thought there was something off with the ANC, but realized I needed the large foam tips (passive noise cancelling)I also turned off adaptive noise setting so that they're always on max, and they're amazing. The sound rivals my over the ears Sony XM5's. All that being said, I "upgraded" from Senhieser Momentum 3, the only upgrade was the price.If your shopping, the Senhieser are the best bang for the buck and no traded offs really (maybe just slightly less effective ANC).