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I've had these since day 1. The price is great. For anyone wondering how these compare to the XM4s, here are some pros & cons:
PRO:
- Smaller earbuds and case
- Claimed to have better battery durability (XM4s battery capacity significantly dropped within a year of heavy use)
- Sound on par with XM5 despite smaller size
- Replaced the spoken status with chimes (end result, quicker to resume playing)
- Senses touch more regularly than the XM4, which was pretty finicky
CON:
- New charging case can't fit large ear gels, resulting in poor connection/failed charging/accidental connection to phone
- This is the biggest annoyance as it requires me to remove the gels to charge them every day.
- Prefer the matte finish of the XM4 (as do many others)
- A little too sensitive to touch - I wear them to bed and on rare occasions, they are triggered by the pillow when by rolling over
Great deal but after the XM4 firmware debacle, I am not very sure about 90days warranty. I will personally wait for it to be on eBay with the 2 years warranty. Or buy the extended warranty if you really cannot wait.
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These are the Wirecutter's new pick for best noise-cancelling earbuds, beating out Bose. They haven't yet posted their review, which should hopefully address some common concerns.
As for Secondipity, I bought the refurb WH-1000XM4 headphones from them last year and they are serving me very well with no issues.
So they didn't offer to replace the item or refund your money since repair was not possible? Or denied it saying batteries are not covered.?
Also, do you have a link for the battery replacement guide?
They are sending a check for the full amount I paid.
I watched this youtube video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2twbzhtLaE ) I used a heatgun set to 100c to heat the bud until it was uncomfortable to hold. I then used a utility knife to pry the sides apart (be careful not to push down too hard or the case will get cut). On the first bud I tried disconnecting the ribbon cable as in the video but the cable is stuck so I completed the repair without removing the first and didn't try on the second. The battery is glued in on both ends so I used the heatgun again to soften the glue before removing the top board and removing the battery from the bud.
I used E-8000 glue to make sure the top board was glued securely to the new battery (my first bud definitely needed it). I tested the buds, then glued the case together with E-8000.
Was your XM4 under warranty? The point being the batteries are a known defect, yet Sony refused to help if outside of warranty. Also this 'known' defect isn't even acknowledged officially by Sony, so essentially past warranty, you're SOL.
Where did you hear Sony changed the battery tech on XM5? Furthermore, XM4 aren't s hardware issue, but was corrupted after OTA firmware update.
The articles I read prior to purchasing my XM5s indicated that they had changed the battery to address the battery life degradation experienced with the XM4 under heavy use. I don't see any details about this on the Sony site ATM. TBH, I'm not sure that my issue was related to the firmware upgrade or or just degradation due to abnormally heavy use (daytime use + sleep). I never had a chance to test the high utilization on the replacement pair because I legitimately killed those due to prolonged moisture/salt exposure and had to purchase another pair.
As for the firmware-triggered heat/battery issue, Sony released a firmware update and there was a 3rd party option to downgrade the firmware as well..
Great deal but after the XM4 firmware debacle, I am not very sure about 90days warranty. I will personally wait for it to be on eBay with the 2 years warranty. Or buy the extended warranty if you really cannot wait.
Louis Rossman was actually talking about pretty recently. I guess i was one of the lucky few that didn't get a defective unit.
I bought the linkbuds on eBay refrub for $70. These are the best earbuds I ever have. No wireless charging and gesture controls are okay. I've tested pixel pros, airpods and more
I've had these since day 1. The price is great. For anyone wondering how these compare to the XM4s, here are some pros & cons:
PRO:
- Smaller earbuds and case
- Claimed to have better battery durability (XM4s battery capacity significantly dropped within a year of heavy use)
- Sound on par with XM5 despite smaller size
- Replaced the spoken status with chimes (end result, quicker to resume playing)
- Senses touch more regularly than the XM4, which was pretty finicky
CON:
- New charging case can't fit large ear gels, resulting in poor connection/failed charging/accidental connection to phone
- This is the biggest annoyance as it requires me to remove the gels to charge them every day.
- Prefer the matte finish of the XM4 (as do many others)
- A little too sensitive to touch - I wear them to bed and on rare occasions, they are triggered by the pillow when by rolling over
Samsung buds2 pro are rated higher by rtings, and I have no issues charging them with comply tips installed. $110 on eBay.
I bought the linkbuds on eBay refrub for $70. These are the best earbuds I ever have. No wireless charging and gesture controls are okay. I've tested pixel pros, airpods and more
Yes they do. I would not recommend these for gym / excercise. Their noise canceling and sound quality is unmatched though, I use these when traveling and they have the ability to quiet anything from an airplane cabin to a huge terminal, heck they even can mute the sound of a lawnmower engine, they are that good
Wow, seriously, that's really great, there are usually two methods they use, they make the sound louder when you switch on ANC or they seal in a way that muffles the noise, I don't like it when they make it louder. Which one these are?
The biggest con for me is that, if they fall out in the gym while working out or jogging, that's a hard pass for me, because my major usage is either in the gym or biking or jogging/running.
I wish they had a trade-in program to make it a better deal, I would trade in my Samsung Galaxy Eardbuds 2 pro.
I can't voucher these because they are refurb means they are crap. I bought a refurb and constantly disconnects left or right. When they work they sound great but when it doesn't work it's too annoying to have. Terrible QC.
They would replace it with new ear tips. That's the least of my concerns, when they are refurb means most likely they have issues.
We clearly have different concerns. I wouldn't gamble on them replacing the tips. But I know most of the returned items do not have functional issues, and if they have, they will fix/scrap them.
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PRO:
- Smaller earbuds and case
- Claimed to have better battery durability (XM4s battery capacity significantly dropped within a year of heavy use)
- Sound on par with XM5 despite smaller size
- Replaced the spoken status with chimes (end result, quicker to resume playing)
- Senses touch more regularly than the XM4, which was pretty finicky
CON:
- New charging case can't fit large ear gels, resulting in poor connection/failed charging/accidental connection to phone
- This is the biggest annoyance as it requires me to remove the gels to charge them every day.
- Prefer the matte finish of the XM4 (as do many others)
- A little too sensitive to touch - I wear them to bed and on rare occasions, they are triggered by the pillow when by rolling over
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As for Secondipity, I bought the refurb WH-1000XM4 headphones from them last year and they are serving me very well with no issues.
Also, do you have a link for the battery replacement guide?
I watched this youtube video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2twbzh
I used E-8000 glue to make sure the top board was glued securely to the new battery (my first bud definitely needed it). I tested the buds, then glued the case together with E-8000.
Where did you hear Sony changed the battery tech on XM5? Furthermore, XM4 aren't s hardware issue, but was corrupted after OTA firmware update.
As for the firmware-triggered heat/battery issue, Sony released a firmware update and there was a 3rd party option to downgrade the firmware as well..
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Louis Rossman was actually talking about pretty recently. I guess i was one of the lucky few that didn't get a defective unit.
PRO:
- Smaller earbuds and case
- Claimed to have better battery durability (XM4s battery capacity significantly dropped within a year of heavy use)
- Sound on par with XM5 despite smaller size
- Replaced the spoken status with chimes (end result, quicker to resume playing)
- Senses touch more regularly than the XM4, which was pretty finicky
CON:
- New charging case can't fit large ear gels, resulting in poor connection/failed charging/accidental connection to phone
- This is the biggest annoyance as it requires me to remove the gels to charge them every day.
- Prefer the matte finish of the XM4 (as do many others)
- A little too sensitive to touch - I wear them to bed and on rare occasions, they are triggered by the pillow when by rolling over
Samsung buds2 pro are rated higher by rtings, and I have no issues charging them with comply tips installed. $110 on eBay.
The biggest con for me is that, if they fall out in the gym while working out or jogging, that's a hard pass for me, because my major usage is either in the gym or biking or jogging/running.
I wish they had a trade-in program to make it a better deal, I would trade in my Samsung Galaxy Eardbuds 2 pro.
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