Technics EAH-AZ100 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: Which Earbuds?

These are two of the most accomplished noise-cancelling earbuds money can buy, launched a generation apart at much the same premium price. The Sony WF-1000XM5 reclaimed the class benchmark in 2023; the Technics EAH-AZ100 arrived in 2025 with a genuinely novel magnetic-fluid transducer and a battery figure that rewrites the record. Both chase the same buyer, and the published tests of the Technics repeatedly measure it against the Sony. This comparison draws on the complete tests of both models; Truthful Reviews has not bench-tested either pair itself.

Design and Comfort

Both pairs made compactness a priority, and both largely succeed. The XM5 shrank 25% in volume and 20% in weight from their bulky predecessor, finally fitting smaller ears, with four tip sizes (an extra XS) in soft polyurethane foam that most listeners find more comfortable than silicone. The AZ100 go further on the scales, at 5.9 g per bud — the same as an XM5 — with perfectly round shells and a single-block acoustic chamber. On fit the tests split: the AZ100 sit firmly for some testers yet needed constant readjustment for another using a fin-less button shape, while the XM5's intra-aural seal is deeper and more intrusive than an AirPods Pro but a formula Sony has long perfected. Both are rated IPX4 for splashes with no sports claim, both cases charge over USB-C or Qi, and neither is faultless: the XM5 case adopts a slightly laquered, less premium finish, the AZ100's magnets are weak enough that the buds rattle in the case.

Sound Quality

Both are superb, and the choice is one of character. The XM5 draw near-universal praise: an exceptional, ample and lively rendering, warm and detailed, with deep controlled bass and a soundstage wide for the genre — Sony's tuning matured. The AZ100's new magnetic-fluid transducers pursue a different goal, and the tests hear it two ways: one found a calmer, more natural balance with a soft yet precise upper midrange that renders voices and cymbals more accurately than any rival, excellent staging and generous but controlled bass; another heard an energetic W-shaped signature with deep bass and warm mids but treble lacking finesse and detail. Both AZ100 tests agree the bass runs forward, arguably too full below 100 Hz, and that the buds lean on active cancelling to stay balanced. In short, the XM5 is the safer, more universally liked signature; the AZ100 the more distinctive, bass-forward listen — worth hearing before buying.

Noise Cancelling

This is the Sony's territory. The XM5 were judged the best isolators on the market — the strongest noise cancelling one lab had ever measured — flattening not just the low rumble of engines and trains but, unusually, the mid and high frequencies where most earbuds struggle. The AZ100 match the XM5 on the low frequencies between 40 Hz and 300 Hz, where both excel, and handle wind and pressure well; but above that both AZ100 tests place it clearly behind the Sony, and the earlier Bose and Apple flagships, with nearby voices and sharp sounds still filtering through. If total silence is the priority, the XM5 keep the edge.

Calls

Neither is a class leader on calls, and here the tests are unusually candid about both. The XM5 use bone-conduction pickup but were found to veil the voice and chop it up in noise — one of their few weaknesses, and one the published tests flagged as a con. The AZ100 replace Technics's old system with a Voice Focus AI that strips background din well near busy traffic, though it too slightly veils the voice and can add artefacts, and is best switched off in quiet rooms. Call quality is a wash: both clear enough in calm, both compromised in noise.

Connectivity and Features

Both run Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC, both add LE Audio and the LC3 codec, and both offer multipoint — but the AZ100 connect to three devices simultaneously against the XM5's two, a genuine advantage for anyone juggling a phone, laptop and tablet. The AZ100 also add a Dolby Atmos spatial mode with head tracking, though the tests temper it: standard Bluetooth cannot carry Atmos metadata, so the effect widens the stage without being truly adaptive. Both drive deep, feature-rich companion apps with multi-band equalisers, both keep the same fiddly tap-only controls their makers are known for — volume is an awkward multi-tap on each — and adding a second multipoint source is clumsy on both.

Battery Life

The clearest single-number win goes to Technics. The AZ100 were measured at 11 h 30 with cancelling on and up to 15 h off — the longest-lasting true-wireless earbuds one lab had ever tested. The XM5 are themselves excellent, at roughly 8 h with cancelling and around 16 h more from the case, but the AZ100 comfortably outlast them on the buds. If endurance between charges matters most, the Technics is the pick.

Which Should You Buy?

Choose the Sony WF-1000XM5 if noise cancelling and a safe, universally liked sound are your priorities: they remain the isolation benchmark, particularly in the mids and treble the Technics cannot match, with an exceptional, crowd-pleasing tuning and a proven fit — accepting merely good call quality and controls Sony still hasn't fixed. Choose the Technics EAH-AZ100 if you want the longer battery, three-device multipoint, Dolby Atmos spatial audio and a more distinctive, natural-leaning sound from its magnetic-fluid drivers — accepting that its cancelling trails the Sony above the bass and that its signature divides opinion. Both are among the very best earbuds available; the Sony is the surer all-rounder for silence and sound, the Technics the choice for stamina, connectivity and a different sonic character.