Fake Sony WH-1000XM5 Review and Teardown

I always wondered how the fake Sony WH-1000XM5's compared to the real thing, and if users could be fooled by them. So I bought a pair of fake WH-1000XM5s and took a  closer look.

Opening the box of the fakes, shows this inside, a stock photo with the headphones photoshopped in. I attempted to look for the original photo, but no luck.

 

The text on the left is the specs:

• Bluetooth version: 5.4
• Wireless range: 30FT (10M)
• Music play/talk time: up to 7 hours
• Standby time: about 300 hours
• High performance acoustic
• Rechargeable
• Aux Option for when battery is low (3.5mm  aux cable included)

The included accessories include a 3.5mm cable and a USB type-C to USB type-A cable for charging, with no pouch or case. A small manual has instructions on functions and how to connect to the headset. There is no mention of noise cancellation anywhere on the box.

Opening the box, the fake is cradled in a plastic form inside, which is a major red flag as Sony has moved away from plastic in their packaging. From a distance and with logos, the fake could pass for a real WH-1000XM5, but once you take it out and hold it, the cheap plastic gives it away. The weight is significantly lower as well, 180g for the fakes, where as the real model is 250g. Tapping on the earcups produces a hollow sound absent in the real model.

The plastic material is cheap and shinny. It is not uniform, with random blemishes in many areas. These blemishes do not come across as well in photos as in real life.  The real WH-1000XM5's plastic is more soft and matte. The headband material is soft, and feels fine. The material on top of the headband is not glued down, so it can freely move over the underlying support.

The earpads are not smooth like the real ones, but wrinkly and ruffled on the sides. The pads are soft and comfortable. There is no unpleasant smell either, as with some cheap polyurethane (PU) materials. I am assuming the pads are PU. The left earcup on the backside has the On/Off button for pairing, volume +/-. and play/pause buttons. On the bottom of the left earcup is the 3.5mm connection, a USB type-C port, and a small notification LED. There is nothing on the right earcup..

The reverse views does give the fakes a better chance of being passed off as the real thing, but small design details like the end of the headband and hinges give it away. There is no L and R lettering, instead the L and R markers are moulded into the plastic. 

The hinge might seem stronger than on the real model, but I am not willing to break these as I will be returning them to the store. The swivel is very rigid, but with use, I suspect will loosen up. The headband extension is not as smooth as in the real model, and clicks rather loud when extended.

Here are some comparison shots to the real WH-1000XM5.

Because the fakes are so stiff and plasticky, they do not lie as flat like the real model. I could not get the earcups as close together like in the original, since the headband shape is set into this shape. I tested to see if the fakes would fit in the WH-1000XM5 case, and thyy did, but would not stay in place as the rigid headband kept popping the earcups out.

Because the fake model's weight is significantly less, there is an imbalance. Instead of the earcups laying flat on the table, the fake model rocks back and forth, unable to lay flat on the earcups. As in the earlier photo, the earcups sit further apart even when flipped over. The earpads are slightly bigger as well.

So could someone be fooled by these? Not this model, but if another fake had the logos on the hinge, better earpads, added weight to the cups, and the retail box with case, then yes perhaps someone could be fooled. I have a guide here for what to look out for when buying off marketplaces.

Review

Design, looks and build aside, how do they sound you ask? Uh, like any other super cheap set of headphones, meaning bad. I initially could not get them to stay in pairing mode, so that was great. But after a quick 30 minute recharge, I got them to pair with my phone.

At first I was not sure if these were a wireless speaker or headphones, because even at low volume, they were rather loud. Perhaps that is a good thing, as you do not need increase the volume much. The sound is acceptable, they are bass heavy, with a muddled sound, missing the mids and highs. You could use them to listen to podcasts, but I would not recommend music and movies.

Another issue is comfort. The rigid design has an impact here, wearing them for extended periods of time is not comfortable. And when I say extended, I am exaggerating, it is closer to like 10 minutes of use and they become uncomfortable. One sided use is fine, with one side over the ear, the other behind the ear, to take pressure off the temple area.

Otherwise, they work fine wirelessly and wired, with similar sound quality . They do not need to be turned on to work wired.  I have not tested their battery life, so whether they will last up to  7 hours wirelessly is unknown. 

Teardown

And now for the fun part, let us take these suckers apart.

Removing the earbuds was simple, as they just popped out from the cups. We can see there is a place for a noise cancellation mic above the driver, with a channel leading down to a hole leading to the inside. Perhaps there is a model with NC?

Close up on the speaker area.

Reverse side of the earpad.

Opening up the right side, we can see there is not much there, it is just the driver, with a cable going to the other side. Nothing else, no foam or touch panel either. The driver size is 40mm.

Moving to the other side, we have the rest, and not much else. After a few minutes of use, the battery adhesive failed, which caused the battery to start rattling around inside. I had no idea what was moving around inside until I opened it up. The battery capacity 200mAh at 3.7V, pretty pathetic, and I have doubts about the up to 7 hours of listening.

Here is a close up of the full PCB. Pretty bleak. Now it makes sense why the earcups will not lay flat, as there is not enough weight inside to offset the heavier headband.

Here is a close up shot of the main PCB. It is a bit blurry, but the chip says PNSA15E7B. I cannot find any datasheets, but this chip looks to be the same as this, this, and was used by this person in a project. Most the photos of PCBs I found used a 24 Mhz crystal, but here we have 26 Mhz. Why this is, I have no idea. As far as I can tell, this is just be a Bluetooth chip with USB port function.

And with that, we are done. I am not surprised with what we have discovered here. These sound bad, and are made with the cheapest parts possible. Perhaps there are other models which feature ANC, but I do not plan on buying any additional WH-1000XM5 fakes anytime soon. I would love to get my hands on a WF-1000XM5 fake, as that would be interesting to take apart.

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