Sony Xperia 1 Mark 5 Review: Is the Headphone Socket Worth It?

Introduction

The Sony Xperia 1 Mark 5 is one of the last flagship smartphones to keep a 3.5 mm headphone socket. That detail gets mentioned constantly, but the more useful question is rarely answered: does the socket actually sound good?

This review tackles that question directly, using side by side listening comparisons against portable players, dongle DACs, and an older handset respected for its analogue output, tested with both full size headphones and in ear monitors.

The conclusion is straightforward. The socket works, it is perfectly serviceable with affordable wired earphones, and it sits below even inexpensive dedicated audio gear. Everything else about the phone is a different story, which makes the audio compromise easier to accept for some buyers and harder for others.

Who This Phone Is For

The Xperia 1 Mark 5 suits buyers who want a flagship that behaves like a tool rather than a toy. The interface stays close to stock Android, which appeals to anyone tired of heavily skinned software, and the overall look feels more restrained and elegant than many rivals.

It also suits photographers who want manual control. The Photography Pro app is a manual shooter’s dream, with shutter speed and ISO exposed for anyone who wants to learn how they shape a photograph, plus a dedicated shutter button on the side of the phone. Casual shooters can stay in the basic shooting mode.

Finally, it suits listeners who still own wired earphones and want a phone that accepts them without an adapter. That group is smaller than it used to be, but it is the reason this phone stands out.

Main Strengths

The display is the most immediately impressive part of the package. It uses an unusually tall aspect ratio, a 4K resolution, and a 120 Hz refresh rate, and those three things together produce a genuinely satisfying experience for reading, browsing, and watching.

The side mounted fingerprint reader is refreshingly responsive, and it feels quicker and more dependable than the under display readers used by some rivals. There is no face unlock, so the fingerprint reader carries the whole load.

Camera hardware is a powerhouse, and the manual controls are excellent. Straight out of the basic mode, photos look solid rather than spectacular, with a natural rendering that avoids the heavy post processing and instant colour pop of other flagship phones. Some will love that, and others will want to add punch during editing.

Storage flexibility is another plus. A micro SD card slot shares space with the SIM card slot on the bottom of the phone, which matters if you record a lot of 4K video or keep a local music library.

The phone also carries Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound chipset with support for aptX Lossless, which allows CD quality streaming over Bluetooth to compatible receivers. Compatible receivers remain limited, so the benefit is real but narrow for now.

Audio Output and Headphone Performance

Sony does not publish the details of the DAC and headphone amplifier circuit inside the Xperia 1 Mark 5. The only specification offered is that the output is 24 bit and 192 kHz capable.

Initial impressions were encouraging. Driving a 350 ohm pair of FiiO FT3 headphones, the phone did not run short on gain, which is more than many phones manage.

That impression faded on comparison. Connected to the FiiO R7 amplifier, DAC, and streamer, the same headphones produced a fuller and more tonally colourful sound, leaving the phone sounding pale beside it. The phone can drive demanding headphones to a reasonable volume. It simply does not flatter them.

Wired Sound Quality in Practice

Against the Sony NW-A306 Walkman, the dedicated player was clearly the more sprightly device, with greater clarity and more dynamic punch. The difference is not night and day, but it is not small either, and it stands out more because the Walkman itself sits at the weaker end of headphone outputs.

Switching to the Sennheiser IE 600 with the FiiO KA2 balanced dongle DAC widened the gap further. The phone’s 3.5 mm socket lacks body, especially in the low end and the mid range, and an inexpensive dongle DAC ends up sounding better than the circuit built into this flagship.

The AudioQuest DragonFly Black, a single ended dongle, offers more output and plays louder. Once levels were matched carefully, the DragonFly still sounded fuller, while detail retrieval between the two was reasonably close. Against Apple’s Lightning to 3.5 mm adapter, the phone holds its own and sounds livelier in the treble, which lends it a greater sense of delicacy and finesse with micro dynamics.

The discontinued LG V40 remains a useful reference, because LG paid serious attention to audio circuitry in its flagship phones. Its 3.5 mm output sounds chunkier and more tonally satisfying than the Sony, even though the Sony may offer a smidge more detail. The LG has other problems: no software updates, a camera that is weak by modern standards, and no support for newer apps.

The picture changes with more affordable earphones. With the Sennheiser IE 300 or the FiiO FF3, the phone sounds just fine. The top end does not draw attention to itself, and instrumentation is reasonably well fleshed out, even without the resolution of pricier in ear monitors such as the Sennheiser IE 600 or the Meze Advar, which tend to expose the phone’s weaknesses. Even with these affordable models, the Walkman and the DragonFly Black still sound better.

For music playback alone, wired earphones such as the IE 300 or the FF3 are a more satisfying match for this phone than Sony’s own WF-1000XM5 true wireless earphones, which sit at roughly the same price. The wired result sounds more rounded and whole, less spiky and digital, and more musically pure. Bluetooth still wins on convenience, with noise cancelling, transparency mode, and no cable to manage.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The headphone socket is a convenience feature rather than a statement. It exists, it works, and it is basic. If wired listening matters to you, a dongle DAC or a dedicated player will outperform it.

Higher end in ear monitors expose the phone’s limits, so pairing it with premium earphones is likely to disappoint. The phone is at its best with affordable wired earphones, where the difference is much less noticeable.

There is no face unlock, so anyone used to glance based authentication will need to adjust. Point and shoot photos also lean natural rather than punchy, which is a deliberate choice but not to every taste.

Bluetooth listeners should note that aptX Lossless support only pays off with compatible receivers, and those are still few in number.

Buying Advice

Buy the Xperia 1 Mark 5 for the display, the near stock software, the manual camera controls, and the storage flexibility, and treat the headphone socket as a bonus rather than the main reason.

If you mostly listen with affordable wired earphones, the phone is a comfortable match and you will not feel short changed. If you own demanding headphones or higher end in ear monitors, plan for a dongle DAC or a portable player in the budget, or consider keeping a separate audio device for serious listening.

It is also worth weighing how much the socket itself matters to you. Headphone sockets on flagship phones are increasingly rare, and there is no guarantee they will survive into future generations, so anyone who depends on wired listening should buy for the current model rather than for a promised trend.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia 1 Mark 5 is a capable flagship with a beautiful tall 4K display, a responsive side fingerprint reader, deep manual camera controls, and useful storage expansion. Its headphone socket is real and usable, but it is a serviceable extra rather than a serious audio feature.

For listeners who keep a pair of affordable wired earphones in a bag, that is enough. For anyone chasing better sound, a small dongle DAC or a dedicated player remains the more rewarding path, and the phone is best judged on everything else it does well.