Sony WH-1000XM6 The Best Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones HD NC Processor QN3 12 Microphones Adaptive NC Optimizer Mastered

I have a headphone problem, or so my wife says. I’ve owned the Apple AirPods Max, the Sony XM5’s, the Bose QC and QC Ultra the QC 45’s and 35’s both I and II, the Sonos Ace, and the Beats Studio Pro. Going into my XM6 purchase, my favorite are/were the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. I bought the QuietComfort Ultra during Prime Day for an unbelievable $329! I have found that they offer the best combination of comfort, sound and ANC for the price. So, how does the XM6 compare? The ANC is second to none. I augment our central air with a window unit, which sits right behind my head, and I can completely eliminate its sound. But static sounds are pretty easily muffled by most of newer ANC headphones, so how about dynamic sounds like a tv or normal conversation? The XM6 excel there, too. Put simply, they offer the best ANC of any of the aforementioned headphones. They are also pretty comfortable and clamp down relatively tight, though I haven’t found anything to be as comfortable as either the QC or QC Ultra. The XM6 are designed to be over ear headphones, yet my ear doesn’t seem to fit inside the cup like other over ear headphones. This, in my opinion, makes them less-comfortable then they could/should be. However, the memory foam is a nice touch and does help. The sound is well-balanced and pretty good right out of the box, though I had to make use of the ten-band EQ to get them to sound just a tad better than my QC. With my current EQ settings, I would say they offer the clarity of the Apple AirPods Max, but with the bottom end of my Bose QuietComfort. The bass isn’t overpowering, it’s actually pretty accurate (after EQ tinkering). In the final analysis, the XM6 offer the best sound of any of the headphones I mentioned, but not by much. Furthermore, the ANC is superior to everything else I’ve owned, but not by a staggering amount. So, which should you buy? If you’re like me and in search of the best possible sound, and won’t settle for anything less than the best ANC, then get the XM6. If, however, you prioritize comfort and value, and don’t mind making some very minor concessions regarding sound and ANC, then get the Bose QuietComfort or the QC Ultra (wait until you catch them on sale, which is pretty often). I hope that helps. Happy listening! Update: “6/02/2025: Intermittent crackling in left speaker. Had to return them. I have replaced them, though. Update 06/07/25: I received the replacement pair and everything seems great. I neglected to mention in my previous review how great the Sony app is and how customizable the XM6 are. First, you get a ten band EQ, instead of the Bose three bands. Additionally, there are some awesome (optional) features that are missing from Bose. Sony has speak to chat, which mutes your music and puts your headphones in aware mode when you speak. Also, there is an option to accept or reject calls by simply nodding or shaking your head, which is very cool. If you’re into features like that and general customization, then the Sony XM6 are for you. UPDATE 06/17/2025. Started hearing crackling again in the right speaker this time. This time I did a Google search to see if others were having the same problem, and it seems like turning on DSEE Extreme could be the culprit at high volumes. The DSEE Extreme setting is supposed to upscale compressed files. I turned off the setting and no more crackling. I replayed the same part of the same song with and without it engaged, it it’s definitely the DSEE Extreme. Consequently, I’ve turned off that setting and now everything seems fine. Read more

Each new version of the Sony WH1000 series Wireless Noice canceling headphones has improved over the last version and the WH1000-XM6 is no exception. This is their best headphone yet for sure. The sound is much improved and comes very close in quality to the much more expensive headphones I own like the Dali I-O8, the Focal Bathys and the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100. The noise canceling is also improved. It still does not block 100% of noise, but no headphones do and it comes closest to that (i saw a test that showed the XM5 blocked 84% and the new XM6 blocks 87% of noise which seems right to me. I love that they listened to their customers and brought back the folding design but did it in an entirely new way rather than fo back to the standard old design. I initially bought the Midnight Blue because of the reported anti-fingerprint coating but was disappointed in it as it still shows off finger smudges (although perhaps not as bad as the previous versions). Due to that I also purchased the Platinum Silver and I love the matte finish on this color which looks so much cleaner and feels more premium, in my opinion. The headphones are comfortable for me with just the right amount of clamping force so that they sit firmly on my head without being uncomfortable. There is a weird sensor on the inside of the ear cups which protrudes out a bit and could be an issue for some although I haven’t had a problem with it. The headband is wider and this adds to comfort level over the previous XM5’s, but not by a large margin. Still, it is better. Also they have added new features which I appreciate such as gestures (nodding up and down to answer a call or side to side to decline a all), voice commands (“headphones turn up the volume, skip this track”, etc. and you can call up your device assistant such as Siri for iPhone by saying “assistant”) and a ten-band equalizer to control the sound as you like it. The case is almost the best part, with the new magnetic enclosure its a snap to open and close. One thing is they added the ability to listen to the headphones while charging, which would be great except the cord provided for charging is so short this isn’t feasible and also there is no USB-C audio which should be a feature as most headphones currently do offer this and is becoming standard issue. I wish they could improve the battery life but 30 hours is fine and certainly serviceable. The other audio modes are mostly useless to me (Background music, Cinema) so i have only tried them once, but I have yet to watch a movie with them so its possible Cinema would work well with that as that is the intention of it after all. I am disappointed they removed the ability to a toggle the Speaker-to-chat on/off by a two-fingered press on the touch pad, now you can only do this in the app. Not sure why they removed it as I found it most handy in the XM5’s. There are enough added and improved features that I feel the increased price is justified and also was inevitable with the Trump tariffs. I think they are worth the cost and have always believed the saying “you get what you pay for”. If out of your price range the XM5 and XM4 are both excellent options for a lower price, but I still recommend the XM6 as the best Sony has to offer! Read more

I had Bose before I got these, and I was ready to buy more Bose until I researched headphones. The WH-1000XM6 are recommended pretty much across the board for wireless headphones, and I understand why now. Songs I thought I knew note for note sound completely new. I hear things in the background that I never knew were there. Music is a totally different experience with these headphones. To a non-expert, they seem perfectly balanced right out of the box-no tinny sounds, no muffled sounds-just crisp and clear and perfect. It also seems to maintain its Bluetooth connection better than my Bose set did. With those, they would randomly lose connection and I would have to restart them to get my connection back. The Sony headphones haven’t done that once, and I didn’t even realize it was an issue with the Bose until I experienced not having the issue. These headphones also have several “modes” for noise cancellation, and I’ve been appreciating that. You can go full cancellation or no cancellation like usual, or you can do in-between modes that dim background noise but still keep it audible, or mix background with music 50/50 like you’re listening to a speaker in the room. One thing I love about the way it cancels noise is I can hear my voice singing but I hear my voice outside of my skull. Nothing irritates me more than hearing my internal vibrations when I’m trying to sing. The controls are touch and haven’t been annoying yet. They don’t activate Willy nilly and I also haven’t had issues activating them. Battery life seems to be great as well- only one charge needed so far. One opportunity is there is no way to use these for console game chat- so you can use it for gaming but you can’t talk through them. They are so amazing in all other ways that I don’t care. Read more