Sony has just unveiled its latest flagship headband headphones after much hype and a lot of waiting, but should you buy the Sony WH-1000XM6 or the outgoing WH-1000XM5?
When our resident audio expert, Kob Monney, reviewed the WH-1000XM5 headphones upon release, he was glowing in his praise.
Words like ‘rich’ and ‘detailed’ were used to describe the audio – and he awarded the cans five stars, with a Highly Recommended badge. However, there were still some areas for improvement – no product is ever really perfect – and it looks like Sony has listened.
They fold!
With the change in design from the XM4 to XM5, the ability to fold the headphones into a neat package was lost. The rigid nature of the XM5 meant that there was no movement, and they needed to be stored in their full shape. That’s no longer the case with the WH-1000XM6 model.
The updated design can now fold, with the earcups folding into the headband thanks to an updated metal design. It’s a small change – and one that doesn’t alter the overall design too much – but one that has a big effect on usability and portability.
There are a couple of other design tweaks too, including a slightly wider headband for a comfier fit that should reduce pressure on the head.
The case is smaller and easier to use
A welcome benefit of the foldable design is that the XM6 now come with a slightly smaller case.
It’s not a diminutive case, but it’s noticeably smaller than the one that came with the XM5 and will take up less room in your bag. The new case also swaps the zip opening for a magnetic one, which Sony reps said would make it easier to open for more people.
Our only slight criticism is that you do need to put the headphones into the new case in a very specific way, which we found a tad fiddly on our first few attempts.
New internals for improvements to sound and ANC
There’s a lot new inside Sony’s latest flagship, with the main upgrade coming in the form of a brand-new chip. Inside the XM5 there was the QN1, now with the XM6 we have the QN3.
This chip powers everything from the audio to the ANC, and the QN3 brings with it seven times the processing speed of the QN1, along with a ‘look-ahead noise shaper’ that will help the headphones react to the sudden sound changes.
There’s still support for High-Res services and LDAC, although Snapdragon Sound is absent. We’ll need to properly test the WH-1000XM6 before we can fully render a verdict on whether the sound is noticeable improvement, but there’s certainly enough here to say it should be.
The same chip powers the ANC too, alongside 12 mics (six on each earcup), and this is a big increase over the number of mics on the XM5. With the XM5, there are eight mics in total, with four on each cup.
In our short time with the XM6 the ANC has shone as one of the standout features, although we’d expect such a jump as the XM5 have been on store shelves for three years now.
Improvements to call quality
We were already impressed with the way calls sounded when using the WH-1000XM5 but Sony has claimed things are about to get even better this time around. The WH-1000XM6 have six beamforming mics (three on each side) with some AI tech to really improve the quality of your voice.
Ahead of the launch, we were shown a demo of the improved call quality, and it did seem very impressive, with the headphones able to pass clear audio through what was supposed to represent a crowded station. Of course, we’ll have our full thoughts on the call quality and whether it’s a true improvement in our full review.
Listen while charging
In terms of battery life, Sony quoted 30 hours for the previous version and for the XM6 that 30-hour claim remains. That’s fine – that’s excellent endurance, and when testing the XM5 we felt that 30-hour claim was achievable with the volume set to around 50%.
What is new though is the ability to charge the headphones and listen to audio at the same time – a feature not previously available.
Bye Bye Smoky Pink – for now
The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are available in three colours at launch: silver, black and a deep blue. These are the same base colours as before.
Midway through the XM5 life cycle came a Smoky Pink revision, a really nice colour that added a bit of life to an otherwise fairly mundane trio of samey hues. It’s a shame then that the XM6 doesn’t have a similar colour at launch. Hopefully this will change down the line.
The price is higher
Sony launched the WH-1000XM5 three years ago at £379/$399. Look at the costs of the cans today and you’ll find them around the £299-£250 mark (around $350 in the US).
As the product has been out for so long, it can be hard to directly compare prices as, of course, a lot changes in three years.
The price of headphones has been going up (The AirPods Max and Sonos Ace debuted at £499 and £449 respectively) just like most other tech, and the WH-1000XM6 arrive with the highest price yet for the series.
The headphones will debut at £400 when they hit shelves in May. A price increase yes, but maybe not by as much as we were expecting when much of the competition is taken into account.
Early Verdict
There’s plenty new with the WH-1000XM6 headphones. Sony has fixed the design issues we had with the XM5 model, making the cans foldable once more and shrinking down the carrying case. There’s a new chip, more mics for ANC and improvements to call quality.
However, with the XM5 available for a lower price, it’ll all come down to how well the sound and ANC improvements perform in real-world conditions as to whether or not the upgrade is worth it.
