Sony WH-1000XM6 officially unveiled

Sony has now officially unveiled the new WH-1000XM6 headphones. What might be the most anticipated pair of headphones in the last year has finally arrived as a follow up to some of the most cherished over-ear ANC cans in the business. This time around featuring a new, faster processor, enhanced noise cancellation, even better call quality with upgraded AI noise reduction, and a nicer, more compact design, the question is whether or not all of this and another jump in price will have fans trading out their beloved XM5s (or something from the other brands) for the new XM6.

Sony officially unveils the next-gen WH-1000XM6 headphones

Sony has now officially unveiled the three launch colors we expected in previous leaks as well as a more expensive price tag at $449.99 in the U.S. I think most folks were expecting some kind of price hike considering the situation we are all in right now, and if I’m honest I thought it was going to be worse than this. You’re looking at a price $50 more than the list on the XM5 – the same jump in price we saw between the XM4 and XM5 release, but this does put these headphones up closer to the AirPods Max, on par with the Sonos Ace, and even more pricey than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra that are regularly on sale these days.

All of that said, after getting a chance to test them out for a few days I am impressed with the XM6, and fans of the previous XM series headphones from Sony almost certainly will be too.

The new Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are now available for purchase at $449.99 directly from Sony, as well as over at Amazon.

Main WH-1000XM6 features at a glance:

• New QN3 processor (7x faster than XM5)
• 12 mics for ANC, more
• Adaptive NC Optimizer
• Sound tuned with pro mastering engineers in NYC
• New driver units – richer details, clearer vocals, improved balance
• New spatial audio up mix tech
• AI noise reduction
• AI beam forming mic (6 mics)
• Smaller magnetic case
• Foldable design (more compact)
• Asymmetrical headband
• Redesigned power button
• Mic mute/unmute

Here are some official shots of the three new colorways:

New XM6 magnetic case

And here’s a look at the new case – it is much more compact than the XM5 model as the headphones can neatly fold up into a smaller package this time around. I also quite like the magnetic clasp (let’s hope it remains entirely functional after a year or more of constant use, but it does seem quite strong – you can shake it around and lift it upside down and it does not come undone). There’s a small elastic pocket for the charging cable too…nice. That strap though, the one that hangs off the case, it does not appear to be removable – I like it, but I wish I could take it off too.

New processor, new ANC, and more mics

After speaking with Sony reps and engineers regarding the design of the new XM6 previously, one thing was clear – it wasn’t coming out of the lab until its new headphones delivered the best active noise cancellation on the market by its standards.

Using IEC compliant guidelines, Sony’s internal testing against the top 10 ANC headphones by market share concluded the XM6 are the “best noise cancelling headphones” out there. You’ll have to be the judge of that when you get them on your head, but I have been very impressed thus far, especially when it comes to adapting to changing conditions – moving from a busy downtown street to indoor locations, into the mall, the subway, the sound from by 12th floor balcony with pre-summer construction at full tilt, for example. The automatic accommodation of a new environment in real-time isn’t immediate, but it is quite quick (within a couple seconds). I personally don’t need the ANC on my cans to even be any better than this.

Sony has implemented a brand new QN3 processor to make this happen – it is 7x faster than the tech in XM5, according to Sony – as well as a 12-mic array, up from the 8-way setup on the XM5. All of that means literally nothing to me personally, either they are better or they aren’t, and they very much are.

The WH-1000XM6 headphones are powered by a new HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3 that is seven times faster than the previous model and uses twelve microphones, 1.5 times more than the WH-1000XM5, to fine-tune sounds in real time. The precise detection of the twelve microphones allows for more accurate and adaptive noise cancellation to fit the user’s environment. Whether looking to block out noise on a busy commute or stay focused in the office, the WH-1000XM6 sound experience is built to be seamless and powerful anywhere.

Sony WH-1000XM6 Noise Cancelling

The short-form version here is that it’s better. This time around Sony is leveraging a 12 mic array on the outside of the headphones compared to the 8 mics on the XM5 and the result is noticeable. It’s not dramatically different to my ears, but it is better – you can tell it’s better just by sliding the headphones on without even having any music playing.

Sony says its “new Adaptive NC Optimizer delivers unmatched noise canceling precision that adjusts to any form of external noise and air pressure. Plus, the specially designed driver unit is optimally tuned for enhanced noise cancellation.”

But perhaps more importantly, is that the noise cancelling seems to be what I would call more transparent – some ANC setups can cause very subtle artifacts in audio playback, but Sony’s treatment seems to do quite a good job of that (the ANC does not alter the sound of your music in any noticeably detrimental way, and if it does, I’m not hearing it). The Ambient Mode – the one that lets some outside noise in – is another story though as there it is definitely a slightly odd, and far less natural experience. Don’t get me wrong, It totally works, isn’t really worth complaining about as you can just turn it off instead, and most folks might not even take notice. But it isn’t quite as clean and organic sounding as I would ideally hope for – you can very much tell you’re hearing the outside world though small microphones and some fancy processing.

Call quality with AI noise reduction

The Sony XM5 impressed just about everyone is this department, and the XM6 are even better in my testing. In my test calls, most folks couldn’t tell I was on a busy street, couldn’t even hear the TV on in the room I was in or the folks having a conversation in the background. I have never been all that picky with regards to this kind of thing – I frankly don’t spend a ton of time taking long calls in busy streets and the like, so I’m perhaps not the best judge of this – but I did come away quite impressed with the tech on display here once again. The XM series headphones were already best-in-class when it came to call quality, and the XM6 are even better.

Fine-tuning the sound

When it comes to the way a new pair of headphones actually sound, you can look at all of the frequency response charts you want, but they either sound good to you or not. These headphones sound great to me.

That said Sony did tap a series of hardcore professional mastering engineers (the folks that actually finish and fine tune the records you’re listening to) in order to get the best possible sound quality.

The WH-1000XM6 headphones were, according to Sony, developed alongside a series of world-renowned mastering audio engineers at “three of the industry’s top recording studios – Sterling Sound, Battery Studios, and Coast Mastering – to refine every note for studio-level accuracy and deliver a superior music experience the way the artist intended.”

The team of Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated engineers who contributed to the WH-1000XM6 commitment to deliver the artist’s intended sound includes Randy Merrill (Sterling Sound), Chris Gehringer (Sterling Sound), Mike Piacentini (Battery Studios), and Michael Romanowski (Coast Mastering).

XM6 vs. XM5

Here are some key difference between the new Sony XM6 headphones and the previous iteration Sony wants to point out – in my few days testing the new WH-1000XM6 out, all of this is on point.

XM6 vs. the competition

We are firmly in personal preference and opinion territory here once again, as is typically the case with audio products of this nature. But for me, the XM6 go toe-to-toe with any headphones in this price range, and that includes the three major tentpoles I happen to judge any headphones on: comfort level, sound quality, and build/look.

The XM6 sound just is good as AirPods Max to my ears and are slightly more comfortable. They don’t look or feel quite as premium though.

The same goes for comparison’s to Bose QuietComfort Ultra – the headphones I feel are the closest direct competition to the XM6 if you don’t include the XM5. They sound just as good, the ANC is right on par and perhaps a little bit more effective in certain conditions, and they are even more comfortable. The Ultra are a little more sleek-looking on the head – the Sony XM6 have larger and more bulky looking ear cups.

Sound response is entirely subjective if you ask me, but one thing immediately obvious to me is the comfort level here – the Sony XM6 are easily on par or better for me among the competition in the relative price range. As far as aesthetics, they are much nicer looking on the head than AirPods Max in my opinion, not quite as sleek as the Bose Ultra vibes, but solid around – I’d say they are at the top of the pack if not close to it in this department.

Sony Sound Connect App

This is where you can customize and configure all of the settings of the headphones, as expected. Everything is mostly self-explanatory here – Ambient Sound/noise cancelling controls, listening modes, EQ settings, Speak to Chat (automatically mutes audio when you speak), you can customize some additional functionality for ANC button on the headphones, and so on. There’s nothing overly remarkable here and I will need to actually put the headphones to use for a couple weeks or more to really know how well the customization options can accomodate regular use, but everything works as intended here from what I can tell thus far.

Just about all of this is going to be quite familiar to XM5 owners (as well as owners of just about any other modern ANC headphones for that matter), but here’s a quick look at some of the stock settings and options we are looking at app side:

XM6 button and touch controls

Above, you’ll see a look at the stock functionality of the onboard NC/AMB button on the left ear cup as well as the touch controls on the outside of the ear cup – pretty standard stuff here and nothing was overly sensitive like I have complained about from other brands.

Main app settings and EQ

Next a look at the main settings display and the preset EQ options available to the WH-1000XM6.

Scene and Adaptive Sound Control

Next the Scene and Adaptive Sound Control on WH-1000XM6 – the headphones can automatically adjust ANC/ambient settings depending on your actions and, while it does take a second or two to switch modes after detecting a particular action or environment, it has thus far worked quite well for me. While I personally prefer to just set the type of ambient noise settings manually with a simple tap on the dedicated ear cup button, some folks will certainly appreciate the auto tech here – it will automatically switch to whatever NC/AMB mode you want when staying still, walking, running, in a vehicle and so on.

Scene-based Listening is described as “a new intuitive feature that uses sensing technology to automatically play music according to the user’s activity and adjust noise cancellation level based on their environment and location. Quick Access and Scene-based Listening can connect to the top music service including Amazon Music (via “Amazon Music Play Now”), Apple Music, Spotify (via “Spotify Tap”) and YouTube Music.”

Some final thoughts on the new WH-1000XM6

Upgrading what was already considered some of the best ANC headphones in the game can be tricky, you don’t want to mess with something folks already loved all that much. But from that perspective Sony has done a great job here with the new XM6 – the headphones deliver a more comfortable wearing experience for me, the noise cancelling is better, the call quality that was already quite notable on the XM5 is clearer, and they are even more travel-friendly this time around the smaller magnetic carrying case and foldable design is a true and even better return to form here – I love it.

It still think competitors like AirPods Max and Bose QuietComfort Ultra deliver a more premium-looking and, in some aspects, feeling product in the hand, which is perhaps more of a “thing” now that the price has gone up $50 on the XM6, but not by all that much. I much prefer the look of the new WH-1000XM6 over the now quite aged-looking XM4 and the mildly awkward-looking stems just above the ear cups on the XM5.

If you loved the XM5, these XM6 are a nice upgrade and they should, frankly, be on the radar for anyone looking for a new set of over-ear ANC headphones in 2025 and beyond.

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