Sony WH-1000XM6 Review

Our Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphones Experience

Sony has made some admirable improvements to the XM6, but they still struggle to match the comfort of similar competitors. Upgrades include more plush padding on the headband and earcups. While we could wear the XM6 for most of the day, we noticed pressure points on the top of our heads. We could wear these with glasses, but some of us thought the combination of glasses and a strong clamping force was uncomfortable within a few hours.

These headphones feel a little cheaper than their higher price indicates. The materials lack a certain feeling of lushness and instead feel kind of “Cheap” for lack of a better word.

The XM6 touch controls are intuitive and responsive, making it quick, smooth, and frustration-free to skip a track or adjust the volume. We didn't have any trouble pairing them or using them, but fidgeting with the fit does result in accidental control touching.

We loved the overall mix of these headphones. The highs never sound harsh or piercing. The crash of symbols, the jangle of a honky tonk piano solo, the shout of a violin in its upper registers, we were able to listen to it all at our preferred volume level without ever flinching. Impressive!

Noise cancellation does some impressive heavy lifting here, but makes it seem effortless with what can only be described as “Mega soundblocking.” No matter where we wore them or how loud it got, they rose to the occasion with some of the most impressive noise cancellation in the biz. In transparency mode, we could carry on a conversation while wearing them, and hear footsteps behind us and fans humming nearby. We found office work to be far less distracting, and a busy airport was transformed into a calming location when the active noise cancellation feature was activated.

Sound Quality

The XM6 subtly improves on the excellent sound quality of the previous generation, offering one of the best listening experiences.

The punchy lows are a force to be reckoned with, yet don't overpower. They create a fun, lively, and theatrical listening experience. One music expert noted, “The lows are an absolute diva making sure they are noticed in every track, yet somehow don't send the mix into an off-kilter chaos.” For those who love to feel the bass, the XM6 is sure to please, with clean, bumpy beats that create a desire to groove.

The highs have a wonderfully vibrant display, but they sometimes seem to take a backseat. It's like Dolly Parton took a step away from the mic, and we wanted to tell her to sing louder so we could hear the full brilliance of her legendary vocals.

We measured the XM6's frequency response.

Just like our Target Response Curve, the XM6 has gently elevated lows and highs that bring life to every track. The bass tracks slightly above our preference curve, but it is not so divergent that it throws off the balance.

Soundstage

The Sony XM6 has one of the most wonderfully atmospheric soundstages. It felt like we were at a live symphony with violins on the left, flutes in the center, and cellos on the right.

The track “Bubbles” by Yosi Horikawa highlighted the incredible height and depth of the XM6's three-dimensional soundstage. As ping-pong balls, marbles, and other objects were dropped from the sky, we could hear them whizzing past us until they hit the ground and bounced into the distance. While the sound lacks some width (we didn't hear balls behind us), they still do an excellent job of creating an immersive atmosphere.

Comfort and Fit

The WH-1000XM6 is more comfortable than its older siblings, but some headphones are better. Sony appears to have addressed user complaints about the finicky fit of past generations, but we believe there is still room for improvement.

At 255 grams, they aren't cumbersome, but because the thin headband doesn't disperse the weight, they eventually feel heavy. If all-day comfort is a top priority, other pairs do it better.

Noise Cancellation

When it comes to noise cancelling, the WH-1000XM6 is incredible. It creates a sense of calm in the roughest settings. Additionally, its top-tier transparency mode creates more awareness of the surroundings.

Without ANC enabled, passive cancellation blocks an impressive amount of mid-to-high-range sounds, like babies crying, keyboards, or hands clapping. This is a stunning feat. With the ANC on, low-to-midrange sounds, such as boisterous chatter and rumbly garage doors, were dulled down to a mere whisper.

The ANC offers near-perfect silence in a simulated cafe with clashing dishes, humming fans, and buzzing conversations. The hear-through mode is equally stunning, relaying ambient sounds with great detail. While many headphones have a loud or unnatural sound quality, the XM6 delivers sound with a natural and pleasant quality that we enjoyed.

App & Controls

Those who love fine-tuning their listening experience will love the WH-1000XM6s.

Controls

With Quick Attention Mode, a palm over the earcup can temporarily pause the audio. There's also Speak to Chat, which pauses the music when you talk. Or, if the headphones are removed, the Automatic Pause kicks in, stopping the music and resuming right as soon as they are put back on.

Customization

The app is chock-full of features, including: personalized hearing, a custom sound profile tailored to the listeners unique hearing sensitivity; 10-band Equalizer; Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), which cleans up low-quality files for more crisp and layered audio; and customizable ANC slider that determines how much ambient noise to cancel or keep, which can be helpful for those sensitive to ANC effects.

Other notable features include spatial audio with head tracking and an adjustable volume for voice prompts. The spatial audio felt a little artificial when listening to music, but it could be great for transforming casual TV into a cinematic experience.

Battery

With a runtime of 30 hours, the WH-1000XM6 is more than enough to last, but it falls short of some competitors, especially those without ANC.

A three-minute quick charge adds three hours of listening time, and the headphones can continue to be used while charging. If the battery is totally dead and there is no power source nearby, they can plug in the audio cable to keep listening.

Call Quality

The Sony XM6 delivers one of the best call qualities we've seen. Whether calling from a quiet office or a busy subway platform, these headphones effectively reduced background noise and relayed voices loud and clear.

While most headphones failed our subway test miserably, the XM6 excelled, eliminating almost all background noise. However, the female voice is slightly distorted.