Sony WH-1000XM6 The Best Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones, HD NC Processor QN3, 12 Microphones, Adaptive NC Optimizer, Mastered by Engineers, Studio-Quality, 30-Hour Battery, Midnight Blue

Sony’s Best Yet!
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!

The noise cancelling is great. They are comfortable and easy to wear for long periods of time. The battery life is good and it connects to devices easily. Definitely a best in class product

Just got my hands on the new headphones, and wow, I’m seriously impressed! The sound quality is absolutely incredible; everything is so crisp and clear. Plus, the noise cancellation is like a dream, shutting out all the annoying background noises. Honestly, I’m so happy with my purchase and can’t recommend these enough to anyone looking for a top-notch audio experience.

Very comfortable. No fatigue or head/ear pain even after several hours. ANC is strong; I’ve used them at home with a blisy window a/c, and at work in a shared office space. Sound quality is clear, the controls are easy to use, and the mobile app on iOS and Android is easy to use to change advanced configuration. They charge by USB-C fairly quickly (I haven’t timed it – I usually leave it overnight).They can connect to two devices simultaneously. I’ve found this to be fairly good. Occasionally when connected to a phone and a computer ar the same time the sound has started breaking a bit till I disconnect one, but this might be a Bluetooth interference issue and not a headphone-spwcific one.It has something called 360 Reality Audio, for which it needs to go through a setup process to create an individual sound profile. It’s supposed to be able to give you a much more immersive dynamic experience. However, I was unable to complete the setup. It involves playing two sounds and asking you to answer a question about the two sounds. Then another two sounds and another question, etc. Maybe my ears don’t work or something, but when it asks me which of the sounds I hear as if it is directly in front of me at eye level, my answer is neither – they both sound identical and as if they are in my ears. I’m not being facetious or obtuse – as hard as I try, I cannot imagine that the sounds are in front of me.Nonetheless, aside from such gimmicks, these are really great headphones.