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

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.

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.

I bought the Sony 1000XM6 from Amazon, and Bose QCU Gen 2 from Costco for $429 which also had a $75 rebate. Compared both for a week, I took the Bose on one trip and took the Sony to Hawaii. IMO the Sony fit better and even on a 5.5 hour flight it was pretty comfortable. The noise cancellation worked very well on both headphones, but the Bose was annoying where the ANC would pause whenever I turned my head in a certain way thinking there was ambient sounds to hear. The Sony ANC was flawless and worked no matter which way I moved my head. The movie/music only paused when I took the headphones off to order a drink which worked as it should. Overall both Bose and Sony sounded great, but I thought the Bose sounded a little more crisp when both EQ’s were on flat. But whether you like highs or bass both delivered and both had EQ adjustments so I think the sound is more to a personal taste that can be adjusted per each EQ app. However, I will say the Bose was a little easier connecting to my iPad Pro 13 inch or iPhone 16 Pro on the first try, whereas the Sony took a little more effort on first connection. But once connected to both devices, it was seamless to switch between them. The two reasons I decided to keep the Sony: 1) Overall comfort/fit and ANC that did not pause when I moved my head in a certain way; 2) The Sony had a better functioning case with a magnetic closure, and well thought out pouch for the accessory cords/adapters. Although the Bose’s case was a little more compact, it had a side pouch for the wires/adapters that sometimes got in the way when closing and the cords could easily fall out if you’re not careful in the dark, and the case was a little klugy trying to zip the case closed especially if the headphones were not properly in their fitted cavity. The Sony was much easier to put the headphones in the case and the magnetic latch was a breeze to open/close. I’d say the Sony designers put a little more thought into the case design whereas Bose failed to improve what it had from their Gen 1 headphones. Big opportunity miss there.

Áudio incrível, realmente impecável. O ANC também é excelente. Quando coloquei na cabeça achei um pouco desconfortável e apertado no começo, mas fui me acostumando com o uso. O preço é meio alto, mas a qualidade de áudio compensa demais. O microfone não é excepcional, mas dá pro gasto. No geral, produto excelente!

Cómodos. Buena duración de la batería. Con una cancelación de ruido altamente efectiva. Buen volumen. Modo de transparencia claro. Si se usan para hacer conferencias virtuales, tu voz y la de los participantes se escucharán nítidas, claras - aún cuando aveces los micrófonos de los participantes no sean tan buenos. Buenos para escuchar música, respetando el audio original sin distorcionarlo, pero si quieres aumentar o resaltar los agudos y los graves, puedes instalar su software (Sound connect) y equilizarlos a tu gusto. Tiene muchas opciones esta app. A 13 mil pesos, me parecen caros, pero si encuentras una oferta, aprovéchala.

Chegou tudo certinho, dentro do prazo. O produto é original, mesmo vindo da China. Apenas a warehouse da Orbitek é de lá.

App on phone was a bit of a pain to set up but works OK once they are connected. The ear pads are nice and comfortable. I personally don't think the sound quality reflects the price but that's just my own opinion.

Eu já sou cliente da marca Sony, tenho também um WH-XB900N, e já gostava muito do produto, qualidade sonora, porém como já conhecido o noise canceling não é o melhor da marca. Pois bem, eu demorei um bom tempo para tomar essa decisão, estou olhando para a linha XM desde a versão 4. Agora ao adquirir o XM6, a única coisa que penso é, porquê não comprei antes? O Headphone é espetacular, noise canceling é muito bom, tornando difícil ouvir as teclas do teclado sendo digitadas. Ele é bem mais confortável que o xb900, o clip dele na cabeça é mais apertado porém as almofadas são bem mais macias. A sensação de palco, customização da equalização e o grande diferencial pra mim: conectar em mais do que 3 dispositivos simultaneamente, é um experiência muito imersiva, você pode mexer no seu celular, computador do trabalho e mais um dispositivo, e ao clicar para ouvir um áudio do whatsapp ele parar o music player do computador, é muito legal. Além disso, tirar ele da cabeça automaticamente para a música e ao colocar novamente ele volta a tocar a música. Esse tipo de experiência é muito diferencial, frente aos modelos menos desenvolvidos.