Customer Ratings & Reviews

Very good, but not worth what I bought it for. I wish I still had time to return.

Compared to the previous version, we have the following improvements: - more microphones - round power button that is easier to locate by feel - the return of the folding design - case now has a magnetic clasp for easier access vs zip - case is now smaller due to the folding design but still retains enough space for adapter/cables - headphones fold flat - easier to service earpads In addition to this, we have the same excellent noise cancellation, fast charging via USB-C, and comfortable headband. In actual use, the main differences for me are that the sound has improved sound quality - the lows can go lower, soundstage seems wider. Additionally the noise cancellation seems to be able to go even stronger. This could be due to the new QN3 chip that these have. It could also be due to the headphone cups themselves seemingly to be slightly larger than before. All things aside, these headphones are great - very comfortable, they sound great, have excellent noise cancellation, incredible battery life, and the same touch/swipe controls from the previous version. My other favorite feature is the app-guided EQ tuning, where you go through a multi step process while playing your music to fine tune the EQ to your liking.

The headband would go sideways on my head, the hinges on the ear cups move so the headphones want to twist on my head. I got used to it and just have a specific way they work best on my head. Today I got them out of the case and the band popped. The band then would only stay straight. It’s like it popped open, something inside the mechanism stopped holding the tension that clamps the headphones to your head. I did not drop them or do anything like that. I expected support to fix them quickly because I assume this is a relatively common problem and there’s threads online about it happening to other people. They said they don’t support hardware issues I’d have to pay. I asked to speak to a supervisor and they said they all follow the same guidelines and that I should contact the literal 1 single repair place in the USA and get a quote to fix. Sony tries to sell these as a high end item and price them accordingly, but their support makes me wonder why I paid so much for these that now don’t work after 3 months.

PROS Crisp, detailed, and balanced sound out of the box Full 10-band EQ tuning with effective out of the box EQ presets Supremely effective noise cancelling Great audio passthrough for ambient noise detection An absolute plethora of software features Solid call and microphone quality Lightweight and comfortable build Foldable & easy to transport with included case Included hard case is high quality and magnetic latch is convenient SO-SO Earpads are comfortable but soft material plus tighter clamp means ears can get warm after a few hours of listening CONS Black finish is a fingerprint & grease magnet THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT This is my first pair of Sony headphones and I was quite excited to try these out. As an amateur audiophile, I have owned many pairs of headphones, from budget options, to premium wireless brands, to wired open-back designs, and everything in between. I am a big fan of over-ear headphones compared to earbuds, and if I could only own one pair, it would be a wireless pair of noise cancelling headphones suitable for many uses, and that is exactly what the XM6s deliver. These are a jack of all trade headphone (and master of many), with no real weaknesses I could find during my testing apart from some very minor nitpicks which I’ll talk about in just a bit. From a build quality perspective, these feel nice, but I wouldn’t call them the most sturdy feeling or looking headphones. They are almost entirely plastic and soft fabric/foam, and as a result they look good but not too far removed from the XM5s or other headphones with similar designs. They are very clean looking, but they don’t set the world on fire and won’t stand out among the competition from an aesthetics perspective, which you may or may not like. What you do get with this plastic build is a very lightweight design. These are so comfortable on the head weighing only around 255 grams, that I have worn them for an entire 8 hour work day with no issue whatsoever. They also may be plastic, but they won’t feel cheap. I wouldn’t throw these around a room, but I am also not worried about them breaking if they are accidentally dropped. My only real complaint is the finish (at least in black) is a fingerprint and grease magnet. Take a good look at them when you first open the case, because they will not look that clean again. Speaking of the case, the included hardshell case is really nice. Its compact (as the XM6s do fold), includes a pouch for charging and 3.5mm cords, and has a large carrying strap. Additionally, it closes magnetically with a simple latch, which is actually really nice for getting the headphones in and out. For an included case, it is definitely one of the better cases I have gotten with a pair of headphones, and doesn’t make me feel the need to go buy a third party one instead. On the hardware side, for the headphones you get 30mm Neodymium drivers, 12 mics for active noise cancelling and audio passthrough, SBC AAC LDAC & LC3 support, 30-40 hours of battery life (depending on noise cancelling and other software features), and full EQ support in the app. On the sound side, these sound great out of the box (very neutral), with minimal tuning needed to achieve a great audio profile for most music tastes. You do have a full 10-band EQ control which is great, along with several EQ presets for things like gaming, heavy music, etc. I personally prefer more flat sound profiles, so the out of the box neutral preset was really good for me. What you get is a solid bass, but not overpowering, crisp highs, but not shrill, and surprisingly amazing mids with clean vocal representation. I am usually pretty picky when it comes to wireless headphones compared to open-back counterparts, but I have very little to complain about with the XM6s from an audio perspective. They sound great, and can be tuned to your liking with custom profiles if you prefer. The vocal clarity is a particular high point I will say though. I noticed it first with calls, where meetings & phone calls just sounded so crisp compared to what I am used to, but in music this also holds true, where artist vocals, particularly male vocals, have a level of depth I usually miss on headphones. Very impressed and I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with how these sound, as long as you come at them as a pair of wireless headphones primarily targeted at music streaming. On the noise cancelling & audio passthrough side, again things are top notch. The noise cancelling is actually the best I have ever heard on a headphone, and that is saying something. Even without turning ANC on, the headphones seal sounds out really well, but ANC on takes it to another level. Even with no music it deafens the environment heavily to an almost inaudible blur and with a little music or sound it becomes complete isolation from the outside world. Thankfully, this doesn’t impact sound quality at all, and you still get a great audio presentation. I actually tend to use audio passthrough more often, just because I work in an office where I need to hear others, and this mode is also excellent and up there with the best I have used. It very naturally blends in sounds from the outside with the headphones to allow people speaking or your environment to come through, without sounding artificially loud or present. On both of these fronts, these headphones are an absolute class leader. Same goes for battery life. I have been using these for many hours a day for over a week and have only now just gotten below 45% battery. These things just go and go, despite being so lightweight and relatively slim. On the software side, you get a lot of the Sony processing tricks. DSEE Extreme is available for audio upscaling, and you have a slew of features for the headphone system. You can have it change audio modes depending on your location and/or what you are doing, change modes if you start talking, turn off when you take the headphones off, adjust microphones depending on if you are speaking, and much more. You also get spatial audio upscaling with 360 Reality Audio if you are listening from a supported service/source, and you can calibrate the spatial audio for your head/ears as well. There is just a ton here if you like flexibility, and the best I can say is that it just works. You may not need all features, but for those that you do they are there, and they all work well. If I could use one word to describe the XM6s, it would be versatile. They just do it all, and do it all from good (such as build quality), to great (such as audio quality), to amazing (such as ANC). Yea there are nitpicks, like the finish being a fingerprint magnet, the cheaper feeling build in some areas, the associated mobile app not always connecting to the headphones on the first try, the earpads making my ears a bit warm after a few hours of usage, etc., but overall they are just that nitpicks. None of these things would keep me from buying these, and many have workarounds or can be improved with firmware updates. I can’t think of a headphone I have used that I would recommend above these for most people. Sony really knocked it out of the park.

The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are the best noise cancelling headphones yet. Noise cancelling: First off, these are fantastic noise cancelling headphones. They block out so much white noise. I own the past 2 versions of these Sony headphones as well (XM4 and XM5). They all did a great job at noise cancelling at the time they all came out. The issue is those headphones are still great at cancelling noise, and still available to buy for far less than these XM6 headphones today. That being said, I think phone calls do seem to have better quality than last generation XM5s. Build quality: The one thing I will say is that it looks like Sony addressed the previous model XM5 fragile plastic hinge design. The new hinges here have two points of articulation so they can actually fold again like the XM4s did. But on the XM6s there seems to be a metal hinge under the plastic that was not there with the XM5s. I am hoping this holds up long term, but only time will tell. The new case design is awesome. I love the magnetic clamp. No more zippers, and because Sony went back to the foldable headphone design of the XM4s, they take less space in my backpack for trips. Comfort: These, like the XM5s, are super comfortable for me. Great for long flights or train bus rides! The earcups could be a little deeper maybe, but they were very comfortable for me. Sound Connect App: Now here is where things get interesting. I loved the way the XM4 models sounded. They had a very good bass response. With the model after that, the XM5s they used smaller drivers which delivered less bass. This new XM6 has the same sized drivers, but thankfully they do deliver a bit more bass and to my ears sound much better than the XM5s. These new XM6s also now have a brand new 10 band equalizer to really dial in your bass and treble in the app on your phone. Connectivity: Wireless bluetooth connectivity had no issues on 2 different Google Pixel phones, a Pixel 9 and a Pixel 8. The XM6s also come with a wired 3.5mm audio cable. USB-C connection can only be used for charging. You unfortunately can still not deliver audio connected to a phone. This is a little disappointing as you can do this even on some lower priced headphones in 2025. Not sure why Sony didn’t allow this to happen. Phone calls: I think the phone calls in these are definitely better than the last XM5 model. It isn’t night and day better, but it definitely improved. The app: You can customize a whole lot through the app for these headphones. There is listening mode that lets you choose a few options now, standard, background music and cinema. Standard is where I leave mine set, however there is the Background music setting which has a sub menu that lets you choose different “background music effects” like “my room”, “living room” or “cafe”. These assign some kind of sound profile to make your music sound like it is happening further away. I didn’t find myself really using this but it does kind of do what it says. The 3rd option is a “cinema” mode which also assigns some kind of spatial audio. I also didn’t really care for this personally. Overall: These are great wireless noise cancelling headphones overall. They sound great, and are fantastic for calls. I am also so glad Sony put some metal in the hinges! My only issue is these XM6 headphones are very expensive compared to even their own previous flagship noise cancelling headphones, and considering their price I also do wish they could deliver audio over USB-C like other similarly priced and even lower priced competitors have.

These headphones sound amazing, once again to change settings & customize you need the app. Hey come in a nice carrying case with a USB cable & regular headphone jack. The headband & ears are padded & are very comfortable & lightweight. I have a small head & they fit me well but slip down sometimes and after wearing them about 1/2 hour started to hurt my ears a little. I liked the range, I walked outside & left my phone on the table & still had clear sound, no breaking up at the end of my back yard, which is over 1/2 acre. I have the sound set to hard which enhances the bass & treble & the bass really pumps in these. There is also clear & soft setting. I set my listening mode to standard , cinema mode is good too with rich, full sound. The background setting mutes it a bit. Noise cancelling or ambient sound are two settings , which can be turned off, I like them both, once again giving rich bass tones. They do cancel out noise but not so much that I couldn’t hear anything going on around me. I could hear tapping on a table. The phone answering feature is cool, It can be set to nod to answer for yes or shake for no & it does work,The earpieces flip around .There are so many customizable settings in the app that I’m still learning them. One setting I really like was that I could switch between devices while listening. I still have an old iPod so I played one song on there & then switched seamlessly to a song on my iPhone. Setup was quick & connected easily & so far battery charge life seems good. There were a few minor things that I didn’t care for like the R&L emblems are on the inside & took a little to find , the power button is push & hold & the controls for volume, rewind, ff are one the right ear & everytime I adjust to fit I’m constantly touching them, they’re super sensitive. The headphone jack didn’t sound good plugged directly into the stereo, sound only in one ear, sounds way better using Bluetooth. I never was able to connect to my iPad. If I could give them 4.5 stars I would for the little things mentioned above but otherwise they are great!

I don’t know where to start with these headphones – The ANC which is by far and noticeably better than any of my other high end headphones or the world class sound quality. These are the industry pinnacle. I have a deep respect for Sony products, they really have been the leader in the industry since the Walkman changed the world, but I am not a “fanboy” either. So I came into the Sony WH-1000XM6 with an open mind. I knew they would be impressive, but these have truly surpassed my expectations! - ANC – The 12 adaptive microphones really nip the noise in real time. Using the app or the button to go between ANC or passive is easy and immediate…noisy bothersome world…BOOM gone. Your ears just envelope in a peaceful quiet that brings the music full frontal. AMAZING. The passive is also spot on. Lets the world in when you need to be aware and with the 12 microphones it’s a real natural sound. - Sound Quality – The detail on the highend digital audio files is just breathtaking. From rap to Podcasts…Just world class. It’s what you would expect from a a company like SONY. You can hear all the detail and melody from the backing tracks like never before. Really adds a lot to the music. - Phone calls sound great. They use the AI magic to isolate my voice so calls are clear and crisp. - Comfort- They are a little warm after a bit on the ears. The insulation traps the heat a bit. But they are very light weight and comfortable. That was a surprise just how lightweight they are. I can wear glasses with the headphones on and it doesn’t bother me a bit. The feel is luxurious and elegant and the material is premium. Everything is top end. - Battery life – They say 30 hours. Way more than I need at one sitting… I also read that you can get 3 hours worth of charge in three minutes with a USB-PD Compatible AC adapter. It also trickle charges as you listen if you plug it in so with a portable charger….power is unlimited. I also really love the case they provide. I feel like they borrowed a bit from the Bose headphones with the case and fold design but they took it up a few notches and do it way better. The case is a magnetic clasp for easy open and close. It packs away nicely in a backpack. It is expertly designed for the headphone and a real nice touch to keep them safe and easy to store or transport. I also appreciate the pause feature when you take the headphones off. This is really nice for listening to podcasts! Overall – Tremendous advance in ANC and WORLD CLASS Sound… plus all the things you would expect from the leader in the market. The perfect pair of headphones.

I have had every version of the Sony WH-1000 XM series of headphones since the XM3. Each new version was an improvement on the previous model. Sony made a more radical change in design with the XM5 which created some issues which left me less than satisfied. I am happy to say the XM6 model has corrected all of the following issues: The headband has been widened and the ear pads are a little thicker. These 2 changes alone have made the XM6 so comfortable that I can honestly say that I have forgotten that I am wearing them. The headphones are now foldable, making them much easier to transport. They also fold flat when you are wearing them around your neck. The new carrying case is not only smaller, it also closes with a magnetic latch which allows you to open and close it with one hand. The new case design also exposes the charging port when the headphones are lying flat. This allows you to charge them while in the case. The power button is now circular and distinct from other buttons eliminating confusion over which button you are pressing. All of the above addresses comfort and convenience which is critically important to your enjoyment. So now how do they perform? Sony has improved the noise cancellation, not an easy feat when you already had the best. The Sound Connect App has been updated and allows you to personalize your headphones. There are several sound presets and you can manually set the equalizer to your specific taste. Ambient sound levels can now be adjusted. You can pause/play just by removing the headphones and you can answer or decline phone calls with a yes or no gesture of your head. There are now 12 microphones which help with clear phone calls and improved ANC. The battery lasts for 30 hours and you can add 3 hours with a 3 minute charge as long as you use a PD USB power adaptor. Listening to music has been a joy offering a deep rich yet clear sound. There was a Bright equalizer setting on the previous model which was my go to setting. Sony has eliminated the Bright setting this year. I was able to manually set the equalizer as close as I could to the Bright setting, but I wish that Sony would include that again in a future update. Overall I am very happy with the comfort design and performance of the Wh-1000XM6 headphones. It appears that Sony has listened to the feedback on the previous model and they have done an excellent job of addressing those issues. I think that these are worth the upgrade and would recommend them to everyone.

Pretty serious pair of headphones here. The Sony WH-1000XM6 boast hi-res Bluetooth capability, noise canceling technology, and up to 30 hours of battery life. I’ve had the 1000XM6 for almost a week now, and have really put them through their paces. I’ve listened to a wide variety of music through them, and have been extremely impressed by their thumping bass and their smooth, detailed midrange. The Sonys are very comfortable, with plenty of cushion on the ear pads and the top arch. I wore them for hours without any fatigue or pain. The noise canceling feature was one of the best I have used. One of my tests for any ANC set of cans is to play the drums with the noise canceling feature turned on. Drums have a habit of overwhelming noise canceling, and I’ve reviewed some ANC headphones that started crackling and distorting trying to cancel out the noise of cymbals and toms. Not the 1000XM6… No matter how hard I played the drums, the auto noise canceling feature handled all the racket without any issue whatsoever. Better than any headphone I’ve worn up to this point. On to some listening tests. Fleetwood Mac’s Never Going Back Again sounded very detailed. The plucking of the acoustic guitars could be heard distinctly. I could also tell the difference between the guitars that were being picked, and those being plucked by finger. Pretty impressive. Another song by FM, Tusk, was great to listen to. The kick drum thumped, could feel it in my ears. Around the 1:15 mark, the bass joined the mix, and you could easily hear the growl. The chorus had bite but didn’t sound shrill, something that I noted immediately. The 1000XM6 sounded slightly rolled off in the upper registers while being boosted in the mid-bass and midrange. The result was great sounding bass frequencies, great thump on the kick pedal, and beefy toms. But it was almost a little too rolled off. I cycled through a couple more songs, noting that the treble wasn’t where I wanted it to be, and then started messing with the settings. For the heck of it, I turned off Adaptive Sound Control. I noticed a slight tilt upward in the higher frequencies. I don’t know why the Adaptive Sound Control would make a difference in high frequency sound, but it did seem that way. I worked my way through some more songs, and also noticed, on songs like Marco Polo by Loreena McKennit, that deep bass, like below 50 Hz, seemed rolled off too. Anything above 80 Hz was weighty, thumping, and solid (without being boomy). Anything under seemed to lose a little of that weight. Regardless of those two small shortcomings, the 1000XM6 sounded amazing. I couldn’t believe how good a set of Bluetooth headphones could sound. Combine that with a comfortable fit and great battery life, and I say Sony has a real winner here.

I own quite a few headphones, but most of them are of the "Gaming" variety, between my PS5 Pro and Gaming PC. As far as regular Bluetooth audio on my iPhone, iPad and other devices, I usually gravitate towards earbuds (Airpods Pro 2). The reasons for this are several ...I do have a hearing disability (mostly in my right ear) and I have super oily skin. So, typically, for music and calls, I can simply hear better with my Airpods, while being pretty comfy for long-haul use and require minimal cleaning/upkeep. However, these new Sony XM6's may very well break that cycle and just make it worth the extra bit of hassle to remove them from the case, put them on and enjoy...versus the convenience of a quick pop-in of my Airpods. I also want to preface this review with the fact that I have used the Sony XM4's many, many years ago...but they quickly went to the wayside in favor of the convenience of earbuds. I did enjoy the audio quality of them, but not to the extent to make it worth the ritual and habit of putting them on. I also purchased the XM5's last year, but returned them after a week because, honestly, they just seemed redundant to my XM4's and not really much of an upgrade (heck, they even lost the foldability!). But, I did get to test and compare those for a small bit of time. With that being said, I do have the XM4 and XM5's as a point of reference to compare these XM6's to! Packaging: First things first - I've always loved the retail unboxing experience of Sony audio products. You always get that "premium" experience and it feels like you got your money's worth. Sony did not disappoint with these XM6's, even down to the shipping box they arrived in... along with the little grass/confetti material used inside the box for presentation. Unboxing was pretty easy and I immediately noticed a big difference in the storage case between the XM4/XM5 and this product. Both of the previous ones used a zippered case, which I didn't really love. However, Sony's R&D really listened to user feedback for the XM6 and now, there is a magnetic "latch" that goes over the side and keeps the case shut. Overall, the case seems almost the same size as the one for the XM4's (since those folded, like these) and they even accidentally fell about 3-4 feet to the carpet while we were away from the house, thanks to the dog, lol. When we came back home, the case was still closed and latched. The magnet is pretty strong to hold it together, even with a short fall. Setup and App: After unboxing and admiring their beauty, I immediately placed them on charge. I checked on them a few hours later and they were good to go. Later that evening, I downloaded the Sony Sound Connect app. I used that to setup the headphones and get them connected with zero problems. There was an immediate firmware update, which didn't take long at all. Once all that was done, I was presented with the home screen and ready to start listening. I will say that this app has been significantly overhauled and improved since I used it last on the XM5's that I tested. It's much simpler now and I was able to get logged in with my existing Sony account that i used on the previous version without much of a problem. I love that there's so many less configuration options to choose from because previously, it was way too cluttered. Now, previously, I always set the Equalizer to the "Bright" setting, which I noticed is no longer an option. I went through all the options: Off, Heavy, Clear, Hard, Soft, and Game. The rest were Custom profiles. Immediately, the "Off" setting sounded PERFECT. I'm not sure why, but upon selecting any other Equalizer setting, the overall volume reduced by about 20-25%, which I thought was odd. Between everything I've listened to, "Off" continued to be the highest-quality sounding option and great volume. I also do want to mention that there is plenty of volume overhead on these cans, regardless of what setting you use. Using "Off", even with a hearing disability, I could set my volume no louder than 3/4 of the way. Anything beyond that was uncomfortable. This is a huge win for me, as I hate having to max out the volume level just to get to the volume I need. Plenty of overhead like this is nice, in case you wanna "jam out" to something for a short period of time. Beyond this, there are other options, such as Speak-to-Chat, various "Listening Modes", such as Standard, Background Music and Cinema, which are pretty cool - they're really well done effects that mimic various environment settings, such as being in a Cafe, etc. There's even a "Find your favorite sound balance" option that custom-sets an Equalizer for you, in real-time as you listen to a song! It saves this to your Custom2 profile. I thought this setting is super neat and I will be playing with this next! I did not mess with the Spatial Sound Optimization or 360 Reality Audio Setup (ear shape, etc). Overall, I'm extremely happy with the quality of the updated Sony Sound Connect app. It's much nicer and more streamlined than it used to be. Sound/Bluetooth Quality and Noise Cancelling: The sound quality on these XM6's are phenomenal! These are the best sounding headphones I've ever used for listening to music, YouTube videos, Podcasts and such. Compared to even the XM4's and XM5's, they're a nice improvement - especially without even having to use an Equalizer. Some Bands/Songs I have listened to: Alestorm, Ghost, The Bug (the song "Angry" is a great test of the Bass), Sleep Token, the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Soundtrack, The Browning, The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack, Daft Punk, Falling in Reverse, BabyMetal, Slaughter to Prevail and Eminem, just to name a small selection. As you can see, this is a pretty wide variety of music and everything sounded fantastic. I also do want to point out the fact that with my hearing disability, a lot of it is tonal, so I do have some issues hearing voices. With these headphones, I could actually hear every singe word in my listening time with Sleep Token, among others and prior to this, I always struggled to hear exactly what they were saying without Lyrics. Not an issue here at all. So, that's a huge WOW from me. The same applies to some of the other music I listen to as well. Alestorm was also another huge step-up for me on these cans. So, sound quality is a winner on these. And so is the Bluetooth connection and quality. I left my phone in my Game room on one end of the house and went to the bathroom all the way on the other end (about 2,000 sq. ft. away) and suffered ZERO audio drop outs or connection losses. I did also test these on audio calls on my iPhone and that went great as well. The person on the other side said I sounded great and was clear as a bell and at a regular, comfortable volume. I'm sure the extra mics on this one help the quality in various ways. As for Noise Cancelling, for over-ear headphones, it truly is one of the best out there... even better than what the XM4's provided. There are three options - Noise Cancelling, Ambient Sound and Off. The Noise Cancelling is top tier and completely drowns out everything around me. The Ambient Sound mode is pretty much a "transparency" mode, much like Apple devices offer (Airpods Pro and Max). However, the biggest issue I have when using it is that it sounds "amplified", if that makes sense? The audio coming in doesn't sound natural and has this weird computerized sound signature to it. Yeah, it's great in a pinch, but it misses that realistic sound that Apple devices have. With the XM6's, you can tell it's coming in and being "filtered" by the headphones. With Airpods, it sounds completely natural, like nothing is on your ears at all. Would I ding a star off for this? No. But I would like to see this improved in future versions of the headset. Other thoughts and Conclusion: So, I'm happy to report that these are one of the best headphones on the market. There are several other Brands competing with these, but until those get refreshes, at least, the XM6's are the ones to get! I've been absolutely glowing in this review, so, I'm sure you're wondering....are there any cons? A few, but they're more nit-picks than anything: 1) As I mentioned before, I do have super oily skin. So, when I take these off, I have to wipe the headband strip and the earcups down with a cloth, or my shirt if I'm in a hurry. I did hear that these have a new coating that's more "smudge-resistant" on the actual headphones themselves, but of course, this would not apply to the leatherette parts. I know Wicked Cushions does have pads for the previous models, so I'll need to keep an eye out to see if/when they release them for the XM6's! 2) I would have loved to have seen a little extra room in the case to keep your headphones extended to where you normally keep them. I've seen so many issues on the internet with previous models and broken hinges, etc...even from folks that baby their things. If I had to guess, some of that could boil down to the constant sliding up and down and folding in and out to store them in the case, each and every time? I'm not sure, but to avoid this, I may just keep them out and throw them on my headset stand, just to be safe and just use the case if I take them traveling or something. 3) What I just mentioned above about the "Ambient" transparency mode. But yeah, that's literally it for me. Everything else is A+ tier with these. To piggyback off of my intro to this review - for me, these headphones sound so good and are so comfortable (it's feather-weight and almost like wearing nothing at all), it would be worth it for me to use these over my Airpods Pro 2's as a daily driver for all of my music and other audio needs...especially while working from home! If you're in the market for a new pair of cans, you can't go wrong with these at all! 5/5 stars, highly recommended!

The Sony WH-1000XM6 over ear headphones are beautiful, sound amazing, and have just about every feature you could possibly want. PROS - Design - Both style and function including with the Case - 10/10. - Sound - The excellent sound you'd expect from Sony - 10/10. - Function - They put all the features you could possibly want or need into these - 10/10. CONS - Being super picky, there's one or two improvements I'd like to see added. From my experience with these headphones so far, I'd say they are nearly perfect in every way. When I first got them I was SO immediately impressed with the case. I absolutely love that they case is a magnet clasp case. With my previous headphones I had a zipper case and not only could it be a nuisance to zip/unzip, but the zipper would occasionally get hung. The magnetic clasp is a brilliant design - just as secure as a zipper but much easier to deal with. Opening up the case, I was impressed that Sony clearly labeled which earpiece goes where - it's so easy to fold and put them in! (With my old case/headphones sometimes it'd take me several minutes just to figure out the right way to get them in.) And the case has a really nice built-in pocket that not only holds the Aux cord and charging cable, but also has enough room for my Bluetooth Transmitter I use when flying. Super cool bonus! Moving on to the headphones themselves, they really are beautiful. Yes, they fit the traditional design more than say the Apple Heaphones, but within that traditional design, Sony did an excellent job of making them look great and function great. The hinges for folding and the slide outs are all strong but smooth. The headband cushion is great - the earmuffs are super comfy. And the minimal number of buttons (due in part to touch control for many things) is great. As for sound, this is Sony. They've always made some of the best sounding headphones, earbuds, and speakers, and the WH-1000XM6s continue that trend. I can't imagine any audiophile being disappointed with these. Whether you're talking on the phone or listening to a podcast, watching an action film or streaming lossless music from Apple Music, everything sounds amazing. Sound is rich and full across the entire spectrum. These are the kind of headphones that sound so great, I can't see needing to upgrade for many, many years because it'll be a while before any headphones are gonna sound significantly better. Aside from the sound of headphones, these being Active Noise Cancelling, Sony has also developed some of the highest quality ANC Headphones that I've used. There was a time when BOSE was the one to beat in this category, but others have caught up now and these Sony Headphones definitely have some of the best ANC I have ever heard...or not heard. :-) They do an excellent job of eliminating sound so you can focus on what you want to hear coming through the headphone speakers. Getting into the function of these, all I can say is "WOW!" Sony really made sure everything was covered. There are some features I'll never use and I'm sure some I love may be ones someone else won't use, but just about anything you could want is there. The headphones keep Noise Canceling simple with an on/off/ambient option. Ambient sound works great to allow you to hear what's going on around you nice and clear without removing the headphones. Speak-to-Chat has worked well for me so far (though I haven't yet got to test it in a noisier environment) and is a cool feature that automatically switches to Ambient mode if you start talking. Voice Sensitivity is adjustable and you can also change how long it waits after sensing silence before switching back to ANC. Besides that method you can cover the right earmuff with your hand to temporarily switch to Ambient mode. Or you can permanently toggle from ANC to Ambient using a dedicated button on the left earmuff (which is easy to distinguish since it's a slim rectangle button and the only other button for power is round). There are three "listening modes" you can choose from. Standard which is just "normal"; Background Music which is if rather than listening to music or something, you just want to create an ambiance like what you might have in a coffee house if you're working on your computer or maybe reading a book; and Cinema which is of course is meant for watching movies and is supposed to make the sound more cinematic. For the most part, I think I'll probably use Standard, but there may be an occasion where background could be useful and Cinema might be cool for some shows. Sony does include an Equalizer (like all these functions, you access and change in the app) which has several built-ins but also allows you to create custom ones. It's a 10 Channel Equalizer so you can fine turn to your heart's content. The app also has a "Find Your Equalizer" feature if you're not an audio expert and want some help figuring out the best for your tastes. Aside from that, there's also a 360 Reality Audio feature which claims to create an immersive experience as if you're at a live performance, but it only works with specific apps that are optimized for it so I consider it to be a fairly useless feature except for a small percentage of people. You can choose to prioritize Bluetooth sound quality or connection stability - of course sound quality is default as it should be, but you can switch if you're in a specific situation where there are stability issues. You can also further enhance sound quality by turning on DSEE Extreme which uses AI to upscale some MP3 Streaming sources. (This would only be useful if your streaming non-high quality audio, but nice to have the option.) Of course you can connect to two devices at once which I'd expect of all high end headphones these days. Another unique and pretty cool feature is the Voice Control feature - if turned on, it allows you to controll your headphones by saying "Hey, Headphones" then a command like "Play" "Pause" "Next Song" "Raise the Volume" "Set Noise Cancelling to On" etc. You can also access your phone's default assistant (Siri/Google) by saying "Assistant" so you still have that accesible. The only thing I don't like is that normally, long pressing the touch surface of the right earphone calls up your phone assistant, but if Voice Control is on, this is disabled. I don't really understand why. Speaking of the touch sensor control, this is an AWESOME feauture (can can be turned on/off) that allows you to control your headphones and your music with simple touch gestures on the right earpad. It's so much better than a bunch of buttons that you're trying to blindly hit correctly. You can tap to pause/play. You can swipe forward/backward for next/previous, swipe up/down for volume control, and more. It's so easy and intuitive to use and the best control of any headphones I've ever had. The only buttons on the headphones are on the left earpad and there is one circle one for power and one slim rectangle for Noise Cancelling which makes them easy to find and distinguish. The Noise Cancelling button can be set to toggle between any of the three modes (ANC/Ambient Sound/Off) which is cool. The one thing I do not like is that button has customizable controls for 2 taps and 3 taps but Sony has limited this feature to only control the 360 Reality Audio Apps which means this function is pretty much useless for most people. It would be nice if you could map these controls to launch any music app on your phone and/or control other headphone functions. There are some other cool features (I told you Sony really packed everything into these) like Head Gesture which if turned on allows you to accept or reject an incoming call by nodding/shaking your head as well as control scene-based listening; auto-switch sound from your headphones to a speaker when removing/putting them on; set the Auto Power off mode for the headphones; auto-pause your music/movie when you remove the headphones; select to hear your own voice when on phone calls; and adjust the volume (or turn off) audio notifications and voice guidance for the headphones. There is also a "Scene-based listening" option for these that I have not used myself and likely won't, but would be good for people who like to wear headphones like these all the time. When enabled the settings for the headphones will change and be optimized as you change environments. So say you are at home eating breakfast when you put them, then you walk outdoors and down the street to the bus stop, then you get on the bus and ride the bus to work - as you change to thest three different "scenes" the headphones use Adaptive Sound Control to tailor things to your situation. This is something I won't use, but I can see how it could be a great feature for some people. It's hard to say anything is "perfect" but I can't imagine a more perfect pair of headphones available today. The sound is audiphile quality. The ANC is as good as it gets. The design and style is among the best I have ever seen. And Sony put so many features and functionality into these that anyone should be able to customize them to be their own personal dream headphones! The WH-1000XM6 Headphones are Sony at it's best! I can't imagine anyone not loving these.

What a great fit these are comfortable arounf my ears and over my head. I have an older pair i got in 2020 these are slimmer and have touch controls on the side cups. I have to say i like it that way instead of the touch buttons on the side because you always hit the wrong button. Noise Cancellation has improved so much since 2020 these are very quiet. I havent take a call on these so i don't have anything to say about that but im sure they work just as great as my older one's. The app that powers these is so cool you can set it to the gym the office or school commute home. whatever you need to help these sound great. You can have it set to safe Listening to protect your hearing trust me you want that i know it's cool to listen to loud music but your hearing i more important. I have a couple other pair of headphones i have to say Sony's are my go to it just fit's better and sounds better The bad is the charging cord it is really short i mean really short. The case it comes with is so much easier to open and close no zipper to mess with and to get stuck on. It is a hard side case witch is great you won't have to worry about the any damage from a drop. So overall these will be with me on all my travels in the next few month's.

The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are awesome! Audio is crystal clear, accurate, expansive, and with excellent bass reproduction. Comfort is fantastic. I could wear these all day without much worry for discomfort. ANC does a fantastic job of filtering out ambient noise. And the app support is second to none. As an all-arounder, the Sony XM6’s checks every box. I have seen nothing at this price level or above that delivers as complete a package Sony does with the XM6. The musicality of the XM6 headphones are nothing short of amazing. I tend to listen to headphones at low to low-medium volume. According to Sony Sound Connect, this is equivalent to 60db to 65db; a very safe level for all day listening. At my preferred volume, vocals were clear and airy, instruments were resolving, and bass was crisp, clean, and very well behaved. For example, listening to Wilson Philip’s “Hold On”, the vocals and harmonies were front and center, the beat never got in the way of the vocals, and the guitars were properly both in the background and supportive of the vocals. This experience was easily reproduced with any artist and musical genre. Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic” is an excellent example of a bass heavy track mixed with Beastie Boys typical rapping signature. The bass track is so heavy that it could easily overwhelm a pair of headphone drivers. Not here. Separate and clarity were perfect. Movies are equally fun. The Sony XM6’s allows for standard 2-channel audio that can be up-mixed to Sony’s own 360 Audio format. My primary streaming platform is Netflix. Netflix recently produced an animated series titled “Arcane.” This series is a cornucopia of neon colors, hard-edged artistically rendered characters, and has a surprising rich musical and special effects soundtrack. The series is mixed in 5.1 surround. I originally watched the series on my 5.1 home theater system. I fired up a few key episodes on my laptop to test both stereo (Standard) and Cinema (360) modes. This is controllable via the Sony Sound Connect Application. Standard mode offered what I would call a standard two-channel, two-dimensional presentation. Cinema mode was a completely different presentation. Dialogue was shifted from the left and right ear cups to front and center. Explosions were spacious and extended beyond the confines of the ear cups. There were more subtle sound effects that seem to weave in and out of the scene like an ocean wave. Overall, I cannot think of any reason not to watch Netflix with anything other than the XM6’s from here on out. Will these replace my home theater? No. But if you enjoy cinema then I think you will love the Cinema mode. I found it hard to go back to standard two-channel listening after using Cinema mode for a few episodes. ANC is fantastic. Constant, consistent noise such as fan noises and vacuum cleaners are easily filtered out. The noise reduction may cause a slight background hum which will invade the ear cup when nothing is playing. It is almost inaudible at my normal playing volume. ANC with music, even at low volumes, completely drowns out voices. For example, I was listening to NPR with ANC turned on during my workday. My wife had company in the next room that was speaking as if they were alone in the house. I had no idea they were in the house until I took off the XM6s. They could have been right outside my doorway, and I probably would not have heard them. Ambient noise mode does a great job of providing a transparent hearing experience. It is not perfect. For example, the wall reflections from a hand clap are boosted by the XM6’s 12 microphones. Otherwise, the transparency is nearly perfect. Other headphone manufacturers also offer near transparency ambient noise passthrough. However, Sony takes their ambient sound to the level. First, in the Sony Sound Connect app, I can set the ambient noise threshold. Meaning, I can control the balance between my music intensity and the ambient sound intensity. I can also set a filter to prioritize voices. This allows me to filter out noise while allowing voices to pass through. Sony goes as far as to allow Speak-to-Chat which will reduce the volume of the music, or other audio content, and auto switch to an Ambient conversation mode. The voice sensitivity and mode time out are fully configurable. The Speak-to-Chat feature can be a mixed bag. First it works awesome and does exactly what it is supposed to do. Second, clearing my throat will, even on low sensitivity, activate this feature. Making an under-my-breath comment will also activate the mode. If you are one of those who talk to themselves, or self-narrate their day’s activities, then you will find it best to leave this mode disabled. Sound quality, musicality, comfort, ANC flexibility, and an immersive cinema experience are worth Sony’s price of entry for the XM6’s. But Sony did not stop here. None of this would be possible without industry-leading software. No one comes close to what Sony offers in this space. I touched upon flexible ANC and Ambient modes above. Other notable features are a 10-band equalizer with three programmable presets. Too little bass? No problem. Maybe you want the vocals to be a bit brighter? No problem. Or maybe you want different presets for classical, Jazz, and Rock. That is easy enough to set. Sony even includes a built-in hearing test that will allow you to discover your best EQ settings. However, the test depends on the listener providing their own music for the test instead of providing a standardized loop of sounds that would aid in a more accurate test. Sound Connect will also take hearing and headset wearing measurements to optimize 360 Reality Audio and Spatial listening. This is done using your cell phone’s camera. It is quick, simple, and does a great job. A sub tab in Sound Connect, “Discover”, has a feature called Safe Listening. This page is dedicated to sound pressure in the ear cup over time. The most helpful feature on this page, in my opinion, is real-time ear cup sound pressure level (SPL) measurements. Once registered, this information will be displayed on the “My Device” page under your playing musical selection. Personally, I think this data should be front and center at the top of the page. Why? This is invaluable data to maintain good hearing health. Hearing damage is cumulative. Also, for whatever reason, Apple Music does not normalize every track to a standard output level. Meaning, there are times I am riding the volume controls because track 1 is quiet and track 2 blows my doors off. Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM6’s are amazing. They are fun, musical, supremely comfortable for all day wearing, have outstanding ANC, are light, have unassuming aesthetics, and have a level of flexibility that make the XM6’s unique at any price level. There is a lot more that the XM6’s are excellent at that I did not cover here. Phone calls, multi-point pairing, automatic phone to music switching, automatic source switching, touch controls, storage, the case, and so much more that I could go on for hours about how much Sony got right with the XM6’s. If you are looking for the best all-arounder coupled with a robust software package, then you will love the Sony WH-1000XM6’s.

I used to have the AirPod max, and I decided to get rid of them for these headphones. I had the Apple AirPod maxes for over a year, and it was TOO HEAVY for my head. I know and I get the hype for them but, the noise cancellations wasn’t great for the gym as much as these headphones were, and sometimes the cuffs would air out to the point I could still hear everything. I love headphones where I can almost hear nothing. These were calling my name the first minute I heard it was coming out, and it was the best decision I have ever made. Noise cancellation is perfect, I don’t hear the little inconvenience of the loud area noise, much to say also A LOT LIGHTER in weight compared to the AirPod Maxes. Quality wise is outstanding, I even wear these to sleep without worrying that I would have an indenture in my head like the AirPod maxes would give me. It also doesn’t fall off my head, and I don’t have a small head whatsoever, the AirPod maxes had so many times it would slip off. These wouldn’t slip off if were to rock n roll my head like a rockstar man. The battery life is 100x better than the AirPod maxes, and I want these to last me for over 10 years because of how amazing these headphones are, and these are DEFINITELY WORTH the hype and the name of headphones.

I’ve been using the Sony WH‑1000XM6 for a few weeks now, and here’s my honest review as someone who’s used the XM series before. Noise Cancellation: This is where Sony keeps raising the bar. The XM6 cancels out not just low rumbles but also more “human” noises like voices and keyboard clatter. It feels like stepping into a quiet bubble, even in a busy office or on a plane. Definitely the best I’ve experienced. Sound Quality: The audio is clean and balanced – tighter bass than the XM5, clearer mids, and a wider soundstage. I love the new “Background Music” and “Cinema” modes – they actually make a difference when switching between work, music, and movies. It also supports 360 Reality Audio for an immersive experience if you use compatible apps. Design & Comfort: Sony brought back the folding hinge, which is great for travel. The case now has a magnetic clasp and feels premium. Comfort-wise, they’re good for long sessions, though I did notice a bit of pressure after hours of wearing (especially with glasses). Battery & Features: Battery life hasn’t let me down – around 30+ hours with ANC on, and fast charging is a lifesaver (3 minutes for about 3 hours of use). Multipoint Bluetooth and LE Audio/Auracast make these future-proof. Calls & App: Calls are solid – people hear me clearly even in noisy spots. The Sony app is still one of the best out there, with a full EQ and custom sound profiles. Downsides: Pricey at $449. Fit might feel snug for some (especially with glasses). Still no water resistance or aptX support. Verdict: If you want the best ANC headphones right now, the XM6 are worth it. They’re not a “must” if you already have the XM5, but if you’re upgrading from older models or want top-tier noise canceling, these are hard to beat.

The Sony WH-1000XM6 Noise Canceling Headphones are premium headphones offering studio-quality sound. • Packaging – The headphones come nicely packed in a carrying case; however, I wish the carrying case had a zipper instead of a magnetic buckle as the magnetic buckle seems less secure. • Noise cancellation – The quality of the noise cancellation is outstanding, especially when used on an airplane. During my recent flights the external noise was completely eliminated which allowed me to relax and enjoy my playlist. Sony upgraded the noise cancelling processor to the QN3 which is reportedly 7x faster than their WH-1000XM5 model. • Audio – The audio quality is rich and balanced. I greatly enjoy listening to both music and audiobooks with these headphones. I also found the audio during calls to be clear and easy to understand. There are several customization settings in the Sound Connect app including: o Ambient sound control – able to pick from noise canceling, ambient sound, or off o Listening mode – Standard (allows you to set the equalizer and DSEE), background music (sets music and other content to simulate distant ambience), or cinema (immersive content enabled by Sony’s 360 Reality Audio Upmix technology) o Equalizer – Heavy, clear, hard, soft, game, custom. It allows you to find your equalizer by giving you several different profiles to pick from while listening to music which can be saved to a custom slot. o Spatial Sound optimization – Measures the angle of the headphone placement to optimize spatial sound o 360 Reality Audio – Analyzes the shape of your ears for a more immersive experience as if you were at the performance. This requires you to allow the app to take a picture of each ear. • Comfort – The headphones are lightweight and fairly comfortable over long duration use; however, I did notice some discomfort along the top of my head at the center of the band after a few hours. • Battery life – These headphones have a long battery life lasting up to 30 hours and charge quickly with the included USB-A to USB-C charging cable. Overall, I think these headphones are great. They offer immersive audio and many features/customizations in the app. Highly Recommend!

The Sony XM6's have to be one of the best upgrades I've gotten. The noise cancellation is great, it feels comfortable even when wearing a mask or glasses, and being able to fold the headphones down help with portability. The battery life is great and it charges extremely fast. The power button and mode switch buttond are easy to locate, and being able to use multipoint connections is really nice. The ambient sound also comes really clear too and useful when listening in busy areas. The price is more expensive from previous generations though. But it is definitely superior than the xm5 in terms of usability. The build quality is claimed to be a bit sturdier aroind the hinges but only time will tell. Overall, they're solid headphones, with a few minor issues, but overall Sony is still at the top

I use these for work every day, I only have to charge them once a week. The battery life is great, and if I forget to charge them, I only have to go without for like 10min and then I’m set. They are comfortable and the audio pass through is great, I don’t have to take them off my ears to hear when someone needs something. The only things I dislike is they don’t seem to have noise cancelling calibration quite like the older ones used to. But the noise cancelling still works pretty well and doesn’t bother my ear drums like some noise canceling does. My only other gripe is the headband is made of some weird flexible material and if I do take a cup off just 1 ear then put it back on, the headband doesn’t really untwist and I have to manually realign both ear cups to make it straight. When it’s twisted like that it’s slightly uncomfortable and I have been told that it’s hard to hear me when taking a call, but only while it’s twisted, it I straighten them out I’m told I can be heard clearly again. The connectivity is great!

The WH-1000XM6 delivers outstanding noise cancellation and superb sound quality with deep bass and clear highs. They’re extremely comfortable for long listening sessions, and the touch controls make managing music and calls effortless. Battery life is excellent, and quick charging is a big plus. Pairing with multiple devices is seamless. If you want premium sound and top-notch noise cancellation, these headphones are worth every penny.

Coming from the XM4s, the XM6's have a noticeable sound change that sounds excellent. Good overall balance of lows, highs, and mids. The battery is life is great since I can go a whole week without having to charge them and I use these all day long for work. But the biggest upgrade is the comfort. Coming from the XM4s, the comfort of the cushion and head rest is a nice upgrade. I couldn't wear my XM4s all day since after a while it would start to hurt my ears. I have thicker hair so having a headset that can actually fit my big head is a need and the XM6s do that for me. I skipped the XM5s since the sound quality of them was just very mid, but I liked the comfort of them. The XM6's have the comfort from the XM5s but way better sound quality. Overall I recommend them. You also won't be disappointed with the transparency mode either.