It’s been over two years since Sony had a new pair of headphones in its 1000X lineup, but the newly announced WH-1000XM6 seem worth the wait. From the outside, the new ANC headphones look similar to the streamlined WH-1000XM5 from 2022, with the only major change being the return of ear cups that rotate and fold flat. Inside, though, Sony’s packed in improvements that put the WH-1000XM6 ahead of the competition in terms of both sound quality and active noise cancellation.
That’s mostly thanks to the new QN3 processor on the inside, the addition of four new built-in microphones (from eight on the 1000XM5 to 12 on the 1000XM6) and an updated system for adapting ANC performance around fit and pressure. All three combine for noticeably better ANC. Those changes haven’t led to shorter battery life either — you’ll get the same 30 hours with ANC activated on the WH-1000XM6 that you were able to get on the WH-1000XM5.
The WH-1000XM6 is not only able to play spatial audio tracks like the WH-100XM5 and AirPods Max can, the headphones can also convert any stereo track you throw at it into 360-degree audio. For most people, though, the more immediately useful new feature will be the ability to keep using the headphones while you charge them, something oddly missing from previous models.
At $450, the WH-100XM6 are a good $50 more expensive than WH-1000XM5 and tiptoeing closer to the exorbitantly priced AirPods Max. The best way to know if Sony’s new headphones are right for you is to read Engadget’s review and ideally, try them for yourself. Until then, we’ve put together an overview of how the WH-1000XM6 compare to the WH-1000XM5 and the AirPods Max.
|
WH-1000MX6 |
WH-1000MX5 |
AirPods Max |
|
|
Pricing (MSRP) |
$450 |
$400 |
$549 |
|
Active noise cancellation |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Transparency mode |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Adaptive audio |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Multipoint connectivity |
Yes Can switch between 2 Bluetooth connections Fast Pair with Android devices Swift Pair with Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices |
Yes Can switch between 2 Bluetooth connections Fast Pair with Android devices Swift Pair with Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices |
No Automatic device switching between Apple devices only |
|
Battery life (rated) |
Up to 30 hours with ANC on Up to 40 hours with ANC off |
Up to 30 hours with ANC on Up to 40 hours with ANC off |
Up to 20 hours with ANC on Up to 20 hours with ANC and Spatial Audio on Up to 20 hours of talk time |
|
Wired charging |
USB-C |
USB-C |
USB-C |
|
Water & dust resistance |
No |
No |
No |
|
Size & weight |
8.96 oz |
8.82 oz |
13.6 oz |
|
Chip(s) |
Sony QN3 |
Sony QN1 + V1 |
Apple H1 |
|
Bluetooth |
Bluetooth 5.3 |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
Bluetooth 5.0 |
|
Bluetooth codecs |
SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 |
SBC, AAC, LDAC |
AAC, SBC |
|
Spatial audio |
Yes 360 Audio 360 Spatial Sound Upmix for converting stereo audio |
Yes 360 Audio |
Yes |
|
Control type |
Touch controls for playback and volume NC/AMB button for ANC |
Touch controls for playback and volume NC/AMB button |
Digital Crown dial for playback and volume Noise control button for ANC |
|
Mics & sensors |
12 microphones total: six microphones for calls Touch sensors Accelerometer Gyroscope |
Eight microphones total: four microphones for calls Touch sensors Accelerometer Gyroscope |
Nine microphones total: eight ANC mics, three mics for voice pickup (two shared for ANC) Optical sensor Position sensor Case-detect sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope |
