Sony WH-1000XM6 review

There’s a particular kind of silence you only appreciate once you’ve lost it. Step onto a train during rush hour, or walk down a busy city street, and it’s astonishing how quickly the world fills your head. Engines, chatter, horns, even the low mechanical hum of escalators; the soundtrack of daily life is relentless. But slip on the latest Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, and all of that recedes. Suddenly, the chaos is hushed, replaced with the sound of your own choosing, music, podcasts, or simply silence.

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Sony’s WH-1000X line has been the benchmark for Active Noise Cancellation headphones for nearly a decade. It’s a series so consistent that rival brands often position themselves directly against it.

With the WH-1000XM6, Sony hasn’t tried to rewrite the formula. Instead, it has refined it, addressing many of the pain points of earlier generations while making incremental improvements to sound and usability.

So, with all those improvements, how does the ‘Mark 6’ really stack up in everyday use, and does it still hold the crown for the best noise-cancelling headphones? Let’s unpack that, and more, in our in-depth Sony WH-1000XM6 review.

Sony WH-1000XM6 design and fit

At first glance, the XM6 doesn’t look radically different from its predecessor, but the design changes reveal themselves in daily use. Gone is the fragile hinge that left some XM5 owners nervous about longevity. In its place is a sturdier, reworked mechanism that folds inward as well as flat. This makes the headphones significantly more practical to stow away in a bag.

Sony has also tweaked the earcup controls, with a redesigned power and Bluetooth button that is easier to identify by touch. It sounds minor, but when you’re fumbling to switch them on in the dark of a plane cabin, the difference is clear.

The case finally feels travel-ready. Where the XM5’s squashy, oversized shell felt more like a gimmick (always taking up too much room in a backpack), the XM6’s case is slimmer, sturdier, and far easier to live with. The new magnetic clasp shuts with a satisfying snap, adding a touch of polish when you’re tossing them into a carry-on or pulling them out mid-commute. I’m still a little unsure how the clasp will age, but for now, it feels secure, tactile, and far more refined than before.

At 254 grams, the XM6 strikes a sweet spot between being light and still feeling sturdy; ready for the rigours of travel without ever seeming flimsy. The fit is secure, with just enough clamping force to stay in place on a busy commute, yet not so tight that they become uncomfortable.

The earcups are slightly shallower than rivals like the Bose QC Ultra, which can make finding the perfect fit with glasses a bit fiddly, but for most listeners, the balance of comfort and stability will hold up even through long sessions. The wider headband also does a good job of balancing pressure across larger heads while remaining adjustable enough for smaller ones.

Controls are well thought out, too. The right earcup’s responsive touch panel makes swiping through tracks or adjusting volume effortless (though gloves still trip it up), while the left side keeps things simple with a power button, a 3.5mm jack, and a dedicated ANC toggle. Together, it’s a package that feels practical, polished, and built with everyday use in mind.

Sony WH-1000XM6 features

This is Sony’s flagship, and the features reflect that. Out of the box, the WH-1000XM6 offers a straightforward, no-fuss experience. Pairing is fast, multipoint connectivity works smoothly, and playback controls through the capacitive touch panel are familiar and reliable. Tap to pause, swipe to adjust volume, hold to summon your voice assistant; it’s intuitive enough that you barely think about it.

Where the headphones come alive, however, is with the Sony Sound Connect app. Here, the XM6 transforms into a playground for personalisation. You can adjust a 10-band equaliser, explore presets tuned for different genres, or create your own signature sound. You can toggle spatial audio through Sony’s 360 Reality Audio platform or even upmix stereo tracks to emulate a surround effect.

Speak-to-Chat, which pauses playback when you start talking, makes sense for office workers, while adaptive sound modes adjust ANC levels depending on whether you’re walking, sitting, or commuting.

It’s a deep feature set, but what Sony does well is keep it accessible. Casual listeners can ignore most of it and still enjoy an excellent out-of-the-box sound. Power users, meanwhile, can dig in for hours, fine-tuning every nuance. This balance is hard to strike, and Sony deserves credit for making its flagships both versatile and approachable.

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There is, however, one glaring omission. The WH-1000XM6 does not support USB-C audio passthrough. In 2025, that feels like a strange oversight, especially as rivals like Apple, JBL, and Sennheiser have already embraced it. For those who rely on wired digital connections for high-res playback or gaming, this could be frustrating. Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC, AAC, SBC, and LC3 is future-proof enough for most casual users, though.

Sony WH-1000XM6 sound quality, ANC, and microphone performance

This is where the XM6 asserts itself most confidently. These are the best-sounding WH-series headphones to date, a noticeable step forward from the XM5. The 30mm drivers with a stiffer dome design deliver bass that is deep and controlled rather than boomy, mids that are rich without being muddy, and highs that are detailed without tipping into harshness.

The overall tuning leans slightly dark, with a touch more low-end emphasis than purists might prefer, but it works brilliantly in the environments these headphones are built for.

On a crowded subway, the warmth and weight of the low frequencies anchor the music, preventing it from being drowned out by background rumble. Play Barry White, and his baritone comes through with velvet richness. Switch to The Sky Is A Neighborhood by the Foo Fighters, and the layers of atmospheric effects are teased apart with enough clarity to hold your attention, even if the upper registers feel a touch forward.

Noise cancellation, though, remains Sony’s crown jewel. The updated Q3 processor and improved physical isolation work together to adapt to changing environments. In practice, this means the roar of an aircraft engine dissolves into a faint murmur, café chatter fades into near-silence, and even the irregular clatter of a train is subdued with impressive efficiency.

The AI-driven optimiser is fast enough to respond to sudden changes, like walking out of a quiet lobby into a busy street, without introducing noticeable artefacts. For everyday use, it feels seamless, as though silence follows you wherever you go.

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Microphone performance is equally strong. With a six-mic beamforming array trained on AI voice models, the XM6 extracts speech from noisy backgrounds with uncanny accuracy. Calls made from windy streets or bustling offices come through clear, free of the muffled distortion that plagues many wireless headphones. For hybrid workers who want a single device for music and meetings, this is a genuine strength.

Sony WH-1000XM6 battery life

As for battery life, the Mark 6s don’t just last, they outpace most of their rivals. In testing, the headphones delivered just over 37 hours with ANC enabled. That’s nearly double the endurance of the Apple AirPods Max, and a clear step up from Sony’s own XM5. For most users, that translates into a full week of commuting or several long-haul flights without needing a recharge.

When you do run low, fast charging proves invaluable. Three minutes on the cable buys back a whopping three hours of playback. Even without relying on rapid charging, the relatively large battery means you won’t be tethered to a socket often. Over the long term, fewer charge cycles also help prolong the health of the lithium cells, suggesting these headphones should hold up well over years of daily use.

Unboxed Take: Who should buy the Sony WH-1000XM6

The Sony WH-1000XM6 doesn’t reinvent the formula; instead, it smooths out the everyday friction points that held back the Sony WH-1000XM5. The sturdier case is easier to live with, the build feels travel-ready, and the fit strikes a good balance of lightness and stability.

Add in class-leading noise cancellation, refined sound with plenty of room for personalisation, and battery life that outlasts most of the competition, and you have headphones that are as reliable on a long-haul flight as they are on a noisy morning commute.

They’re not flawless, though. The absence of USB-C audio passthrough is a strange omission in 2025, and the earcups could be deeper for glasses wearers. But these drawbacks don’t overshadow what remains the most complete headphones package on the market in 2025.

If you value ecosystem perks, Apple’s AirPods Max may still tempt. If comfort is your top priority, the Bose QC Ultra is worth a look. But for the best overall balance of sound, features, and endurance, the WH-1000XM6 is the safest and smartest bet this year.

For these reasons, we rate the Sony WH-1000XM6 4/5. What’s your verdict? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more detailed gadget reviews.