Sony's new 5-star headphones have the best noise-cancelling I've ever heard

Sony hasn’t made its life any easier when it comes to the WH-1000XM6. First off, it made a huge design departure for the 1000XM5, updating its aesthetic massively; then it waited three full years to bring out this follow-up, letting the expectations build and the list of requests mount up.

Now, though, it’s knocked it out of the park with the all-new WH-1000XM6. These are the premium headphones that other brands worry about; uber-popular and with sound quality and active noise-cancelling that simply don't miss.

When you take a set of headphones we gave five stars back in 2022, fix every foible and improve the things we already loved, you’re on to a winner. I’ve been using Sony's 1000XM6 all day, every day, for a full week to run them through their paces – and it's clear they're 5-star sensations from the off.

Price & Availability

When you survey the list of upgrades and specs offered by the XM6, there’s only one duff note, in the form of a small price rise.

The new cans are available now, but cost £400, $449.99 or €450, which means a £20, $50 or €20 hike compared to the XM5’s launch price. That’s not too bad as a percentage, but it’s not nothing at all.

That said, it’s worth remembering that this family of headphones has always been one to watch in major sales events like Amazon Prime Day. The XM5 will now likely get steeper discounts, having already fallen regularly to the ∼£250 mark, even outside of events.

Design

Sony made huge changes to its silhouette and design with the XM5, and while things are way less obvious this time around, there are nonetheless some extremely savvy tweaks for the WH-1000XM6.

Taking them from afar, and looking at them when they’re on the head, these are immediately familiar in most departments. Crucially, the ear cups look very similar, with the same slope outwards to a flat panel on each ear, housing the touch controls.

Around those ear cups, though, there are a heap of changes. The biggest is the arrival of stainless steel hinges, which operate noiselessly and let you fold the headphones away in a manner totally skipped by the XM5. That'll put them among the best headphones for travel for many, then.

The WH-1000XM6 can fold right up into a semi-circular shape if you like, although the case that comes with the headphones only puts them in a half-fold.

Sony told me this was to preserve the case’s thinness, which makes it easier to pack, but acknowledged that it’s a “to each their own” situation for those who prefer an even smaller but thicker arrangement. That said, part of me thinks that ignoring the case to chuck them in a bag isn't really typical or advisable for a pair of headphones costing this much.

As a side note, that case – which is colour-matched to your black, blue or silver headphones – is now sealed with a nice little magnetic clasp, instead of the XM5-style zip, which Sony admitted to me was “difficult to open” at the XM6 preview event. It works a treat and offers good protection thanks to a hard shell design.

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Back to the headphones, though, and the inputs have also had some smart little changes too. The power button and ANC toggle were identical on the XM5, but the former is now round and recessed to make it easier to press by feel alone. There are also now a couple of extra grille-covered external mics to power sonic upgrades that I’ll come to later.

The headband, finally, is wider and more cushioned than before. It's also asymmetrical to make it easier to tell which way round to put the headphones on in a split second.

These little details do matter, and the changes Sony has made sacrifice almost nothing aesthetically, while improving usability in substantial ways. That’s a slam dunk, as far as I’m concerned.

Features

Sony is adamant that the XM6 offers the “best active noise-cancelling (ANC) in the world”, and apparently intends to market the headphones as such.

That claim seems a little hard to back up scientifically, given the slightly subjective nature of ANC and its impact on music. In the same breath, as I've clearly stated in the 'pros' column up top of this very review, the ANC does indeed "defy belief', it's that good.

How's that achieved? Sony has upped the number of microphones feeding its ANC system from eight to 12, and upgraded its internal chip by two generations, multiplying its power sevenfold. This all feeds an adaptive system that reacts to your noise surroundings and adjusts accordingly, both in ANC mode and in the returning ambient mode.

At the XM6 preview event, Sony’s designers explained that the extra chip power didn’t come at the expense of extra battery drainage, but the headphones still top out at 30 hours in total, which is one of the very few stats where they don’t excel in compared to the competition.

With the likes of Sennheiser living on the 60-hour line now (in the Momentum 4 Wireless), those looking for a battery marvel might be disappointed by the lack of progress.

Still, fast-charging does mean that you get three hours of charge from three minutes of charging. For the first time, the headphones also continue to work while you charge them, another nice quality-of-life change.

There are some nifty new upscaling features also powered by that new chip, too. A 360-degree upmix for cinema, activated using the companion app, can give you the semblance of Spatial Audio even from stereo sources, which is fun for movies.

There’s also a new Gaming EQ preset for those casually gaming using the XM6, prioritising frequencies like those of footsteps to give you an advantage.

LDAC hi-res audio is now compatible, which is a welcome addition, with Sony’s DSEE Extreme option to upscale compressed audio if you want. Auracast is added for when that Bluetooth tech starts to become more widely used, too (if it ever does), while multipoint connectivity returns for connection to two devices.

Call quality is bumped up too, thanks to two more beam-forming mics than on the XM5 and a little more AI-powered wizardry to scoop out unwanted background noise while you’re talking. This is largely handled by a totally separate chip on the headphones, the V2, emphasising the amount of tech under the hood here.

Another small but welcome change is the addition of the ability to mute yourself directly on the headphones. On the XM5, this could only be accomplished on whatever device you were connected to, but you can now hold down the ANC button to do it without any other hardware. Those using these as work headphones will be immediately thankful.

Sound Quality

Slipping the XM6 on for the first time is a lovely experience – these might not quite be the most comfortable headphones I've worn (that honour goes to the Sonos Ace), but they're right up there.

The cushioning around each ear cup doesn't look all that deep, but it does its job admirably, and the leatherette finish is nice to touch. The only asterisk here is that its cushioning can be a little warm on the ears, thanks to the memory foam construction.

The plastic casing of the headphones also has a fingerprint-resistant coating, and for once, I could see it working. This sort of matte plastic can often attract smudges like no one's business, but my blue pair of headphones haven't been all too affected, which is great. The cushions' leatherette seems a little more prone to picking up a little grease, though.

Equally impressive is the immediate impact of the boosted ANC on offer in the XM6, which puts you in a world of your own straight away. There are a whole heap of competitors doing sterling work at this point, but Sony has put itself right into the top bracket once again.

The sound isolation can be pretty profound in the right circumstances, with white noise and train sounds buffeted completely out of existence once you put some music on. Just as reassuring is the fact that your music's sound signature won't be warped by this, staying true to its original sound.

I found that features like "speak-to-chat", which switches over to ambient mode when it detects you speaking aloud, worked decently – although I'll still always prefer to just take my headphones off in real life. My headphones also always defaulted to having ANC completely off when I powered them up, which was odd, but likely a pre-release quirk of early hardware.

Moving on to how these headphones actually sound, though. Beyond all the features and bells and whistles, the outlook is unsurprisingly excellent. Sony has again hewed to its previous path of careful balance, meaning these aren't headphones that will distort your choice of music to sound different to how you remember it.

What it will sound like, though, is really nice and detailed, with a naturalism to the sound that returns from the XM5. Frankly, if the sound was the exact same as the XM5, it would be no tragedy, but there is indeed a nice little boost to bass response that doesn't overpower the higher end (thankfully no Sony ULT influences here).

Sony talked about how it had tightened that bass slightly, too, narrowing its soundstage impact to make it more appreciable and precise. Again, if you're looking out for that tweak, you can feel it, but most listeners will just enjoy the pumping outcome. A great example can be heard in Lorde's single What Was That, which has the sort of low-end precision that backs up Sony's words.

Overall, the XM6 maintain the impression that, like the XM5, they can be a simply brilliant generalist pair of headphones, excelling in almost every department and handling any genre I threw their way.

Sony WH-1000XM6 review: Verdict

Sony could already credibly argue that the WH-1000XM5 were the best all-around headphones on the market, despite healthy competition. They've been hugely popular, and I'd say the WH-1000XM6 do everything required to keep that success continuing to the next level.

The XM6 sound phenomenal, with adaptive noise-cancelling (ANC) that defies belief – a proper competitor compared to Bose's best-in-class work. The design has seen refinements that elevate the proposition, too, thanks to a folding design and improved case. But it's the bread-and-butter sonic performance that's absolutely exemplary.

All of which makes Sony's WH-1000XM6 a stellar bit of work, with the only asterisk that you can really attach being that minor price rise. Then again, I don't think anyone who buys them will be disappointed at all. It's just there's a lot of alternatives to distract.

I've lived in the Sony WH-1000XM6 for a week already and intend to keep doing so for many dozens more – and it's in that longevity where that asking price translates into good value. Especially when audio and ANC this good are on the cards.

Also consider

By sticking that price tag on the XM6, Sony has elevated itself from "near the top-end" to "right on the top-end" of the consumer headphones market. Its competitors are now explicitly the likes of the Bowers Wilkins Px7 S3 at the same price. Sony wins the ANC aspect here, but design and comfort may go to the Bowers – depending on your preference and fit.

If all you care about is raw noise-cancelling, then you're probably going to want to try the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones for comparison, which arguably still (just about) retain the crown. We'll see how consensus develops on that front over time, though, since noise-cancelling can be slightly subjective to individual experience. Personally, I vastly prefer Sony's design, though.

Finally, there's the spectre of the past, as always. I mentioned that the WH-1000XM5 will now be a super-attractive undercut for the XM6. If you're not fussed about its bigger case and lack of folding, it still sounds superb and can be grabbed for a lot less, which makes for a highly justifiable alternative.