By Sony and Philips made for likely the greatest team effort in consumer electronics history with the Compact Disc in 1982. Sony and Bose, for more than a decade, dominated the world of ANC (active noise cancelation) in headphones. Today, every good headphone company in this category has ANC that works very well in their wireless headphones, and this technology is such a game-changer for travel, the office, the gym and beyond that is hard to imagine life without it. We still need to give Sony and Bose their props for being pioneers.
Sony’s headphones today are quite evolved and, in the wireless over-the-ear category, the WM-1000XM6 is a perfect example. These headphones do a little of what everybody needs from each performance category so as to be quite competitive in the modern marketplace. They are fashionable, light, comfortable, and a pretty strong value in the mid-to-premium category of wireless over-the-ear headphones. How do they stack up with the latest changes in the marketplace? That is what I am here to dive into.
What Makes the Sony WM-1000XM6 Wireless Headphones So Special?
- The ANC is even better on the Sony WM-1000XM6 headphones ($449 – buy at Crutchfield). The latest version of these headphones has a better processor and now no-less-than-12 microphones to sample the outside sound and then negate said noise. Is this a perfect system? No, but it is vastly improved. Can a pair of Sony WM-1000XM6s take the agony out of a crying baby on a trans-Atlantic flight? Yes, they can.
- Durability is improved. I didn’t have any issues with the hinge on the last version, but power users mentioned it in online reviews, and I trust that they aren’t making up these issues. The new Sony WM-1000XM6 comes with a better, more durable hinge, which is a total plus.
- The Sony WM-1000XM6 folds inward in ways that the former version didn’t. This makes it a little bit easier to travel with than past versions.
- The packaging for the Sony WM-1000XM6 is super-green. For some of my growing collection of headphones in this category, I keep the boxes. With the Sony WM-1000XM6, I just recycled the boxes and kept the durable and somewhat stylish case. Bravo to Sony for being so green with these headphones.
- There are many fashion-forward colors offered on the Sony WM-1000XM6. I bought my pair in the airport in Amsterdam, when my nearly twice-the-price Mark Levinson 5090 headphones (read my review) broke while on a week-plus-long European trip. I got the grey color, which was one of the few options that the airport store had to offer. If you buy them online or elsewhere at retail, there are colors like black, sandstone, a blue and a pinkish color. I find when giving headphones at this price as a gift that the colors are a really big draw.
- The Sony WM-1000XM6s are very lightweight. These headphones are made of plastic but are quite durable. They are excellent for travel (with or without the case), as well as the gym. It is nice to not have to baby your headphones when they accompany you on so many elements of your life.
- The Sony WM-1000XM6s are pretty damn comfortable. The WM-1000XM6s strike a nice balance between a tight fit on your ear versus too tight of a fit on your head. The ear cups were not an issue for an entire 10-and-a-half flight from Amsterdam to Los Angeles, and that is saying something. I literally keep ear pods (not my favorite form factor for travel) just to change things up a bit on long flights.
- The battery life on the Sony WM-1000XM6 is closing in on close to 40 hours. Realistically, the battery life is so good on today’s headphones in this category that you can go to Europe or Asia from the West Coast and use the headphones a bit while you are gone and still not run out of power. And if you do run out of power, you can get them charged back up in short order (say 15 minutes) and you are powered again. Unlike past versions, you can now even charge them while listening, assuming that you have a USB-C cord long enough. That’s another perk of the new version of the Sony WM-1000XM6 headphones.
Why Should You Care About the Sony WM-1000XM6 Wireless Headphones?
Everybody needs good wireless headphones these days, and the Sony WM-1000XM6s do so many things right that they are hard to ignore. They aren’t cheap, but they won’t break the bank for most audiophiles. As I mentioned earlier, they are a great gift, be they for you or somebody else. If you work in a place that could use some peace and quiet, the Sony WM-1000XM6 ANC is topnotch. They are great for travel. They are OK for phone calls (I still like to hold the phone up to my ear) and they are perfectly suitable for the gym. For a little over $400, you get one heck of a versatile pair of headphones.
Some Things You May Not Like About the Sony WM-1000XM6 Headphones
- Pairing with the Sony WM-1000XM6 requires you holding the button down longer than I think is intuitive.
- When you pair the Sony WM-1000XM6 with your device, it fails to say “Sony,” which implies that you know the exact model number of the headphones. We all have lots of Bluetooth items in our lives, thus better meta for the device would make things more obvious. This should be an easy fix, as every other headphone presents more clearly in our cluttered world of Bluetooth devices.
- The bass performance is good, but not great, compared to other headphones in this price class. The bass is low and likely improved over past versions, but is still less tight as compared to what you might get from other top competitors in the price category. The highs sound incrementally less harsh or bright than with past models, which is a welcome performance bump.
Listening to the Sony WM-1000XM6 Wireless Headphones
I spent time with my Sony WM-1000XM6 headphones walking the streets of Amsterdam, as well as flying back to Los Angeles from the Netherlands. I listened to these cans on the train to Rotterdam, as well as in the jacuzzi back here in Marina del Rey. I connected them to my 16-inch MacBook Pro, my iPhone 16 Pro Max and my iPad (yes, I am an Apple fan boy, it seems) as sources.
An old but familiar song that I’ve been listening to a lot lately is the 1970s soul classic “Then Came You” by The Spinners with Dionne Warwick (AAIF). The vocal layering sounded really good on the Sony WM-1000XM6 headphones. I like to listen to the vibrancy of the twangy and distorted guitar on this track, and that was where I could hear the improvements in the mids on the Sony WM-1000XM6s. The bass was good, but not as good as you will hear on headphones at the next price category up, like the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2s (read my review), which are tighter in the low end.
A song that I just put on our summer audiophile playlist for Qobuz is My Friend Catie’s spicey little jam “Technicolor Dream.” This Latin-influenced, hip-hoppy pop song has all sorts of fun audio elements. There’s a groovy bassline that I enjoyed on the Sonys. The very processed female vocal was comfortable and easy to enjoy, meaning not harsh or somewhat shrill as you often will hear on other headphones at this price. I liked hearing all the audio effects back in the mix, as the Sony WM-1000XM6s are nicely resolved.
Don’t ask me how I made “Mama, I’m Coming Home” a reference track for listening to headphones, but somehow it happened. Like The Spinners track, I like to listen to the vibrancy of the opening acoustic guitar. The bass is really clear in the mix and sounded good on the Sony WM-1000XM6, as there is plenty of space in the recording. Don’t fault me if I break out lighter, as the guitar chops get heavier in the second verse. The vocal overdubs in the first chorus are sonically well-resolved. The Zakk Wylde guitar has some delightful Les Paul “burn” to it, leaving me musically satisfied. What saddens me is that I will never bump into The Prince of Darkness at Bristol Farms (a high-end grocery store in Beverly Hills) again. The Ozz-man is missed around these parts, without question.
Will the Sony WM-1000XM6 Headphones Hold Their Value?
Nope. Headphones at this level and with this amount of wear and tear are going to be basically consumed during your ownership. I give Sony big props for making the hinge better, as well as making both the headphones and the packaging more green/recyclable, but you likely will be done with these headphones when you wear them out physically or find something else that you like better. If there is still some life left in your Sony WM-1000XM6 headphones, you will easily be able to gift them to someone, and you will make their day.
What is the Competition for the Sony WM-1000XM6 Headphones?
Sennheiser has the Momentum 5 headphones out at $399 (buy at Crutchfield), which just arrived today for review. I’ve reviewed the Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones (read the review), and they are among my favorite headphones in this category. Sennheiser makes truly fine audiophile headphones, and these more mainstream units are good-sounding and fashion-forward at the same time. There is a lot to like with the Sennheiser Momentum 5 headphones.
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s headphones ($479 – buy at Crutchfield) are another strong comparable here. I reviewed this next-generation version of the U.K. headphones and they are, like the Sony’s, nicely evolved. Again, colors and nicer finishes are offered, as is slightly better bass and a bit more resolved mids. I’ve given a few pairs of these away as gifts, and they are a huge hit.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones – Gen 2 ($449 – buy at Crutchfield) is another key option. The brand Bose gives audiophiles the ick, and I get that, but to not mention their comparable headphones would be absurd on my part. Bose and Sony have the best ANC and basically invented the game. Their headphones are better-sounding than most audiophiles assume. They are also quite comfortable. Don’t let audiophile cliché get in the way of your buying decisions.
Final Thoughts on the Sony WM-1000XM6 Wireless Over-the-Ear Headphones
In the nearly four years (can you believe it has been that long) since I got back in the consumer electronics/audiophile publishing game, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing nearly every good pair of over-the-ear wireless headphones in the market today from audiophile companies, mainstream consumer electronics companies, computer companies, and more. When my reference-standard headphones broke while I was in Tuscany two weeks ago, I reached into my pocket and bought the Sony WM-1000XM6s and never thought twice. There is no stronger endorsement than that, as I can get pretty much any headphones that I want sent to me with a text or email.
The Sony WM-1000XM6 headphones ($398 – buy at Crutchfield) are a Goldilocks product and refined more at v6 without any meaningful price increases. The Sony WM-1000XM6s are comfortable, good-sounding, durable, easy-to-use headphones with superior noise cancellation. They will fit well into your life in so many ways that it is hard to imagine who wouldn’t benefit from owning a pair of Sony WM-1000XM6 headphones. They are an excellent gift for dads and grads, but perhaps you need a gift, too? I can’t fault you if you order a few pairs, as they do so many things well that they are a clear hit, as well as a reviewer favorite.
