WH-1000XM6 The Best Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Black

How do I feel about these? I gave them a 5 star because they do the job well. The ANC is pretty absolute. While I haven't traveled with them yet, so far it blocks out all ambient noise. On a phone call the other day I asked how the reception was. Crystal clear was the response.I have a hesitancy to give 5 star only because of the price. Are they worth it? Maybe if you didn't know other things existed. Prior and still I use Soundcore Q35 which are also ANC and good ones. You can compare the specs from each website and clearly Sonys have more microphones etc. On paper Sony WH 1000 xm6 are superior. I paid $139.00 for the Q35s and they also fold into a smaller size and come with a hard case. Even an airplane adapter and 3.5 line. My only issue is, even with a huge head they didn't fit all that well. Sony's are a bit snugger. That said after long term use my ears sweat. Maybe my imagination as I am in the middle of hell in the summer.The most important thing to me is sound. For this pricepoint I should be blown away. AM I? I'm not so sure. There's a Sony appp that fine tunes the sound and it's nice. It sounds great, but is it better than the Q35s? I don't know. There are guys out there that have already done all the tests between Sony and competitors and they make a better case than me. I'm not an audiophile that needs perfection rather I'm an old guy that wants the best I can afford thats reasonable.I'm pretty sure the Sonys are better than the Q35s but so far not for the price difference.I need to become more immersed in this give a better review. That said, I also have a pair of Oneplus buds 2 pro that sound amazing. These also have spacial and a tuning app. And ANC.At the moment I'd say since I'm retired and don't have endless streams of money and have simpler needs, the equipment I was using is just fine and at a good price. If I was one of those guys that laid awake at night crunching decibel numbers I'd say spend the money, well worth it.So far they're easy to use, easy to set up. Not keen on the swipe controls instead of buttons but it works, i just need to adjust. A little learning curve for old guys like me. I usually watch videos while researching pre-purchase and so setup was a breeze. Battery life seems spot on 30 hours, just like Q35s.There are clearly things I missed or am not using that may enhance the experience, time and experimenting will help me with this review later.So these are 5 star cans, for sure and should be judged on their own merits and not off the price point. Still though if good enough is ok for you, comparing these to others may be like camparing cars. Upgrades cost more but don't get you there are faster.

These are the best headphones ever. Thue are pricy but so worth it. They are very high-quality. The volume cancellation is fantastic. I got these because the noise level of my house is so high that it raises my anxiety and stress levels. Between eight different fish tanks that are running, as well as fridge and freezer. And two young children who are constantly yelling and screaming just because they’re having fun or want something. It becomes very overwhelming for me to be in that level of noise all day long as a stay at home parent. So I got this to help with the noise level. Even if I’m not listening to anything on my phone or my computer, it still cuts out down the sound a whole lot. It’s instantly calming just to not be in the constant noise. It connects well to my phone and my Mac laptop so I can listen to other things as well. It also has a wide range of connectivity. I’m able to leave my phone in the upstairs bedroom and go all the way to the basement to switch laundry without the headphones disconnecting. The color is nice. I was afraid with the light color that they would get dirty quickly but so far they’ve actually been looking really nice. Although I never let my kids touch them so that’s part of it. They just to fit my ears perfectly. They swivel so they can lay flat on a surface too. They have touch ability on the sides of the headphones, even where you don’t see buttons. Very easy to adjust volume levels. Overall, just a really great set of headphones. The battery lasts so long. You’ll need thing is that the charging cord is super short. But you can easily get a different cord for it to charge. It’s a pretty common cord now for different devices. You may already have a suitable cord in your house. I just recommend getting this. If you’re on the fence, it is totally worth it. I can still hear some level of conversation with my kids and with my husband. But it’ll cuts out all of the fish tank noise and fridge noise. And it cuts down the kid noise level by a lot. I don’t even feel like I’m listening to white noise that’s trying to cover the sounds but rather It seems to cut the noise out completely.

TLDR: Yeah... theyre the actual, very best wireless ANC phones. Sound is really high rez, and bright, Some say too bassy, but thats audio-snob jive. Fairly comfy, but you might want aftermarket pads if youre tender. ...and noone'd blame you if you wanna wait for em to go on sale. $$$. I did.SOUND:The drivers Sony put in this newest model are... elegant, silky.. They prettymuch do it all. You can hear literal words and background sylables and instruments you cant with sub-hundred-buck units. Those reverbs go on for ages, fading into the inky blackness very well because of the currently-best ANC. The highs are glassy, clear and crispy while bass is simultaneously rubbery and tight. Soundstage is very solid: Instruments are layered in and seperate sounding like sandwich toppings and not mixed and munddied together like an overstirred soup.TUNING:Dont let purists and audio-snobs online put you off with graphs and spreadsheets, specs or immaterial statements of their pholosophy. They have a real crowdpleaser sound. Yes, they have a V shape on sound graphs, however this IS NOT offensive to the ear at all. Theres a perfectly valid reason some manufacturers do that on purpose. The extra bass and treble are enough to appeal to younger folks, but tasteful and balanced enough for older or more traditional genre enthusiasts. Its got range. Not compromised range. I mean it does GREAT in a wide variety of applications. Talkshows, movies... country, metal, you cant miss. Nothing comes off wonky, screechy, or is missing.A side note: i theorize this extra mid bass is tuned that way to assist the ANC do its job better. I had some cheap ANC Soundcore brand phones that had that extra mid bass. They had unusually powerful ANC for the price.ANC:literally the worlds best as of release. Its like body armor for your ears. Youll only dead black silence, tinnitus, alien telapathy and crazy whispering voices spewing lies about Airpods Max being better. (seriously, you gotta get those looked at). But yeahsony paid good money to validify that statement for marketing. Specifically there is no "cabin pressure" sensation some units hiss at you with. True, low profile deadness. I live on a state highway and this cuts everything down to the faintest 'whoosh' but the occasional ricer fart-can exhaust or an ambulance... and even those are FAR more ignorable. I dont fly planes, but im confident this will squash most if not all of that endless rumble. Also there is no wierd, tacky sound effects when you switch it on and off, like some chinese-ium models tend to do.PASSTHRU/AMBIENT MODE:i can from personal experience report this, when it wants to be, is superior to most human hearing. Its extremely sensitive, borderline naturalistic sounding and uncompromizing. The phones can play at 25% volume or so while i keep an ear out for my crazy uncle as he curses at the TV in the den, from my bedroom. Perfectly servicable to hear a cashier or make brief small talk with some rando. I will say, the voice trigger on the auto-ambient mode is sensetive almost AGRESSIVE even. You so much as casually clear your nose or throat and like clockwork or make a faint comment to yourself and its ten seconds of passthrough mode for you. Regardless what the phone is doing at that time. Just be advised.FIT/COMFORT:Juuust slightly on the firm side. Not uncomfortable really, no. Youtubers sometimes say this will fade, so we shall see. Be advised these have a really protruding ANC device in each ear cup. (PHOTO). Some people with high profile ear anatomy may consider some aftermarket ear pads to compensate. Anyway i have accidentally slept in them and can attest prettymuch no discomfort. Some have mentioned the headband as being a bit subpar, but so far so good. The units are lightweight anyhow and therefore dont bear down on the head.APP:Its relatatively enormous. Like one of those goofy multitools wuth a hundred gizmos that wont fit in your pocket. By far the most all-inclusive audio app i have seen personally. 10 band EQ, Spatial audio calibration, all your usual toggles like Listening Mode. Codec toggling, it even seems to be able to upscale the seeming resolution on low rez mp3s. " strange red button, just says "Release the Hounds". too scared to press.BATTERY:I've not tried draining this units power, but from full it certainly trickles down slowly. The auto-shutoff and power saving functions are VERY agressive and 5 or 10 minutes off my head sees them deactivate. Uncertain wether this can even be disabled as of yet. I venture to bet that 30 hour claim is actually acurate. I would have heard more online reviewers complain...GRIPES:1: Bit bland looks.The looks wont set the world on fire. I dare say slightly boring asthetics... but thats japan for you. Three very traditional colors... So I got the "platinum silver" folks these are a boring matte grey. The design is really minimalist.. but.. I can see it this way: Do you really want a loud colorful advertisement youre balancing $400 loosely on your exposed head in a busy subway or sidewalk? This is quiet luxury. I can cope.2: stain MAGNET. Real talk if this thing collects any more body oil, America is liable to try to invade it. ..but for real though, I have dry skin and even I'm leaving a trail after a week.3: Not Ambidexterous. I cant seem to find any way to swap the touch controls. Its right handed only? You should be able to use your dominant hand while you use a phone or mouse or pen, and the off hand for the touxh controls. It really clashes with your muscle memory.

I have a set of Bose Quiet Comfort from several years ago as well as a 10 year old set of these, and they've both served me well - but are tired and used. This time around I did some research and these were rated slightly better for noise cancellation than the Bose - so I bought myself a late Christmas present and got these in midnight blue. I like the look, feel and function(s) - HOWEVER - these fit VERY tight - like a head vice - and can become uncomfortable over short periods of time. I work remotely and I used my Bose QC's for work calls all day long and usually leave them on for very long periods of time (4 hours +) - wearing them for the noise cancellation and quiet to focus on my work. The only reason I'm giving them 4 stars is the tightness of the fit. If you wear these for more than an hour or two - you start to get a headache from the pressure exerted on the sides of your head. Comparatively speaking - if I had this to do over, I'd probably opt for the Bose. The difference in noise cancellation between my old Bose and these is not significant enough to sacrifice the comfort of the Bose QC's. I'm still noodling over the possibility of returning these.--- Update 1/4/26. --- I could not handle the tightness of fit, so I did return these and bought the Bose QC Ultra's. The new Ultra's fit so much better, are exceptionally comfortable ( at least for me ) and the noise cancellation is great. So, consider the fit before buying these. Comfort rules. Sorry Sony.

With all of the fire alarms that have happening in my building lately, I thought these highly rated headphones would help save my hearing. They are comfortable to wear and hold their. However, it is a bit hard to set up to pair with your phone and volume control for listening to music or podcasts is no better than a cheaper phone. (There is no "in-between" levels of sound.) The noise cancelling functionality works at first but Sony has this bizarre idea that the headphones will decide when to change modes. I have had problems with just walking and the mode switching from noise cancelling to ambient noise. There is a reason I have noise cancelling on (like when I am in my apartment and there is a fire alarm test or, worse yet a broken fire alarm) but Sony thinks that movement is a sign to turn off the noise cancelling feature. They will also turn off if you leave them on too long without pairing them with a device. It would be better to find just plain noise-cancelling headphone - these ones try to do too much and end up not doing it as well as they should.

These are easily the best headphones I've ever used. I've been using these headphones for almost a year. To level set I'm not an audiophile. I'm interested in a products that fill a need are easy to use and works every time. There are a lot more qualified people than me to review the sound quality, I can only say that I have no issues or concerns there are tons of features in the app that I I've never felt the need to use. If you're interested in that level of detail there are plenty of YouTube videos that give you tutorials on those features.The things I do care about are how easily can I connect to my devices. And the multi point connection on theses are the best implementation of this type of feature I've ever used, it can easily switch between my phone, tablet, personal computer and my work computer.Call quality is great, background noise canceling during calls is excellent it rejects wind noise on calls when outside. There's a quick and easy microphone mute feature while on calls that I frequently use while on teams calls.When listening to music the noise canceling is excellent. The noise pass through feature makes it as though you're not wearing headphones. I'm a huge fan of real tactile buttons so I was concerned about these headphones having a touch sensitive pad but I have had zero issues using it. The Bluetooth connection is rock solid, the battery life is long enough that I can use it on and off for about a week before charging, mind you your mileage may vary depending on how much you use it.I was impressed enough with these headphones that I also purchased the new Sony xm6 earbuds, however that is a different story for another review.While it was challenging to overcome the initial purchase price, I have been extremely pleased with the value these headphones provide. For anyone in the market for a high-end set of headphones these should absolutely be considered, even if they are above your initial budget. I would highly recommend.

Awesome sound and great build quality. I love the color and sound quality. I have been amazed at how light and airy these feel while still being durable. Battery life is incredible. These have performed flawlessly on the ground and in the air. Noise cancellation works perfectly and I love the option to just touch the right ear to go to transparency mode for a quick conversation.This is one purchase that I enjoy every day and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again.

I just received my new Sony XM6 headphones about two hours ago. Can't remember ever writing a review this fast after getting a new toy. And I do not write reviews for most items we buy. But dude, these are sooo sweet. I have been a Bose user for at least the past two decades. I have several pairs of the QC noise canceling line. I have tried others but I find the Bose headphones work well and are easy to use and always connect; no hiccups.Two years back I bought a pair of Sony XM4 headphones when they were on sale. They are decent and they sound nice but I ended up liking my many sets of Bose headphones better so the XM4s stayed in a drawer. I wear headphones a lot when working on projects. I use the hell out of my headphones. I don't baby them. Lawn work, snow removal, chainsaw work, excermacise, gaming, house work, travel, etc. Lately I have trashed 2 pair of my Bose cans so I thought I would buy a new pair. These XM6 phones are new and sounded good so I thought I would try Sony again. Reviews are very positive thus far.Let me tell you these rock. Music sounds fantastic. The noise canceling is super good. Best I have heard (or not heard as may be). The set up was easy. You can connect with Bluetooth right away or use the Sony Connect app. I am not a fan of signing up for accounts to use my devices but the Sony app seems to be very useful. I also have never cared for the gesture control on headphones. In the past I have not used them. The new Sony's controls are way easy and work well. Up for more volume, down for less, forward for next track, backward for last track. But the main reason for the quick review is this... Laying on the sofa next to me is a sexy girl who just finished a 16 hour ICU shift and crashed. I wanted to watch FUBAR on Netflix (new season just dropped) but didn't want to wake her. I turned on Apple TV, turned on the new Sony headphones, clicked to settings/Bluetooth on TV and they connected right away. Started Netflix and the show and it sounds great. When I remove the headphones the Apple TV pauses, put them back on and the show starts up again. Set the Sonys to Heavy in EQ and the bass is super. Dialogue is clear and actions sound fantastic. I am very happy I took a chance on the new XM6. They are MUCH better than the XM4 model I have. And better than any of the Bose I have. I walked into the living room two rooms away and the connection stayed clear and connected as I walked around the house. The price is a touch high but they are new. The first time these get to $399, I will have another pair. Plan to phase out all of my old headphones and just use these. So far they are the best wireless headphones I have used. By far...

I upgraded to the Sony WH-1000XM6 after using my XM4s since 2023, and the difference is more noticeable than I expected. The sound is extremely clear and detailed, with better separation between instruments and vocals, while still keeping the strong bass I liked on the XM4s.The noise cancelling is excellent, and the touch controls on the side feel much quicker and more responsive than my old pair. I’m also really glad Sony brought back the folding design, as that was one of the main reasons I skipped the XM5.They’re comfortable for long listening sessions, feel very well made and I’ve found myself not wanting to take them off since I got them. My XM4s are still in great condition, but after hearing the XM6s, they definitely don’t sound as refined anymore.They are expensive, but for someone who uses headphones every day, I think they’re worth it. 5/5.

App on phone was a bit of a pain to set up but works OK once they are connected. The ear pads are nice and comfortable. I personally don't think the sound quality reflects the price but that's just my own opinion.

Superb sound. Set equaliser to clear. Comfortable. Great quality build and foldability.

The headphones are amazing and 100% worth the price! Sound quality and depth is great wireless and the noise cancelling is phenomenal especially whilst travelling. I appreciate being able to have two bluetooth devices connected at the same time, as it swaps automatically between them when audio is played (for example I'll have it connected to my Switch, but when I receive a call on my phone itll move there).I appreciate having a button for quickly switching between ANC and Ambient noise - and the ambient / transparency mode is the best I've ever heard, its just as good as taking the headphones off to talk to someone, whereas on my earphones its normally better to just take them out.The touch controls take some getting used to but are good, I wish you could use both sides for navigation but only the right ear cup has the touch sensor.I have these in blue and the colour isnt as vibrant as I would like - in most lighting it looks more like a black plastic thats faded rather than a nice blue colour. I think I'd have chosen black if given the choice, for that bolder colour.

It was definitely worth upgrading from WH-1000XM4.