detailedReviews: detailedReviews 1: content: I have been fortunate to receive a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 over ear headphones from Sony to test and review.
The headphones were received in minimalist fully recyclable packaging in line with "Sony's" aim to acheive "Road to Zero" and minimise environmental impact.
The Storage Case holding the headphones is smart and functional, but has a magnetic clasp to hold the two halves closed rather than a zip, and it doesn't seem to close very well. There is a small carry handle/belt clip attached to the case, although this does not unclip to put over a belt, and I would be concerned about potentially snagging the clasp and causing it to open and the headphones falling out.
Inside the case the headphones are neatly folded, and in a small pouch section there is a very short USB C charging cable together with a nice long audio cable of approx 1.2 metres. It's good to see that Sony still provide this type of connection, particularly useful for older music devices and phones.
There is a reference guide included which has a QR code to scan, and this opens a quick start guide, which recommends installing their "Sound Connect" App. The App will allow you to customise the headphones to your personal taste and access many useful functions, although some features I feel are unnecessary and makes the App more cluttered and harder to navigate as a result. In addition, it would have been helpful if the App Icon had included the name "SONY" in order to find it easily on your phone.
The Headphones look really great, neat and compact and reasonably light for over ear headphones. They are very well made, in a lovely satin black finish and look very Stylish, with a Premium Quality feel. The ear cups are smooth, soft and comfortable and covered my ears perfectly. However in order for the headband to sit on top of my head, for support, I needed to have the arms fully closed, and the ear cups did feel quite tight as a result, and this may be uncomfortable for some people.
To turn the headphones on there is an easy to find " indented" circular power switch on the left ear cup, and they were instantly found by the Sound Connect App already installed on my phone. There was a voice in the headphones stating "pairing"... so it was a simple case of clicking the connect button on the phone pop up window. This brought up the set up mode which was easy to follow, with an option to sign up [or sign in] to a Sony Account. Just make sure that, in the Bluetooth settings on your phone, LDAC is turned on which is Sony's own high quality connection, to provide the best sound experience.
A short press on the power button will tell you how much battery life there is available and and the battery does last a long time. Sony claim up to 30 hours with noise cancelling on. There is another button, on the left earcup, which is used to change noise cancelling and Ambient sound settings. The button can also be set up, via the App, to start music from your preferred music app just by pressing it twice.
There are no buttons on the right side, but playback is easily controlled by swiping a finger over the ear cup itself. This is so much easier than using the controls on your smart phone. Swiping a finger up and down it adjusts the volume..swiping forwards selects next track, swipe back restarts track...swipe back twice selects previous track and so on. Tapping the ear cup twice pauses or continues the music track you are listening too.....tapping twice also allows you to take an incoming telephone call or end the call.
The headphones have a noise cancelling feature, and as with all the headphones I've used, they are more efficient with background rumbling noises eg engines, fans, coffee machines, wind noise etc...and as expected they do this very well. A neat feature, is the option to cover the right ear cup with the palm of your hand so you can instantly hear your surroundings, extremely useful if you need to quickly listen to someone or hear a travel announcement... of course you can also just switch to the "ambient sound" setting.
With regards to sound quality the headphones are a pleasure to use with the sounds being crisp and clear with good bass that is not overpowering, and there is a graphic equaliser within the App to adjust settings to your own taste.
For those of you who are not familiar with Sony's 360 Reality Audio Sound, there are tracks available in this format, and they are worth searching for, as they provide an immersive music experience that uses "Sony‘s (object-based) 360 Spatial Sound technology" and makes good use of the headphones excellent capabilities.
You can also turn on a Speak to Chat setting...so even if you have noise cancelling switched on, as soon as you speak it automatically switches to ambient sound and the music volume reduces so you can have a conversation with someone...the only downside is the same happens if you start singing to a track, so I have it turned off.
Another function available is voice Cue ...you can turn on this service if you want notifications about emails or messages and there is an announcement when one is received...although I found this quite distracting.
I did experience some compatibility issues with a couple of the "Sound Connect App" features with my particular Android Phone.
There is the option to set up your voice assistant, which can be either voice activated or opened by holding one finger on the right ear cup. Unfortunately this feature would only work if my phone was unlocked and on the "chat screen", as soon as the screen timed out, or if I locked the phone, or tried to browse my phone the music would stop immediately, [although I did find that sometimes it actually worked] Consequently I tried resetting the headphones and completely reinstalling the App and even tried using another Android device [from the same manufacturer], but again experienced the same issues.
There is also a clever feature called head tracking, which kind of simulates the effect of being at a concert, but I could not find a way to activate this on my Android Phone, and I could only experience this when using their own ear buds.
Nevertheless, despite the above compatibility issues, my main reason for using these type of headphones is to listen to music without distractions. I discovered that as long as I listened to music directly via my Music App, then there were no problems whatsoever. All the touch controls worked, even when my screen was locked and was able to browse my phone without any problems, and that's what is important to me.
In summary Sony have not only designed some excellent noise cancelling headphones, with great sound quality, but they have also endeavoured to provide us with various additional features, not only to make the headphones easier and more convenient to use, but also to enable us to decide upon the level of "isolation" and functionality that we actually need. I suspect Sony will issue a firmware update if other people experience the minor problems I encountered, but regardless of this, they are high quality headphones well worth purchasing.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 4
title: I have been fortunate to receive a pair...
detailedReviews 2: content: The feel of these headphones is smooth to the touch the weight is very balanced not too heavy but not light, i love the fact it has a 3.5 mm Jack port and adaptor wire included in the box, so you can use for any devices you may have, that doesn't have Bluetooth connectivity,
The volume and skipping songs or going back can all be done with a touch or tap on the headphones moving your finger up will make it go louder and moving your finger down will lower it, there's a button where you can switch between noise cancelling and ambient sound
There's an app which is called sound contract you will definitely need this to get the best out of the headphones if you already had a previous model, you can transfer your data to new ones saves you a bit of time recalibrating your headphones for your ears
There are some amazing features which include,
You can answer a call by nodding your head or reject it by shaking your head
If you're not listening to anything it actually tells you the time on the hour also 1st time you put them on each day it will say good morning and say the date how cool is that
You can have more than one device contracted at once it will auto switch to the one that's playing audio, i have my phone and TV contracted and it switches between the two effortlessly
This is my favourite feature soon as you remove your headphones off your head anything you're listening to, or watching a movie on your tv for example Netflix it will pause the song or movie and soon as you put your headphones back on it will automatically restart it, i never seen any headphones do that before
I would buy these just for that alone
Now for the sound is it any good?
Simple answer amazing,
Listening to music you can hear everything crystal clear even at high volumes
Watching a movie is the same voices, background noise in the film come through perfectly
You have an option on the app to switch to cinema which i did its perfect feature for watching tv and with the 360 reality audio it's like having full surround sound with Dolby Atmos,
I currently have a surround sound with Dolby Atmos and can say these headphones do an amazing job
Overall verdict would i recommend these if you got this far i think you know the answer but yeah i will definitely recommend these, value for money these have feature that most don't and cost as much as these or even more, sound is second to none and you can even use them with your older devices,
Another winner from Sony
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: The feel of these headphones is smooth to...
detailedReviews 3: content: By the 6th generation, you'd expect Sony to have gotten these perfect, and they kind of have. If you're after some decent headphones, for listening to music on, that also has noise cancelling, bluetooth and a microphone for calls, and can afford the expensive price tag, just buy them. You will not be disappointed. Yes, they are expensive, but they're not a rip off. I purchased these at release, and this review is about 2 week later.
The first time I put them on, I was a bit underwhelmed: the noise cancelling wasn't that great, music didn't pop and everything felt a little flat. I'm assuming that the headphone speaker drivers needed to wear in and soften up a little, and the ANC mics needed to calibrate, because about an hour later I'd slightly tweaked the EQ, and was getting frights when people came up behind me. The biggest issue that I've had is that the transparency mode is too transparent: the real world around me is about twice as loud as it really is, which was pretty overwhelming; however about a week Sony updated the Sound Connect app, which now lets you dial the ANC/transparency up and down depending on your preference, activity (detects if you're sitting, walking, running etc), or location (requires GPS permissions).
Bluetooth has been stable with my iPhone 16, MacBook Pro M1, and over a 3.5mm cable when the battery finally ran flat (so works fine off, just without ANC). You can have ANC on, transparent, or off. Off really sucks as everything sounds echoey, kind of like you're in small room with hard surfaces, like a bathroom, so I'd rather have transparency on and dialled back than 'off'. However this sound didn't happen when using a 3.5mm cable, so I suspect it's more a software bug than a hardware limitation.
The good: Audio quality, ANC, bluetooth stability, works with a cable when off/battery flat, fold flat into the case, the case is super satisfying to use.
The bad: they show dirt a bit much; you have to hold down the power button for longer than I'd expect to power them on; to enter pairing you turn them on, then hold down the power button, they power off, keep holding it, then they enter pairing mode (when you'd expect them to now be off), ANC off is a weird experience.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: By the 6th generation, you'd expect Sony to...
detailedReviews 4: content: I have never had Sony’s noise cancelling headphone before. I have used a couple units that I think would be considered direct competitors to this pair, but I think this one is unique enough to stand on its own without comparisons.
The packaging is what I would expect in 2025, all paper, with a cool curved cover, I was able to open the box, take everything out and drop it all in the recycling. That’s the way it should be. Inside the box, you’ll find the lovely, compact case for the XM6 that has a little pocket for your cords and is also color-matched, classy.
The headphone’s finishes feel quite nice and the hardware all feels sturdy- except for what I thought was too much twisting or flex on the headband. Right has a little red dot and left has blue, so easy, classic. The padding on the headband and earcups is quite soft, yet firm enough that they don’t break down under compression. The outer finish likes to catch little marks every time I let the cups touch each other, but the little marks wipe off easily.
I have a big head, so it’s often a gamble when ordering headphones that I have not been into the store to try on. This time I did not need to worry about fit; they go right on and seem to have more room for larger head people or letting the headband rest around your neck when you are not listening. The fit is not like any other over-ears I’ve worn. They fit very close on the ears, the fabric touches on mine, but it’s not noticeable. The headband has an arc to it and the whole array sits close on the ears and head. It seems the twist/flex on the headband is helpful for fitting the cans, adding a little more adjustment flexibility. There is very little inertia that might make them feel insecure when turning your head or walking.
These headphones as well as their direct competitors are not waterproof in any way. The noise cancellation relies on microphones positioned around the outside of the earcups to listen to sound around you so it can apply “opposite” sounds, so your ears never hear most of the environmental noise around you. I can still hear incidental noises and voices, alarms, car horns, crosswalk signals… all the things you need to hear to be safe – the noise cancellation weeds out so much traffic noise it’s amazing. I was also amazed at how much background noise is just always present even when we think it’s quiet.
Connectivity is excellent, I have had no trouble pairing or operating the headphones with Windows 11, Windows 10, an iPhone 16, iPhone 12 Pro, iPad, Android, and my Mac with no trouble at all.
The sound quality is right there with what I would expect from Sony’s flagship headphones. First things first, to get the absolute best sound quality, I installed the app and went to the “System” section to disable “Connect to 2 devices simultaneously” – this allows the headphones Bluetooth radio run at it’s maximum bitrate. When I’m connected to 2 devices, the sound is very good, completely acceptable. When connected to just 1 device, there is a clear improvement in detail and airiness. With multipoint enabled, I did find some extremely demanding tracks like Florence & The Machine’s “Spectrum” will quickly show why the convenience of multipoint does have a cost in sound quality. Rumbling bass in Battlefield 2042, precision spatial positioning in movies and shows sounds great using the Cinema setting.
When listening to “wall of sound” sort of songs, I found the exterior noise level does affect the sound quality- as the noise cancellation is working very hard, but this has only shown itself a couple of times. It’s quite well controlled and better than a big name competitor I’ve used.
On reading about the 360 Reality surround feature, I thought I might be able to use it with any audio, but it seems to be limited to a few apps you have to install and use the content in there to enable the 360 Reality. I skipped it, I don’t need my new headphones to come with another monthly bill.
Using the XM6 for a very long time, I will notice pressure points on the back of the earcups, but a little bit of adjustment of the headband toward the front or back of my head will make that better. I didn’t find them to be particularly hot to wear, but they are the warmest of the ones I’ve tried (they’re all hot).
The Sony XM6 is my new daily driver, there are so many features and customizations with the app that these headphones are able to fill all of my needs with one pair. Recommended.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: I have never had Sony’s noise cancelling headphone...
detailedReviews 5: content: These new Sony WH-1000XM6s are my fourth pair of the series. I've owned the XM2, XM3, and XM5s previously. Every version has been better than the last in terms of sound quality and noise cancelling, with the XM5s being what I thought would be the unassailable peak. Sony has one upped themselves yet again in the sound/ANC department, which is frankly amazing. The real winning features for me though are what Sony brought to the comfort and portability departments.
The problem I had with the XM5s is that despite phenomenal sound, they took a step back in comfort. I'm bald now and don't have a nice cushion of hair on my head, so I'm VERY cognizant of the padding/pressure that a headphone places on your noggin! I don't care how good a pair of headphones sound if they hurt to use. The new XM6s have a wider headband with extra padding and has almost erased any pain from wearing them for hours and hours so far.
The other improvement in comfort, the new earpads, also helps with passive/active noise cancelling. One of my favorite things to do sometimes is to just relax in my recliner with my headphones on and the ANC running to provide me a small island of silence and tranquility. The XM6s almost do a good enough job without even being turned on due to these new earpads! With ANC on though, I am completely oblivious to world. Now, I haven't had a chance to travel with them, so I can't say how well they will handle engine/people noise in a vehicle but the XM5s were amazing, and I have no doubt the XM6s will be even better.
I actually didn't use my XM5s as much for travelling, not only because of the lack of padding, but also because Sony had gotten rid of the folding feature and only made it so they fold flat in a larger zip case. Now with the return of complete folding and an awesome new MAGNETIC case, these XM6s are going with me everywhere! While I do recognize that the added complexity of the folding feature does add a fail-point back into the mix, the hinge/rotation points feel very robust. The one weird thing I found about the folding feature is that now the earcups face the other direction. Previously if you took the headphones off your head and placed them down straight ahead of you the cups would turn down to have the opening down on the table. Now the earcups turn the other direction and outer control surfaces are the side that is down (you can see this in a photo I posted). I'm not sure if this is to help improve the longevity of the ear pads or for some other reason, but I'm not sure I agree with Sony's choice here. I think I'd rather this be the other way, especially since they have now made the earpads replaceable, so if that WAS the reason, it no longer would seem to be a big one.
I've run the XM6s through my EXTENSIVE testing playlist that runs everything from frequency sweeps, to binaural placement, to recordings selected for clarity/depth/purity/transparency and other features. I also have songs selected that I know like the back of my hand and can even pick out the breath being taken by a singer while using detailed cans. The sound produced by the XM6 is outstanding.
Sony says they consulted with several audio engineers to improve clarity across the spectrum, and while I'm sure they improved some things, the previous iterations were so good, it's almost impossible for me to pick out any improvement. I would think that this work went into some of the 'wizardry' of the Listening Mode feature, which can place you in a coffee house or a movie theater to change your sound stage. To me this is a bit of a lark, because I can't see anyone actually using this feature, but more to check it out to see what the software can do.
The last features I'm going to talk about are the battery life and microphone quality.
The battery life for the XM6s is claimed to be 30 hours, and I have ZERO reason to doubt this number and would bet that it is actually much longer. My testing playlist is 4 hours and 7 minutes long, and I have listened to several full albums as well and I'm still sitting at 73 percent.
Finally, the microphones on the XM6 (both for voice pick up as well as noise cancellation) are equally as good if not better than their predecessor. I've made several calls and the people on the other end said it sounded perfectly clear. The biggest problem I had with the first call is that the noise cancelling was so good that I HAD to switch to transparency mode so I could hear myself well enough! On previous versions there was enough coming through my own head and leaking in that it wasn't really needed, but here it is.
I'm over the moon with the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones and I expect to spend many hours lost in their beautiful sound or in my quiet refuge. They may be pricy, but they are worth every penny to me.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: These new Sony WH-1000XM6s are my fourth pair...
detailedReviews 6: content: For comparison, I have these and the Bose Quiet Comfort as well as several different ANC earbuds and none of these comes close to the noise cancelling as well as passthrough audio quality. A paper shredder running right next to me is just slightly audible that something is running, but if you actually turn on music, you can't hear it at all. You do feel a slight amount of "pressure" with ANC mode on and no sound playing, but it's better than my bose headphones, and I don't notice it at all when music is playing.
I can comfortably wear these for hours without any sort of earphone fatigue and never felt it was too tight for my slightly larger than average sized head. Even though the headphone speaker part twists, it's not that comfortable to wear it around your neck as it's a bit tight, but workable in a pinch for a short amount of time.
The audio quality out of the box is very good, but I love that it has a 10 band EQ that you can adjust to even fine tune the sound to your exact liking. It has a bunch of presets and you can make your own custom EQs as well. It has settings to make the audio sound like background cafe music if you like working while just "ambient" sound is playing.
Battery life so far is excellent and for me at least, I can go multiple days on a single charge.
With that said, I do have three complaints with the headphones. It has that really soft feeling rubbery/silicone feel which feels great, but I haven't had luck with that material lasting for 4+ years so I am worried if it will hold up for many years. The material at least with my black color will pick up some oil smudges, especially around the earcups. It's not too bad on the frame, but it is noticable if you're looking for it. The last issue is the price. It is not cheap, but it does fall in line with many other higher end headphones. With sales of other headphones happening regularly though, that may be more appealing than these headphones.
Overall, if you feel that ANC is the most important then this is the headphones for you. It offers great sound with a good feature set, but just be aware that there are other audiophile headphones out there that can give this a run for its money.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: For comparison, I have these and the Bose...
detailedReviews 7: content: The Sony WH-1000XM6 over ear headphones are beautiful, sound amazing, and have just about every feature you could possibly want.
PROS
- Design - Both style and function including with the Case - 10/10.
- Sound - The excellent sound you'd expect from Sony - 10/10.
- Function - They put all the features you could possibly want or need into these - 10/10.
CONS
- Being super picky, there's one or two improvements I'd like to see added.
From my experience with these headphones so far, I'd say they are nearly perfect in every way. When I first got them I was SO immediately impressed with the case. I absolutely love that they case is a magnet clasp case. With my previous headphones I had a zipper case and not only could it be a nuisance to zip/unzip, but the zipper would occasionally get hung. The magnetic clasp is a brilliant design - just as secure as a zipper but much easier to deal with. Opening up the case, I was impressed that Sony clearly labeled which earpiece goes where - it's so easy to fold and put them in! (With my old case/headphones sometimes it'd take me several minutes just to figure out the right way to get them in.) And the case has a really nice built-in pocket that not only holds the Aux cord and charging cable, but also has enough room for my Bluetooth Transmitter I use when flying. Super cool bonus!
Moving on to the headphones themselves, they really are beautiful. Yes, they fit the traditional design more than say the Apple Heaphones, but within that traditional design, Sony did an excellent job of making them look great and function great. The hinges for folding and the slide outs are all strong but smooth. The headband cushion is great - the earmuffs are super comfy. And the minimal number of buttons (due in part to touch control for many things) is great.
As for sound, this is Sony. They've always made some of the best sounding headphones, earbuds, and speakers, and the WH-1000XM6s continue that trend. I can't imagine any audiophile being disappointed with these. Whether you're talking on the phone or listening to a podcast, watching an action film or streaming lossless music from Apple Music, everything sounds amazing. Sound is rich and full across the entire spectrum. These are the kind of headphones that sound so great, I can't see needing to upgrade for many, many years because it'll be a while before any headphones are gonna sound significantly better.
Aside from the sound of headphones, these being Active Noise Cancelling, Sony has also developed some of the highest quality ANC Headphones that I've used. There was a time when BOSE was the one to beat in this category, but others have caught up now and these Sony Headphones definitely have some of the best ANC I have ever heard...or not heard. :-) They do an excellent job of eliminating sound so you can focus on what you want to hear coming through the headphone speakers.
Getting into the function of these, all I can say is "WOW!" Sony really made sure everything was covered. There are some features I'll never use and I'm sure some I love may be ones someone else won't use, but just about anything you could want is there. The headphones keep Noise Canceling simple with an on/off/ambient option. Ambient sound works great to allow you to hear what's going on around you nice and clear without removing the headphones.
Speak-to-Chat has worked well for me so far (though I haven't yet got to test it in a noisier environment) and is a cool feature that automatically switches to Ambient mode if you start talking. Voice Sensitivity is adjustable and you can also change how long it waits after sensing silence before switching back to ANC. Besides that method you can cover the right earmuff with your hand to temporarily switch to Ambient mode. Or you can permanently toggle from ANC to Ambient using a dedicated button on the left earmuff (which is easy to distinguish since it's a slim rectangle button and the only other button for power is round).
There are three "listening modes" you can choose from. Standard which is just "normal"; Background Music which is if rather than listening to music or something, you just want to create an ambiance like what you might have in a coffee house if you're working on your computer or maybe reading a book; and Cinema which is of course is meant for watching movies and is supposed to make the sound more cinematic. For the most part, I think I'll probably use Standard, but there may be an occasion where background could be useful and Cinema might be cool for some shows.
Sony does include an Equalizer (like all these functions, you access and change in the app) which has several built-ins but also allows you to create custom ones. It's a 10 Channel Equalizer so you can fine turn to your heart's content. The app also has a "Find Your Equalizer" feature if you're not an audio expert and want some help figuring out the best for your tastes. Aside from that, there's also a 360 Reality Audio feature which claims to create an immersive experience as if you're at a live performance, but it only works with specific apps that are optimized for it so I consider it to be a fairly useless feature except for a small percentage of people.
You can choose to prioritize Bluetooth sound quality or connection stability - of course sound quality is default as it should be, but you can switch if you're in a specific situation where there are stability issues. You can also further enhance sound quality by turning on DSEE Extreme which uses AI to upscale some MP3 Streaming sources. (This would only be useful if your streaming non-high quality audio, but nice to have the option.)
Of course you can connect to two devices at once which I'd expect of all high end headphones these days.
Another unique and pretty cool feature is the Voice Control feature - if turned on, it allows you to controll your headphones by saying "Hey, Headphones" then a command like "Play" "Pause" "Next Song" "Raise the Volume" "Set Noise Cancelling to On" etc. You can also access your phone's default assistant (Siri/Google) by saying "Assistant" so you still have that accesible. The only thing I don't like is that normally, long pressing the touch surface of the right earphone calls up your phone assistant, but if Voice Control is on, this is disabled. I don't really understand why. Speaking of the touch sensor control, this is an AWESOME feauture (can can be turned on/off) that allows you to control your headphones and your music with simple touch gestures on the right earpad. It's so much better than a bunch of buttons that you're trying to blindly hit correctly. You can tap to pause/play. You can swipe forward/backward for next/previous, swipe up/down for volume control, and more. It's so easy and intuitive to use and the best control of any headphones I've ever had.
The only buttons on the headphones are on the left earpad and there is one circle one for power and one slim rectangle for Noise Cancelling which makes them easy to find and distinguish. The Noise Cancelling button can be set to toggle between any of the three modes (ANC/Ambient Sound/Off) which is cool. The one thing I do not like is that button has customizable controls for 2 taps and 3 taps but Sony has limited this feature to only control the 360 Reality Audio Apps which means this function is pretty much useless for most people. It would be nice if you could map these controls to launch any music app on your phone and/or control other headphone functions.
There are some other cool features (I told you Sony really packed everything into these) like Head Gesture which if turned on allows you to accept or reject an incoming call by nodding/shaking your head as well as control scene-based listening; auto-switch sound from your headphones to a speaker when removing/putting them on; set the Auto Power off mode for the headphones; auto-pause your music/movie when you remove the headphones; select to hear your own voice when on phone calls; and adjust the volume (or turn off) audio notifications and voice guidance for the headphones.
There is also a "Scene-based listening" option for these that I have not used myself and likely won't, but would be good for people who like to wear headphones like these all the time. When enabled the settings for the headphones will change and be optimized as you change environments. So say you are at home eating breakfast when you put them, then you walk outdoors and down the street to the bus stop, then you get on the bus and ride the bus to work - as you change to thest three different "scenes" the headphones use Adaptive Sound Control to tailor things to your situation. This is something I won't use, but I can see how it could be a great feature for some people.
It's hard to say anything is "perfect" but I can't imagine a more perfect pair of headphones available today. The sound is audiphile quality. The ANC is as good as it gets. The design and style is among the best I have ever seen. And Sony put so many features and functionality into these that anyone should be able to customize them to be their own personal dream headphones! The WH-1000XM6 Headphones are Sony at it's best! I can't imagine anyone not loving these.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: The Sony WH-1000XM6 over ear headphones are beautiful,...
detailedReviews 8: content: PROS
Crisp, detailed, and balanced sound out of the box
Full 10-band EQ tuning with effective out of the box EQ presets
Supremely effective noise cancelling
Great audio passthrough for ambient noise detection
An absolute plethora of software features
Solid call and microphone quality
Lightweight and comfortable build
Foldable & easy to transport with included case
Included hard case is high quality and magnetic latch is convenient
SO-SO
Earpads are comfortable but soft material plus tighter clamp means ears can get warm after a few hours of listening
CONS
Black finish is a fingerprint & grease magnet
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT
This is my first pair of Sony headphones and I was quite excited to try these out. As an amateur audiophile, I have owned many pairs of headphones, from budget options, to premium wireless brands, to wired open-back designs, and everything in between. I am a big fan of over-ear headphones compared to earbuds, and if I could only own one pair, it would be a wireless pair of noise cancelling headphones suitable for many uses, and that is exactly what the XM6s deliver. These are a jack of all trade headphone (and master of many), with no real weaknesses I could find during my testing apart from some very minor nitpicks which I’ll talk about in just a bit.
From a build quality perspective, these feel nice, but I wouldn’t call them the most sturdy feeling or looking headphones. They are almost entirely plastic and soft fabric/foam, and as a result they look good but not too far removed from the XM5s or other headphones with similar designs. They are very clean looking, but they don’t set the world on fire and won’t stand out among the competition from an aesthetics perspective, which you may or may not like. What you do get with this plastic build is a very lightweight design. These are so comfortable on the head weighing only around 255 grams, that I have worn them for an entire 8 hour work day with no issue whatsoever. They also may be plastic, but they won’t feel cheap. I wouldn’t throw these around a room, but I am also not worried about them breaking if they are accidentally dropped. My only real complaint is the finish (at least in black) is a fingerprint and grease magnet. Take a good look at them when you first open the case, because they will not look that clean again.
Speaking of the case, the included hardshell case is really nice. Its compact (as the XM6s do fold), includes a pouch for charging and 3.5mm cords, and has a large carrying strap. Additionally, it closes magnetically with a simple latch, which is actually really nice for getting the headphones in and out. For an included case, it is definitely one of the better cases I have gotten with a pair of headphones, and doesn’t make me feel the need to go buy a third party one instead.
On the hardware side, for the headphones you get 30mm Neodymium drivers, 12 mics for active noise cancelling and audio passthrough, SBC AAC LDAC & LC3 support, 30-40 hours of battery life (depending on noise cancelling and other software features), and full EQ support in the app. On the sound side, these sound great out of the box (very neutral), with minimal tuning needed to achieve a great audio profile for most music tastes. You do have a full 10-band EQ control which is great, along with several EQ presets for things like gaming, heavy music, etc. I personally prefer more flat sound profiles, so the out of the box neutral preset was really good for me. What you get is a solid bass, but not overpowering, crisp highs, but not shrill, and surprisingly amazing mids with clean vocal representation. I am usually pretty picky when it comes to wireless headphones compared to open-back counterparts, but I have very little to complain about with the XM6s from an audio perspective. They sound great, and can be tuned to your liking with custom profiles if you prefer. The vocal clarity is a particular high point I will say though. I noticed it first with calls, where meetings & phone calls just sounded so crisp compared to what I am used to, but in music this also holds true, where artist vocals, particularly male vocals, have a level of depth I usually miss on headphones. Very impressed and I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with how these sound, as long as you come at them as a pair of wireless headphones primarily targeted at music streaming.
On the noise cancelling & audio passthrough side, again things are top notch. The noise cancelling is actually the best I have ever heard on a headphone, and that is saying something. Even without turning ANC on, the headphones seal sounds out really well, but ANC on takes it to another level. Even with no music it deafens the environment heavily to an almost inaudible blur and with a little music or sound it becomes complete isolation from the outside world. Thankfully, this doesn’t impact sound quality at all, and you still get a great audio presentation. I actually tend to use audio passthrough more often, just because I work in an office where I need to hear others, and this mode is also excellent and up there with the best I have used. It very naturally blends in sounds from the outside with the headphones to allow people speaking or your environment to come through, without sounding artificially loud or present. On both of these fronts, these headphones are an absolute class leader. Same goes for battery life. I have been using these for many hours a day for over a week and have only now just gotten below 45% battery. These things just go and go, despite being so lightweight and relatively slim.
On the software side, you get a lot of the Sony processing tricks. DSEE Extreme is available for audio upscaling, and you have a slew of features for the headphone system. You can have it change audio modes depending on your location and/or what you are doing, change modes if you start talking, turn off when you take the headphones off, adjust microphones depending on if you are speaking, and much more. You also get spatial audio upscaling with 360 Reality Audio if you are listening from a supported service/source, and you can calibrate the spatial audio for your head/ears as well. There is just a ton here if you like flexibility, and the best I can say is that it just works. You may not need all features, but for those that you do they are there, and they all work well.
If I could use one word to describe the XM6s, it would be versatile. They just do it all, and do it all from good (such as build quality), to great (such as audio quality), to amazing (such as ANC). Yea there are nitpicks, like the finish being a fingerprint magnet, the cheaper feeling build in some areas, the associated mobile app not always connecting to the headphones on the first try, the earpads making my ears a bit warm after a few hours of usage, etc., but overall they are just that nitpicks. None of these things would keep me from buying these, and many have workarounds or can be improved with firmware updates. I can’t think of a headphone I have used that I would recommend above these for most people. Sony really knocked it out of the park.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: PROS Crisp, detailed, and balanced sound out of...
detailedReviews 9: content: The Sony WH-1000XM6 Noise Canceling Headphones are premium headphones offering studio-quality sound.
• Packaging – The headphones come nicely packed in a carrying case; however, I wish the carrying case had a zipper instead of a magnetic buckle as the magnetic buckle seems less secure.
• Noise cancellation – The quality of the noise cancellation is outstanding, especially when used on an airplane. During my recent flights the external noise was completely eliminated which allowed me to relax and enjoy my playlist. Sony upgraded the noise cancelling processor to the QN3 which is reportedly 7x faster than their WH-1000XM5 model.
• Audio – The audio quality is rich and balanced. I greatly enjoy listening to both music and audiobooks with these headphones. I also found the audio during calls to be clear and easy to understand. There are several customization settings in the Sound Connect app including:
o Ambient sound control – able to pick from noise canceling, ambient sound, or off
o Listening mode – Standard (allows you to set the equalizer and DSEE), background music (sets music and other content to simulate distant ambience), or cinema (immersive content enabled by Sony’s 360 Reality Audio Upmix technology)
o Equalizer – Heavy, clear, hard, soft, game, custom. It allows you to find your equalizer by giving you several different profiles to pick from while listening to music which can be saved to a custom slot.
o Spatial Sound optimization – Measures the angle of the headphone placement to optimize spatial sound
o 360 Reality Audio – Analyzes the shape of your ears for a more immersive experience as if you were at the performance. This requires you to allow the app to take a picture of each ear.
• Comfort – The headphones are lightweight and fairly comfortable over long duration use; however, I did notice some discomfort along the top of my head at the center of the band after a few hours.
• Battery life – These headphones have a long battery life lasting up to 30 hours and charge quickly with the included USB-A to USB-C charging cable.
Overall, I think these headphones are great. They offer immersive audio and many features/customizations in the app. Highly Recommend!
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: The Sony WH-1000XM6 Noise Canceling Headphones are premium...
detailedReviews 10: content: * Case: I fell in love the first time I saw these! I really love the hardshell case; it’s light, compact, and the magnetic clasp is something unique and absolutely a game changer. It makes it so easy to open and close. It’s also fun to do and saves so much time compared to a zippered case. I hope more companies learn from this type of advancement in the use of magnets. I love the feel of the woven texture on the outside and the velvety softness of the interior. I like how the headphones fold up inside to add to the compactness and extra portability of the case overall. One negative is how short the charging cable provided is, but it’s not a big deal to me.
* Headphones: First thing I noticed is how light they feel in my hands and on my head. I feel like I could wear these very comfortably for hours and hours with their pressure-free fit, although the ear cups could be a bit more cushioned. I like the matte finish exterior; it adds a premium feel but does show some oily fingerprints and residue on the ear cups. The smooth, plush synthetic leather of the widened headband is also a nice feature that adds to the comfortability of the headphones. I never had headphones that used capacitive touch on the side of the headphones before, and so far it works very well for adjusting the volume, changing tracks forward and back, using a voice assistant, or covering the hole ear cup to let in ambient sound. These touch features only work on the right side ear cup, though not both sides, but it’s not a problem for me. Another cool feature this headphone can do is automatically pause the music when you take the headphones off or remove the left ear cup off the ear. The battery is supposed to last 30 hours, which I will never need, but this is super convenient for those with long flights or who forget to charge these. For me, these have lasted a long time so far with no charge and many hours of use. It says you can get 3 hours of use for 3 minutes of charge, which is incredible. For phone calls, it has 6 built-in microphones so it can isolate your voice from background noise, and you can mute your microphone with a double press of the NC/AMB button, which you can change from the app. I didn’t have any issues with phone calls and the call was clear and nothing negative noted from the other caller. The ANC mic inside the ear cups does not bother me as I cannot feel it, but you can feel a big lump when pressing on it with them off. The sound of these seems great without messing with the equalizer at all. I messed around with different settings, but it seems the default has still been my favorite despite being a tad low and less punchy on the bass for some songs to me, but still very good. It has clear vocal mid ranges, nice overall tones, and the noise cancelling makes everything better.
* Noise Cancelling: I feel these headphones offer a very superior noise-cancelling experience from other headphones I have tried. Powered by a QN3 processor and an adaptive 12-microphone system, it really does deliver an immersive, distraction-free listening experience. I am very pleased with the overall quality of these headphones. They are well worth the investment.
* Sound Connect App: This app is full of features that can help enhance your experience with these headphones. You don’t need to download the app to use these, but it does help keep track of battery life and settings like the NC/AMB button on the side, toggling different things if you have apps like Spotify, Amazon Music, or a couple of other apps. You can connect to two different devices and see what those devices are from the app; the headphones switched to my other device quickly when trying that feature. Changing different listening modes like standard, background music, or cinema. Changing Ambient Sound Control, which helps you control how much sound you actually want to let in, which could be nice to play around with. You can change different equalizer modes or customize your own. You can Optimize Spatial Sound. You can change something called speak-to-chat, which detects your voice when you’re talking and automatically filters in ambient sound so you can talk to someone while wearing the headphones; you can change the sensitivity for the voice detection and how long it remains in ambient mode before returning to normal. There is a toggle that allows you to turn off the headphones when you take them off and aren’t used for a period of time. Head gestures are something you can toggle to nod your head to answer a phone call or shake to reject a call, which is pretty neat. The app can also be used to update software.
Overall: I highly recommend these if you’re looking for something high-end that is lightweight, good-looking, travel-friendly, and has amazing sound quality.
marketplace: google
source: google
sourceLogo: https://i.flash.tech/a/rs:fill:300:400:0/g:sm/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/merchants/google
starRating: 5
title: * Case: I fell in love the first...
