A month with the Sony WH-1000XM6: the ones we didn't want to give back
Put them on, press once, and the plane's engine drone simply disappears. That's the first thing you do with the WH-1000XM6 — and the reason this line has been the noise-cancelling benchmark for years. Then the music starts.
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Sony
WH-1000XM6
The noise-cancelling benchmark, again
Our score
✓ Pros
- ＋Class-leading noise cancelling
- ＋Battery beyond the rated figure
- ＋Comfortable after hours, foldable again
✗ Cons
- －Steep launch price
- －Touch controls occasionally imprecise
⚖ Verdict
The best for travel and focus. If you own the XM5 or want to spend less, the previous generation gives you almost everything.
✎ PREXO · 3 min read
The testing notebook
The first flight without the engines
You put them on, press once, and the drone of the plane's engines simply vanishes. It doesn't fade: it's gone. That's the first thing you do with the WH-1000XM6, and it's also what reminds you why this line has been the noise-cancelling benchmark for years. Then the music starts, and you realise the silence was just the appetiser.
We took them everywhere for a month: open-plan office, trains, a home with building work going on downstairs. The result is the same everywhere: you turn the world's volume up only when you decide to.
What they are and what they cost
These are Sony's flagship over-ears, built for anyone who wants the best noise cancelling without compromising on sound. The price puts them in the top tier, head to head with Bose and the AirPods Max. They fold again — a detail travellers were waiting for — and the hard case protects properly.
Everyday life with them
On the move and at the desk
This is their habitat. Adaptive cancelling reads where you are and adjusts itself; on a plane they isolate better than anything we've tried. Transparency mode is natural enough to order a coffee without taking them off. With multipoint they stay linked to phone and computer at once, switching from a call to a video with no fuss.
At home, to really listen
With isolation set aside, the sound remains: warm, detailed, with bass that's present but not bloated. On a high-resolution source the difference shows, especially in clean highs.
What we didn't expect
On the plus side, battery: the rated figure is already high, but in real use at medium volume you go beyond it, and fast charge hands you hours from a few minutes plugged in. Comfort after hours surprised us too: the cups don't clamp and the weight is well spread.
On the downside, the launch price is steep, and the touch controls — handy — occasionally misread a tap. Nothing serious, but not what you expect on headphones like these.
They're for you if… / Look elsewhere if…
- They're for you if you travel often and want the best noise cancelling there is.
- They're for you if you work in noisy places and focus has a price.
- They're for you if you listen to a lot of music and sound matters as much as silence.
- Look elsewhere if money is tight: the previous generation costs less and isolates almost the same.
- Look elsewhere if you want something sporty and sweat-resistant: that's not their job.
The verdict
The WH-1000XM6 do what they promise better than anyone: they cancel noise like no one else and sound like true premium headphones. Score 9 out of 10. If you don't need the very latest cancelling, the XM5 remain a bargain, especially now the price has dropped.