Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Sony’s WH-1000XM6 debut with better ANC, a folding hinge, and a higher price

Sony WH-1000XM6.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

After multiple leaks, there wasn’t much left for Sony to announce, but nonetheless, today it’s official: Sony’s WH-1000XM6 are here and as expected, they feature a generous number of upgrades from the WH-1000XM5, including a new metal folding hinge that’s designed to be both more durable and more flexible. The new XM6 comes in three colors: black, midnight blue, and Sony’s strangely named platinum silver (which is actually an off-white, sandy color seen here). They’re priced at $450 in the U.S., a $50 increase over the XM5 that appears partially tariff-driven, given their $599 Canadian dollar price (about $428 U.S.). They’re available starting today at major online retailers and sony.com.

Sony took a bit of criticism for it fold-flat design of the WH-1000XM5, which some viewed as less travel friendly. The XM6 is a clever response to those concerns — Sony has kept the XM5’s sleek lines while adding in that missing second degree of motion in the hinge. It has also reduced the size of the travel case and given it a quick release magnetic closure instead of the usual zipper.

The headband is now a bit wider and Sony has given it an asymmetrical shape, similar to the Sonos Ace, which Sony says should help folks orient the headphones correctly without needing to look at the left/right labels. The earcushions have also been beefed up with greater padding.

Recommended Videos

For the XM6, Sony has chosen a new finish to its plastic. Gone is the slightly rubberized coating of the XM4 and XM5, replaced with an almost ceramic-like texture.

Sony considers itself a master of active noise cancellation (ANC), so it likely took note when Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Headphones began racking up the awards for best ANC over the WH-1000XM5. For the XM6, Sony attempts to address that gap with three improvements, beginning with a new processor (the QN3) that apparently measures and responds to noise conditions seven times faster than the QN1 chip in the XM5. There are now 4 more mics (12 vs. 8) to capture those externals sounds, and Sony has replaced the XM5’s Auto NC optimizer algorithm with a new Adaptive NC optimizer. These are the algorithms that make ANC adjustments based on your hair or eyeglasses or anything else that could get in the way of the earcups providing a strong seal.

Six of those 12 mics are now involved when making calls (versus 4 on the XM5), and Sony says it employs an AI noise reduction algorithm that was trained on 500 million voice samples, letting the XM6 better separate your voice from background sounds. New for the XM6 is the ability to mute those mics while on a call.

On the sound side of the equation, Sony has given the XM6 new drivers (the XM5 drivers were also different from the WH-1000XM4) with a high rigidity carbon fiber composite material dome, which it says will help with balance and a perforated voice coil bobbin for better high frequency performance. It’s also touting the XM6’s extensive tuning, performed by several Grammy-winning audio engineers.

Spatial audio returns on the XM6, as “360 Reality Audio Upmix for Cinema.” Sony is positioning it as an immersive upgrade for movie content (in the app, it’s labeled as “Cinema” mode) but it works any stereo source, on both iOS and Android. On the XM5, spatial was limited to just Sony’s proprietary Sony 360 Reality Audio format. Unfortunately, head tracking remains an Android-only feature.

Battery life hasn’t changed — it’s still 30 hours with ANC on and 40 hours when it’s off — but Sony has finally given us the ability to charge the XM6 while they’re being used, something we’ve never been able to do with Sony’s wireless headphones.

Sony downplayed this in its press briefing, but just like its LinkBuds Open and LinkBuds Fit, you’ll be able to use Bluetooth Auracast if you switch the headphones to LE Audio, and if your smartphone’s operating system is Auracast-compatible. In other words, it should work on most Android handsets running the latest version of that OS, but not on iPhones.

New for the XM6 is a feature called Scene-based Listening. According to the company, it “uses sensing technology to automatically play music according to the user’s activity and adjust noise cancellation level based on their environment and location.” It appears to be an extension of the existing Adaptive Sound Control option that manages just ANC/transparency based on activity and location.

Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
Updating our Sony WF-1000XM5 review
Sony WF-1000XM5 in silver.

As the Barenaked Ladies famously sang, it's been one week. One week since Digital Trends and the rest of the techno-review world published the first reviews of the Sony WF-1000XM5 wireless noise-canceling earbuds. Or at least, these were supposed to be the first reviews. As it turned out -- and at first unbeknownst to any of these publications -- Sony didn't send out full production versions of the XM5. Though they looked exactly like the earbuds that you can buy today, they were unfinalized prototypes. We were clear about that at the time, and we want to be as transparent about things now.

Once Sony confirmed we'd initially been given prototype units, we published a sort of placeholder review that was heavily caveated to explain the situation to readers. One week later, Sony sent out full production XM5 units, and we've since updated our review with our final thoughts using production units — the same as what you can buy today. (Spoiler: The production units solved all the problems we saw with the prototypes.)

Read more
Sony updates WH-1000XM5 with head-tracked spatial audio and better multipoint
Sony WH-1000XM5.

Sony has released a software update for its flagship noise-canceling headphones, the WH-1000XM5, that enables head-tracked spatial audio -- a feature the company first debuted this week on its new WF-1000XM5 wireless earbuds.

The update also includes an enhancement of how Bluetooth Multipoint works on these wireless headphones. Previously, you had to choose between connecting two devices to the XM5 simultaneously or being able to use the company's LDAC hi-res Bluetooth codec. Turning on one of these features would automatically disable the other. Now, you can leave LDAC enabled and take advantage of simultaneous connections, even if one of the devices isn't LDAC-capable (like an iPhone).

Read more
Sony debuts the WF-C700N, its most affordable noise-canceling earbuds
Sony WF-C700 with charging case.

Sony has announced its latest wireless earbuds, and they bring the cost of the company's excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) technology to a new low price. At $120, the WF-C700N are a step up from the entry-level $100 WF-C500, which lack ANC, yet they're considerably more affordable than the $200 Sony LinkBuds S or the $279 WF-1000XM4, the company's only other ANC models.

The WF-C700N can be preordered immediately in one of four colors (black, white, lavender, and sage green), with an expected delivery date of April 17 to April 18.

Read more