Review: Sony WF-1000XM6

It’s no surprise that the latest generation of Sony’s best earbuds has once again pushed the boundaries of noise cancellation. If you’re intolerant to noise when listening to music, look no further. The Sony WF-1000XM6 is the choice for you.

It’s not surprising that the XM6 outperforms the XM5 in noise cancellation, as Sony always takes adaptive noise cancellation a step further when a new generation of earbuds with ANC (adaptive noise cancellation) is launched.

Two years ago, the WF-1000XM5 set the standard, but since then the Apple AirPods Pro 3 have taken the lead in terms of how much noise cancellation you can get in a pair of earbuds. Now it’s Sony’s turn again.

The new WF-1000XM6 has also been changed and improved in other areas, but for the sake of simplicity we’ll take it one step at a time.

Sony has changed the design of both the earbuds and the case. The earbuds are more ergonomically designed with a more rounded shape, which Sony believes fits better in more ears and thus improves the effect of passive noise cancellation. Physically, they are 11 per cent smaller than the XM5, which was 25 per cent smaller than the older XM4.

Sony WF-1000XM6

The rounded shape of the XM5 case has been replaced by a more grip-friendly elliptical shape with sharper edges, and you can charge the case and earbuds via USB or on a charging pad. Battery life is still good, with eight hours for the earbuds plus another 16 hours with a fully charged case. It only takes five minutes of charging to give you an extra hour of playback time.

Sony delivers when they say the XM6 has the best noise cancellation they’ve ever made. They claim it’s 25 percent more efficient than its predecessor and have created two new processors (HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3e and Integrated Processor V2) which, along with four microphones on each earbud, are designed to reduce noise more effectively over a wider frequency range.

Adaptive Noise Cancelling Optimiser

This works extremely well. A short test in a closed environment with different noise sources was convincing. After travelling by plane and train, I could conclude that this is – at the moment – the most effective noise cancellation on the market.

The buzzing in the aircraft cabin was barely audible and the cabin crew talking to their colleagues seemed like they were in a silent movie. Even the announcements over the speaker system, which normally penetrate the noise cancellation of most earbuds, were pleasantly muffled. A long press on one of the earbuds activated the microphones and put me on speakerphone so I could hear that the weather on the ground was clear but cold at minus 10 degrees and that we would be landing in 15 minutes.

I removed my finger from the earpiece and silence returned in an instant, allowing me to enjoy the music again undisturbed.

Another thing I noticed that many people might not realise is what it’s like to wear earbuds. Many earbuds are so tight and have no ventilation, which means you can hear your own heart rate when the music stops and the steps you take with the earbuds in your ears. With these, there is almost no audible transfer from your steps to your ears. This means they are much more comfortable to wear.

Professional sound tuning

The earbuds have an improved version of the full-range driver – or unit – that we know from the XM5. A new suspension and a new 32-bit sound processor are the basis for the sound quality of the XM6, which has been tuned by professional sound engineers.

Sony has hired several people who have worked with famous artists such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran and Bob Dylan. One of them, Michael Romanowski, has worked with Alicia Keys and on the soundtracks for the recent Star Wars films. According to Romanowski, the task has been to get the earbuds to reproduce the music the way the artist wants it to sound.

Many soundtracks have been played through prototypes of the earbuds before the result was deemed satisfactory. It sounds great and may even be enough to pique the interest of hardened audiophiles, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

Better sound, right?

At first the sound is reminiscent of the XM5, but gradually I notice that the soundstage is significantly more open on the XM6. The bass is tighter and deeper at the same time, and there’s more timbre in instruments like guitars, piano and brass. It’s easier to follow Ole Morten Vågan’s double bass playing on the album Lullaby with Mathias Eick and Kristjan Randalu.

The drums on Veslemøy Narvesen’s Hold Me Closer from the album Letting All Light Through are dynamic and clearly defined, but I miss a little more flavour in the snare drum and cymbals. So open the app and tame the EQ. A little boost at 1 kHz – and another at 2 kHz – does the trick and the rhythm becomes even easier to follow.

On Bruno Mars’ latest single, I Just Might, I find the bass to be too soft, so it’s necessary to dive back into the app’s EQ settings to get the sound I prefer. You can choose from five preset EQ settings or do what I did and save your own to get the sound exactly how you want it.

Sony has actually listened to the criticism and finally added a 10-band equaliser to the Sound Connect app. It also has a few extra features, such as the Background Music Effect, which allows you to have the microphones open all the time while listening to music.

 

The sound of a pair of more expensive Bowers & Wilkins PI8s is warmer and slightly fuller, especially in the bass, but lacks the openness and detail of the XM6. The B&W earbuds are preferable for those who like a warmer sound balance, and for electronic and rock music they are still among the best. Jazz and classical? Sony.

But how does the XM6 sound compared to the market leader from Apple?

The AirPods Pro 3 cost €40 less than the XM6 and in practice have noise cancellation on par with the XM6 in most cases, but again the sound is not as open and detailed.

On the other hand, they support Dolby Atmos – spatial audio – a surround format that much music is released in today. You can find music in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music and Tidal, and many believe the effect is worth subscribing to Apple Music or Tidal for.

You won’t enjoy Dolby Atmos here – and where on earth can you find music in 360 Reality Audio, which is supported by Sony? Exactly.

Call quality

They lack Dolby Atmos, but the Sony earbuds have been improved in other areas. A longer Bluetooth antenna should provide a more reliable connection, they support Google Gemini and hands-free assistant, but probably more important than that is call quality.

Two microphones and advanced noise cancellation that uses AI to separate the voice from the noise should provide better call quality. And they do. There are still some processor artefacts here, such as artificially sharpened s-sounds, but above all, the sound is clear and crisp on the other end.

Conclusion

The Sony WF-1000XM6 has better noise cancellation, a more ergonomic design and improved sound quality. The new earbuds feature two new processors and four microphones per earbud, providing 25 per cent better noise cancellation than its predecessor – and that’s audible. The sound is professionally tuned by sound engineers who have worked with the likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga, and in the app you get a 10-band equaliser. You can hear this too.

The XM6 has been given a real audio boost that makes them a serious competitor to more expensive earbuds – and with top-notch noise cancelling, there’s no doubt that the Sony earbuds are a very good buy. Even if they lack Dolby Atmos.