The Sony WF-1000XM6. (Picture: Sony)
The Sony WF-1000XM6 are unbelievably good earbuds, with higher noise cancellation and sound high quality than Bose and Apple, however a cushty match stays elusive for this reviewer.
What we love
- Unbelievable noise cancellation
- Superior audio high quality
- Strong 8 hour battery life on single cost
- Hello-Res and different audio perks
- Responsive contact controls
What we do not
- As ever with Sony WF-1000X earbuds, uncomfortable match
- Costly at £250
- Massive charging case
- No aptX assist (for the very choosy)
Sony has not determined to enhance the naming scheme of its flagship earbuds vary, however possibly that doesn’t matter on condition that the fifth entry, the WF-1000XM6, is the most effective model but.
The WF-1000X vary is already famed for its wonderful energetic noise cancellation (ANC) and best-in-class audio high quality, and I’m glad to report that after two weeks with the brand new earbuds firmly lodged in my lugholes that Sony has carried out it once more.
The WF-1000XM6 handle not solely to enhance upon 2023’s WF-1000XM5, additionally they outperform the Apple AirPods Professional 3 and the Bose QuietComfort Extremely Earbuds 2nd Gen, with higher ANC and music sound high quality than these two rivals. Sony claims it has improved each points over the older XM5, and I agree – which isn’t at all times the case when an organization claims its new product is healthier than its final.
It simply relies upon in case you have £250 spare to spend on earbuds.
The XM6 have a totally new design in comparison with the XM5. They’re bigger and have a matte end, and include 4 eartip sizes within the field. Not like the vast majority of earbuds, the following pointers are a mouldable materials fairly than clean silicone. I used to be in a position to get a great seal with the smallest XS dimension. A seal is required for noise cancellation to work correctly and to get the most effective sound high quality.
The Sony WF-1000XM6 in platinum silver and black. (Picture: Sony)
However identical to I’ve skilled with each different technology of the WF-1000X collection, the XM6 aren’t probably the most snug earbuds on the market, which makes me cease in need of whole-heartedly recommending them. All our bodies are totally different, and my ear canals are on the smaller aspect, however I discovered it troublesome to cease these buds from falling out. I actually needed to ram them in each time to get them to remain, then discovered them uncomfortable after an hour or so, needing to present my ears a break.
This isn’t the case with all earbuds for me. I discover Apple’s AirPods Professional 2 snug sufficient to make use of for a number of hours at a time (in contrast to the newer Professional 3), and I additionally discover Google’s Pixel Buds 2a very simple to put on. That’s to not say the XM6 gained’t give you the results you want, however I think they’re higher for bigger ears – particularly as the brand new design should nestle in your outer ear.
The buds relaxation in an austere matte plastic charging case that’s angular sufficient to be uncomfortable in a thin denims pocket. This case, totally charged, will preserve the buds going for twenty-four hours, with eight hours of listening from a single cost earlier than it’s essential to put them again in. You may also wirelessly refill it because of Qi charging tech contained in the case, although it’s faster by way of USB-C.
The buds could also be extra amorphous blob than AirPods clone, however that additional house is clearly working for Sony, with among the most full, well-rounded audio I’ve ever heard on shopper earbuds
The buds could also be extra amorphous blob than AirPods clone, however that additional house is clearly working for Sony, with among the most full, well-rounded audio I’ve ever heard on shopper earbuds. New 8.4mm drivers push a really full sound that fits many music genres proper out of the field, though the wonderful Sony Sound Join app enables you to tweak EQ whether or not you utilize an iPhone or an Android telephone.
Android customers get a slight benefit in that the buds will play utilizing LDAC, Sony’s hi-res audio codec, which sounds barely higher than the AAC codec you’re restricted to on an iPhone. Observe which you can solely get LDAC on Android with these buds should you flip off the helpful twin connection characteristic, which is annoying. This in any other case enables you to join to 2 units directly, and works nicely.
Cameron Winter’s Love Takes Miles sounds superbly realised on the buds, with audio separation of devices not often seen on in-ear buds. Radiohead’s 15 Step is unbelievably concerned, with textures you merely can’t hear on lesser headphones. Fireplace up Fontaines D.C.’s Starbuster and also you’ll be strutting down the road such as you’re on Hollywood Boulevard, such is the highly effective replica.
I examined the XM6 related to an Android telephone utilizing hi-res music service Qobuz, in addition to utilizing Qobuz and Spotify by way of an iPhone. The buds sound higher with the previous arrange, however I readily admit that they’re so good within the first place, that even the technically inferior iPhone arrange nonetheless rendered music excellently. You may also activate Sony’s DSEE Excessive software, which upscales compressed audio in real-time.
The buds sound nice, in the event that they keep in your ears. (Picture: Sony)
Contact controls on the surface of every bud are responsive and work very nicely, and you may customise what faucets and holds do within the Sound Join app.
The design additionally makes room for 4 mics on every bud, which has demonstrably improved noise cancelling chops over current rival merchandise. When visiting London, I turned on the ANC on the noisy Jubilee Line and marvelled because the screeching utterly disappeared, masked by the cancellation and music taking part in. It’s not pretty much as good at blocking out loud noise as premium over-ear headphones from Sony, Bose or different manufacturers, however that is the most effective noise cancelling I’ve skilled on earbuds – even beating Bose’s QuietComfort Extremely Earbuds 2nd Gen that had been my earlier gold normal.
It’s adequate that I can’t hear what somebody is saying proper subsequent to me in a quiet room. If you wish to block out sound with earbuds, these are those to get. The ambient sound mode lets the world round you in, and works very nicely.
If you wish to block out sound with earbuds, these are those to get.
Sony nails the fundamentals very nicely, but it surely additionally delivers on options and software program perks. The equaliser within the Sound Join app is good, and you may even do an in-app check that will help you set your most popular sound. Adaptive Sound Management mechanically adjusts the noise cancellation and ambient sound ranges relying on should you’re sitting or shifting and making an allowance for the noise round you, and there’s even a surprisingly good ‘background music’ mode that makes it sound as if no matter you’re listening to is occurring round you, prefer it may in a café or bigger room.
If I discovered the WF-1000XM6 extra snug, I’d have given them a uncommon five-star evaluation, no questions requested. However regardless of their evidently superior ANC, sound and specs, with Sony’s very considerate app, I’ve discovered myself annoyed with the match, and that the buds fall out once I go operating or am consuming.
However in case you have ears that often cope nicely with in-ear buds and also you don’t thoughts the premium price ticket, the Sony WF-1000XM6 are an expensive selection that outperform the competitors.
The Sony WF-1000XM6 go on sale on February 14, 2026. You should buy them from Amazon.
