Sony has officially introduced their new over-ear headphones: the WH-1000XM6. Compared to the WH-1000XM5, the main change is improved noise cancellation. The wireless headphones have 12 microphones for active noise canceling instead of 8. For calls, there are 6 microphones with software noise reduction instead of 4. The new QN3 noise processor is 7 times faster than the QN1 in the WH-1000XM5. Other changes include a foldable earcup design; in the Sony WH-1000XM5, the earcups could only swivel. Bluetooth version 5.3 instead of 5.2 and support for the LC3 audio codec.
The sound system of the Sony WH-1000XM6 Bluetooth headphones has not changed – it is a 30mm dynamic driver with a soft TPU surround (thermoplastic polyurethane). The LC3 codec has been added to the LDAC, AAC, and SBC sound codecs – it’s used in low-power mode and provides transmission with low latency. There’s also support for Auracast broadcast audio. And as is fashionable nowadays, Sony developed the headphones with renowned sound engineers and recording studios: Sterling Sound, Coast Mastering, and Battery Studios. And if the names of these studios don’t tell you anything – don’t worry, it’s the same for me.
The most notable advancement concerns active noise cancellation technology. Sony is a leader in this field, and the WH-1000XM5 over-ear headphones and the WF-1000XM5 in-ear headphones top our ranking of the best noise-canceling headphones. The WH-1000XM6 has 12 microphones for active noise cancellation and transparency mode. The new QN3 noise processor predicts and processes data faster to best adjust noise cancellation to the environment in real time. How much more effective is the noise cancellation? Sony doesn’t provide detailed figures, so its performance needs to be tested. Write in the comments – are you interested in reviewing and testing Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones?
Call microphone noise cancellation has improved. They use 6 microphones for calls, and software noise reduction is more effective at isolating your voice. How effective? Without specifics from the manufacturer – just better.
Gestures for answering and ending a call by nodding or shaking your head have appeared. The same gestures are available in the latest Huawei models – FreeBuds Pro 4 and FreeBuds 6. Auto-pause during calls, pause when removing headphones, and playback when putting on headphones are available. Spatial audio with head tracking and upscaling of compressed audio is supported. All of this can be configured in the proprietary Sony | Sound Connect app. The app is user-friendly, extends the functionality of the headphones, and is a must-have.
The headphones’ runtime is unchanged – in music mode, 30 hours with active noise cancellation and 40 hours without noise cancellation. 3 minutes of charging gives you 3 hours of music listening. You can listen to music using an audio cable while the headphones are charging.
The headphone design is foldable again; you can fold the earcups under the headband. In the previous generation, the earcups could only rotate 90 degrees. The headphones are available in three colors: Black, Silver, and Blue.
What are you interested in comparing this model to? Write in the comments.
