The best headphones just keep on getting better

To say I’m conversant in Sony’s 1000X line of headphones can be an understatement. I’ve examined each pair to this point, besides the OG: . With every successive mannequin, the corporate managed so as to add new options, develop higher expertise and broaden the sonic capabilities of its flagship headphones. And with every new launch, Sony saved its spot atop our greatest wi-fi headphones checklist.

This time round, Sony made us wait longer than traditional. The primary three units of 1000X headphones every arrived . Then it was two years between the and , maybe delayed partially by the COVID pandemic, after which practically two extra earlier than the redesigned debuted. We’re three years out from that final mannequin and at present Sony is lastly revealing the follow-up: the WH-1000XM6 ($450).

The prolonged interval is comprehensible when you think about the variety of updates Sony has included to overtake its delight and pleasure. There’s a brand new processor, extra microphones, improved lively noise cancellation (ANC), refined design and a retuned sound platform. These modifications be part of the lengthy checklist of options Sony has amassed on the 1000X line over time, various which mechanically adapt when enabled, and many who present nice comfort in each day use. Different firms might have surpassed Sony in audio high quality (at the very least till now), however not one of the competitors gives a group of instruments that even comes near the WH-1000XM6.

Sony/Engadget

The crown is protected as soon as once more. Sony has managed to overtake its flagship headphones in all the appropriate ways in which hold the 1000X line atop our greatest headphones checklist.

Execs

• Improved sound
• Higher ANC efficiency
• Tons of useful options
• Supremely comfortable

Cons

• Worth has elevated once more
• Communicate-to-Chat nonetheless wants work
• Name high quality suffers in loud environments

$450 at Sony

Design updates

At first look, the WH-1000XM6 may not look a lot totally different from the M5, however there are some notable tweaks that enhance consolation and storage. First, there’s a wider, asymmetrical headband that makes these headphones even simpler to put on for lengthy intervals of time. The earlier mannequin was already light-weight, and that continues right here. Along with the brand new headband, it gives a comfortable match that beats each different wi-fi headphone.

Subsequent, Sony returned to its folding design that older 1000X fashions used to have. With latest fashions, the corporate opted to simply let the ear cups rotate earlier than the headphones went within the case. They nonetheless try this, however additionally they fold in for simpler storage. Attributable to this modification, the corporate designed a smaller case, and as a substitute of a zipper, Sony selected a magnetic closure.

One grievance I’ve concerning the design is how the ear cups rotate. Once you take the WH-1000XM6 off, the cups rotate inside as much as lay flat. To me, it needs to be the other, with the ear pads flipping down, as a result of that’s the way you’re going to place them within the case. This can be a change from the M5, the place the ear cups flip in what I’d think about the proper approach, which makes this change an much more confounding selection for this new mannequin.

Sony largely saved the controls on the WH-1000XM6 the identical, save for a few small revisions. First, the corporate nonetheless makes use of a mixture of bodily buttons and contact panels on the skin of every ear cup. With the previous, the one two choices there are energy (which doubles as Bluetooth pairing) and the noise management button that cycles by ANC, ambient sound and off.

That energy button was redesigned so it’s now bigger, spherical and concave. This makes it simpler to search out by contact and differentiates it from the noise management button. What’s extra, Sony has added the power for customers to mute/unmute the microphones on the M6 throughout calls by double urgent the noise management button. That is useful if you don’t need to attain in your cellphone or keyboard throughout a voice or video chat.

Improved sound high quality

The 1000X line has by no means been a slouch relating to sound high quality, and Sony has made strides to repeatedly enhance audio efficiency over time. With the WH-1000XM6, the corporate made modifications in three areas to additional enhance the sound profile. First, Sony developed new drivers for the M6, which it says ship “richer particulars and clearer vocals.” That’s because of what the corporate describes as smoother, prolonged excessive frequency replica created by perforations within the driver’s voice coil. And there’s higher total steadiness within the sound too, because of a extra inflexible dome for these elements.

The corporate additionally enlisted mastering engineers from three recording studios to assist tune the sound profile of the 1000XM6. All of them contributed numerous quotes praising the audio high quality of those headphones, however the common aim right here was to ship outcomes that had been nearer to the artist’s intention. That features extra immersive sound and finer particulars. To additional help this, Sony additionally added 360 Spatial Sound upmixing for stereo content material on the M6. Primarily, this characteristic can flip common content material into spatial audio. It’s one thing just like what Bose does on its , and it’s separate from each 360 Actuality Audio assist and DSEE Excessive compression upscaling.

On Sleep Token’s Even In Arcadia, the WH-1000XM6 gives boomy bass when tracks name for it, just like the loud, crunchy guitars and thundering drums in “Look To Windward.” All through the album, treble and mid-range lower by cleanly, offering ample separation so you may hear all the parts clearly. And that’s no straightforward feat, given the genre-bending manufacturing the band employs. Plus, the massive, hovering, loud elements of those songs appear to utterly encompass you with sound.

The lately remastered The Musings of Miles by Miles Davis reveals a special aspect of the M6. Right here, the textures of the devices are what stand out, the place you may hear the delicate nuances of the trumpet, piano, bass and drums. I’m undecided there can be rather more readability in the event you time-traveled again to Rudy Van Gelder’s house studio in 1955. The audio is pristine right here. There’s an identical vibe given to Billy Strings & Bryan Sutton’s Stay At The Legion, the place the 2 bluegrass virtuosos lend solely two acoustic guitars and their voices to the present. Listening to this album with the M6, I would as nicely be sitting between them.

New chip, extra mics and a splash of AI

Contained in the WH-1000XM6, the star of the present is the brand new QN3 processor. Sony says it’s seven instances sooner than the QN1 used within the M5, a chip that first debuted on the WH-1000XM3 in 2018. Provided that’s the principle energy behind noise cancellation, it was undoubtedly time for an replace.

With the QN3, Sony was ready so as to add 4 extra microphones for its ANC setup, bringing the entire on the 1000XM6 to 12. Extra mics means the corporate can extra successfully detect and block noise. Alongside the brand new {hardware},, Sony upgraded the Auto NC Optimizer on the M5 to what it now calls the Adaptive NC Optimizer on the M6. This expertise accounts for modifications in match and air strain, mechanically adapting the ANC protection as wanted. What’s extra, the corporate says the M6 can block extra mid-to-high-range frequencies than the M5, placing all of that energy to good use.

There’s a noticeable enchancment in ANC efficiency on the M6 — it’s not simply advertising and marketing hype. I can simply inform the headphones are blocking extra background noise than their predecessor, which isn’t all the time the case throughout 1000X generations. Notably with human voices, this mannequin does a greater job of lowering the sound of chatty neighbors within the workplace than a lot of the competitors. Although it doesn’t solely silence them, this nonetheless constitutes an improve in efficiency. The corporate has been giving Bose a run for its cash for some time now, and the M6 additional cements the actual fact the noise-cancelling arms race is nearer than ever.

Prefer it did on the M5, Sony employs AI-based noise discount on the M6 to scale back background noise throughout calls. The corporate says it skilled its mannequin on 500 million voice samples so the system can correctly extract the consumer’s voice. What’s extra, Sony now makes use of two extra microphones for voice efficiency (with a smidge extra AI on them) which are higher positioned for speech pickup.

In follow, name efficiency is a combined bag. First, the M6 does a superb job of blocking background noise. It rendered a loud fan utterly silent throughout certainly one of my exams. Nevertheless, that processing impacts total readability, so that you gained’t sound practically nearly as good as you do in quieter areas. Plus, the ends in noiseless situations aren’t pristine, however it’s ok to get the job completed for many name eventualities.

Sony introduced again the handy automation options which have made its flagship headphones the most suitable choice for years. Adaptive Sound Management can mechanically modify settings primarily based on exercise or location, like if you arrive on the workplace or if you’re out for a stroll. Ambient sound nonetheless has nice, pure high quality and is useful to have on throughout calls. Communicate-to-Chat continues to scale back the amount and prompts that transparency mode when it detects your voice, although it’s nonetheless far too simply duped by coughs and if you clear your throat. You too can use head gestures to simply accept (nod) or reject calls (shake). There’s a lot extra, however suffice it to say Sony remains to be forward of the pack for the sheer quantity of options it packs into its 1000X headphones.

Battery life

One of many few issues that’s unchanged on the WH-1000XM6 is battery life. Identical to the M5, this mannequin gives as much as 30 hours of use with ANC on or as much as 40 hours with it off. The fast cost perform can be the identical: three minutes offers you three hours. I had no downside hitting these acknowledged figures throughout my exams, which had been primarily performed with ANC on in addition to Sony’s DSEE Excessive audio upscaling enabled. I might often change to transparency mode for calls, however 80 % of the time I used to be in noise-blocking mode. After 25 hours of use, I nonetheless have 50 % left within the tank.

There’s one merchandise Sony tweaked relating to battery and charging efficiency. On the M6, you’ll be capable to hearken to music whereas the headphones are charging. This performance wasn’t obtainable beforehand, and it’s positive to offer some added comfort in a pinch — like if you’re ready in your flight in a raucous airport terminal.

The competitors

Whether or not it’s Bose, Bowers & Wilkins or Sennheiser, there are a selection of firms that inch nearer to Sony’s crown with every product cycle. I’m satisfied Sony has surpassed Bose by way of pure noise-cancelling efficiency, however are nonetheless a lot good and might repeatedly be discovered for lower than their $449 recommended retail worth. I don’t look after the design of , however the headphones have practically double the battery lifetime of the M6 with loads of audio and ANC efficiency as well. And so they accomplish that for much less cash than the WH-1000XM6.

This leads me to the . The corporate’s Px7 S2e had been my choose for finest sounding headphones for some time, and had been solely lately bested by . The S3 version supposedly gives enhancements to sound and ANC efficiency, however I haven’t examined them but and there’s no clear indication how a lot they’ll value or once they’ll arrive. Nonetheless, in the event you’re not in a rush, the Px7 S3 could also be value ready on as they need to be barely extra inexpensive than the M6 and Bowers & Wilkins has a powerful monitor report for sound high quality.

Wrap-up

With the WH-1000XM6, the three-year-long wait was nicely value it. The corporate has made vital good points in each sound high quality and noise-canceling efficiency, thanks partially to a robust new chip. Delicate, however impactful design tweaks improve consolation, whereas spatial audio upmixing additional expands the sonic skills of the 1000X line. The one actual draw back is the worth continues to go up: the M6 is $50 greater than the M5 was at launch. Once you mix their efficiency with Sony’s ever-growing checklist of options, the 1000XM6 are one of the best headphones you should purchase proper now.