Sony's sixth-generation flagship wireless ANC over-ear, and near-universally called the best-sounding WH-1000X yet. Two things draw broad agreement: class-leading active noise cancelling (measurement-anchored, especially strong on low-frequency rumble) and best-in-class call quality from its new 12-mic array. It's light (~254 g), lasts around 30 hours with ANC on, brings back a folding design on a metal-reinforced hinge (fixing the XM5's fragility reputation), and carries a deep app with a 10-band EQ and spatial 'Cinema' upmix. The stock tuning is warm and bass-forward but more refined than the XM5's — the harsh ~3 kHz treble peak is tamed and the bass is better controlled. From there the fault lines open. Whether the stock sound is a great listen or a flat, 'hollow'/muddy tuning that needs EQ; whether the treble is smoothed or still sibilant; and whether the soundstage is expansive or narrow and 'in-your-face' all split sources — the technicality reads track a mainstream-vs-audiophile lens. Comfort is the most consistent complaint: the firmer clamping force, shallower/narrower earcups, a thin headband and a slightly protruding ANC mic make it a poor fit for many (though a real camp, including some pro reviewers, find it well-judged). The build divides too — solid, travel-ready and hinge-fixed to some, plasticky and 'hollow' for the price to others. And value splits almost evenly: an excellent complete package if you're buying new for ANC, calls and features; overpriced if you're cross-shopping on sound-per-dollar or already own an XM4/XM5, since the discounted XM5 is widely called the better deal and the improvements are broadly judged incremental.
About this product
Sony's flagship wireless noise-cancelling over-ear, launched May 2025 as the successor to the WH-1000XM5. A faster QN3 processor (Sony claims seven times the speed), twelve microphones (up from eight), a new 30 mm carbon-fibre 'soft edge' driver, a wider headband — and, answering the loudest XM5 complaint, a metal-reinforced folding hinge with a book-style magnetic case. Not the non-folding WH-1000XM5, and not the foldable, metal-headband WH-1000XM4.
Sony's WH-1000XM6 is the sixth-generation flagship of the best-selling noise-cancelling headphone line, the long-awaited 2025 successor to the 2022 XM5. Sony gave it a faster QN3 processor, twelve microphones and a new 30 mm driver — and, reversing the most-criticised XM5 decision, brought back a folding design on a sturdier, metal-reinforced hinge.
Its reputation is lopsided in an interesting way. Reviewers and owners broadly agree it's the best-sounding WH-1000X to date and among the very best at killing noise, while its comfort — a firmer clamp and shallower earcups — its still-mostly-plastic build, and its ~$449 price draw real disagreement, the more so now that the older WH-1000XM5 sells at a steep discount and gets measured against its own sibling.
