Sony WH-1000XM6

i had mine for about six months now and they have become unusable. [...] My ear proximity sensor broke after a few months. Now the touch controls are glitchy AF, voice mode randomly turns on or off and on when i go outside into cold weather, and something is wrong with the right speaker now, the ANC blows up low frequencies. Similar things have happened to the previous versions I've had. The only thing that's still working well about these are the battery and the speakers themselves. Oh, also the app sucks, you can't manually set noise cancellation level (it's always adaptive, but sometimes I want to set it to max if I have to sleep in a place with infrequent noises so it's completely useless for that). I really don't get the positive reviews for this one but I'm giving up on Sony due to their low durability.

I have owned these for 3 months now and they have been so worth it! [...] I use Apple Music as my main music streaming platform and the sound has been so fluid and balanced. I listen to everything and have greater appreciation for sound thanks to these headphones.

I’ve been rocking the XM4’s for years, the most comfortable pair of headphones I own! If I did happen to win the giveaway 🎧 I would wrap it as a present for my sister who is visiting during the Hoildays this year! Congrats to whoever wins the giveaway!🙂

totally valid to call out apple for issues, but for most folks already accustomed to apple's walled garden, the grass is not greener on the other side For instance, I've had a ton of issues with Airpods Max so I moved over to the Sony WH-1000XM6, and they do a much worse job sharing connections between multiple devices to the point where I have to reset them constantly to get sound to reliably play from both my phone & computer. Same for moving to macOS to linux - the issues on add up to the point where the papercuts from macOS are still worth it.

I'm still rocking my M3 that I bought back in 2017. [...] I've used them pretty much every day for work and travel since I bought them. [...] I could definitely see myself upgrading to these M6, regardless of the price, considering how impressed I've been with the M3's and how much usage I've gotten out of them.

[...] The only time I've been using standard is when I'm on my phone, or when I'm listening to music. [...] Cinema mode is also quite good for some content, although I do feel that it sounds a big aggressive at times.

Always had great success and been happy with Sony product and these don't disappoint!! from my 2013 47" 3D Tv which still looks great to my 2019 1000series earbuds with amazing sound/ noise cancelling and battery life to my 85" Bravia7 all work well, look and sound great(sonys are built to last) FYI i did buy a new pair of JBLs earbuds and although lighter and little more comfortable than my old Sony Earbuds they lack sound and quality so only wear for the gym.

[...] Sounded like muffled TRASH. [...] On the heavy setting the movie sounded pretty good but still a slight muffled tomato can sound was present. I popped in my airpod pro 2.0s and those were immediately better… crisp clean sound. Clean base… no muffled tomato can sound. [...] Not worth the money. [...] Cheaper, sound better, and more versatile. [...]

[...] The battery back up is CRAZAYYY .. [...]

I bought some Sony WH-1000XM6 because on lawn care day and on airplanes the ANC just wasn't cutting it anymore on my XM3s. XM6 ANC kicks ass... But the XM6 looks goofier on the head, the matte finish shows oil prints, the fit is poorer, and get this Chewing gum causes phasing issues with the ANC 🤣

[...] Here are three steps for those who have Tidal and wan't to make sure that they're getting the most (ish) for their money: 1. Hardware Source: If you're using the soundcard in your computer, make sure to bump up the sample rate: on macOS you go to "Audio MIDI Setup" and change the sample rate to highest possible for your output. [...] Software Source: In Tidal itself you have to go to "Settings" and under "Audio quality" choose "Max". [...] If you're having a dinner party and playing the music through a bluetooth speaker, you might want to leave it on. [...] They don't have to be expensive or be able to play super loud, they just have to not lie to you. [...] Bluetooth headphones are not good. I got Sony WH-1000XM6 which I mostly use outside. Inside I can plug them with an audio cable and turn them on and then they double their sample rate from 22kHz to 44kHz. But I also got Sennheizer HD600 which cost about the same and I plug them into a cheap headphone amp, and these headphones are really a world appart. [...]

[...] The good: Solid sound, great ANC, good software. The bad: Ultra cheap looking and build quality, squeaks, cans stick out way more than others, pads have limited padding and generally pretty tight. [...] I went with BW px8 s2, realize they are more but they focus more on sound, less on ANC which I like.

To the product manager: Sony please listen carefully, I just purchased the WH-1000XM6 headphone, the extender adjustment feels cheap and isn't intuitive or smooth when adjusting. I don't know why you're going backwards, the noise canceling has been reduced it's weaker than the predecessors. Sound quality is excellent and the EQ overall is excellent but you need to work on the extender adjustment and the noise canceling. And it is not comfortable to wear at all it puts way too much pressure on my head. In my opinion the WH-1000XM2/3/4 had the best adjustment method and the absolute best noise canceling system especially the XM4's, maybe it has to do with the on-ear versus the over ear cups. Also, was the most comfortable to wear and to personalize in terms of adjustment and comfort. [...] Sony is a phenomenal brand and I don't want the word "cheap" or "backwards" to be associated with the brand. [...]

[...] Foreshadowing, I have a BIG head, I max out all my headphones, including the Sennheiser 6XX. They sound different, I EQ-ed them both so not a hard comparison, but the XM6 is more precise and ever so more stable. Overall, the XM6 is an upgrade on all charts, except comfort. 1) they clamp harder, 2) the headband is making me reposition them back and forth slightly every one or two hours, 3) the maxed out sliders mean that they will "twist" more easily - imagine your headphones sitting symmetrically on your left and right ears, but these can twist (rotating in opposite directions), I would not immediately notice, but it can cause assymetric pressure (and thus wear/pain if I clamp my earlobe/helix) AND can cause noise/pressure leaks that do make L/R channels ever so different (and so infuriating after I started paying attention to this). [...] Also a small 4) - the new mic array and processor for ANC are doing a killer job at killing the more annoying high-pitched noise, I think the overall step up is by 2dB across the spectrum, but do a better job in the London underground and in coffee shops, ever so slightly. [...] First impression was that they do a better job at soundstage out of the box and the earcup/headband comfort is better. How the headband comfort would project into a couple hours I do not know. [...] But I am contemplating if the sound/ANC is worth the comfort compared to the XM6.

I have these headphones and the latency playing with Guitar Pro is frustrating via Bluetooth Apple mini. [...]

I had a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 which broke after 6 months. That coupled with a really lacklustre Sony soundbar have made me lose a lot of confidence in their current offerings. I have to say, I got a JBL soundbar which sounds great. [...]

Sony WH-1000XM5 or the new Sony WH-1000XM6 offer the best noise canceling around, and the sound is excellent. I have used my XM5s for 2 years with no problems.

😢mine is easily broken in 4 months go back Sony xm4... xm4 is solid it's 3 years to me

It's one major flaw, the earpads absorb sweat and the pads will start to smell really bad after about 6 months of use. [...]

[...] No such issue with the WH-1000XM6, I can wear it the entire day.

WH-1000XM6 should support GMAP according to reddit, however Mediatek PCIE Wi-Fi/BT combos seems have crap drivers and I was not able to make it working. And Intel ones does not work with AMD CPUs(sounds like bullshit, but it requires some Intel proprietary DSP driver to supposedly "decode LC3").

I bought these in South Africa for my 12 hour flight home as it was absolutely needed so I could justify the price ! So so glad I did ! The level of quality is mad good

The WH-1000XM6 looks stylish and cool. I have Ult Wear that deep bass is good for me. [...]

[...] You have a great team & I hope you guys continue to prosper.

i've been using the Sony WH-1000XM6 cause they can also be wired and i really like them but yeah not exactly cheap

I’ve never really owned a pair of quality headphones, ended up going with these over the AirPod Max.

before I quit my best buy job, I used my employee price and was able to get these for less than $300 after tax. Honestly, a big difference in price and for that price, these are definitely worth it 😂

Those shallow ear caps killed all sony xms for me, there’s no way I can wear these for longer than 20 minutes. I like the sound and technology but they’re unwearable. All headphone brands must have the QC quitecomfort as a reference for wearability and move on from there.

I’ve been using the AirPods Max for a few days now a here’s my main takeaway Samsung NEEDS to make headphones I have the Sony WH-1000XM6 and everyday I’ve reached for the Max instead. That seamless integration and ecosystem is unbeatable even if sound quality isn’t as good

Really tempted to get these but my XM5s are still working perfectly with insane noise cancelling and I've been using them nearly daily for years now.

5:20 Ambient sound effect you played is one that I have used before in a song, immediately recognized it, that little beep sound and the female ‘ahhh’ confirmed it.

For me they fit much better than xm4, sound quality is great, i have no issues with touch controls, the only downside for me is the price

[...] Maybe something like "Are the Sony WH-1000XM6's Still Worth It in 2026?" Something to get the people who are actually buying and watching these in 2026 curious. [...]

about the ear pads, how about the quality besides the comfort? I bought the Bose Q45 and the earpads have to be replaced too early than I thought. Thanks !