Sony WH-1000XM6 Review
Sony’s WH-1000XM6 combine excellent noise cancellation and comfort with a warm, detailed sound that particularly comes alive when things get loud.
Sony has become one of the biggest names in wireless headphones, and there’s something immediately familiar about the WH-1000XM6. These are premium noise-cancelling headphones designed to be taken pretty much everywhere, whether you’re sitting at home listening properly, working in a coffee shop or trying to drown out the screech of the Northern line.
After reviewing Sennheiser’s HDB 630 earlier this year, the WH-1000XM6 are the second pair of headphones we’ve put properly through their paces at Still Listening. Over the past three weeks, I’ve used them at home, in coffee shops, on buses, the Tube and, as I write this, on another bus through London. Across that time I’ve listened to everything from Judee Sill and Alabama Shakes to Big L and Portraits of Tracy, and the WH-1000XM6 have proved themselves to be an extremely capable pair of everyday headphones.
Currently available for around £350, they’re certainly not cheap. But between their excellent noise cancellation, impressive battery life and a warm, full sound that works particularly well with bass-heavy and maximalist music, there’s plenty here to justify the investment.
Features & First Impressions
Getting the WH-1000XM6 set up is refreshingly straightforward. Bluetooth pairing takes little time, while the physical and touch controls are intuitive enough that you’re unlikely to find yourself repeatedly removing the headphones to work out which button does what. Sony’s Sound Connect app offers considerably more control for anyone who wants it, including a ten-band equaliser, although the headphones sound excellent straight out of the box.
The XM6 support SBC, AAC and LDAC alongside Bluetooth LE Audio, while Bluetooth Multipoint allows two devices to remain connected simultaneously. There are also a number of smaller convenience features, including an ambient sound mode and Quick Attention, which lets outside sound in when you place your hand over the right earcup.
Battery life has been similarly easy to forget about. Sony rates the WH-1000XM6 for 30 hours with Bluetooth and active noise cancellation switched on, with a three-minute quick charge providing up to three hours of playback when using a compatible charger. In practice, I’ve had them for around three weeks and, while I certainly haven’t been wearing them every waking moment, I still haven’t needed to charge them. For a pair of headphones designed to be carried around and used throughout the day, that’s about as much as I could reasonably ask for.
Sound
There’s very little to complain about when it comes to how the WH-1000XM6 sound. The overall presentation is warm, full and rich, with a particularly satisfying low end, but there’s enough clarity and separation that this extra weight doesn’t come at the expense of all the smaller details within a recording.
Alabama Shakes’ ‘Sound & Color’ is a beautiful song anyway, and after rewatching the first season of Mr. Robot recently, it’s difficult for me to separate it from the cinematic way it’s used there. Through the XM6, that atmosphere really comes alive. Brittany Howard’s voice sounds incredible, while the penetrating bass is given enough depth to make the recording feel genuinely enveloping. There’s something strangely harrowing about the song, and the weight the Sonys give it only emphasises that quality.
Portraits of Tracy’s ‘Caught in a Jam’, taken from what is currently my favourite EP of 2026, tests something completely different. It’s a huge, maximalist track with an enormous amount happening within its production, and the WH-1000XM6 are particularly well suited to it. The bass has serious kick, synths feel suitably domineering and distortion sounds great, but importantly, the sheer size of everything doesn’t make the smaller details difficult to pick out. There’s a lot of colour buried within the production, and the XM6 make it remarkably easy to hear.
The same character carries over particularly well to hip-hop. On billy woods and Kenny Segal’s ‘Checkpoints’, the bass-heavy guitar tones sound thick and full, while Big L’s ‘Put It On’ allows the Sonys’ low-end performance to really take centre stage. The bass sounds grimy and dark, with an almost physical weight to it, without muddying everything sitting above it.
It would be easy, then, to characterise these as headphones designed primarily to make big recordings sound even bigger, but Judee Sill’s ‘The Kiss’ demonstrates another side to them entirely. It’s a much more spacious recording, giving the piano, strings and Sill’s heartbreaking vocal plenty of room to breathe. The strings in particular sound lovely, while there’s enough depth and space surrounding Sill’s voice that the recording occasionally gives the impression of being in the room with her.
That contrast between ‘The Kiss’ and ‘Caught in a Jam’ probably says more about the WH-1000XM6 than anything else I listened to. They can capture the space and delicacy of something relatively sparse, but throw a dense, maximalist production at them and they’re equally capable of giving it some serious buzz.
Across everything I tested, warmth and depth remained the defining characteristics. There’s plenty of detail here and individual elements within a mix are easy to pick out, but the XM6 never feel particularly interested in presenting music as something to be clinically dissected. There’s a thickness and richness to the sound that makes listening immediately enjoyable, particularly if you like a pronounced low end. Ultimately, exactly how much you enjoy that character will come down to personal preference, but for anyone who likes their headphones full, warm and immersive, the WH-1000XM6 sound excellent.
Design & Comfort
The WH-1000XM6 look unmistakably like a pair of Sony headphones. The design is sleek and understated, and the way the earcups and hinges move gives them a satisfying fluidity when you’re adjusting or folding them away. The folding hinges are a particularly welcome practical touch, making the headphones considerably easier to throw into a bag when you’re finished with them.
For headphones at this price, though, the predominantly plastic construction doesn't always feel quite as premium as you might expect. They don't feel poorly made by any stretch, and that construction presumably contributes to their relatively low 254g weight, but £350 is enough money that it's reasonable to expect something that feels a little more luxurious in the hand.
Once they're actually on your head, those concerns largely disappear. The earcups feel spacious and give your ears plenty of room to breathe, and even after wearing them for extended periods I haven't found myself needing to take them off for a break. They don't get particularly hot or sweaty either, which makes a significant difference if you're planning on wearing them for several hours while working or travelling.
The included carry case is practical and easy to use, with the headphones simple to take out and put back in. It does feel a little oversized, though, particularly considering the XM6 can now fold inwards. It does the job perfectly well, but it’s the kind of case I suspect plenty of people will end up leaving at home. Personally, I probably wouldn’t use it.
Noise Cancellation
Noise cancellation is one of the WH-1000XM6’s greatest strengths. Sony has fitted the headphones with 12 microphones, alongside its HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3, with the system continually adapting to changes in the surrounding environment.
Whatever is happening technically, the important thing is that it works. I've used them on buses, in busy coffee shops and on the London Underground, and once music starts playing, the outside world quickly disappears. On the Tube in particular, the constant rumble and mechanical noise are pushed far enough into the background that you can simply listen without continually increasing the volume to compensate.
There's a genuine sense of being in your own little world with them on, which is exactly what I want from active noise cancellation. Call quality is similarly excellent. Even when using them away from the relative quiet of home, voices come through clearly and I've had no problems being heard at the other end.
Are the Sony WH-1000XM6 Worth It?
At around £350, the WH-1000XM6 sit firmly in premium headphone territory. That's a considerable amount to spend on something you might primarily use on the commute, and at this price it's reasonable to expect headphones that do considerably more than simply sound good.
Fortunately, the XM6 make a strong case for themselves as a complete package. They sound excellent, with a warm and detailed character that works across remarkably different styles of music, while the noise cancellation is superb. They're comfortable enough to wear for hours, the controls are straightforward, calls sound clear and the battery lasts long enough that charging them rarely enters your mind.
The construction doesn't always feel quite as premium as you might expect at this price, and whether their rich, full presentation is exactly what you want will ultimately depend on how you like your headphones to sound. But those are relatively small reservations about a pair of headphones that have been remarkably easy to live with over the past three weeks.
For anyone looking for a premium pair of wireless headphones that can comfortably move between serious listening, work and the daily commute, the WH-1000XM6 have an awful lot going for them. Their excellent sound, noise cancellation, impressive comfort and superb battery life make for an extremely accomplished pair of everyday headphones.
