Sony WF-1000XM6 vs WF-1000XM5: After testing both, is the choice easy?

Price and Availability

The Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds are the newer of the two and, unsurprisingly, naturally have a higher price tag at £249/$249. 

Although the WF-1000XM5s are the older pair, they’re still readily available to buy. Not only that but, although the earbuds’ official RRP is £199/$199, it’s not impossible to find a hefty price cut for them. For example, at the time of writing, the XM5 buds were just £169 on Sony’s official site.

Design

• Sony WF-1000XM6s are chunkier though slimmer in profile
• Both are comfortable to wear, although the XM6 buds can be more fiddly to wear
• Both are IPX4

Although both the WF-1000XM6 and the XM5 are relatively slim and definitely pocketable, there are a few notable differences between the two. 

Firstly, due to the additional microphone, the XM6 model is slightly chunkier than its predecessor, and subsequently can make the earbuds fiddly to wear and fit correctly. While we never noted an issue with comfort, we did struggle to get a perfectly airtight seal for ANC. Using the Sony Sound Connect app, we found the earbuds struggled to pass Sony’s strict test for a suitable seal. It’s frustrating, but fortunately doesn’t seem to impede the ANC too much – but more on that later.

Otherwise, both earbuds are fitted with responsive touch controls that cover playback, switching between ANC modes, volume control and more, all of which can be customised via the companion app.

In addition, both earbuds are fitted with the same stiffer ear-tips that aim to plug your ears more effectively than silicon alternatives, and both have an IPX4 rating too. This means both buds can withstand sweat and rain drops.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5

Features

• Both earbuds are packed with features, including Speak to Chat, Adaptive Sound Control and voice assistants
• Both also support 360 Reality Audio and can be connected to two devices at once

With both, you’ll benefit from the likes of Quick Attention Mode, Speak to Chat and Adaptive Sound Control. There’s also head gesture control, your choice of voice assistant and a clever Find Your Equalizer that allows you to adjust the sound more intuitively than playing around with bands and frequencies. 

Controlling both Sony earbuds is done via the Sound Connect smartphone app, and allows you to customise touch controls, noise-cancellation modes and the Bluetooth connection too. While we wish the app was a bit more streamlined, overall it’s a solid companion piece to the buds.

One especially interesting feature on the app is the Discover section that has features like your listening history across all music services, plus logs how long you use the headphones and includes badges to help game-mify the experience too. How useful this is will depend really on your personal preference, but it shows just how feature-packed the buds are.

Winner: Tie

Sound Quality

• WF-1000XM6 has a larger 8.4mm driver
• Both offer a clear, balanced approach across the frequency range, however the XM6 have improved highs
• Overall, the XM6 is more vibrant and energetic compared to the XM5

Although there are differences between the two, it’s worth noting that both the XM6 and XM5 are brilliant sounding earbuds. However, thanks to the larger 8.4mm driver at play here, the XM6 offers a wider soundstage compared to the XM5. In fact, we found that not only were highs improved, with more clarity and detail, but bass felt weightier too. This is especially noteworthy, as we concluded that bass lovers might be a bit disappointed by the XM5’s more balanced approach.

In addition, we noted that at its default volume, the XM6 picks up more vibrancy, dynamism and energy than the XM5. 

All of this, however, is not to say the XM5s don’t sound good – quite the opposite – but it’s just the XM6 has tweaked the overall quality.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6

Noise Cancellation

• WF-1000XM6 has one additional microphone for noise cancelling
• Although the XM5s are easier to wear, the XM6s offer overall stronger noise-cancellation
• Call quality is also stronger with the XM6s

Sony claims the WF-1000XM6 offers the “best true wireless for noise-cancellation” and we’re confident to say that they are, in fact, among the quietest pair of earbuds we’ve reviewed. While getting the right fit can be fiddly, which we’ve mentioned earlier, over the weeks we’ve found the earbuds manage to curb outside noises like traffic, voices and even planes brilliantly. 

Overall, although the XM6 is a solid improvement over the XM5 pair, we should note that the XM5s are easier to wear than the XM6. 

Call quality also sees an improvement, as we found the XM5 had a tendency to let in noise when we spoke. Fortunately, the XM6 sounds completely silent during phone calls.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6

Battery Life

• No improvements with the XM6
• Both offer eight hours per charge with an additional 16 hours in the case

Sony hasn’t made any improvements with the battery life of the XM6 buds, and promises the same 24 hours total (eight plus sixteen in the case) as the XM5. Having said that, we actually found the XM6 seemed likely to offer even more hours than Sony claims, with an hour of listening still resulting in 100% charge.

The XM5 actually benefits from a slightly faster charging speed, with a three minute charge resulting in an extra hour of playback, whereas the XM6 needs five minutes. The difference is negligible, but if you find yourself in a pinch then you’ll definitely be thankful.

Winner: Tie

Verdict

Although they’re slightly chunkier and can be quite fiddly to wear initially, the Sony WF-1000XM6 buds are a brilliant upgrade from the WF-1000XM5 pair. Not only is the ANC among the best we’ve ever tested, but the sound is more vibrant and dynamic than its predecessor.

Having said that, the XM6 buds do come with a hefty price tag. So, if you’re on a tighter budget, the XM5 is a brilliant compromise.