Sony WF-1000XM6 review: I’d recommend my new favourite all-rounder ANC earbuds to anyone

Introduction

Sony’s reputation for making some of the best all-rounder wireless earbuds around has been earned over five generations. The incoming WF-1000XM6 have a high bar to clear: anything short of class-leading noise cancellation, sublime sound quality and a feature list longer than your arm would be doing its predecessors a disservice.

A good job that’s exactly what Sony says we’re getting, then. The new in-ears iterate on the outgoing WF-1000XM5 with an even more streamlined design, more effective ANC, and clearer calls. Yet at £250/€300 they’re competitively priced, going up against the Technics EAH-AZ100 and undercutting the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8.

After Bose pushed out a fairly minor refresh with its QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 in 2025, has Sony’s more comprehensive upgrade secured its spot at the top of the leaderboard?

Design & build: that shrinking feeling

Sony’s knack for shrinking its earphones down with each successive generation continues unabated here. Each WF1000-XM6 earbud is roughly 11% narrower than the XM5 equivalent, with a more sculpted inner shape that nestles snugly in the contours of your ear.

The rounded outer shell has an entirely matte finish this time around, rather than repeat the mix of glossy and matte plastics seen on the outgoing pair. I think they look more premium as a result, whether you go for the Black or Platinum Silver colour option. The metal microphone grilles blend in better as well.

They’re easier to pick up out of the charging case now too; the XM5s could be tricky to get a good grip on. The case itself has a flat top, rather than repeat the pebble-shaped look, but rounded sides meant it still slipped easily in and out of my jeans pockets. Only the buds have any splash protection: the IPX4 rating is unchanged from the previous generation, but means sweat or light rain showers won’t be a concern.

I’m glad Sony brought back its noise isolation ear tips, which thread the needle between traditional silicone and the foam tips favoured by audiophiles. The foam/rubber hybrid creates a great seal, dialling up the passive noise isolation, and you get four sizes to try in the box. They need a bit more care and cleaning than silicone tips, but not so much you’ll need to buy replacements after only a few months of wear.

The effective seal and earbud shape gave me a limpet-like fit, keeping the XM6s firmly in place no matter what I was doing. With the right size tips I could wear them all day with no discomfort.

Features & battery life: greatest hits

The biggest upgrade from the XM5 generation is on the inside. Sony has used wireless antennae that are 1.5x larger than before, massively improving connectivity when in busy areas like train stations and airports. I had no issues with skipping or stuttering when travelling with my review pair, even when streaming over higher quality LDAC Bluetooth.

Officially Auracast is on board now too, though it wasn’t clear to me how I’d actually join a broadcast through the companion app.

Otherwise the XM6 has a largely unchanged feature set. That means Multipoint connectivity with automatic device switching, hot word detection for chatting with your phone’s voice assistant, and smart swapping between noise cancelling and transparency modes when you start talking. I like that it can stay in transparency until you tap one of the buds, so the ANC doesn’t kick back in after a brief lull in conversation.

The touch controls are standard fare. Single, double and triple taps on the right bud handle playback, while a long press wakes the voice assistant. The left bud controls ANC modes by default, but you can mix them up how you like in the companion app. The touch surfaces are on the outer face of each bud, so adjusting the fit from the sides won’t result in any accidental inputs.

Sony talks a big game about its wireless call quality, using a beamforming mic, bone conduction sensor and AI-enhanced noise reduction to work out what’s your voice and what are background distractions. It’s an effective setup, ensuring I came through loud and clear whenever I made a call – even in noisier environments. Wind noise reduction also puts in a shift, and ANC stays active while on calls too – not always a given with noise cancelling earphones.

Battery life hasn’t seen any gains from the previous generation, though that means the XM6’s improved noise cancelling hasn’t had a negative impact on listening time. I got very close to Sony’s claimed eight hours of playback with ANC enabled, and the charging case has enough in reserve for two full top-ups. That equals a full 24 hours of tunes, or more than enough for an intercontinental flight. Five minutes in the case adds an hour of playback, and it supports wireless charging.

Interface: one stop shop

Sony rebranded its old Headphone Connect companion app to Sound Connect a few years back now, but aside from a more streamlined interface, the two aren’t a million miles apart.

The new app is still stuffed with features, from playback controls and multipoint device switching to a ten-band custom equaliser – up from a 5-band EQ on the XM5. The “find your equaliser” mode has now left beta status, offering a handful of blind presets to pick between without having to mess around with individual EQ sliders. There’s even an EQ preset dedicated to gaming, which is a first for the WF1000-X series; it gives the same mid-high emphasis as Sony’s Inzone E9 and Inzone H9 II PC gaming headsets.

All the usual suspects make an appearance. You can prioritise a stable connection over sound quality (though LDAC streaming never dropped its signal for me, even while in busy urban locations) and check you’re wearing the right size of ear tips. This can’t account for comfort, though; when trying all four sizes it suggested I use the Large tips, but trying again with just the small and XS sizes confirmed they fit just fine.

Sony has taken a more hands-off approach to spatial sound this year, with no 360 Reality Audio upmixing function in the app. It’s down to your phone to enable head tracking, and the app doesn’t always take you to the right Android Settings menu depending on your brand of handset.

More quirky functions include nodding or shaking your head to receive or reject calls, a safe volume level monitor, and earning in-app badges based on listening time. It also compiles your listening history over time, and offers to switch noise cancelling modes based on your location, when riding in vehicles, or running.

I’m not convinced by the Background Music mode, which is meant to mimic coffee shop vibes by virtually pushing your tunes behind you. The idea is that songs with lyrics aren’t as distracting while you’re trying to work, but the way it muffled my tracks made me just want to not listen altogether.

Sound quality and noise cancelling: the quiet life

With an extra ANC microphone added to each earbud, the WF-1000XM6 now has eight separate mics to monitor the outside world. They all feed into the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3e, a dedicated sound chip that can churn through three times as much data as the previous generation using updated algorithms.

The result? These earphones are remarkably good at muting the outside world, adjusting to sudden loud noises in a blink and maintaining a very low noise floor, even in areas with lots of background chatter like trains and planes. The ANC hiss is imperceptible when listening to music, even at low volumes, and Sony has done a great job of cancelling out the microphonics that can creep in when the buds rub on your clothing. There was none of the crackle or chatter I got from the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 when wearing a beanie hat on a recent flight.

From keyboard clatter to chatting commuters and passing traffic, the XM6 coped brilliantly with everything I threw at it. I’d give Sony the comfortable win over Bose here.

I also thought the transparency mode sounded natural at the default setting, and it has twenty strength levels to really dial it in though the companion app. Low-end frequencies are boosted slightly with ANC enabled, but not so much that you’d reach for the custom EQ to tune it out again.

Generally the newly-designed 8.4mm dynamic driver delivers just the right amount of bass presence, balanced with clean highs and a strong sense of clarity. This is the first time Sony has brought in ringers to advise on the final tune, with several renowned Grammy award-winning mastering engineers all having a say; the resulting sound is balanced to bring out lots of detail, without stepping into neutral or analytical territory.

There’s still enough low-end to make the two-step drum beat on MJ Cole’s Still Sincere slap, while letting the vocals breathe and not detracting from the overall rhythm. Tunes that deserve serious thump don’t sound at all hollow: the bassline on Kneecap’s Liars Tale is as aggressive as it should be.

The clear top-end that the WF-1000XM5 handled so well returns here, never becoming overly sibilant or harsh even with particularly challenging tracks. Burial’s Dreamfear can be almost painful when played through lesser earphones, but not here.

High Contrast‘s feel-good D&B remix of Satisfaction Skank then highlights the spacious soundstage; the Rolling Stones‘ guitar riffs sit back from Fatboy Slim‘s iconic vocal sample, which then lives separately from the thudding bass synths.

While you can spend a lot more on rivals with even more nuance and control, the majority of listeners will feel right at home with a pair of these in their ears.

Sony WF-1000XM6 verdict

Once again, Sony has absolutely nailed the wireless earphone sweet spot. The WF1000-XM6 don’t force you to pick between noise cancelling or sound quality; they deliver both to an impeccable standard. They are also wonderfully comfortable, have competitive battery life, and aren’t outlandishly expensive either.

Improvements over the last-gen pair aren’t so big I’d be in a rush to upgrade, and I think the companion app is overloaded with settings and functions. Things like Background Music mode are properly love-it-or-hate-it… but even if you ignore all the feature fluff, you’re still left with a fantastic pair of in-ears. Bose et al will need to step up their game again.

Sony WF-1000XM6 technical specifications