Vidita Chandra | 16 May 2025 02:06 PM
Sony has officially announced its new top-tier headphones, the WH-1000XM6. The latest in the beloved 1000X lineup, these cans are stepping up across the board. The active noise cancellation is better than before, the design’s been revamped, and battery life gets a boost, so you can jam out or tune the world out for even longer.
Powering the WH-1000XM6 is Sony’s beefed-up HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3, and —it’s seven times faster than the last one. That means it’s constantly working behind the scenes, fine-tuning 12 built-in mics in real time to give you crisper sound and better noise blocking.
Sony has also tossed in some smart upgrades like the new “Adaptive NC Optimizer,” which customises your noise cancellation on the fly, and an improved “Auto Ambient Sound” mode that helps you stay aware of what’s happening around you. There's also a new “Scene-based Listening” feature that uses sensors to figure out what you’re doing and where you are so it’ll tweak your sound and noise cancelling to fit the moment automatically.
The WH-1000XM6 also introduces some changes on the audio hardware front. The headphones now feature a high-rigidity carbon fibre composite dome along with a newly engineered voice coil structure, designed to improve vocal clarity and instrument separation. They also support both High-Resolution Audio and High-Resolution Audio Wireless, thanks to built-in LDAC support.
For audio enhancement, the XM6 includes Edge-AI and DSEE Extreme, which work together to upscale compressed audio files in real-time. Additional sound features include a Background Music Effect, a dedicated Game EQ setting, and 360 Reality Audio Upmix for Cinema, which is intended to deliver a spatial audio experience when watching visual content.
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For calls, the WH-1000XM6 comes equipped with a six-microphone beamforming setup, combined with AI-based voice isolation to help distinguish your voice from surrounding noise. Sony’s voice pick-up tech is also in play, aimed at making conversations sound clearer on both ends.
On the design front, Sony’s made a few practical updates. The headband is now wider and made from vegan leather, designed to feel more comfortable without adding pressure. It also features an asymmetrical shape, making it easier to tell left from right at a glance. The earpads use a stretchable material to provide a snug, noise-isolating fit. For those who travel, the headphones include a metal-injected folding mechanism.
The Sony WH-1000XM6 is priced at $449 (approximately Rs.38,000).