Sony WF-1000XM6 Review: Sony Finally Fixed My XM5 Complaints

THE SCORECARD

How the Sony WF-1000XM6 scored

• Comfort

  7.5/10

  The lighter in-ear feel and revised shape improve comfort, although the hybrid foam silicone tips are still more noticeable than regular silicone tips.

• Security of the fit

  8/10

  They stayed secure during weight training and running, with far less occlusion and body-borne noise than the XM5.

• Case and battery life

  8.5/10

  Sony advertises 8 hours in the buds and 24 hours total with ANC on, while adding battery care charging.

• Controls

  8.25/10

  Custom controls, music-app shortcuts, voice commands and a mute-mic function add useful flexibility, though I still prefer squeeze and swipe controls.

• Connectivity

  8.5/10

  Bluetooth 5.3, SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3, pairing options and multipoint takeover are all carried over.

• Call quality

  8/10

  Calls are now usable in windy conditions, but several earbuds still score higher for call quality.

• App customization and extra features

  8/10

  The redesigned app is easier to navigate and adds a 10-band EQ, hearing preference test and plenty of extra options.

• Noise canceling

  10/10

  The XM6 are my new number one for noise canceling, edging the AirPods Pro 3 and Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 in my testing.

• The transparency mode

  9/10

  Transparency is much clearer than on the XM5, although subtle choppiness and high wind pickup stop it going higher.

• Sound quality

  9.25/10

  The sound is cleaner and more refined than the XM5, and the 10-band EQ makes a massive difference.

The Pros and Cons

Are the Sony WF-1000XM6 more comfortable than the XM5?

I scored comfort at 7.5 out of 10, half a point above the XM5. The tips, ergonomics and driver nozzle are identical, but I get a lighter feel in my ear with less occlusion. Sony advertises an improved vent system, and I think that is likely part of it. The new shape also seems to distribute weight better for me.

You still get four sizes of hybrid foam silicone tips, so you will feel them more than standard silicone. Insert the buds slowly, rotate them a couple of times and hold them in place briefly to get the best fit. The larger matte design is also much easier to remove from the case than the smaller glossy XM5.

For exercise, the improvement is more meaningful. The XM5 stayed put, but their occlusion and body-borne noise made running annoying. The XM6 stay secure, produce very little occlusion and work great when running. They are only IPX4 water resistant with no dust resistance, but I would not be worried about that rating.

What changed with the Sony WF-1000XM6 case, controls and connectivity?

I gave case and battery life 8.5 out of 10. Sony advertises the same 8 hours in the buds and 24 hours total with noise canceling on, plus wireless charging. A 5-minute charge gives 1 hour of playback, compared with 3 minutes on the XM5. The new battery care option limits charging just before 100% to help conserve battery life long term, and I would turn that on.

The case remains pocketable because it is as thin as the XM5 case, although it is taller. I think it looks pretty outdated and rough.

Controls score 8.25 out of 10. There are single, double, triple, long-hold and quad-tap inputs, with quad tap handling volume. Sony adds custom controls, app-launch shortcuts, voice commands, head gestures for calls and a double-tap mute-mic function during calls. The mute option was the small extra that pushed my score up. You still lose quad-tap volume if you use custom controls, and voice assistant cannot be assigned there.

Connectivity remains an 8.5. You get Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3, along with Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. Multipoint now supports takeover: start playing audio on the other connected device and the audio switches over automatically. One bud also works in mono when the other is in the case.

How good are Sony WF-1000XM6 calls and app features?

Call quality gets an 8 out of 10, a full point above the XM5. More importantly, the XM6 are now usable in windy conditions, where I did not find the XM5 really usable. There are still plenty of earbuds with better call quality, but this is one of Sony’s biggest fixes.

Sony’s updated app is easier to navigate, with main options on the home page and the remaining settings in drop-down menus. The headline upgrade is a 10-band EQ, up from the XM5’s five-and-a-half-band EQ. That gives you much more control over the bass and the rest of the tuning.

Other options include a hearing preference test, DSEE for low-quality audio, 360 audio options, LE Audio, streaming-quality options, Sony speaker auto-switching, an earbud fit test and side tone for calls. There is also Find Hub support on Android.

Is the WF-1000XM6 noise canceling the best available?

Yes. I scored the Sony WF-1000XM6 at 10 out of 10 for noise canceling, putting them number one in my ranking. They are half a point above the XM5 and 0.25 ahead of the AirPods Pro 3 and Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 after I adjusted those scores down by 0.25.

At the gym, the difference versus AirPods Pro 3 was incredibly close. Going back and forth, the XM6 blocked fan noise and louder gym music slightly better. Their strong foam tips provide very effective passive isolation, which helps them with higher-frequency and inconsistent sounds such as crowd noise. Plane noise was about the same.

There is still no direct adjustment for ANC strength. Voice detect remains available, so speaking switches on transparency before returning to ANC after your chosen delay. ANC does not have automatic wind reduction, and the XM6 picked up slightly more wind than the XM5, but wind was not too intrusive for me on a moderately windy day.

How transparent is the Sony WF-1000XM6 transparency mode?

Transparency scores 9 out of 10, up from 7.5 on the XM5. This is the most obvious upgrade. Distant sounds and voices are clearer and closer to what I hear naturally, while lower occlusion also helps when exercising and makes my own voice sound less blocked.

There is a slight choppiness if you listen for it. A fan did not sound completely consistent to me, and I heard the same subtle effect from YouTube audio playing through my speakers. I think firmware could potentially fix that, but I would take the clearer sound over that minor issue.

You get 20 levels of transparency adjustment and auto ambient sound, Sony’s adaptive transparency option. It works well at its strongest setting, but it reacts more slowly than the AirPods Pro 3. Wind pickup is also high enough to be distracting outdoors, so I would switch to ANC or turn transparency off in those conditions.

How does the Sony WF-1000XM6 sound?

Sound quality is 9.25 out of 10, half a point above the XM5. Out of the box, the XM6 are more refined: bass is tighter, separation is better, treble is smoother with more air, and the soundstage is slightly more open.

My preferred EQ reduces the mid-bass, adds a little sub-bass, and boosts the mids and mid-treble to compensate. That produces a fuller sound with harder-hitting deeper notes and kick drums. The new 10-band EQ is the reason this works so well. I can improve the XM5 with EQ too, but the XM6 still sound cleaner, with better separation and more detailed vocals.

The treble takes more work than I would like to get exactly right. I want slight airiness with precision and detail, and the Denon PerL Pro still have my favourite treble at the moment. Still, I prefer the XM6 to the AirPods Pro 3 for richer bass and smoother treble adjustment, and they offer smoother treble, better separation and a more open stage than the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

I measured maximum volume at 112.4 decibels, falling to about 110 decibels after EQ. They are not the loudest earbuds, but I listen around 50 to 60% volume and found that completely fine.