Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Twice.com
It’s been an unusual three-year gap, but Sony has finally introduced its newest flagship wireless headphone, the WH-1000XM6. This new edition not only brings back foldability, mysteriously abandoned on the previous M5, but the M6 also is smaller, comes with improved noise canceling.
“Sony has always been a benchmark for premium quality, and the WH-1000XM6 headphones take it to a new level,” professes Randy Merrill, mastering engineer from Sterling Studio, one of a team of Grammy-winning and nominated engineers who contributed to the M6’s development. “They transport me to a different world with their excellent bass, frequency response, soundstage, and detail, and truthfully represent the sounds of the recordings that we work so hard to make.”
Perhaps the biggest news for retailers and consumers about Sony’s new flagship headphone is the M6’s higher MSRP: $449.99 ($599.99 Canadian), $50 more than the now three-year-old M5 and $100 more than the M4 (May 2020) iterations.
Improved, Different Noise Canceling
While Sony is touting its new HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3 chip to improve noise canceling along with its new Adaptive NC Optimizer, designed to adjust to any form of external noise and air pressure, there seems to be some confusion about the type of noise canceling the M6 includes.
Sony says the M6 is equipped with “adaptive” noise canceling, which means the noise canceling automatically shifts to match specific environmental acoustic situations. Adaptive noise canceling, however, often can result in distracting or unwanted audible noise cancelation changes, different than vanilla “active” – non-shifting – noise canceling.
In either event, toggling between Sony’s always impressive noise canceling, no noise canceling, and the M6’s equally impressive transparent listening mode is accomplished by a single button on the left ear cup.
Other M6 audio attributes include the return of 360 Reality Audio and the addition of Sony’s proprietary LDAC (lossless digital audio codec), the company’s version of the more generic aptX lossless codec, along with Edge-AI and DSEE Extreme technologies designed to upscale compressed digital music and restore high range sound lost in compression.
To improve phone call quality, the M6’s six-microphone beamforming array – one more mic than the M5 – helps isolate a user’s voice from background noise, even in noisy environments such as an airport or concert.
Creature Comforts
Available in three colors, black, platinum silver, and midnight blue, the M6 is noticeably smaller than the M5. Aside from its restored foldability, the M6 offers a wider, softer headband and gentler earpads than previous WH-1000X iterations to make the phones more comfortable over long wear periods. The M6 case is also smaller than the M5’s and features a secure magnetic closure.
While offering identical 30-hour battery life with noise canceling on, the M6 can run for an additional three hours with just three minutes of charging; the M5 added five hours of listening with 10 minutes of charging. The multi-point connectable M6 also adds Bluetooth LE (low energy) with Auracast for access to compatible wireless public broadcasts.
