Sony WF-1000XM6 Noise-Canceling Headphones First Impressions

With the switch to Android, I saw it as an opportunity to try out something other than AirPods. After shopping around, I landed on the Sony WF-1000XM6 (horrible name), but excellent headphones.

Sound: Noticeably better than the AirPods Pro 2's. The AirPods have a somewhat annoyingly normie sound profile, which has always irritated me. But naturally I understand why they do that. The XM6's are much fuller with a pleasant bass response and clear highs. I did end up tweaking the mids up a little but overall a clear winner over the AirPods.

Ear Fit: AirPods Pro slightly win out here. I do understand this category is subjective and really depends on the persons ear shape. But for me the AirPods fit better. They just fit easier and stay in better for me. I rarely have to adjust them once they are in my ear, regardless if I'm listening casually or working out. With the XM6s, I find the need to baby them in at first and possibly check in on them again as I feel the seal comes off. Not as much casually, but when working out, I have found myself needing to adjust the seal where as on the AirPods I don't even think about it.

Noise Cancellation: The Sony XM6 wins out by a noticeable margin. The real test will be my next plane ride, which is coming up in about a month, but day-to-day here, it's clearly better. Maybe some of the best out there. I actually got startled at the gym today when I was working out alone. Someone had come in looking for something they had left behind a few machines over, and I had no idea until I saw movement from the side of my eye. The door to my gym alone makes a fairly noticeable noise when opened and closed, and I heard none of it. I wasn't even listening to music but watching a YouTube video and still didn't hear them. The noise cancellation was a big selling point for me with these headphones, and it did not disappoint.

Multi-device connectivity: AirPods win here disappointingly by a large margin, at least when used with other Apple products. Apple does this well and so seamlessly it seems like voodoo. I did not appreciate it until I lost the ease of it. The Sony WF-1000XM6's just don't compare, sadly, but it's a trade-off I'm willing to make for the superior noise cancellation and sound quality.

I have other opinions between the two headphones, but they are mostly nitpicks for the most part. The trade-offs so far are acceptable. Sound quality and noise cancellation were the most important categories for me, and the Sony XM6's win out on both. Battery life is something I have yet to really test. I am traveling quite a bit in about a month, so I will test the battery then and update things below.

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