You may (or may not) remember that I stopped using noise canceling headphones while out and about. Since then, I've discovered that there's still one place that I need ANC, and that's when I'm sitting on a bus or train seat. I've experienced too many chanting sports fans and crying children to go ANC free all the time.
But I thought I'd try something new as I take ANC back into my life — to see how Sony's latest noise cancelers stack up to my personal favorite noise canceling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra gen 2. I've been using the WH-1000XM6 as my primary noise cancelers for a week now to see whether they'll be my new portable companions. Here's what happened.
Where have I been wearing them?
My headphones need to be very good at blocking out the noise of engines, tires, wheels, and crying children. There is little I enjoy less while trying to relax on a long journey is a child screaming at the top of its lungs. So there's one thing.
My other main consideration for travel headphones is comfort. After all, I could be wearing them for many hours at a time, so I want them to be soft on my ears and head. Anything that makes me want to pull them off is going to be a no go.
Finally, sound. While I travel sound is strangely going to come behind the other considerations — for while other headphones might sound incredible, if I can't hear it over the sound of little Jimmy three seats away as he hurls his toys around, there's little point. Still, they need to sound good.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones gen 2 fit pretty much all of those criteria. They are, after all, the best noise canceling headphones you can buy. But are Sony's latest good enough to dethrone them and take their place in my backpack?
1. Noise cancellation
I genuinely thought that this round would be more cut and dry, but I was surprised by just how close everything was. In short, the Sony WH-1000XM6 come much closer to the performance of the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones than I had first considered, in some cases bettering them.
They Sony's are really good at blocking out low sounds, like rumbling engines and wheel noise on the road. That makes them very well suited indeed for bus journeys, especially if you like to sit close to the back of the vehicle. The clattering diesels of the buses that I frequent were almost completely silenced by the XM6, even more so than the QuietComfort Ultra.
The Bose still take the edge with voices and other environmental sound, but the low-end performance of the XM6 has made me reconsider which headphones should live in my bag. With the low drone of the engine gone, my music was able to block out the sound of the talking on the bus around.
Alas, however, little Jimmy cut through.
Where the XM6 did a much better job, however, was the transparency mode. Putting the two side by side, I found that the people I talked to while buying a bus ticket and the guards asking for my train pass sounded more natural. The Sony's also did a better job of highlighting the sounds I actually wanted to hear.
Activating the transparency mode was much easier as well. Holding down the touch panel on the Bose is irritating, while holding my hand over the whole earcup of my Sony's is inspired. It works well, instantly pausing the music and turning on transparency. Move my hand away, and it all goes back to normal. Excellent.
So it was close — so much to say that I don't think ANC would actually be a primary decider for whether the XM6 are going to become my new transport headphones. And that's something I really wasn't expecting.
2. The comfort
I didn't find the previous Sony WH-1000XM5 all that comfortable. It was due to that thin headband across the top that made them dig in to my head, making the headphones uncomfortable for longer term wear. The XM6 have a redesigned headband — and it's worked. Mostly.
The XM6 are more comfortable, without a shadow of a doubt. It took much longer for fatigue to wear in as I rode the train to London, and my bus journeys to the local shopping center weren't an issue at all.
However, I still felt some soreness after about 3-4 hours, and I needed to take the Sony's off.
The same can't be said of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra gen 2. They're extremely light, for one, so they don't weigh on your head during wear. The padding is also very thick, and it's soft, so they stay far more comfortable for a long time. I've never needed to pull the QC Ultra off my head — something I've experienced with the Sony headphones.
So, at the moment, the Bose are now slightly ahead.
3. Sound quality
This round was actually more cut and dry than I thought it would be. I've always had issues with the Bose QuietComfort line's sound quality, and the WH-1000XM6 merely highlighted the problems — and then summarily fixed pretty much all of them.
The Bose are a very bassy pair of headphones. Generally, I go into the settings menu and dial back the bass in the three band EQ — as I have done with this pair — but I've always found that (thanks to the relatively restrictive EQ adjustment) that it doesn't do quite enough to make the sound as good as I'd like. They've got decent detail and reasonable mids, but the bass can become overpowering.
I've found this generally to be the achilles heal of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (both gens), and given I completely ignore immersive audio because I don't like it, there's little sound wise to keep me coming back. That's where things get interesting — because the Sony WH-1000XM6 somehow do.
First off, the XM6 are not my favorite sounding pair of headphones around. But I wasn't expecting to enjoy them as much as I did. As we found in our XM6 review, Sony has dialled in the sound quality to focus on vocal clarity. That lends itself well to certain genres, like soul, which rely on their singers and their vocal abilities.
It also means that Sony has taken some off some of the bass weight that made the XM5 too "low-endy" for my personal taste. It's articulate and well crafted, and now doesn't overwhelm the rest of the sound. Add in some lovely detail and solid highs, and you've got a nice sound.
It's not perfect. Soundstage, imaging and instrument separation has taken a hit since the XM5, but it's still a much better experience than the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones gen 2. Like I said — it makes things interesting.
So which are my new headphones?
For those keeping score and doing some math, you'll notice that we actually came to a draw. But there are other considerations that I've now had to make that have actually landed the Sony's in my daily carry.
The Sony WH-1000XM6's case is nicer thanks to the magnetic clasp, and the more intuitive touch controls make them easier to use. The battery life is better, and the Sony app is more extensive. They fold up smaller, and I prefer the way that they look.
I wasn't expecting to be here, but now that I've come to the end of my extended, targeted testing period, I'm glad that I've done it. Right now the Sony WH-1000XM6 is my top pick.
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