Incredibly comfortable and they sound amazing. That’s the one-line description of Sony WH-1000XM6. At first glance, they’re similar to 1000XM5 that came out three years ago. But the number of small upgrades that have been made add up to a big change, especially in the sound department. If you’re shopping for a pair of premium over-ears for work or travel, these are among the best overall wireless headphones right now.

By widening the headband, Sony has enhanced comfort, making the headphones ideal for long hours of use

Fold and carry

There’s no better place to start than with their design. And Sony’s stuck with the same overall look and feel but has made some smart tweaks along the way. It’s easy to fall in love with the clean, simple design. Sony kept what was good about the previous generation. They are very lightweight. The vegan leather earpads are super soft. The headband is incredibly flexible. These are just some of the most comfortable headphones to wear for a long period of time, which is what matters most. If you wear them for a long time while travelling or commuting, they’re brilliant companions.

If you remember the last generation, you’ll recall that they made a downgrade to the travel aspect specifically because the headphones didn’t fold at all. One feels genuinely pleased to see the new headphones fold up again, so they now have a significantly smaller case designed around them that fits some cables as well — and bonus, the case doesn’t zip anymore; there’s a magnetic latch.

360 Reality Audio Upmix for Cinema brings spatial sound experience just like in a movie theatre from two-channel stereo sound by Sony’s unique upmix and 360 Spatial Sound technology

That magnet won’t break with rough usage, and the case stays tightly shut, no matter where you pull or tug at it. I’m not sure how we haven’t seen this more often because this case is pretty much perfect. I’ve a feeling it’s about to be copied a whole lot in a whole bunch of places.

What else is better? The headband is thicker and more comfortable, and it’s much easier to tell which side of the headphones is the front. The power button is round now, which means no more mixing it up with the ANC button (your thumbs will thank you). The ear pads are much easier to pull off and replace if need be — you can just yank them off without needing a special tool. Putting them back on probably takes practice and patience, but this is certainly a change for the better.

It also comes with a long headphone cable and one of those tiny USB-C to USB-A cables for charging. Feels reassuringly sturdy.

Your headphones, your sound

Inside these headphones is Sony’s latest processor chip, which is part of why the company claims the 1000XM6 have the best noise cancellation on the market. Bose, they’re looking at you. There’s now a total of 12 microphones versus eight last time, which helps the headphones identify and reduce ambient sound around you. These mics now use AI beamforming to separate your voice from everything else in the background — perfect if your office is a jungle of chatter.

With its folding mechanism and compact carrying case, the headphones fit neatly into airplane pockets and work bags

The significantly more powerful Sony QN3 chip inside makes a big difference — it can handle far more processing. The QN3 introduces a newly developed look-ahead noise shaper that advances D/A conversion technology. It anticipates and optimises quantisation noise, and enhances responsiveness to rapid sound transitions. This advanced technology provides dynamic bass energy and clear, fast sound reproduction that faithfully reproduces the details the creator intended.

The microphones sound great and are slightly better than the previous generation because Sony’s added two more beamforming microphones to the front for clearer voice pick-up. But honestly, most of these mics seem born for noise cancellation and transparency.

I’ve been using these headphones for two weeks — taken a few flights with them, worn them at home and at the office. They’ve all-new drivers versus the last gen, so there’s a lot going on here. Specifically, they offer excellent quality sound with a great range. Punchy lows and loads of bass, followed by detail and clarity all through the mids and highs — they’re still insanely good at cancelling white noise. The new headphones have a much stronger low end, especially in the sub-bass and lowest bass frequencies — your playlist will thank you.

The high point involves the transparency mode, which feels far more natural and clear-sounding. So, if you’re wearing these and want voices to come through or just want to hear your surroundings, the transparency mode — or as Sony calls it, ambient sound mode — has gone from feeling a bit muddy to being right up there with AirPods Max levels of crystal clarity.

Sony’s also refreshed their app. The Sony Headphones Connect app is now called Sound Connect. There are still custom EQs you can easily flip between and all the other handy features. What’s new is ‘listening’ mode. You can listen to audio in ‘standard’ mode, or flip it to background music mode, which makes it sound like the music’s coming from a small set of tinny speakers about 20 feet away — as if you’re chilling in a cafe.

There are more modes too — café, living room, or my room — each one shrinking the virtual space a bit. Then there’s cinema mode, which up-mixes stereo to a 360-degree immersive sound mix. It’s a dramatic, V-shaped sound that feels quite theatrical. You won’t feel any fatigue while listening — only joy. You can make these headphones sound exactly the way you want them to.

Make the call

Some aspects of the 1000XM6 remain unchanged from the XM5. Battery life is the same — 30 hours with ANC on and 40 hours supposedly with it off. But here’s one feature many will cheer for: you can finally charge and listen to the 1000XM6 at the same time. Sadly, Sony still isn’t supporting wired USB-C audio. You can, however, listen through the headphone jack and charge over USB-C simultaneously — if you don’t mind looking like a tech octopus.

There’s a lot to like about the XM6. They’re comfortable, they sound promising, the ANC is best-in-class, and they’re an absolute pleasure to wear for long stretches. They now fold up neatly into a smaller case.

If you’ve the XM4 or earlier, there are plenty of quality-of-life improvements here that make for a pretty compelling package. My only gripe: The ears can get a little toasty without any ventilation after a couple of hours. But that’s the price of sonic bliss.

The carrying case features a magnetic closure instead of the zipper design, making opening and closing quicker and easier than ever

If you’re looking for the flat-out best headphones for flying, working, or commuting, Sony has your back. Pairing is nearly instant, and you get multipoint Bluetooth for connecting to your phone and laptop or tablet at once.

The WH-1000XM6 uses noise cancelling to create a perfectly silent musical cocoon. All you need to do is shut your eyes and drift anywhere in your mind, free of distractions. These are among the finest wireless pairs of over-ear headphones on the market. Sony is, indeed, back on the throne — crown polished, sound perfected.

At a glance

Device: Sony WH-1000XM6

Price: ₹39,990

High notes

Practical design changes

Excellent noise cancellation

Top-of-the-line battery life

Great touch controls

Redesigned app

Replaceable earpads

Muffled note

No wired USB-C audio but you can use the headphone jack