The Sony WH-1000XM6 are a brilliant pair of wireless headphones with gorgeous audio, optimal noise cancellation and a comfy fit that’s ideal for air travel.
When I travel, I always bring a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. I pretty much have to. To listen to music and to block out as much of the outside world as possible. I’m quite fortunate in the job that I do that allows me to basically take a different pair of headphones or earbuds every time I go, and I think I’ve found the pair that’ll be sticking with me in the meantime.
There’s been a lot of travelling I’ve had to do this year – my first Gamescom in Cologne, press trips to Europe by plane and train, and the big family holiday to Florida. Nine hours each way on a plane with a busy Virgin Atlantic Economy cabin can be tiring at the best of times, so I wanted a pair of headphones I could rely on to get shot of as much noise as possible. Initially, I weighed up between my trusty Focal Bathys or the Nothing Headphone (1) that I’d taken to Cologne, although when the Sony WH-1000XM6 landed at my doorstep a few days before, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to test them.
Settling down into a long flight can be quite tricky if you’ve got a pair of headphones that isn’t too effective at cancelling out noise, whether it’s that of other passengers or the loud hum of the plane itself. Turning the XM6s on and pairing them to my Honor Magic V3 was easy, and I didn’t necessarily need to change any settings out of the box. They soon enveloped me in virtual silence with how effective the noise cancellation on these cans is, and I almost forgot about the noise of the plane and tried to drift off to sleep after some food and a gin and tonic or two.
The noise cancellation on the XM6 is much improved, even over the previous couple of generations that received high praise elsewhere. The number of microphones has doubled to 12, while it also has a new adaptive optimiser that automatically adjusts the level of cancellation based on the environment you’re in.
Combine this with a new QN3 processor to help both audio performance and ANC, the first chip upgrade in some time, and it deals with virtually any noise effectively. Higher-pitched noises, such as background chatter and wind noise, can be difficult for lots of headphones to deal with, and the XM6s cut it down immensely, while retaining excellent cancellation for lower rumbles and hums.
For when you want to hear the outside world, the transparency mode on these cans is natural-sounding and doesn’t sound too synthetic or processed, as other cans I’ve tested can do. Moreover, there are 20 levels to choose from in Sony’s app, plus a mode that specifically lets voice through while cancelling out other sounds.
