THE EMPIRE
We were very humbled to be amoung the first in NZ to get hands on with the new Sony WH-1000XM6
I think an important thing to keep in mind for this review is that I spent my own money on the XM4 generation some years back because I had done my testing and research to find what was the best on the market available to me at the time. To say I’ve been pleased with my purchase would be an understatement, They have lasted me about 6 or 7 years and only just now are the leather cups starting to go but the battery still lasts a week of gym and the sound quality is great.
Sony have made a lot of advances since then. New chips and bits on the inside that is all geared to making the noise cancelling feature as good as it can be, To be the best. Noise cancelling reads the exterior sounds and processes that out in real time so what you hear through your speaker is no outside noise, just your tunes. The tech inside the headphones can always be better, this is now a generational change for the chips being used which are much, much faster than previous. We were lucky enough to have a live conference with the Sony team in Australia with the Australian media briefing, which meant we could handle and try the XM6’s with the big wigs that know the answers to all the questions we might have. The key messaging they were telling us, so we can in turn tell you, was how much effort has gone in to the technical advancements of this AI and the chips powering it. There are now more resources ( like external mics) to gather all that outside world information and sound so it can be processed out of what you hear.
My regular and I think only use for my XM4’s is at the gym. Some of my criteria for a big spend upgrade from where I was, was Comfort. I want them to stay in place and not faff about while im doing movements, They need to sound good, I like my metal and i like it loud and I don’t want it crackling up the noise, I want it as dirty as they made it!! Good noise cancelling, Being able to block out everything else but me and my lift and being in the zone is a bonus. I don’t want to hear the gym music, or people grunting or fuckin around; I just wana do me.
But most of all, I wanted to treat myself to something that was a good quality. a premium feel that will last me a while.
So to work our way though how the XM6’s fit my previous criteria…
HOW DO THEY FIT??
Good, I’ve got an XL head according to my helmet so I expect a tight fit for most things, which can be uncomfortable but I do want them snug enough that when I’m pulling a big dead lift or something, I don’t want them to go flying off. So there is a balance to be found there between tension and pressure points. The headband does a great job keeping them on the head for sure. I like a headbang to go with my air drums and they stick well I’d be more than confident to take these jogging or whatever not that I would do that but if you do they will stay on.The ear cups are amazing. The fabric feels very very high quality, which is important for me sweating all over them, good quality will last longer! the foam inside creates a great seal around your ear with zero pressure points for me. The thing I was impressed with was how comfortable they are for how well they stay on. So, I’d say that’s a win for sure. I think the lighter weight than what I was used to also makes a difference to the feeling of barely being able to feel them.
BUT HOW DO THEY SOUND?!
Good, real good. I tried all my usuals from my deftones chill mix, and you know how Chinos voice is gona sound inside your head. To some good nasty to metal to some old Post Malone with some good good bass to try the full spectrum. The day of the Media Briefing I decided no better place to test these fancy things at the gym, Given they weren’t out yet I wondered if my gym boyfriend would notice I got new head phones and ask about them, but he didn’t so I told him anyway. But, before I could listen I had to pair them up, The app wasn’t out yet for these but it will be by the time you read this and they are available to purchase. But that didnt seem to matter cause they paired right up and even started playing my spotify just for putting them on, but more on that later. As soon as they were on and a little wiggle to get em sitting just right, it was a marked improvement on the noise cancelling from what I was used to, and that was the best when I got em. You think how loud a busy gym is at peak time and it was like I stepped into the matrix loading screen. I could not hear the gym sound system crackling away with some britney spears shit, I couldn’t tell you what was playing I couldn’t hear it. So of course the whole point of this is sound quality. They sound good, really good. The width of the sound is the most impressive thing, the EQ from factory settings nails it really well to give you a really even balanced through the ranges sound profile out of the box. Sure these things can be tweaked in the app but for out the box this is great. I would say against other models you do sacrifice some bottom end volume for clarity but Its a trade off that I think it well worth it for a clean clear sound picture.
The other thing that was emphasised during our briefing was how many different creatives were involved in the tuning of these headphones, The sighted 3 of the top audio production houses and artists like Post Malone. You’d have to think that with some big players involved with their name attached they better be good, unless of cause they are beats by Dre. My one gripe with all Bluetooth headsets is the volume, have you ever noticed that if you wire them in you get a bit more? Well thats down to the signal level of the bluetooth connection which is, as far as I can tell not adjustable, if anyone has a jailbreak for that I’d sure like to know it. The little extra you get from the 3.5mm connection is noticeable and wanted when I’m in the gym. But I would say the Noise cancelling does a good job to kill everything else you might hear so whilst I might want to blow my brains out with noise, the sound I’m getting is good; to the point where I did forget that I wanted it just a little louder.
HOWS THE QUALITY?
These feel nice, very nice. I’ve touched on most of these points already, from the soft supple feel of the ear cups gently holding the phones on my ears, the matte finish of the hard parts it feel so very premium. For $750 they damn well should feel nice too. As for the longevity I can’t speak to that yet. I do know my set of XM4’s have lasted 6 years and are still going strong, if these do that good or better I’d be good with that. Even the packaging feels nice, the travel pouch is small and they fold down flat so it doesnt take up much space. Its a nice clean unit with a magnetic buckle so no worrying about the zip breaking or wearing over time.
SHOULD I BUY EM THEN?
Look, if you’re looking for premium headphones with the best noise cancelling I’ve experienced, sure. They are great headphones. I guess the thing for me is its a bit like phones, I waited 5 generations to upgrade mine and its already out of date, I have no intention of upgrading again anytime soon. The simple thing is The upgrade from where I am to where I’d get to is big but is it big enough to invest that money? not for me. If you’re new to a premium headset This would be my recommendation, the fit and finish is premium, the sound is very good and the noise cancelling is impactable. And, if the old ones are anything to go by they should last you long enough that you’ll want that next upgrade if and when they give up the ghost. If you feel like treating yourself, do it! I’d give these a 9/10 and a 9.5 if i can figure that jailbreak to get a little more signal volume!
Stay tuned cause I’ll probably update this after a little more use and I’l be sure to share it on our socials when we do!
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