Released on the heels of the Sony WH-1000XM6 Noise Canceling Headphones, reviewed by MC in June 2025, Sony brings you the earbud version of “the world’s best noise cancelling technology.” These premium earbuds are top notch, offering superb sound quality, powerful active noise cancellation, good battery life, and lots of control features via the Sony Sound Connect app for iOS and Android. Sony is no stranger to the world of professional audio and like their big brother headphones, the WF-1000XM6 were co-created with mastering audio engineers in effort to achieve studio level clarity.
The WF-1000XM6 are a premium product at a premium price in a crowded field. So first off, they are probably hands down the best sounding earbuds for music ever made. Bass is clear and powerful, sound is clean and distortion free, and treble is sweet and smooth. Simply put, they sound incredible, which is not a claim to be made about most earbuds. The Sound Connect app features a 10-band graphic EQ from 31 Hz to 16 kHz and offers six presets and two custom modes for you to save you own settings. Usually, we would never recommend any earbuds for any critical listening situations such as mix evaluation, but in the case of these earbuds, we think that many users will find them to be a valuable tool not as a primary but as a secondary listening source. As is often the case with great speakers, you hear different aspects to your mix on different speakers, and the WF-1000XM6 are high quality and revealing.
The noise cancellation works in two ways—both for the listener and when on a phone call. When testing on a call outdoors, a loud motorcycle drove by, and the person on the other end of the call heard nothing. It was quite amazing. As earbuds fit in your ear and don’t cover it, the noise cancellation is highly dependent on fit to your ear. The WF-1000XM6 comes with a variety of tips to make the earbuds secure. The Adaptive NC Optimizer adaptive noise cancellation works in real time to respond instantly to changes in your environment and also has a learn mode to adapt to your habits. The HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3e is 3x faster than the QN2e found in Sony’s older WF-1000XM5 earbuds. Auto Ambient Sound Mode balances music and surroundings with smart microphones. Real-time File Restoration Edge-AI restores compressed files in real time for richer sound. The WF-1000XM6 features on-ear controls and voice/gesture commands for easy operation, but can be operated unintentionally somewhat easily.
The WF-1000XM6 earbuds do have a find feature, but its tracking capabilities depend heavily on the operating system of the phone you use. For Android devices, the earbuds support Google’s native Find My Device network. Once paired via Google Fast Pair, you can view the last known location on a map and trigger the earbuds to emit a loud chiming sound if they are nearby and powered on. For iOS Devices, Apple users are more restricted. Runtime is good. You can expect battery life of up to 12 hours, nonstop and up to 24 hours with case. Additionally, a quick five-minute charge provides an hour run time.
For those who like to keep earbuds in their pocket, the charging case is on the larger side compared to many popular earbuds. Additionally, a protective premium vegan leather case is available separately in both light grey and black and supports wireless charging with a standard Qi-compatible charging pad-no wired connection required.
The WF-1000XM6 straddle a world of having both professional features designed to audio and music professionals, and for consumers wanting the very best noise cancellation and sound quality as well as general feature set that money can buy.
Available in black and platinum silver. $329
Protective case available in black and platinum silver. $39.99
