Sony ’s 1000X series ofwireless , dissonance - scratch headphoneshave consistently top ourheadphone recommendation lists , and with good rationality . With every generation , Sony finds slipway to deliver a better experience , whether it ’s improved active noise cancellation ( ANC ) , well levelheaded character , a more comfortable fit — or all three at once .

Sony ’s fifth - gen can , theWH-1000XM5 , released in 2022 , even earned the companionship its second gross 10 rating in a rowing — despite the $ 50 damage increase overtheir predecessors — thanks to their overall superb execution .

But that was in 2022 . In the consumer - electronics space , things move so quickly that we measure time in heel years . And we ’ve seen many brands upping their biz over the past couple of years . Bowers & Wilkins set up thePx7 S2andPx8(both fantabulous ) , theBeats Studio Proemerged and impressed , and Bose — arguably Sony ’s top competition in the randomness - canceling family — released its updatedQuietComfort Ultra Headphonesand prove that it still has what it takes to make a superb solidifying of wireless tush .

Given this newfangled contest ( and a rag Federal Communications Commission text file that powerfully suggestsnew Sony headphones are on the means ) , it ’s time to view what Sony postulate to do if it wants the WH-1000XM6 to asseverate the XM5 ’s legacy as the reigning title-holder .

Design

Headphone solace is direct affected by weight . With the XM5 , Sony went to extreme to pare down that system of weights as much as possible . The consequence ca n’t be denied — the XM5 are some of the lightest , comfortable cans you’re able to purchase . But not everyone was thrilled with the room Sony reach that exploit . By remove the fold - up hinges and the classical forking - mounted earcups from the XM4 , the XM5 ’s design prove too radical for some .

Many also note that given the XM5 ’s fairly lofty $ 400 price , the phone do n’t reward that expense with a premium look or feel . I ’m not certain if I pass into this summer camp . I acknowledge that the all - charge card design does n’t do much to convey status on the wearer — but then again , I tend to privilege function over form . Nonetheless , Sony should take note .

What does weigh to me ( and I suspect to most kinsfolk spend this sort of money ) is lastingness . And that raw single - pivot earcup connection might be less durable than the older design . We ca n’t say for indisputable how many people have been affected — and I have n’t experience this myself . But there have beennumerous reports of XM5s breakingwhere the headband sliders cope with the rotate cuff that link up to the earcup pin .

I do n’t think Sony has to care about further weight simplification , and I ’ve get used to the fold - two-dimensional - only shape . But flagship interference - canceling headphones should probably give citizenry superbia of ownership , and they should by all odds stand up to lots of use .

Noise cancellation and transparency

No matter how good companies like Apple , Sony , and Bose get at supply us with silence when we desire it , and transparence when we do n’t , it seems there ’s always room for improvement . The XM5 wow us with both of these feature . And yet the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones pull off to do them better still . Historically , ANC has been Bose ’s principal strength . But if anyone can push the state of the art further , it ’s Sony .

Sound quality

When Sony inaugurate the XM5 , it develop the serial ’ phone signature off from a bass - forward presentation to one that could be consider more neutral or , at least , less bass - forward . I liked the change , but sound is a deep personal thing . I do n’t know if it ’s possible ( given the small driver Sony shifted to in the XM5 ) , but it would be amazing if the Sony Headphones app could put up an EQ preset that straightaway mimics the XM4 ’s intelligent signature so that fan of both earphone could get what they want .

Spatial audio

When Bose launched theQuietComfort Ultra Headphones , it also debuted its Bose Immersive Audio , a form of digital processing that spatializes stereo strait into a 3D - like experience . Whether you utilise it on its own or in conjunction with the build - in question tracking , it can be an entertaining option that some auditor may number to prefer to conventional stereo .

Long before Apple madespatial audioa home term , Sony actually had its own version of Immersive Audio calledVirtual Phones Technology(VPT ) . It was include as an app - found sound essence mode on theWH-1000XM3 , but Sony removed it when it launched the XM4 in favour of Sony ’s nascent360 Reality Audio(360 RA ) format .

I ’m all for 360 RA , but you need a reference of 360 RA audio recording to make it ferment , like Tidal , Amazon Music , Deezer , or Nugs.net . VPT , on the other paw , can spatialize any audio . Since Sony added a very limited form of head - tracking to the XM5 a few months after they launched , I think it would make a slew of sense for the company to offer a VPT+head tracking selection to contend with Bose ’s Immersive Audio and Apple ’s own spacial audio options .

USB-C audio

Sony’sLDAC Bluetooth codecwas a wonder of algorithmic audio compaction when it debuted in 2015 , predict support for up to 24 - bit/96kHzhi - res audiowith compatible machine . LDAC get a huge boost in terms of availability when it was added to Android 8.0 , making it the de facto hi - res wireless option on every modern smartphone ( except the iPhone ) since 2017 .

However , as brilliant as LDAC is , you only get its full potency when a 990kbps Bluetooth connection can be establish and maintained between your headphones and your sound , something that is really hard to do because of interference .

Since I do n’t see Sony follow Qualcomm ’s more efficientaptX Adaptive Bluetooth codecanytime soon , its only literal option for top - notch , hi - reslossless audioon the WH-1000XM6 is to keep the parallel connectedness , which demand ahigh - quality DAC / amp .

But there ’s a good alternative . We know that the build - in DAC and amp in the XM5 are already very capable , and presumptively , the XM6 will be well still . It just needs a dependable and lossless connexion — USB - C audio would give it that connection . The $ 180Sennheiser Accentumhas this feature , as do the $ 350Beats Studio Proand the $ 449Sonos Ace . This should give Sony mess of grounds to follow causa . It ’s deserving remembering that now that Apple has sweep up USB - C on the iPhone 15 , it ’s tight becoming one of the good ways to do headphone audio when you ’re on the go .

LE Audio and Auracast

Bluetooth LE Audio , with its new LC3 codec and the hypothesis of supportingAuracastwould all be welcome add-on to the WH-1000XM6 , and there ’s plenty of reason to call back they ’ll be supported : Sony ’s late wireless earbuds , theLinkBuds OpenandLinkBuds Fitare both compatible with these new standard .

As keen as I am to see Auracast on the XM6 , I ’d like Sony to believe long and hard about how it implement the feature on the new LinkBuds . Instead of add the ability to incur and connect to Auracast broadcasts in the Sony Sound Connect app , Sony has left it up to the operating system on your phone to make this happen .

And since there ’s no polarity that Apple has any intent of support Auracast in iOS , that could go out a mickle of possible XM6 proprietor out in the frigidity if Sony sustain the status quo .

Call quality and more

Call quality on the XM5 is splendid , and I have no doubt that it will improve on the XM6 . But if I were to opt between an improvement on one end of the calling experience , it would be on the headphone side . Like many of you , I do a lot of video call every week . I have come to appreciate just how important a good side - musical note feature is — that ’s howyourvoice sounds to you when you ’re talking . The more natural it is , the less fatiguing calls can be . The XM5 are good for side - tone , but now thatopen - ear earbudsare a affair , I desire the XM6 to be pure .

If Sony grapple to better battery living , I wo n’t quetch , but honestly , I think the current up - to-40 hr on the XM5 is more than enough for most people . What I ’d prefer is if Sony could figure out a fashion to permit us use the XM6whilecharging . Technically , this can be done with the XM5 , but only if you have a long USB - degree Celsius charging cable ( not the tiny one Sony supply ) and you ’re willing and able to habituate the analog cable length at the same fourth dimension .

Price

How much will Sony call for for the WH-1000XM6 ? That depends on where it fancy these novel headphones . If Sony surprise us and positions the XM6 as an ultra - premium solidification of cans , they could be very expensive .

The market appear to have an appetence for this kind of affair . We thought theApple AirPods Maxwere usurious at $ 549 , but then we got the $ 599Master & Dynamic MW75 , the $ 699Bowers & Wilkins Px8 , the $ 699Focal Bathys , the $ 999Mark Levinson No.5909 , and the $ 1,299Dali IO-12 . So , who knows ?

That say , if Sony keeps with tradition , we should wait the XM6 to beat with the XM5 ’s $ 400 Leontyne Price or perhaps a small increase of between $ 20 and $ 50 .

Availability

When are the WH-1000XM6 coming ? Using history as our pathfinder , they could be coming soon . The XM4 free in August 2020 , and the XM5 add up out in May 2022 . Originally , I had reckon between May and August 2024 , but that timing came and run . Now , especially that we ’ve learn thefirst hint of the XM6 becoming official , May - August 2025 is looking like a solid wager .

Until then , we ’ll update this post as we learn more — you may be certain the inevitable outflow will precede any official announcements .