After a three-year wait, Sony has finally unveiled its latest flagship active noise-cancelling wireless headphone, the WH-1000XM6. They bring external and internal changes and upgrades to the range, but not for free.
Where the WH-1000XM5 launched at R9,000, these will carry a suggested retail price of R11,000 when they eventually come to South Africa in August.
One of the headline upgrades in the XM6 isn’t really an upgrade, but we’re excited to see it nonetheless. Sony has opted to return to a foldable design, which was last seen in the XM4. This also means that the case can be smaller and will take up less room in your bag. The only other external changes worth mentioning are the new power button and slightly wider headband.
The former is an altogether different shape from the ANC button, so it should be easier to find with your fingertips. The latter is supposed to offer more comfort across your noggin by distributing the 254g weight over a larger area. We’ll have to wait until they’re on our ears to know if they’re more comfy than the XM5.
Sony’s WH-1000XM6 can fold again
Sony has stuck its brand new noise-cancelling QN3 processor inside. This chip is meant to enhance audio quality and provide better rea;-time noise cancelling at seven times faster than its predecessor, along with the twelve microphones scattered around (and in) the ear cups. The new processor and array of microphones should also improve the XM6’s auto ambient sound mode, which Sony says is able to better adapt to your surroundings and call quality. But we’ll have to check that out for ourselves.
Unsurprisingly, the XM6 supports Sony’s LDAC codec for wireless Hi-Resolution playback, and DSEE Extreme makes a return and will attempt to breathe more life into your lossy compressed songs.
Elsewhere, Sony has added features to the Sound Connect companion app for the XM6 and broadened the equaliser to support ten bands up from five, so you have even more control over your sound. With the XM6, you’re also able to upmix stereo audio to Sony’s 360 Spatial audio for a supposedly immersive experience “just like you are in a movie theatre.”
If you’re eager to get your hands on either the Black, Platinum Silver or Midnight Blue WH-1000XM6, you’d better start saving, August is around the corner.
