Three years after the Sony WH-1000XM5, it sure was a headphone that left people divided on the internet – some liked it, and some didn’t for reasons Sony was aware of. Which is why, with the new 6th generation, the brand has corrected a lot of things for the better and here’s what you are getting for RM 2,099 from these Sony WH-1000XM6.

Sony WH-1000XM6 Malaysia

Improved and Foldable Design

The Sony WH-1000XM5 was the first time in a long time we received a major design overhaul, and in my opinion, the more timeless look of it made it worth while. What I wasn’t a fan of is the versatility the previous generations brought to the table – like to fold it however you like it and bring it on the move. That said, Sony is one of the few brand that has taken customer feedbacks seriously – and take it from us, the Sony WH-1000XM6 gets a refined finish with more smoother earcups and it even brings back the foldable design we are all a fan of. The cups can tilt and fold however you like which is a win in my books.

New Processor with 12-Mic ANC

Sony has finally phased out the QN1 with the an all-new Sony QN3 HD Processor, which now offers 7 times faster ANC capabilities and processing – which again, we need to test it to see if it lives up to its claims. Along with that, Sony knew we need a new industry-class leading ANC innovation and the headphone houses 12 microphones to get all the nitty gritty details and cancel it down to the tea. With this comes the enhanced audio quality like DSEE Extreme, a newer 12-step EQ control for more granular experience and even offers better call quality which we have yet to try it ourselves and we will do it soon.

New Drivers

The headphones feature a 30mm Neodymium drivers with an impedence of 48 ohm which can push frequency responses from 4Hz to 40kHz under the JEITA standards. Now, these higher frequency can be achieved with the LDAC codec, whereas the 44.1kHz sampling will rely on the 20Hz-20kHz frequency response.

LE Audio and Auracast Ready

Sony has been pushing the LE Audio experience for a while now, but it’s finally out of the beta phase, which most of their other earbuds and headphones were on, and now goes live. LE Audio isn’t here to offer LDAC level of quality wirelessly, it’s here to give you the best gaming experience while keeping the latency and such at an all-time low. On top of that, one of the coveted features, in my opinion, has to be the Auracast-ready because with Auracast, things are going to get a whole lot exciting and with this being the first headphone to feature it (as far as we know).

Completely New Case (Good Riddance Zippers)

If you had problems with Zippers like we did with ours for years, well, time to bid farewell as the new case now uses all magnets which is absolutely amazing to begin with. While the shell is somewhat similar in dimensions with the XM5, at least it stores slightly more compact and you don’t feel like the case is a burden to bring it around. With magnets, I am not complaining at all.

Tuned with Music Studios to get the Sound Right

Since their last generation of audio gears, Sony has been working closely to bring better audio quality and experience, and in their words, they are aiming to bring a studio experience with how the artists intend, which is a more faithful reproduction of these audio. That said, these headphones are made with musicians like Post Malone and other music studios like Sterling Sound, Coast Mastering and Battery Studios. With this collaboration, the Sony WH-1000XM6 aims to bring really good studio-accurate deep bass, crisp highs, just the way it should be.

Pricing and Availability

Priced at RM 2,099, which is definitely higher than the XM5 price tag, you are still looking at the best-in-class ANC headphones and it’s available for pre-order through Sony Store in three different colours: Black, Silver and Navy Blue. As much as I love the White and Black, this time around, I appreciate the dark blue shade which is absolutely a huge head turner.

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