Sony Proves Why It’s Still the King with Its Newest Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Striking the right balance between audiophile sound, excellent ANC and supreme comfort.

White Sony wireless over-ear headphones resting on a dark surface near an audio mixing console.

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Published January 1, 2026

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It’s just a fact: Sony has been making some of the best noise-canceling headphones for most of the past decade. Its flagship 1000X series has long struck the right balance of industry-leading sound and active noise cancellation, while remaining lightweight and super comfortable.

And that continues with its latest models, the Sony WH-1000XM6.

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Three Sony wireless over-ear headphones in black, white, and dark blue hanging on a metal rack. — The WH-1000XM6 is available in three finishes: Black, Platinum Silver and Midnight Blue.

Naturally, both their sound quality and active noise-cancellation have been improved. That’s largely thanks to a new-gen processor, which Sony claims is seven times faster than the previous one and uses twelve microphones (versus the previous eight).

Plus, Sony redesigned the drivers and gave them more advanced upscaling and immersive sound technologies.

But maybe more importantly, Sony updated a lot of little practical things with the WH-1000XM6 that make them functional.

Light gray over-ear headphones neatly folded inside a matching hard carrying case with a coiled black cable in a side pocket. — Sony also gave the WH-1000XM6 with a travel case with a new magnetic closure system.

It updated the design so the headphones fold inward, making them more compact and travel-friendly. It gave them a large circular power button that’s easier to recognize with the headphones on. And for the first time, you can charge and listen to headphones simultaneously. I know, amazing.

With Sony’s latest flagship cans, it’s very much the case that the best just got even better, in both expected and unexpected ways.