Today we're looking at Sony's latest flagship headphones, the WHH100XM 6. In this video, we'll talk about what's different compared to the previous generation XM 5. And later in the video, we'll also talk about how they stack up to the AirPods Max and the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra. We'll get into sound quality, noise cancellation, microphone performance, comfort, and more. Feel free to jump around using the timestamps. Otherwise, let's go ahead and get into it. The first noticeable difference is the redesigned travel case. It has a noticeably smaller footprint, which is great for portability, and it features a new magnetic closure that's faster and easier to use. You can even open and close it with just one hand. Now, the difficulty of opening and closing a protective case is the literal definition of a firstworld problem, but I got to admit, after using the XM6, it's hard to deny the convenience of that new case. On the inside, there's a small elastic pouch for your cables, which I do prefer compared to the flat pocket design from before. By now, most of you have probably figured out that the reason the XM6 case is smaller is because the headphones not only swivel, they also collapse. A lot of us missed that feature on the XM5, and Sony listened. They're using a new asymmetrical hinge, and it feels sturdier and more durable. Another key difference is the headband. Some XM 5 users complained about pressure on top of the head because of the narrow headband. So, the XM6 has a wider headband to help distribute pressure, and I will say it does make a difference. The headband on the XM 5 was never really an issue for me, but after trying the XM6, I can definitely say they are more comfortable on top of the head. There's also a new power button. It's now circular and indented, so it's easy to find when you're wearing the headphones. You no longer have to second guess which button is the power button and which one is the ambient sound control. As far as the ear cups, I think the XM6 has slightly thicker padding, which makes sense because it looks like the ear cups on the XM5 have a little bit more room. Something to keep in mind if your ears are larger than average. Beyond that, the design is largely the same. They have the same soft matte finish. The weight is basically identical at 8.8 O. You still have the touch capacitive controls on the right ear cup, which I personally find quick and responsive, but remember, if touch controls aren't your thing, you can disable them in the Sony app. Battery life remains impressive, up to 30 hours with noise cancellation turned on or 40 without it. Fast charging hasn't changed either. 3 minutes plugged in gives you about 3 hours of playback. But here's the upgrade. You can now listen to the XM6 while charging them at the same time. You can also still use them passively with the included 3.5 mm audio jack if the battery runs out or if you just prefer a wired connection. It sounds good. Just keep in mind that the bass isn't quite as strong when the headphones are turned off. Internally, the XM6 has a new processor, the QN3. It's said to be seven times faster than the QN1 found in the XM5. They've also increased the microphone count from 8 to 12, and they've added AI enhanced voice isolation, which we'll check out shortly. Sound-wise, the XM6 has new drivers for richer details and clearer vocals. They've also upgraded the custom EQ from five bands to 10 bands, which offers a little bit more flexibility. There is a trade-off, though. We no longer have the clear bass option, which was an easy way to adjust the bass on the XM5. As far as comparing the sound, I mainly did so using their default EQ. And I will say the XM6 sound richer with more detail. They just sound a bit more polished and refined. Also, as you get higher in volume, I feel like the XM6 retain more bass, and to me, the sound just holds up a little bit better. I feel like those new drivers are able to handle a little bit more. Now, with that said, I think the XM5 stack up very well, especially if you're willing to make some EQ adjustments, but as far as just taking the two straight out the box, I think the XM6 sounds better. Transparency mode on the XM6 also seems slightly cleaner and more natural. I also think the noise cancellation is slightly more effective. I wouldn't say the overall strength is drastically different. I think it's more so the frequency it targets are different. [Music] I like it. [Music] [Music] The XM5 hold their own very very well. So although I think the XM6 are more effective, I wouldn't really use A&C as the metric to justify an upgrade. Now, let's go ahead and get into the microphone test. All right, so we definitely got to check out the microphones because now we have two additional microphones compared to the XM5. So, as you can see, we have a busy roadway right behind me. All right, so now we switched over to the XM5. And since these headphones came out, they've been my absolute favorite in terms of microphone performance. So, I'm definitely curious to see how they stack up compared to the XM6. I don't know. I think they both sound great. you couldn't tell I was next to a busy street with either one. If you have the XM5, when it comes to microphone performance, you're still in great hands. The XM6 also adds some new appbased features. For example, you have the listening modes. There's standard, which is just your everyday regular mode. There's background music mode, which is pretty self-explanatory. It kind of makes music sound like you're in a room with music being played in the background. It might be useful if you're trying to read or study and you just want a little bit of ambiance. And there's a new cinema mode for a more theater-like experience when watching shows or movies. It gives you kind of a stereo effect. It widens the sound a bit. It's definitely something to experiment with. There's also voice commands built in to the headphones, so you can say commands like, "Hey, headphones, skip song," or, "Hey, headphones, pause music." It's definitely a nice option if your hands are occupied, and it makes you choose between the built-in voice commands or your phone's dedicated assistant. Head gestures are also new, and this allows you to do things like accept a phone call by nodding your head or reject a phone call by shaking your head from left to right. There's also the option to mute your microphone when you're on a call by pressing the ambient sound control button twice. And then there's the option to capture your own voice when you're on a call so you can hear yourself a little bit better. That pretty much sums up the differences between the XM 6 and the XM 5. So now let's get into the XM 6 compared to the Quiet Comfort Ultra and the AirPods Max. With the Quiet Comfort Ultra, you've got a hard plastic design. It doesn't feel the most premium, but it does help keep the weight down. These are around 8.8 8 ounces, the exact same as the XM6. But if you're looking to have that wow moment when you grab the headphones, these don't really give you that. I wouldn't say they feel cheap. They just don't feel any different from headphones that cost a fraction of the price. Just like the XM6, these are able to swivel and collapse, which as we know is great for portability. With the XM6, again, they have that soft matte finish. It's still plastic, but you could make the case that these feel more polished. As far as the travel cases, they're pretty similar in size. The Quiet Comfort case is a tiny bit smaller, but not by much. And then you have the magnetic closure on the XM6. Again, super convenient. And with the Quiet Comfort, you have the standard zipper design. The Quiet Comfort Ultra use a combination of physical buttons and a touch capacitive volume slider. There's also a 2.5 mm audio jack for wired listening. However, unlike the XM6, the headphones need to be powered on to use that audio jack. As far as the AirPods Max, these are the most expensive of the group, and you can definitely tell based on the materials. You've got the aluminum ear cups and a stainless steel headband. I'm not a huge fan of the mesh on the headband. You also have mesh on the detachable ear cups, which probably isn't the best setup to keep them clean, especially if you sweat a lot. Now, that premium build quality does come at a cost. These are significantly heavier at over 13 oz. As far as comfort, I would much rather go with the XM6 or the quiet comfort. I wouldn't say the AirPods Max are necessarily uncomfortable. You just feel them a lot more due to that extra weight. Now, as much as they put into the materials and the build quality of the AirPods Max, you would think they would come with something more than just this sleeve, but they don't. So, as far as protection, the XM6 have the advantage thanks to their protective case. The AirPods Max use physical controls with a button to adjust your ambient sound and a rotating crown for your track controls. If you enjoy the consistency and ease of use of physical controls, you might prefer this setup. The AirPods Max also support lossless audio through the type-C port, but the only thing I really noticed when I tried it is that it lowers the volume. I actually prefer how they sound through Bluetooth. Batterywise, Sony leads the pack with around 30 hours of playback versus Bose's 24 and Apple's 20. Fast charging also favors Sony with 3 hours of playback after just 3 minutes of charging. As far as connection, the XM6 and the Quiet Comfort both offer multi-point, which lets you connect the two devices at once. And the XM6 is as seamless as it gets when using two devices at the same time. Whatever content you're watching or listening to, it'll automatically pause whenever you play something on your secondary device. With the Quiet Comfort Ultra, the multi-point works well, but you have to manually pause your content before switching over to your other device. As far as the AirPods Max, if you're strictly an iOS user, the lack of multi-point isn't a big deal because the headphones will automatically switch depending on the device you're using. Just like the XM5, I mainly compared the sound between these headphones using their default EQ settings. All three headphones sound incredible, and you really can't go wrong. But there are some slight differences. Comparing the XM6 to the Quiet Comfort, I mainly noticed that the XM6 sound a bit more open. I think there's better presence in the mid to upper range, which gives you more separation from the lower frequencies. Again, it just sounds a tad more open. Both headphones have incredible bass. It's deep, it's rich, it's controlled. Either way you go, you won't be disappointed there. Now, with the Quiet Comfort, there is a threeb EQ that you can use to get more definition in the mid to upper frequencies. However, it doesn't give you as much flexibility as the 10b EQ on the XM6. Now, comparing the XM6 to the AirPods Max, this one was tough. I went back and forth between the two multiple times, trying to pick up on the subtle differences. And it's funny because I used to have a pair of the first generation AirPods Max with the lightning port and for some reason I feel like the type-C version sounds better than what I remember. I don't know, maybe it's just me. The bass on both of these is solid and occasionally the bass actually felt punchier on the AirPods Max compared to the XM6. However, with custom EQ, you can easily match or slightly exceed the bass with the XM6. Now, one thing to note, the AirPods Max don't have any sort of dedicated EQ control. The AirPods Max also impressed me with their vocal presence. To me, the two are incredibly close. But there's something about the vocal presence on the XM6 that feels a tiny bit more polished. And when I say a tiny bit, I really mean a tiny bit. Honestly, we're slicing hairs when it comes to the sound. All three of these headphones sound great. But if I had to choose one based on my preferences and personal taste, I would lean towards the XM6. Transparency mode seems to be the strongest on the XM6 and the AirPods Max. And then as far as noise cancellation, I think the AirPods Max are the most effective, which is what you'll see during a test here in a second. Now, keep in mind these tests that I'm doing aren't exactly scientific. I don't have a fancy setup to give you charts or any real data. So, take these results with a grain of salt. But what I will say is that the results do seem to line up with what I'm hearing in [Music] person. Immersion [Music] Quiet. [Music] 1 2 3 immersion quiet. [Music] [Music] Next up, let's go ahead and get into the microphone test. All right, so we definitely got to check out the microphones because now we have two additional microphones compared to the XM5. So, as you can see, we have a busy roadway right behind me. All right, so now we switched over to the AirPods Max. As you can see, exact same environment, but again, we have the busy roadway behind me. Testing, testing, one, two, three. Testing, testing, one, two, three. And last but not least, we have the Bose Quiet Camp. I've always been a little iffy as far as the microphone performance on these, so we'll see how these stack up to the rest of the lineup. To me, the XM6 are the most impressive at eliminating background noise. You honestly couldn't tell I was next to a busy street, and the vocals seem to be the loudest. With the AirPods Max, the vocal clarity was great, but some of the background noise did make its way through. I don't know if you guys could hear, but there was actually a point where some birds were chirping in the background. And then with the Quiet Comfort Ultra, vocals were totally fine. and you could hear everything that I was saying, but there was a slight hollow, almost echoey effect on the voice. So, there it is. That's my video on the new XM6 headphones from Sony. And I know a lot of you guys still want to know which pair I think is the best. And there's no straight answer to that question. It all depends on your needs, your ecosystem, so on and so forth. For me, I would lean towards the XM6. I feel like as a whole they match my preferences as far as what I'm looking for in a pair of premium headphones. My goal isn't to tell you which pair of headphones to buy. It's to help you make that decision for yourself. So hopefully I did that throughout this video. Links to all the headphones will be in the description box below if you're looking to grab a pair. Aside from that, I appreciate you guys as always and I'll see you in the next one. [Music]