Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my BEST Sony WH-1000XM6 Alternatives, after having reviewed almost every single wireless over-ear noise cancelling headphone under $1,000 from brands like Bose, Sennheiser, Bowers & Wilkins, Apple, and much more.
These headphone recommendations will be perfect for you if you’re looking for:
- Better sound quality
- Better comfort
- Better value for the money
Please note: I bought ALL of these headphones with my own money, and was NOT sponsored, paid, or received a free copy for review. All thoughts are my own.
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist.
Let’s dive right in!
Reasons why we still recommend the Sony WH-1000XM6
- Excellent sound quality after EQ
- Best noise cancelling available
- Lightweight
- Hinge issue has been improved
- Clamping force
- Small interior earcup space
- Sibilance without EQ
- Smaller soundstage
The Sony WH-1000XM6 is the best-sounding Sony ANC headphone to date, and slightly improves on world-class noise cancelling performance of the XM5. This is one of the best all-arounders today when factoring in noise cancelling performance, comfort, and sound quality.
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Watch the Full Video on YouTube!
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5. Better Value #1 – Sony ULT Wear
- Great stock sound quality
- Very good noise cancelling performance
- Great comfort
- Great value sub-$200
- Cheaper build quality
- Blocky design is rather ugly
How does ~80% of the Sony XM6 for less than 50% of the price sound?
That’s right, move over XM5 and XM4!
For our first Sony XM6 alternative, we’re looking at an incredible value while still staying inside of the Sony family.
But while most people are expecting the previous generation XM4 or XM5, my pick is a hidden gem that doesn’t get enough love.
The ULT Wear is a relatively new-ish headphone released in just April 2024, that I view as a “modernized Sony XM4”.
At under $200 brand new, and sometimes even below $150, the ULT Wear is one of the budget wireless ANC headphones that genuinely surprised me.
For this price, you’re getting a headphone that has sound quality that is better than the WH-1000XM4, with noise cancelling that is on par with the WH-1000XM5.
Honestly, based on your listening preference, you may even prefer the sound of the ULT Wear over the XM5…
I think I do.
Funny enough, the stock sound profile of the XM6 actually reminded me of the ULT Wear, and vice versa.
Now, the ONE caveat to the ULT Wear is that the build quality is very cheap, and feels more like flimsy $100 headphones that could break if stressed.
But for this price, there’s not too much to be complaining about.
It’s not like the Sony XM6’s build quality is top-notch either.
Read the FULL article here: Sony ULT Wear Review
4. Better Value #2 – Sennheiser Momentum 4
Watch on YouTube:
Alright, so let’s say you like the idea of the ULT Wear, but want to get closer to 90% of the Sony XM6 for a fraction of the cost…
…enter the Sennheiser Momentum 4.
Ahh, the Momentum 4 is a real crowd-favorite over at the RecordingNOW YouTube channel and this website in particular.
And why not?
This wireless ANC headphone can usually be found under $300 USD, but is wholly competitive with the much newer Sony WH-1000XM6 at $448 currently.
That’s about 2/3rds the cost of the XM6, or 67% of the price, while being around 90% of the product.
So, where does the Momentum 4 “lose” that 10%?
I’d say that the sound quality is very close, especially after EQ’ing the Momentum 4, so it’s not really that.
The biggest weakness to the Momentum 4 is its noise cancelling performance, which is a tier below the Sony XM6.
Also, the Sennheisers are a fair bit heavier (around 40 grams), and slightly less comfortable IMO.
But if you can live with those compromises, the Momentum 4 is still impressive today, especially for its age and price.
Read the FULL article here: Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Sennheiser Momentum 4
- Excellent sound quality
- Good noise cancelling
- Impressive bass response and slam
- Amazing 60 hour battery life
- Relatively good value
- Sony / Bose have better noise cancelling
- Headband not as plush
- Clamping force a bit strong from factory
3. If you’re in the Apple Ecosystem – Apple AirPods Max
Watch on YouTube Below:
Apple fanboys, rejoice! Apple haters, sorry to break it to ya, but the AirPods Max ain’t going anywhere… (YouTube comparison at 70,000+ views and counting)
The AirPods Max seems to be a bit of a polarizing headphone online.
According to the comments, they’re either “incredible” or “trash”.
Well, like most things distorted by internet opinions, the truth is somewhere in-between.
It’s not hard to see why there’s debate, with its $549 USD retail pricetag and Apple brand name that seems to divide a room whenever brought up.
But here’s the truth that is a bit of bad news for the new Sony XM6…
The AirPods Max is still a very competitive headphone today, even 4+ years after its initial release.
The main factors of sound quality, comfort, and noise cancelling performance are all on par with the XM6, with the XM6 perhaps being slightly better.
Also for its price, the AirPods Max has actually been coming down from that $549 USD retail closer to $479 on sale, making its value proposition more palatable.
Where the AirPods Max beats the Sony WH-1000XM6 is that sheer convenience and effortless connectivity switching between multiple Apple devices (more than 2).
So, if you have an iPhone, Mac, and an iPad, the ease of the AirPods Max might honestly be worth it…
Versus having to go into the Sony app and manually Disconnect, Reconnect that second device all the time…
Read the FULL article here: Sony WH-1000XM6 vs AirPods Max
- Best-in-class stock sound quality
- Very good noise cancelling
- Switches easily between Apple devices
- Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support
- Expensive!
- Worse noise cancelling than Sony/Bose
- Heavy, less comfortable than Sony/Bose
2. Better Comfort – Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Watch on YouTube Below:
If you’re like some people who found the Sony WH-1000XM6 very uncomfortable, you’ll LOVE the Bose QuietComfort Ultra instead…
If there’s ONE point about the Sony XM6 that I’m seeing mixed reviews, it’s the comfort.
Most notably, the clamping force, lack of interior earcup space (my ears press against the fabric), and thin cushioning on the headband and earpads.
For the first point about clamping force, I’ll say that you need to give the XM6 about 1 month to loosen up with its clamping force, which it will.
But for the earcup space and thin cushioning, not much we can do about that.
Enter, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra has deep earcup space where my ears don’t touch anything inside.
Also, the cushioning on the earpads and headband is very plush and supportive.
Better comfort is one thing, but the Bose QuietComfort Ultra also competes on sound quality (after EQ) and noise cancelling performance, as Bose and Sony are the best in the business.
In fact, the Bose QC Ultra is one of the highest headphones rated on the website currently.
For my money, I would totally consider the Ultra over the XM6.
Read the FULL article here: Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
- Audiophile-level sound quality (after EQ)
- Unrivaled noise cancelling performance
- Insanely comfortable and lightweight
- Decent value overall
- Sound signature without EQ is disappointing
- Materials feel mediocre for price
1. Better Sound Quality – Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
Watch on YouTube Below:
Equally as new for 2025 as the XM6, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 is shaping up to be a crowd-favorite and has superior sound quality, equal or better comfort, but slightly less noise cancelling performance…
If you’re unfamiliar with Bowers & Wilkins, they’re a higher-end brand that makes pretty solid consumer audio gear, which I’d say caters more towards audiophiles.
The Px7 S3 was released just a little earlier than the Sony WH-1000XM6, thus, has a lot of advancements from previous offerings.
Sound quality has always been a strong focus of Bowers & Wilkins’ headphones, but the Px7 S3 is one of the more impressive yet.
For comfort, the Px7 S3 has more earcup space but is slightly heavier than the XM6.
I find them about equal for comfort.
Where the XM6 still has an advantage is in superior noise cancelling performance, but the Px7 S3 is nicely improved over previous generation Px7 S2e and Px8.
For pretty much the same $450 pricetag as the XM6, the Px7 S3 is certainly worth a look if you care about sound quality.
Read the FULL article here: Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
- Best-in-class sound quality
- Very good comfort
- Competitive noise cancelling
- Solid build quality
- A bit too V-shaped stock
- Bit of clamping force
- Padding got slightly worse
Honorable Mentions
- Focal Bathys
- Bowers & Wilkins Px8
- Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
- JBL Tour One M3
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Sony WH-1000XM4
- Bose QuietComfort (2023 model)
- Beats Studio Pro
Some Relevant Comparisons in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
I highly recommend you check those out next!
Lastly, if you’d like to save some money and keep supporting RecordingNOW.com’s 100% independent, unbiased reviews, do consider using some of our affiliate links below to shop and even just compare prices. We purchase all products we review with our own money to maintain the highest level of integrity, and your support goes into that plus a continuously improving site experience.
Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Save up to $40 with LIKE NEW!
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase every product we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment. Then, take them out to the real world for practical tests.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
Read Next
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Review
Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3 Review
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Headphone Review
Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2e Review
Bose QuietComfort Review (2023 Model)
