Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST experience with the Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra and tell you which is better, after personally owning both products. I have thoroughly tested each of these headphones for hundreds of hours, and aim to offer a critical opinion from the perspective of an audiophile and professional music producer.
I’ll be comparing these two head to head on categories like price, comfort, features, battery life, noise cancelling performance, and sound quality.
Then at the end, I’ll share which is the best overall value for the money, and my overall recommendation on which you should buy.
I’ve also conducted a separate in-depth Sony WH-1000XM6 Review and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Review, for those who are interested in reading more detailed thoughts about each headphone after. (Links open in a new tab.)
Key Takeaways
- Sony WH-1000XM6 has slightly better noise cancelling performance, and a fuller, more “fun” bass-heavy sound.
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra has superior comfort and build quality, with a more open, airy, and more balanced “audiophile” sound.
- Both headphones are currently around the same price.
Watch the Full Comparison on YouTube!
Have any QUESTIONS for me?
Leave it in the YouTube COMMENTS and I’ll do my best to get back to you 🙂
Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Price Compared
Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra are around the same price at current market prices for brand new. They can be much closer in price depending on current sales, and whether you’re buying new, renewed, or used.
Sony WH-1000XM6 Prices
- Retail: $449.99
- New: $448
- Used: $443 (save up to $5!)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Prices
- Retail: $449.00
- New: $449
- Renewed: $406 (save up to $40!)
- Used: $399 (save up to $40!)
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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 🙂
Comfort
On my scale, the Sony XM6 is 1.6 grams lighter than the Bose QC Ultra:
- Sony WH-1000XM6 weight: 252.8 grams
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra weight: 254.4 grams
These are two of the lightest wireless, over-ear, noise cancelling headphones in the category.
I find the Bose QC Ultra to be the more comfortable headphone than the XM6.
The XM6 has a lot of clamping force from the factory, a lack of cushioning, and less interior earcup space, so my ears are pressing against the fabric inside.
Sony improved the headband design over the XM5 so it has less top of head pressure than before.
That said, I expect the clamping force to loosen up over time like the previous-generation XM5. After this, the XM6 should settle into being one of the more comfortable headphones in its class.
The QC Ultra has no flaws for comfort IMO, being equally lightweight to the Sony, but with much more plush and supportive cushioning, and bigger earcups where my ears are free.
Bose takes this one, but the XM6 is still very comfy once that clamping force loosens up more.
Sony WH-1000XM6 Comfort: 4.5 out of 5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Comfort: 5 out of 5
Winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling
Features
These are both modern headphones with roughly the same features such as built-in microphones for calls, Active Noise Cancelling, and Transparency Mode.
One feature I like about the Sony XM6 is a new “Cinema Mode” that adds a spatial audio effect that is perfect for watching movies, TV, and even just YouTube.
Bose has its own spatial audio known as “Immersive Audio”, but I think I prefer Sony’s implementation here.
Both headphones collapse and fold into a compact hardshell case, but the Bose’s have a slightly smaller footprint than the Sony’s.
Build Quality
The Bose QC Ultra has better build quality than the Sony XM6, featuring more metal in the headband and hinges, and more premium grain leather on earpad and headband cushions.
The Sony XM6 feels very similar and plasticky to the XM5, with a slight upgrade to the hinges with the addition of a small aluminum piece that is supposed to reinforce them, hopefully fixing the “broken hinge issue” of the XM5.
The XM6 simply feels cheaper for $400+ headphones, and I’d feel more confident in the Bose QC Ultra in the long-term, as most Bose headphones have long-term durability.
Looks
I prefer the sleeker and slimmer look of the Bose QC Ultra compared to the rather blocky XM6.
The XM6 has these large earcups that stick out just a bit.
Also, the XM6’s material seems to be a bit of a fingerprint magnet.
Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Battery Life Compared
The Sony XM6 has up to 6 hours more battery life than the Bose QC Ultra on a single charge.
- Sony WH-1000XM6 Battery Life: Up to 30 hours
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Battery Life: Up to 24 hours
In my testing, I found both of these manufacturer’s battery ratings to be accurate.
The Sony XM6 has the slight advantage here, but both are overshadowed by the Sennheiser Momentum 4 at 60 hours.
Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Noise Cancelling Performance: Which is better?
The anticipation was high for the XM6, as the previous-generation XM5 was world-class for its noise cancelling performance, about tied with the Bose QC Ultra.
To my surprise, the improvement in the Sony XM6’s noise cancelling performance seems more marginal, maybe 10% better than the XM5 and QC Ultra.
That said, the XM6 still has the best active noise cancelling performance that we’ve tested to date.
The XM6 also has one more major advantage over the Bose QC Ultra’s noise cancelling.
When moving or walking, the Bose QC Ultra’s ANC seems to make some “bumping” noise and is actively adjusting, which can be very distracting. The Sony XM6 doesn’t seem to be affected by movement, and stays solid.
Also, although both headphones have multiple levels between full active noise cancelling and Transparency Mode, only the Sony can fully turn either mode OFF.
Lastly, the transparency mode has been greatly improved in the XM6 over the muffled transparency on the XM5, and is now slightly better than the QC Ultra’s transparency mode.
Sony WH-1000XM6 Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 5 out of 5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 5 out of 5
Winner: Tie
Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Sound Quality Comparison
On the Stock Sound…
Out of the box, I much prefer the stock sound of the newer Sony WH-1000XM6 over the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
Sony did an okay job with the stock sound profile of the XM6, it’s not offending and fairly balanced.
There is some sibilance and harshness in the stock treble, but it’s balanced out by a prominent bass response and mids to create a slightly warmer, darker sound signature that I find to be fairly smooth overall.
The QC Ultra is too bass-heavy which really drowns out its mids and treble.
Luckily, EQ makes a massive difference for the QC Ultra, and a fair difference for the XM6 as well.
Sony has included a new 10-band EQ with the XM6, a nice upgrade over the previous 5-band EQ for the XM5 and XM4.
Check out the links below to see the latest EQ settings for each headphone, which will be used for the remainder of this sound quality comparison.
Links to Latest Equalizer Settings
Links open in a new tab. Scroll down to the “Sound Quality” portion to see the settings.
Comparing Sound Quality After EQ…
The Bose QC Ultra receives the more significant boost from EQ, and really takes EQ quite well. To me, this is typically a sign that a headphone has good hardware “under the hood”.
The XM6, on the other hand, was more difficult to EQ correctly. Not just due to the 10-band settings, but I was struggling to control the sibilance as I made my tweaks.
Nonetheless, I’ve come up with multiple settings for each headphone that I’m more than happy with. (And the positive feedback on YouTube comments seem to agree.)
The most immediate difference to me is that the Sony XM6 has a much fuller sound, led by it’s amazing bass response.
I find the XM6 to be the “king of bass” for its price, due to its hefty slam, quantity, and how deep it reaches in the sub-bass frequencies.
To me, the XM6 is like one of those “Extra Bass” headphones if they were able to still have some semblance of balance and detail to please even the audiophiles.
Now, what I prefer on the Bose QC Ultra is that it immediately has a more open and airy sound, with more fullness and details in the mids and treble, without the harsh sibilance that creeps up from time to time in the XM6.
The XM6 still has a detailed treble, but it’s not quite as effortless with the separation, layering, and spacing of the QC Ultra which has a wider soundstage and better stereo separation overall.
I say the XM6 is easily the more “fun”, consumer-friendly headphone, whilst the QC Ultra is perhaps more audiophile and easily my choice for more critical listening.
The QC Ultra does actually have decent sub-bass response, but it’s not as impactful and more of a cleaner presentation with less slam and air moving overall.
Overall, I give the slight nod to the XM6 due to its bass, but it’s not in “another level” when it comes to the finer details and nuances.
These are two headphones that are firmly in the same tier after EQ, but are easily near the top for their price range and some of my personal favorites to listen to.
Sony WH-1000XM6 Sound Quality: 9.0 out of 10 (after EQ)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Sound Quality: 8.9 out of 10 (after EQ)
Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6
Value
At the time of this writing, both headphones are virtually the same price at around $449 USD.
This is a bit strange, as I recall the Bose QC Ultra being $429, and down to as low as $349 on sale.
Regardless, we’re looking at the same price for both headphones, and they’re on the expensive side.
There are more expensive options like the AirPods Max at $549, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 and Focal Bathys at around $699, and the Bang & Olufsen H95 at $999.
Of course, there’s also cheaper options like the Sennheiser Momentum 4 that can be found for under $300 regularly.
That said, the only other headphone I can think of that has this combination of comfort, noise cancelling performance, and sound quality, is the newer Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3.
When it comes to value, I actually find both of these headphones to be fairly priced due to being such solid all-arounders. Not an easy feat to achieve, as even the more expensive headphones can struggle with either comfort or noise cancelling performance.
Sony WH-1000XM6 Value: 4.0 out of 5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Value: 4.0 out of 5
Winner: Tie
Sony WH-1000XM6 Overall Rating
- 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
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Overall Rating
- Audiophile-level sound quality (after EQ)
- Unrivaled noise cancelling performance
- Amazingly comfortable and lightweight
- Expensive
- Sound signature without EQ is disappointing
- Materials feel mediocre for price
Overall Winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra
When it comes to the wireless over-ear ANC headphone category, I consider this head-to-head to be the “clash of the titans”.
In a close race, I have the Bose QuietComfort Ultra barely edging out the newer and very formidable Sony WH-1000XM6.
The X-factor for me is Comfort, a category that the QC Ultra wins fairly definitively, but may differ from person to person.
Everything else is close to a wash, with noise cancelling performance and sound quality slightly leaning XM6.
If you love bass and are more of a casual listener, you’d probably want to lean towards the Sony XM6 instead.
But for me, I think this comparison actually reflects my personal preference as well, and I’d still pick the QC Ultra as my all-arounder under $600.
Some very Strong Alternatives in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Apple AirPods Max
- Bowers and Wilkins Px8
- Sennheiser Momentum 4
- Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Sony WH-1000XM4
- Bose QuietComfort (2023 model)
- Sonos Ace
Some Relevant Comparisons in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Sony WH-1000XM6 vs WH-1000XM5
- Sony WH-1000XM6 vs AirPods Max
- Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3
- Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Sennheiser Momentum 4
- Sony WH-1000XM6 vs WH-1000XM4
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WH-1000XM5
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
- Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max
I highly recommend you check those out next!
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Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Save up to $40 with LIKE NEW!
Want to save up to an additional $100?
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 all of the products 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. Noise cancelling performance is tested in the real-world, primarily on airplane flights, coffee shops, and walking around large metropolitan city environments.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, musician, tech journalist, and audiophile.
Read Next
Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2e Review
Bose QuietComfort Review (2023 Model)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WH-1000XM5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Review
