I've had my AirPods Max for 4.5 years now, and I've been happy with them. They have great noise-cancelling performance paired with the typical high quality you'd expect from Apple. They were also the first pair of headphones where the transparency mode was great and felt good enough to use for meetings and taking calls; I never quite liked the feeling of talking on headphones when my own voice is muffled and not easily heard.
However, after several years of use, a few annoyances with the AirPods Max have become apparent:
- The mesh in the headband that provides the actual cushion loses its shape over time, making wearing the headphones extremely uncomfortable. I had to resort to this hacky solution for the time being.
- Since I have the first generation AirPods Max, it has the Lightning adapter to charge, making it the last device I own that uses that.
- Additionally, there haven't been any meaningful updates to its functionality; even the USB-C edition lacks adaptive audio.
- Sometimes I just have issues where I need to restart them to get them to work again. When that happens it's supremely annoying, especially if you just joined a call only to realize they're not working.
Lake Como in the background.
Sony XM6
I purchased the $448 Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones on a bit of a last-minute whim before an international flight where the thought of wearing my uncomfortable AirPods Max was daunting. I had seen a few reviews online that were glowing, so I pulled the trigger.
I wanted to return the Sony XM6s after my first 30 seconds with them.
With the price difference between the XM6 and AirPods Max only being $100, I would have expected the hardware quality to be a bit closer. While I expected the Sony headphones to be plastic, the quality is more disappointing than expected. While it doesn't attract fingerprints as much as previous generations, it quickly looks tinged with oils from your fingers. After just my first day they were littered with smudges. They can be wiped away with some effort, but it's not a good look.
I've only had them for 3 days at this point; look how bad they look already.
Case
The included case is nice, lightweight, easy to open and I had seen reviewers mention how much they liked it... but I'm on a different page. It's so bulky; entirely too thick. I took it on an international trip with an already stuffed backpack and regretted bringing the case. I wish it had a small protective sleeve just for the earcups like the AirPods Max case.
Comfort, controls and ergonomics
Weight is the only place where the XM6s undeniably win over the AirPods Max. They are much lighter. You might actually forget you're wearing them. They are light enough that I might be able to overlook all the other issues I have with these headphones.
Maybe this is just me but while the XM6s are light, and the headband is fairly cushioned, I still find them a bit uncomfortable to wear after about 60-90 minutes. The band feels like it's really pushing into my head. I notice how the cushion on the band is barely helpful. And every once in a while I'll have to readjust them as the headband got into a slightly swiveled position. What I really want is a much wider headband to distribute the weight over more of the top of my head. I'm sure it might look goofy but I'd rather be comfortable.
I wore them on and off for 13 hours of flying and it was a gauntlet. They were more comfortable than the AirPods Max, but I was still glad to take them off for occasional 15-30 minute breaks.
One big reason people tend to like these over the AirPods Max is that the ear cups not only swivel but also fold in, making them a bit more compact for storage. I also find that one of the reasons they're annoying to use: unfolding them, quickly identifying the Right/Left side and putting them on is not as seamless as with the AirPods Max. They have a big knob and dial at the top of one side making them very easy to feel for to know what side is which. Sony attempted to solve this.. by placing a tiny little plastic dot on one ear cup, like the plastic indent on the F and J keys on your keyboard.
In addition, the XM6 ear cups just feel small. I don't have large ears, but I still felt like I had to maneuver them to avoid the cushions sitting on top of my ears instead of around them. I never had that feeling with the spacious AirPods Max.
Then we get to the controls for another disaster.
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ANC toggle button: The ANC toggle button is a dinky, thin little button that provides no satisfying feel. It feels like it is a cheap piece of plastic that directly touches a tiny surface mount tactile switch on the underlying PCB. I also hate the placement of it on the bottom of the ear cups.
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Touch controls: The touch controls are a mixed bag. Swiping to next/previous track navigation works well enough, but for volume? Just give me a dial. Using an up or down swipe to control volume is a slow and imprecise process. For example, if you need to quickly lower the volume significantly, you can swipe down and hold it... but then it only gradually decreases and you need to wait and wait and wait. Again, a volume dial is the solution here.
The real dealbreaker for me was for plane flights and gaming: you can't adjust volume when using aux input. Seriously, Sony? I didn't realize how often I would use the AirPods Max volume dial. However, I know it's likely a limitation of how aux input can directly run the speakers (which is a plus, you can still use them even if the battery is dead).
Sony should have just had some nice beefy controls at the top of the right ear cup to make controls easier to use and easier to identify left from right without looking.
Sound, noise cancelling and ambient sound mode
All great here. Really zero complaints. You can dial up the bass in the app, along with any other equalizer preferences you may have, too and that sounds great too.
Noise cancellation is great. Not sure I would say phenomenal as I can't quite tell you that they're clearly better than the AirPods Max, but they're great. What is impressive for the Sonys though is that their transparency mode (they call it ambient sound mode) is great. In prior generations of the Sony headphones that was always a horrible experience. I could never use older Sony headphones to take calls or meetings as I never felt like I could hear my own voice well enough.
App
And finally, unlike the AirPods Max, you need to use an app to set it up and configure things. Not a big deal, right? Well, the app experience is painful—horrible UI with endless screens to install and set up. Fortunately you don't have to use the app much.
But here's the thing: they're incredibly light. That alone might make everything else worth it. If you're choosing between premium comfort and weight for long travel days, the XM6s win on weight—and that's not nothing.
Will I keep them?
Honestly, I'm not sure. I've had them for just a few days. I will probably end up keeping them. I love how light they are, even if they're not perfectly comfortable to wear for long hours.
