Sony WH-1000XM3 vs Sony WH-1000XM6

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

WH-1000XM3 compared with WH-1000XM6

	SonyWH-1000XM3	SonyWH-1000XM6
Overview
Released
Released	September 2018	May 2025
Sound
Type
Type	Over-ear	Over-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	–	Yes
Driver size
Driver size	40 mm	30 mm
Back
Back	Closed	–
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD and LDAC	SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3
Lossless over USB-C
Lossless over USB-C	–	No
Chip
Chip	HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1	QN3
Drivers
Drivers	40 mm dome drivers with aluminium-coated liquid crystal polymer diaphragms, CCAW voice coils and neodymium magnets; wired frequency response 4 Hz–40 kHz. Impedance is 47 ohms powered on and 16 ohms off; sensitivity 104.5 dB/mW on and 101 dB/mW off.	30 mm driver unit with a high-rigidity carbon fibre composite dome and neodymium magnet; 4 Hz to 40,000 Hz (wired, switched on); sensitivity 103 dB/mW switched on, 102 dB/mW switched off; impedance 48 Ω switched on, 16 Ω switched off (1 kHz)
Chip
Chip	–	HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3 (Sony says seven times faster than the WH-1000XM5's) and Integrated Processor V2
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	QN1 processor and dual noise sensors; Personal NC Optimizer and Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing; Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention and Adaptive Sound Control	Twelve microphones for noise cancelling; Adaptive NC Optimizer tunes noise cancelling to the fit, surroundings and air pressure; Ambient Sound Mode with Auto Ambient Sound; Quick Attention Mode; Speak-to-Chat; Adaptive Sound Control
Audio features
Audio features	DSEE HX upscaling; Bluetooth frequency response 20 Hz–20 kHz at 44.1 kHz sampling, or 20 Hz–40 kHz with LDAC at 96 kHz and 990 kbps; QN1 includes a DAC and amplifier	LDAC up to 990 kbps (Hi-Res Audio Wireless); Hi-Res Audio over the headphone cable; DSEE Extreme upscaling; 10-band EQ and Game EQ; 360 Reality Audio; 360 Upmix for Cinema; spatial sound with head tracking; BGM effect; LE Audio with a low-latency mode and Auracast broadcast audio
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 30 hours	Up to 30 hours
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Maximum 30 hours with noise cancelling or 38 hours off uses AAC with DSEE HX off. The manual lists 24 hours with noise cancelling for aptX, aptX HD and LDAC; SBC is 28 hours with noise cancelling and DSEE HX off.	Up to 40 hours with noise cancelling off (AAC, SBC or LC3); with LDAC, 26 hours with noise cancelling on or 36 hours off; talk time up to 24 hours (28 hours with noise cancelling off); up to 28 hours on the headphone cable with noise cancelling on (38 hours off); can be used while charging
Charging case
Charging case	USB-C charging; about 3 hours for a full charge; USB does not carry audio	–
Fast charging
Fast charging	10 minutes gives up to 5 hours with a USB adapter rated at least 1.5 A	3 minutes gives about 3 hours of playback with a USB PD adaptor (9 V/2.3 A or more), or about 1 hour with a 5 V/1.5 A adaptor; full charge in about 3.5 hours
Design
Weight
Weight	255 g	254 g (better)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	5.3
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Right earcup touch panel for playback, volume and calls; holding a palm over it activates Quick Attention; separate power and NC/AMBIENT buttons	Touch sensor control panel (double-tap to play, pause or answer calls; swipe forwards or backwards to skip; swipe up or down for volume; hold for the voice assistant; cover with your hand for Quick Attention Mode); power and NC/AMB buttons on the left unit (double-press NC/AMB to mute the microphones during calls, once enabled in the app); nod or shake your head to answer or reject calls; proximity sensor pauses music when the headphones are taken off and switches them off after 15 minutes
Microphones
Microphones	Internal and external microphones for noise cancelling; built-in microphones for Bluetooth calls	Twelve microphones for noise cancelling; six-microphone AI-based beamforming for calls; MEMS, omnidirectional
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Circumaural ear cushions; adjustable headband and folding earcups; carrying case supplied	Closed, over-ear; wider soft-fit headband in synthetic leather; stretchable earpads; folds flat and folds up to fit the supplied carrying case, which has a magnetic closure
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	–	No water resistance rating; Sony says the headphones are not waterproof
Works with
Works with	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP; NFC pairing. Multipoint connects one music source using A2DP and another device for calls using HFP/HSP, without two music sources; unavailable with Google Assistant or Alexa assigned. The supplied cable allows passive listening, but disables Bluetooth and does not carry the headphone microphone.	Sony | Sound Connect app for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices; LE Audio and Auracast with compatible devices; the headphone cable also works with the headphones switched off, without noise cancelling
Colours
Colours	Black, Platinum Silver	Black, Platinum Silver, Midnight Blue, Sand Pink, Sandstone (Sony US; colours vary by region)
In the box
In the box	Headphones, carrying case, 1.2 m headphone cable, approximately 20 cm USB-A to USB-C cable, in-flight plug adapter	Headphones, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C), headphone cable (about 1.2 m, gold-plated L-shaped stereo mini plug), carrying case, documents