Sony WH-1000XM4C vs Sony WH-1000XM6

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WH-1000XM4C compared with WH-1000XM6

	SonyWH-1000XM4C	SonyWH-1000XM6
Overview
Released
Released	September 2026	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 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 drivers with liquid crystal polymer diaphragms; powered wired frequency response 4 Hz–40 kHz. Impedance is 40 ohms powered on and 16 ohms off; sensitivity 106 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 and two noise-sensing microphones per earcup; Personal NC Optimizer, 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 Extreme upscaling, 10-band equaliser in Sony Sound Connect and 360 Reality Audio with compatible services; Bluetooth response 20 Hz–20 kHz at 44.1 kHz sampling, or 20 Hz–40 kHz with LDAC at 96 kHz and 990 kbps	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 27 hours	Up to 30 hours
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	The manual lists AAC/SBC playback up to 27 hours with noise cancelling or 34 hours off; LDAC up to 20 hours on or 27 hours off. DSEE Extreme, Speak-to-Chat and equaliser settings can shorten these figures.	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; approximately 3 hours for a full charge; no USB audio playback	–
Fast charging
Fast charging	3 minutes gives about 1 hour of playback	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	253 g (better)	254 g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6.0	5.3
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Touch panel on the right earcup for playback, volume and calls; separate power and noise-cancelling buttons; wear detection, Quick Attention and Speak-to-Chat; app-configurable Quick Access	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	Two noise-sensing microphones per earcup; Precise Voice Pickup 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	Adjustable headband, swivelling and folding earcups; colour-matched carrying case	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	The manual states that the headset is not waterproof	No water resistance rating; Sony says the headphones are not waterproof
Works with
Works with	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP. Multipoint switches music between two devices; SoundGuys and Tom's Hardware report that LDAC is unavailable in that mode. The supplied cable allows passive playback, 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, Lavender; official press photo shows Lavender folded	Black, Platinum Silver, Midnight Blue, Sand Pink, Sandstone (Sony US; colours vary by region)
In the box
In the box	UK box includes headphones, carrying case and approximately 1.2 m headphone cable; USB charging cable supplied only with mainland China models	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