Sony
Sony WH-1000XM6
Shortlist
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Ranking · Headphones · updated 25 August 2026
The best noise-cancelling headphones
Three pairs that are far closer on the published numbers than the marketing suggests — and the two footnotes that decide between them.
- Battery life as quoted with cancellation on, including the codec or mode the figure applies to
- Weight, in grams, as the manufacturer publishes it
- Codec and Bluetooth support, and what each codec requires from your phone
- What the specification does not say, and where that matters
1 · Shortlist
Sony WH-1000XM6
The widest codec support here and the largest microphone array, at the same 254 grams as the Bose. Two footnotes to read first: the thirty-hour battery figure is twenty-six on LDAC, and the three-minute quick charge needs a USB-PD adapter that is not in the box.
- Widest codec support here: LDAC and LC3 alongside SBC and AAC
- Thirty hours quoted with cancellation on
- Twelve microphones, the largest array of the three
- The thirty-hour figure drops to twenty-six on LDAC
- The three-minute quick charge needs a USB-PD adapter that is not in the box
No verified price yet. We show a price only when we can name the shop it came from and the moment we saw it.
2 · For Immersive Audio
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
The only spatial audio here that needs nothing from the source device. Switching it on costs six hours of battery — twenty-four becomes eighteen — and Bose publishes both figures.
- Immersive Audio needs no support from the source device
- Fifteen minutes of charge returns two and a half hours
- Same 254 g as the Sony, 58 g lighter than the Sonos
- Battery falls from 24 to 18 hours with Immersive Audio switched on
- Eight microphones against the Sony’s twelve
Bose
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
For Immersive Audio
No verified price yet. We show a price only when we can name the shop it came from and the moment we saw it.
No verified price yet. We show a price only when we can name the shop it came from and the moment we saw it.
3 · If you own a Sonos soundbar
Sonos Ace
Taking TV audio off the soundbar mid-episode is the only reason on this list to choose it over the other two, and if you have one it is a good reason. It is also 58 grams heavier than both of them.
- TV audio hand-off to Sonos soundbars, unmatched here
- aptX Lossless, the widest codec set of the three
- Bluetooth 5.4, the newest radio here
- 312 g — 58 g heavier than both rivals
- Setup requires a Sonos account and the Sonos app
- aptX Lossless needs a Snapdragon Sound Android device
Sonos
Sonos Ace
If you own a Sonos soundbar
No verified price yet. We show a price only when we can name the shop it came from and the moment we saw it.
No verified price yet. We show a price only when we can name the shop it came from and the moment we saw it.
Questions we get
Why is there no score?
Because we have not tested these ourselves. A number would suggest a measurement that does not exist. What you get instead is the specification, the reasoning, and the place where the specification runs out.
Is the newest model always the right buy?
Rarely. The generational step in this category has been small for several years. Compare the outgoing model’s published battery, weight and codec list against the new one before you accept that the step is worth paying for — on these three pairs, most of those numbers barely move.
Do you get paid for a position on this page?
No. Nothing on this site can be bought. When we add shop links, they will be marked as commercial and they still will not change the order.