Sony WF-1000XM6 frequency response: The ANC quirk you need to know about

Sony’s latest flagship earbuds are here, and that typically means a new crowd-favorite audio product for audio enthusiasts to argue about. So how does the Sony WF-1000XM6 measure when you take it into a lab? We did just that.

What does the Sony WF-1000XM6 sound like?

The Sony WF-1000XM6’s sound is pretty inoffensive, though it’s a little strange that turning the ANC on bumps up the bass in an odd way. But crowd-favorite products like Sony’s flagship earbuds generally provide a solid baseline of what people want to hear out of expensive audio products. Simulated listening panels tell us that the Sony WF-1000XM6 will be well-liked by many, but what does the data actually show?

Frequency response

You can see in the chart above that turning the ANC on increases the emphasis below 500 Hz by 2-4dB compared to when it’s off. This is quite a departure from what we typically look for, but it’s by no means “bad,” just “different.” It’s also fairly similar in many ways to the older WF-1000XM5’s tuning. The highs are a hair underemphasized, and the 4-8kHz region, where a lot of room effects, small noises, and atmospheric effects live, is emphasized a bit over what we look for — meaning spatial cues will be easier to hear at the expense of affecting some minor music sounds. I am interested in that small peak right at about 13kHz, but now that there’s more evidence that older listeners like a feature similar to this: I’m here for it.

Otherwise, this sound should be well-received by most people, as the highs aren’t overpowering, while the bass and mids — while a little strange — aren’t offensive either. If you find that you just don’t like it, you could nudge the in-app EQ sliders from 500Hz and below down a couple ticks, or just listen with ANC off (chart below).

If you do listen with the ANC off, not only is the bass much more in line with the SoundGuys Headphone Preference Curve, but it’s also a lot less… strange in the low mids. I’m unsure why this is the case, but it’s just a quirk that many likely won’t even think much about. I suggest listening this way in places without much noise around you.

I get the feeling that bassheads will likely go looking for different EQ settings to adjust the timbre of the earbuds to their liking, but there are some presets that work pretty well. According to HEAD acoustics’ MDAQS, both the Hard and Clear EQ presets will be the best-received by most untrained listeners, and I’m inclined to agree. Not that I like these better, mind, but many people will go looking for higher levels of bass and treble in their products out of the gate. Definitely check out all the EQ preset measurements if you get a chance.

Channel balance

Sometimes a poor fit or channel balance issue will impact scores negatively, and it appears that this isn’t a concern here. This also helps us determine whether our results are valid. I’ll point out that the swing to the right shown at the very end of the chart is only at the highest samples recorded, and you will not hear this with your human ears. It takes a robot to detect this. Similarly, swings under 2dB really aren’t much to worry about — you won’t hear it.

Distortion

We typically don’t post distortion charts, and the above shows why: for a long time now, THD has been neither a good way to determine audible distortion, nor has it been a huge problem for consumer headphones. The Sony WF-1000XM6 continues this trend, and I don’t imagine there will be much to talk about when it comes to distortion. The levels above are not likely to be audible, and these were recorded at a fairly high volume.

Though not shown here, I also looked at Rub and Buzz, and Perceptual Rub and Buzz — not much to write home about here, either. While I didn’t look too deeply at intermodulation distortion or frequency-normalized THD, our experience with these earbuds informed us that any issues would be minor at best, and barely audible at worst.

What do you think?

If you own a pair of Sony WF-1000XM6, we’re always looking to see what users like or dislike about the products we cover. Please let us know if there’s anything you would change about the sound, or if you really like about it!