I have the XM4 which I purchased in Japan. No complaints for traveling and casual listening. For serious listening, it's always the Sennheiser HD650, hands down.
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Sony's New WH-1000XM6 Headphones vs. AirPods Max
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I have the XM4s and love them except for the microphone. I was hoping Sony would improve it, and it seems they have. Other reviews also indicate the XM6s are held in place better by a snugger fit, less reliant on the band. I appreciate that as well as even the lightweight starts to get uncomfortable atop my head after a while. Finally, the portability is hard to beat. As someone who was on a commuter plane a few times a week, space is a premium; Sonys are far more travel efficient.
After years of terrible struggles with AirPod Max, I finally went back to Sony XM6! I will never go back to Airpods, because if there’s something that Apple is not able to do well, it is anything related to sound… both Homepod and Airpods are terrible devices, and I truly regret that I ever bought them.
I guess it’s subjective, I like my AirPod Max and HomePods.
Personally I’ve found my AirPod Max to be more durable and better sounding than the Bose Quiet Comfort I had before.
And I ditched my Sonos speakers for HomePods as they worked much better with my Apple TV and my family found them easier to use.
I’m not pretending either is perfect, but they work for me.
But we all have different likes and dislikes, so each to their own.👍
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Wired headphones built to only be used in professional settings, mostly indoors, don't seem all that useful for how non-pro audio engineers typically use them.If you work in the audio business, there are only a few different headphones you would ever use. None of them cost $200. Musicians working in a studio, recording engineers in studios and the "sound guy" on a motion picture set all need very high quality headphones and have the budget to buy whatever is best.
Sony makes one of these "industry standard" headphones used in the motion picture, news, and documentary fields. They are good.
What is funny is how these companies can make consumers pay double for something that has an "other-than-standard" sound.
This has been an industry standard for decades.
Sony Professional Stereo Monitor Headphones | MDR-7506
The MDR-7506 is a large diaphragm foldable headphone designed for professional studio and live/broadcast applications.electronics.sony.com
BEST HEADPHONES, overall, ever.
Those Bose QC35 IIs should be lauded.
I read Sony are plastic casing easily destroyed while the aluminum will dent but keep performing.
Do you mean the MDR-1000X ?
(Yes, that’s what the first generation was called! In the second generation, the model numbering was changed to WH-1000XM2)
Would it really hurt the author to be honest and say the XM6 are better here? Apple news site aside, they surely should know when the competition is putting out a better product, especially when the Apple product hasn't even been updated properly in years.
Gods gift to reviews. Rejoice.
He ain’t getting kickbacks. Nope. His ears just be loving it.
Wait for a legit scientific review like RTINGS.
Sony came out with another version while Apple is stagnant for all that time? Sony is doing great.
EU FORCING. Europe is so crazy. But we dont know how that will actually be implemented and doubt it will be as clean. Just because they make it possible doesnt mean Apple is going to write the code for the other companies.
Didn’t he say if your not in the Apple ecosystem to pick them?
Sound is subjective, that’s why it’s so hard to take headphone reviews at face value when it comes to sound. Battery life, connectivity, transparency, switching etc can all be objectively measured, the same with noise cancellation. When it comes to actual sound it’s best to try them to see if they click with you.
Accurate sound reproduction IS NOT subjective and CAN be objectively measured
One may prefer music to sound different then the artists and mixing and mastering engineers intended. Or one may desire or require accommodations due to hearing impairment, either age related or otherwise
On paper the XM6 are so much better. But I finally tried a pair on today and the pleather ear cups are just too hot. 15 minutes of wearing and my ears/around my ears were just too warm. APM are dated and overpriced, but I can wear them for a while, no problem.
And here we go.
Sound reproduction may be measured scientifically.
But perception of that sound is subjective. That’s why there are thousands of loud speakers.
And the value of that sound varies wildly.
So that’s why people here spend $300-600 on headphones, whereas the mass population may not.
I think the weight is fine if you’re just using it for a short time showing off on the streets of LA or NYC. When you’re crossing the Atlantic or Pacific, the XM6 or Bose wins. Something for Apple to prioritize on in addition to shoving an H3 into it.
That’s probably the reason I’ll stick with my AirPods Pro 2, perhaps with an upgrade to the APP3 later this year until Apple fixes the flaws of the first generation APM with the highly anticipated APM2.
I think it's a shame that neither the Airpods Max nor the Sony XM3/XM5 with Windows 11 are able to offer CD sound quality from the microphone via Bluetooth if you want to use the headset for Zoom or MS Teams Session, for example. The microphone recording still sounds as if you are talking on the phone from the 1970s. This still seems to be a limitation of Bluetooth. A great, great pity.
How people perceive sounds is subjective.
Some have musical preference, some hear different frequencies less than others.
So yes, the actual subs can be scientifically measured, how it sounds to people is not so easy to definitely state.
An audio professional or musician may hear things differently to a casual listener.
And someone with issues with certain frequencies may miss stuff at the treble/bass ends.
If it was easy, then we’d all be choosing headphones on styling and not talking about sound at all.
👍
Anyone know if you can attach a boom mic to the 3.5 jack of the XM6? All these over the ear options are great except I’d like a decent mic for Teams calls that doesn’t pick up everyone else in the office