In a battle of two heavyweights, what determines the outcome? Especially when they may seem evenly matched? Many times it comes down to the little things. A comparison between the two that highlights the not-so-obvious features that could be defining factors in determining a winner.
Such a battle can be found when comparing the top two active noise-canceling champs in the earbuds space: the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).
Everyone’s hearing differs a bit, so I can tell you that one cancels out certain frequencies better than the other, but that doesn’t matter so much if your ears don’t pick those up well anyway. Read on, and I’ll dig into both the big and the subtle feature differences between them so that you can make the best purchasing decision for you!
The rundown
|
Categories |
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) |
Sony WH-1000XM6 |
|---|---|---|
|
Conectivity |
Bluetooth 5.4 w/Multipoint connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Speakers |
TBD |
30mm drivers |
|
Codec support |
SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive (Snapdragon Sound) |
SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 |
|
Wired support |
16-bit, 44.1 or 48kHz audio via USB-C audio, 2.5mm to 3.5mm analog aux cable |
3.5mm analog aux cable |
|
Battery life |
Up to 30 hours playback w/ANC (up to 23 w/Immersive Audio enabled), 15-minute charge for 3 hours playback |
Up to 30 hours playback w/ANC, 3-minute charge for 3 hours playback |
|
Charging |
USB-C |
USB-C |
|
App support |
Android, iOS |
Android, iOS |
|
Audio tuning |
3-band EQ (app) |
10-band EQ (app) |
|
Microphone |
10 mics total |
12 mics total |
|
Colors |
Black, White Smoke, Desert Gold, Midnight Violet, Driftwood Sand, |
Black, Midnight Blue, Platinum Silver, Sand Pink |
|
Bundled accessories |
USB-C cable, 2.5mm to 3.5mm aux cable, hard case |
USB-A to USB-C charge cable, 3.5mm aux cable, hard case |
Build quality & comfort
Cracking open the packaging, the first thing you’ll notice is that the Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen)’s case is a bit more compact than the Sony WH-1000XM6’s case. It isn’t a monumental difference, but it is easily observable. This also translates to the headphones themselves.
While Sony has new metal hinges that let it store more compactly than before, Bose still takes the cake for how small it folds up in its case. If you need to “ball them up” and stuff them into a bag, they’ll have a slightly smaller footprint.
I appreciate the build quality of both pairs of headphones. I review a lot of high-end headphones, and by comparison, these are “plasticky,” but that’s because they’re meant for travel with long hours of wear. They don’t feel cheap, though. The springs, hinges, and friction sliders all feel durable and like they’ll last over time.
Sony’s headphones feel tighter in their hinges’ swivel and in the springs that press the cups against your head, while Bose’s friction slider for vertical adjustments on your head has more friction, so it feels like it will stay in place better.
Overall, Bose feels more comfortable to me over long periods of wear due to it’s noticeably lighter clamping force. That also means you probably won’t like these if you wear them in the gym.
On the other hand, Sony’s offering feels more locked into your head, which you’d think would make them great for workouts. I wouldn’t recommend that with either pair, though, as they don’t have any IP rating against water ingress. That said, a quick search of Al Gore’s internets shows that there are users who’ve utilized earlier models in the gym for years without issue. It’s hit or miss, though, so use them in the gym at your peril, or check out our roundup of the best headphones for the gym.
Controls
I’ve said before that I prefer mechanical controls over touch controls, but that’s more for products I’ll regularly use for workouts. Both headphones have two buttons for power, pairing, and ANC control, but Bose’s multifunction button also controls media playback and phone calls. Additionally, Bose has a volume slider that makes it easy to adjust volume without acquiring new muscle memory beyond getting used to its location.
Sony, on the other hand, utilizes high-quality touch controls for media playback and phone calls, but with a caveat: they’re smarter. With Sony, you also get the ability to simply nod or shake your head to answer phone calls. I definitely prefer that to any physical interaction, especially when it works as reliably as Sony’s implementation.
There’s also more customization available to users through Sony’s Sound Connect app. You can customize playback and ANC in the app based on geotagged locations or your activity/movement, such as walking or running.
Active noise canceling
This is an easy one. They both have market-leading noise-canceling functionality, but the Sony WH-1000XM6 cancels slightly more sound at both ends of the frequency spectrum.
The difference, though, is marginal, considering far too many people can’t tell the difference between a middling MP3 and a FLAC file played back with high-end headphones. Trust us. We tested that with a small sampling of users via a blind “taste test.”
Sound quality
This is where we really get into preference. I’ll summarize the difference between the sound quality of the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) in this way:
- Sony = warm and dark with delightful dynamics
- Bose = neutral with some sparkle at the top
Sony’s have more presence and more weight to their sound. They are tuned warmer than the Bose QC Ultra 2, but both headsets do a strong job of retrieving nuanced detail.
Despite these tunings, when listening to “Do You Want More?!!!??!” by The Roots, Black Thought’s lyrics had more presence with Sony than with Bose. That difference didn’t sound artificial or stilted, but a byproduct of the differing dynamics of the two pairs of headphones.
Bose is more neutral and reproduces audio closer to how it was recorded, while Sony’s tuning gives more weight to lows and highs. The good thing about Sony, though, is that the Sound Connect app offers excellent EQ options via its 10-band equalizer, so you can get the sound out of the XM6’s that you’re looking for.
On the other hand, if you don’t like the more neutral reproduction of the QC Ultra 2, you have only a 3-band equalizer to attempt to get your preferred sound dialed in. Both headphones have preset EQ options as well, though Sony offers twice as many as Bose.
With Spotify lossless and hi-res music being a thing these days, Bose is more future-proof as it allows for both audio over USB-C and 3.5mm connections. With Sony, you get only the 3.5mm analog audio option. When listening to the XM6, the sound is darker with the headphones powered down, but brighter and more energetic with them powered on. That DAC has solid power output, as I didn’t have to crank it as much as I did the Bose when connected to Fosi Audio’s excellent ZH3 headphone DAC/Amp.
The Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen) must be powered on during wired playback and is brighter over wire, giving the perception of better detail retrieval. Immersion mode with some Jazz tracks makes listening even more fun.
Sounds like a winner!
For me, this is tough because I really like both pairs of headphones. I prefer Sony’s stock sound profile to Bose’s, and its customizability as well. With Bose, the lighter clamping force, slightly more travel-friendly size, aesthetics, and mechanical controls suit me better.
The ANC of either pair of headphones has the market cornered, but if you’re a frequent flyer, you’ll probably prefer Sony over Bose for its ability to correct for pressure differences at altitude. That is, unless you find Sony’s clamping force a bit too aggressive for those long-haul flights, then Bose is your Huckleberry.
I’d have a tough time choosing which to spend my money on, but I think I’d go with Sony because music is the most important aspect for me, and, out of the box, I prefer Sony’s stock sound as well as its superior smarts.
Sweet sounds and silence!
The venerable Sony WH-1000XM6 are the smartest ANC headphones you can buy right now. Geolocation-based settings, 10-band EQ, and a good list of offline voice controls are worth it, but those aren’t even the best features! Great stock sound, and excellent ANC make it hard to walk away from these headphones!
Bose
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
Sweet silence!
For their excellent noise canceling, overall sound quality, the ability to charge while listening, and USB-C audio, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) are a tough option to beat when it comes to ANC headphones!
