AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony WF-1000XM6 - Don't Choose Wrong!

[00:00] So when Apple launched the AirPods Pro 3, they claimed they had the best ANC in the industry, and they pretty much did. But yesterday, Sony launched the new WF-1000XMAR6 earbuds, and they too claim to now have the best ANC in the industry.

[00:15] So are these really better than the AirPods? And aside from ANC, which pair of these premium earbuds actually deserves a spot in your ears? I've been wearing and testing both of these for about two weeks now, and in this video, I'll compare the ANC, the sound quality, the microphone, the design, the features,

[00:32] and some other things that you won't find on spec sheets, and you might not even notice them until you wear these for a couple weeks or even a couple months. Now, obviously, the most exciting thing here has got to be the ANC.

[00:44] So, I want to start off right with that. Let's not waste any more time. When testing the active noise cancellation, it's not like just one linear metric. People kind of get this mixed up. So I like to test different frequencies and different environments.

[00:57] Starting off with my main test, the low frequency test. The sound of a jet, the sound of a bus, or any kind of droning sound. That's usually what I use ANC for. And my common test, I play the sound of a jet at a set distance away.

[01:11] I turn that volume up until the earbuds are no longer able to block it out. So a higher number is better. The AirPods Pro 3 were blocking 65.5 decibels, which is incredible. That is very, very impressive.

[01:23] But the Sony WF-1000X Mark VI is here, blacked 67 decibels. So they actually did beat the AirPods in that low frequency test, which I was so impressed by. And actually, wait, before we get into the second test, I should have mentioned this earlier.

[01:38] Full disclosure, this video is not sponsored. No brands have any editorial privileges or influence over this video whatsoever. Sony sent these ahead of launch for me to test, and Apple also sent me the AirPods as well.

[01:50] So none of that influences my opinions. We'll cover both pros and cons with both of these, and I just want you to pick the right choice for you. I don't actually care which of these you pick. Now, for the next test, I wanted to see how these performed with higher frequencies,

[02:02] so I played an interview with Taylor Swift and turned the volume up until the earbuds could no longer block out what she was saying. So, Sony blocked up to about 48 decibels, while the AirPods blocked to about 43 decibels. Now, I suspect a lot of this is due to the foam ear tips on the Sonys,

[02:17] and maybe if you buy some comply foam tips for the AirPods, you might be getting a little bit closer. And then test number three is all the way on the other end. Like, what if there's not a lot of sound for you to block out? Do these have a lot of artifacts or white noise?

[02:30] Fortunately, these are both, like, top of the industry, so no surprise. They don't have any white noise. They don't have any hissing. Absolutely silent when you have ANC on with both of these. And then test number four. This is the ANC performance in a windy environment, and these are not perfect.

[02:47] like you're still going to hear wind in either one of these. Although, it is really subtle. It's much better than most earbuds out there, and I would say that, honestly, wind rejection, quite similar in my experience. They both do a decent job.

[03:00] You can only hear it on a really windy day, and it kind of sounds similar to what your ear already sounds like on a windy day. So, let's call this one two points for Sony for the two ANC tests, and the other two points there, I'll tell it's high,

[03:12] so I'm not going to give them to either one of them. But, then we have transparency. This is something that I think is incredibly important and also very interesting. And while Sony has tremendously improved here, I tried one in each ear.

[03:24] That's probably the best way for me to test the transparency. And some of this actually kind of comes down to fit. They both do an excellent job of reproducing the sounds in a natural way, but the Sony earbuds have a bit more of a closed-off feeling than the AirPods.

[03:39] So the AirPods, it's easier to forget that they're even in your ears, which is ultimately the goal, in my opinion. You do have slightly more white noise in the Sonys in this situation as well, and although it's nearly zero in both, AirPods just have a little bit less.

[03:54] So I have to say, as far as transparency goes, the AirPods have to take the win here. However, it's worth mentioning that Sony lets you choose between 20 different ambient sound levels in the app, and they have some other cool features as well, whereas the AirPods don't have that choice.

[04:09] But they do have their own transparency decibel limiter, what they call loud sound reduction, and Sony sort of does something similar with auto ambient sound. Sony also has pass-through, which specifically filters out voices,

[04:22] or filters voices away from ambient sound. So you don't hear ambient sounds, you do hear voices. Cool feature, and that's kind of a theme throughout this video. Sony has a ton of features like that, and the AirPods just don't actually offer that.

[04:34] Still, like I said, I have to give the win here to AirPods, just for the performance overall. Alright, so now moving into the sound quality. Hopefully this video doesn't seem too wishy-washy to you. I'm just trying to present the facts and let you decide for yourself which one's best for you,

[04:47] and the sound quality is absolutely going to be the defining moment of that, where it is very much preferential. There's no definite better right answer here, but you do have some trading blows here.

[04:59] So starting off with the first win for Sony is that you have higher resolution audio. You have different codecs that you don have on the AirPods The AirPods you basically just going to be using AAC the entire time whereas on the Sony earbuds if your phone is compatible so not an iPhone

[05:15] basically, you'll be able to use LDAC, which is, like I said, much higher resolution. The AirPods, kind of a win for them, they're pretty neutral. There's no huge bass emphasis, and they have decent detail, good instrument separation, sharp and detailed highs as well, and in contrast to

[05:30] Sony, the AirPods, kind of going to a little bit of a win for Sony here, the AirPods can sound a bit thinner with slightly less body and less warmth, but the AirPods do have a bit more clarity and high-end detail, or maybe you'd call it sparkle, while still delivering

[05:45] more bass than previous generations of AirPods. And I actually really do appreciate and enjoy the sound of the latest AirPods. I really like how pretty neutral overall the sound profile is. Sony does somewhat over-represent the lower frequencies, which may be more pleasant to the casual listener,

[06:02] but a bit bass-heavy and almost muddy kind of to anyone listening to a lot of bass-heavy songs for long periods of time. But the sparkle on the AirPods can sometimes be a bit sibilant with certain songs, and songs with a lot of really high-end for a long time can become a little bit fatiguing.

[06:18] So while these both sound really good, and some people, like the untrained ear, may not even be able to tell the difference, I would say this is going to be more so dependent on the genre and the preference you have. If you want something that's a little bit more V-shaped, so a little bit more on the low end,

[06:33] the Sonys are going to be it for you. And if you want something that's a little bit more neutral and focused more on clarity, the AirPods are going to be it for you. But a big win for Sony here, and the reason that I'm going to give them the win in this category,

[06:45] is because the AirPods do not have an equalizer. The Sony app does have an EQ, so you're able to customize the sound to what you're looking for. They also have higher-res codecs, like I said, so I have to lean to Sony in this category.

[06:58] The next category, then, actually is a win for the AirPods, which is a little bit surprising here. Now, a lot of stuff from Apple is pretty pricey, but when it comes to AirPods, they're definitely punching above their weight in terms of price. So they're $249, which is no small amount of change,

[07:12] but compared to the Sony earbuds, which are $329, it's a big win for AirPods. Now, let's get into a microphone test. these are the sony wf 1000x mark 6 earbuds fun fact in case you ever wondered what the name means

[07:26] wf means wireless free because w8 is like their wireless headphones so free is like these little wireless earbuds and then 1000 is their highest level they've got like their other level 700 on the lot 1000 in flagship and then x i actually don't know what x means but m is uh means mark

[07:43] so mark 5 mark 6 that's like the generation of these earbuds a lot of people didn't know that I didn't know for a long time, but those are your fun facts. Now, let's switch over to the AirPods and see how those microphones perform. And now, this is a microphone test with the Apple AirPods Pro 3.

[07:57] Again, we're indoors right now, so this is probably as easy as it's going to get, but I still find that an outdoor test and an indoor test can yield very different results. Sometimes, earbuds sound more natural versus compressed, which might sound better indoors, but not as good outdoors.

[08:11] So, I'll let you comment below and let me know which of these you think sounds better, but I'm still very impressed by how far earbuds have actually come. Specifically the Sony's, they have improved quite a bit, but the AirPods have always really been the gold standard, in my opinion,

[08:25] of microphone quality in earbuds. So can these actually compete? So this is an outdoor test with some wind here, some traffic behind me, the Sony WF-1000X Mark 6 earbuds.

[08:37] Let me know how this microphone sounds to you. Now here is a test against busy roads. A little bit of wind to get, and these are the Apple AirPods Pro 3. So let me know which one sounds better. So, my thoughts on the microphone.

[08:50] Honestly, the outdoor microphone test was really interesting to me. I think Sony did a way better job of blocking out noise, but if you rewind this video, you might notice a few click kind of artifacts near the beginning of that soundtrack.

[09:02] The AirPods did have a bit of echo and compression as well, but they sounded a bit more natural than Sony. Overall, I think Sony did a better job in the loud outdoor environment, but the more natural sound of the AirPods, as I was saying during the test,

[09:15] makes them sound better in the indoor environment. So I'm going to say one point for the AirPods for indoor, one point for Sony for outdoor. So then the next category, of course, is going to be the design. And while I've been showing you both of these throughout this video,

[09:28] there are some differences that I need to talk about. Of course, the AirPods case is slightly smaller, but honestly, that difference is very slight now. It's only in the thickness. All other dimensions, they're almost identical.

[09:40] The AirPods case does have a lanyard hook, which is pretty nice, and it also has a little speaker on the bottom, so you can use Find My to have your AirPods case chirp, and hopefully that makes it a little bit easier to find. You also have a difference in controls.

[09:53] The AirPods have pinch controls, which I find is a little bit more reliable if your hands are sweaty or if you are wearing gloves. They do also have swipe controls, so you can swipe up and down to change the volume. That is a huge win for the AirPods in my opinion,

[10:07] but Sony does have quite a few controls baked into these as well. So you got of course the ability to tap like once twice three times tap and hold you also have quadruple tap on there and you have some other like nod gestures Actually both of them do have some nod gestures for phone calls

[10:22] but I think controls overall, I lean a little bit towards AirPods there. As far as water and duct resistance go, the AirPods do have IP57 water resistance, while the Sony earbuds are only IPX4.

[10:35] Now, let's talk about fit and comfort. If you're wearing them for a long time, which one does a better job? Sony eartips are very different than Apple eartips, but I should add a little caveat here. You can buy aftermarket eartips for either one of these and switch to silicone or foam or whatever you want,

[10:51] but with what comes in the box, Apple has these soft silicone eartips that have foam on the inside. They added foam in there to give you a better passive feel for a better active noise cancellation, but because it's silicone on the outside, you just slide them right into your ear.

[11:06] I think there's four or five different sizes in the box, and I find that that experience is really quite positive. They're also very durable and last an incredibly long time, from my experience,

[11:18] whereas Sony has these foam ear tips that have the advantage of being a lot less slippery than the silicone ones, but the disadvantage of being less slippery, meaning they're a little bit harder to get into your ears.

[11:30] You have to get the right size, and sometimes I compress them a little bit and then slide them in, and so the fitting is a little bit more hands-on. They also tend to get a lot dirtier. I'm very particular about cleaning my ears all the time, and yet these still always seem to get like a little bit nasty looking compared to silicone, which is also a lot easier to clean off.

[11:50] And lastly, the foam ear tips, although they do an excellent job of holding earbuds in my ears and they do a great job of blocking out sound, they do not last forever. I've had two different tips break. One of them just kind of blew up, basically.

[12:04] Not literally, but when I was on a plane, I tried to put it in, and it fell apart. It was not functional. I had a friend that had a similar experience, so it's always good to at least have a couple pairs of these foam chips available on hand whenever you're traveling with these, if you

[12:18] have these earbuds. As I mentioned, I was going to talk about fit and comfort. Comfort, I have to say the AirPods do a better job. There's a softer, even feel in my ears. My ears don't get as hot, and there's less pressure because you don't have this expanding foam pushing as hard on your ears.

[12:32] But as far as fit goes, like essentially how well do they expand your ears, AirPods pretty much always work their way out of my ears. The new ones, much less so than the older ones. But if I'm on a run, there is still a possibility, if you're sweating or whatever, that one earbud could work its way out.

[12:48] That is definitely not possible to Sony's in my experience. The foam is just incredibly secure. So one point there for fit. Now, a lot of people are in requesting this, and I mean, I listened to your comments, obviously.

[13:00] The sleeping test, I wanted to talk about which one's better for sleeping. For me, I have to lean towards AirPods here. They get less hot. They allow for more airflow, less of a kind of stuffy feeling, and because you don't have that foam that kind of expands in your ears,

[13:14] it seems to be a little bit less of ear fatigue after wearing them for a long time. Sleeping on your side is not particularly convenient on either one of these, and if that's really important to you, I've made videos about sleeping earbuds,

[13:26] and I'll link those up there in a card or down below. Now, I think we have maybe two or three more categories left. One is going to be aesthetics. The AirPods are way more likely to be worn at a wonky angle,

[13:38] which is kind of, I don't know, I don't even know how to do it, but you'll see in the B-roll, a lot of times you put them in and you think they're perfect, but one of them's tilted out a little bit, one of them's tilted forward a little bit, and you can't necessarily feel that, but it looks weird if people aren't wearing the AirPods

[13:51] in exactly the right orientation. That's not in a situation you've ever experienced, with the Sony earbuds, which are round and a lot more subtle and a little bit more muted in their color. It is hard to dispute that AirPods, like, you could say they're ugly,

[14:05] but no one's going to comment on you wearing AirPods because they're just so ubiquitous, so the aesthetics of them are pretty well accepted by society, whereas the Sony earbuds, I don't think they're unaccepted. I think a lot of people are used to these, and I think that, personally, I like the aesthetic of these better,

[14:21] but you can leave a comment and let me know what you think of them down below. There are also two different colors of the Sonys. There's this kind of silvery, kind of tannish color, very subtle, very muted. I really like it a lot.

[14:33] And the accents are not too bright, but they're just enough to make you know that it's a premium pair of earbuds. And then, of course, the features. Both of these have a big overlap of features. 360 audio, mono mode, like listening to this one earbud at a time, automatic playing or pausing when you take them out of your ears.

[14:51] But we do have quite a few differences in features. The AirPods have Find My and AirTag-like precision, so you can walk around with your iPhone and find exactly where your AirPods are, whereas Sony doesn't really have that experience.

[15:05] The AirPods case, as I mentioned, also has a speaker on it, so losing these is going to be significantly harder. You have seamless switching among the Apple ecosystem, you have native Siri, and a shockingly accurate heart rate sensor.

[15:17] The heart rate sensor is something that was not on my bingo card last year for the Beats and AirPods and definitely not on my bingo card for them to actually be accurate That is very very impressive And very significantly the AirPods have a suite of hearing functions

[15:32] So they have a hearing aid test, and they actually function as hearing aids for the people who are maybe like just getting mild to moderate hearing loss, but they don't want to go to an audiologist. AirPods can kind of bridge that gap and improve people's lives.

[15:45] Sony has actual over-the-counter hearing aids you can buy. I made a video about them before, but these aren't going to be it. You can wear them and kind of turn up the volume, but it's not the same as hearing aids.

[15:57] AirPods also have live translate. In my opinion, this is quickly becoming not that relevant because there's so many apps that can translate very well, but the benefit here is that you can pinch both earbuds at the same time.

[16:09] It'll open up the app on your phone, and you're able to use live translate. You could theoretically use any earbuds and a translate app, and I think you'd get a similar experience, but it's a convenience for sure on the AirPods.

[16:21] As far as features go on Sony, Sony has so many features that I both do and do not use. You have personalization in the app where it scans your ear. I pretty much never use that. You have low latency audio for gaming.

[16:33] You have actual multipoint. This is a big one. If you have like anything that's not Apple, like a Windows laptop or an Android phone or I don't know, a PlayStation or literally anything that's not Apple, these are going to work better

[16:45] for connecting between two different devices. and seamlessly switching between them. Even if they are two Apple devices, you can connect the Sony earbuds to your MacBook and your iPhone, and it's basically the same experience as AirPods on both of them.

[16:59] Sony also has some ambient sound control, and these kind of features that, depending on what you're doing, like if you're walking or if you're commuting to work, it'll detect that and change your settings based on that. And what I think is really cool is Sony has this background music mode

[17:13] that makes it sound more like the music's being played in your room, more so at a distance, which some people like when they're trying to focus and work. You have a speak to chat. You actually kind of have that on both of them. If you start talking, it turns the volume down, lets you talk,

[17:27] and when you're done, it turns it back up. But Sony has a cool feature called Quick Listen, where if you just touch and hold the left earbud, I think it's the left one, it'll do the whole transparency thing, and you can listen to an announcement in the airport, for example.

[17:39] You don't need to panic and pause and turn A and C off. It does all that in one little touch, and when you let go, you go right back to the settings you had. It also can, like, read stuff to you. Obviously, you have real-time Siri and everything on the AirPods, which is a huge win,

[17:54] but Sony kind of has their own stuff like that, too. So when you put them in, there's a setting that, if it's enabled, it'll tell you, like, the time. It'll tell you, you know, some basic stuff like that. And you also have voice controls. If you say, hey, headphones, pause, like, it'll do that.

[18:09] Or, hey, headphones, turn the volume up. It'll do that as well. And while I mentioned the controls were a drawback before, that kind of mitigates it. Like, that does help quite a bit here. So as far as features go, although Sony has more features in the app,

[18:23] and they have more features overall as a pair of earbuds, the AirPods have to get the win for features because they have kind of like some category-defining feature wins, like hearing aids and using them as a heart rate monitor.

[18:36] Pretty crazy you have both of those. The battery category. I mean, this one is 8 hours in the earbuds, 24 hours with a case. That's the same on both of them. Your mileage may vary depending on your settings, but as far as charging options go,

[18:48] they both have USB Type-C, and they have wireless charging, but the AirPods also have MagSafe, so they can stick on that little MagSafe thing you have probably in your car, and they also can charge with an Apple Watch charger. So, I have to give it a little bit of a win for the AirPods on that one.

[19:03] But in conclusion, this was way closer than I expected. The ANC is better on the Sony X Mark VI's, as claimed, but not by a huge margin. They're both very impressive. The sound is really more of a personal preference, but I think non-audio files would probably usually prefer Sony.

[19:20] The AirPods have better transparency and, like I said, some categorically redefining significant features like hearing aids and heart rate tracking. Sony may have better mics, finally, which I'm really excited about, and the AirPods may be more comfortable for longer periods of time.

[19:34] So, here's what I recommend. and I'll add up this course in a second and tell you that, but if you really need to block sounds and you really want to customize your experience and you really want to work with all devices, the Sony WF-1000XM6s have to get the win here.

[19:49] But if a softer fit and transparency mode and multiple Apple, like three or four Apple devices all being connected and using Siri very well, if that's important to you, then yeah, the AirPods are an excellent choice here.

[20:02] Now, I hate when you watch a video and at the end, they're like, it depends. And even though, like, that is true, and hopefully by now you know which ones you want, if you're somebody who wants, like, a final cut and dried answer, you're like, Mike, which one is it? Well, we've been giving points to each one throughout this video.

[20:15] If we just add up those points, you have eight points for Sony overall, and the AirPods have seven points. It's very close, but, like, if you're going based on that, there's your winner. If you enjoyed this video, leave a comment down below, share it with somebody else, and subscribe to the channel.

[20:30] Thanks for watching. I'm Mike O'Brien, and I'll see you in the next comparison.