TL;DR
The AirPods Max for me is still superior in all aspects, especially the sound, which is what I care about most. The AirPods Max delivers super smooth sound while maintaining a “surround” feeling, and with Sony XM6 sounds, I get muffled/dampening sound and has sharp highs.
When it comes to audio, what someone prefers over another is really subjective. I’m definitely not an audiophile and have never considered myself one, but I know exactly what I like and don’t like. A high-end headphone or speaker with a high price might give a signal of "guaranteed" quality, but to some people the sound might feels “off”, and that's totally fine. No right or wrong, as the price doesn’t always guarantee satisfaction.
For the device testing, I used both headphones with my MacBook Pro and iPhone wirelessly. I also tested it wired with Sony XM6 to my Shanling EC Mini CD player with USB-C to 3.5mm cable that included with the headphone, and Airpods Max using its USB-C to USB-C included cable to my iPhone.
So here it is, a subjective review (as it should be) and hands-on comparison between the Sony WH-1000XM6 and a newly acquired AirPods Max with USB-C, since my 1st-gen AirPods Max died a while ago.
The Build
Knowing the price I paid for it, I almost feel terrible saying this, but none of the Sony XM6’s build aspects scream quality. If anything, it screams profit. The cup plastics does not feel premium, the headband is so-so, and the inner cup’s leather is just meh. The other shocking thing is that none of the parts are replaceable (which should be Apple’s "philosophy", yet the AirPods Max actually has replaceable parts).
But I get it. Because it’s plastic, it’s lighter and doesn’t weigh down your head, making it comfortable for all-day use. Yeah, but for me, I don’t wear headphones all day anyway.
The leather material. I have an experience in the past with the leather on headphones with Marshall headphone. It cracks over time. When it cracks, it looks really ugly and soon the tiny little pieces of leather crack ripped and spread eveywhere. It's bad.
I also need to mention this for a geographical context. I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. Even though I’m mostly indoors with the AC on blast, heat and sweat are unavoidable in this part of the world. Combined, the heat and sweat turn the XM6’s plastic and leather into something ugly in a matter of seconds. What makes it worse is that all the controls (especially volume, where I need to drag up and down) are touch-based on the cups surface, making it even more easily stained.
The AirPods Max, on the other hand, takes the opposite approach with its build materials. None of the parts are leather (or even plastic, I think? except for the inner parts). It’s mostly metal and fabric, which, for where I live, is nearly perfect. The metal cups stay cool, and the fabric inside (it's more breathable?) helps too. These two combined keep my ears cool and less sweaty, even though the entire cup covers them.
The Fit
I’m Indonesian, with a typical small Asian build. When I tried the Sony XM6 for the first time, I was surprised at how small the cups felt. Putting it side by side with Airpods Max and compare, they both have similar cups size. Sony's cup does fit perfectly on my ears, but they’re felt really tight.
The inner cups are made of leather, which gets hot and uncomfortable easily (plus it stain easily). I often find myself adjusting them every now and then.
On the other hand, The AirPods Max is much more comfortable for me. Super comfortable cups, almost like it's compensating for the weight. I read some reviews mainly from Europeans/Americans that they found Airpods Max clamps too tight for their head. Uncomfortable for some of them, comfortable for me. Make sense since my head circumference must be smaller than them.
It’s interesting when I put on each headphone and look in the mirror. Visually, the Sony XM6 looks more fit and balanced to me, while the AirPods Max looks slightly “oversized.” But comfort-wise, it’s definitely the other way around.
As a glasses-wearer, I have no problem wearing either the Sony XM6 or the AirPods Max with glasses on. Yes, sometimes I feel fatigue, but it applies to every headphones for anyone who wear glasses. In general, both are pretty comfortable to use with glasses on.
The Connectivity
On the Sony XM6 side, I’m pretty impressed with how stable the connection is. I connected the XM6 to both my MacBook Pro and iPhone using the Sony's Sound Connect app. Switching between devices is really quick, and taking the headphones off your ears automatically pauses the music very responsively.
The AirPods Max, however, even though it’s part of The Apple Ecosystem and is supposed to “just work,” can feel a bit janky sometimes.
More than once, it gets confused when switching back and forth between my MacBook Pro and iPhone. I’ve set it to auto-connect to the previously connected device, but it still gets confused occasionally. Listening to music on the MacBook Pro, then answering a phone call on the iPhone, sometimes triggers weird connection issues.
The ANC (Active Noise Cancellation)
Test cases:
- People hammering wood ~30m away.
- A motorcycle with a loud exhaust passing by, ~50m away.
Both the Sony and AirPods Max with no audio playing, I can still hear these sounds. With audio on, I can barely hear them. It’s almost the same.
I think both are on par in their ability to suppress outside noise, with the Sony XM6 having slightly better isolation. I assume this is because the cups are smaller, allowing less air to get inside.
That being said, it's hard to say that Sony MX6's ANC is superior compare to Airpods Max, but it's indeed great.
The Sound
I’m the opposite of a bass-head. For me, good sounds are neutral, balanced and clear across all frequencies, but not too flat like monitor headphones. I allows it to "show off" their sound character. Bass can be powerful, but it should stay at the lower end. In my past experiences, headphones like Sennheiser (even the mid-tier ones) and Marshall (Both Minor and Major) are the ones that felt “balanced” to me, and definitely hit my sweet spot.
I can confidently say that both Sony XM6 and AirPods Max are within my sweet spot range. Balance, clear, and bass is not overwhelming. But one of the thing that I noticed right away is that Sony XM6 has this annoying sharpness at high frequencies that’s uncomfortable for my ears. Overall, the sound feels muffled and dampened, like something is pushing it back so it doesn’t come out freely. The way I visualize this: imagine fireworks shooting up and exploding freely in the sky, but now imagine there’s a ceiling stopping them. That’s how it feels to me. Adjusting the EQ in the app didn’t help much. Its main sound character is hard to manipulate even with EQ adjustments.
The AirPods Max, on the other hand, delivers super smooth sound while maintaining that “surround” feeling, spacious. This is what makes Airpods Max very adaptable to different type of music. It's neutral and it enhance the experience when listening to music.
The Airpods Max is lack of customizable EQ, but I don't think I need one. Out of the box it sounds great, but in my case by using Boom 2, as if I turn the knob up a notch, and now it sounds amazing.
Wired connection
I also tried Sony XM6 with my Shanling EC Mini CD player connected with 3.5mm cable that included in the box. It works alright, but the issue is the same, annoying high frequency and dampened sound. For the Airpods Max I tried it using included USB-C to USB-C cable to my iPhone, works fine, although it's hard to tell the difference when I connect it wired or wireless via bluetooth. If any, the difference is very little and hard to notice. However I really curious to try it with USB-C to 3.5mm cable from Apple, but no one sell it here yet. I'll update this post if I can get one, and test it out.
My final verdict
Sony WH-1000XM6
I really don’t think the price is justified for what I get. It's a shame and in my opinion, it feels more like a ~$200 headphone. While it’s superior in certain aspects like battery life, compact size, light weight, foldability, and maybe the EQ, headphones for me are mainly for listening to music, and I just wasn’t pleased with the sound.
AirPods Max
When I bought my first AirPods Max, it was the first time I’d purchased a headphone in this price range. It's expensive. My previous experiences with Sennheiser and Marshall headphones were remarkable, and both are at way much lower prices. But with the AirPods Max, the price I paid really justified the quality I got. The sound is so pleasing to listen to. My head might get tired from the weight if I use it for long periods of time (I never use it for long periods of time), but at least my ears won’t feel fatigued, and I think that’s much more important.
I care most about sound quality (and aren’t too worried about battery life or the case), and anyone who can afford the XM6, adding a bit more to the budget for the AirPods Max, in my opinion, is wiser move, and much more worth it.
At its current price, the XM6 is too expensive for what it offers and isn’t really worth it. I get similar ANC capabilities. The XM6 battery is longer, but personally, I wouldn’t recommend playing music on any headphones for 14 hours straight. It’s just ridiculous. The AirPods Max, with its “limited” battery, is more than enough.
If you ask me whether they’re on par, even for comparison, while the price is at the same range/class, honestly, after testing them myself, I’d say they’re not. In fact, the AirPods Max is far ahead.