Both the Sony WH-1000XM6 and AirPods Max 2 are great over-ear, noise-canceling headphones that cost a lot of money. So which should you get? CNET executive editor David Carnoy compares their designs, features, performance and sound quality to help you make a decision.
You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below
Apple AirPods Max 2 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones
Apple AirPods Max Wireless Over-Ear Headphones
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Headphones
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Headphones
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Wireless Headphones
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Read more about it on CNET.com
Best Headphones We’ve Tested
Sony WH-1000XM6 Review: Hail to the New Noise-Canceling King
Apple AirPods Max 2 Review: Seemingly Small Changes Make a Substantial Difference
0:00 Price and Initial Comparisons
1:21 Build Quality and Design
2:45 Key Features and Ecosystem Compatibility
4:46 Noise Cancelling and Voice Call Quality
6:05 Sound Quality and Audio Performance
8:08 Connectivity, Battery Life, and Final Verdict
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#apple #airpodsmax2 #sony #headphonesly #sonyxm6 #bose
#airpods #best #tech #wireless #overearheadphones #AllThingsMobile
@CNET
April 14, 2026 at 7:22 am
Read more about it on CNET.com
Best Headphones We’ve Tested
Sony WH-1000XM6 Review: Hail to the New Noise-Canceling King
Apple AirPods Max 2 Review: Seemingly Small Changes Make a Substantial Difference
@csscott9803
April 14, 2026 at 9:24 am
XM6 is the winner you could adjust the EQ. Sony connect app is more fun. It has Ldac
@Aslam_Aliyu
April 14, 2026 at 9:38 am
I’m sorry Bose Qc ultra Gen 2 I have the AirPod pro Max but they are not made for long wear sessions they are still heavy
@Eee-cm4bv
April 14, 2026 at 9:50 am
CNET – you show an image of the XM5 as the broken headphones, not the XM6. More quality review and QC needed.
@davidcarnoy961
April 14, 2026 at 9:57 am
Agreed! I should have caught that in the edits. Thanks for pointing it out
@Armand-v5c
April 14, 2026 at 10:24 am
max 2 are horrible. took them back. expensive your right. in return alot of clamp force for big heads. just heavy. apparently the mesh headband gets wonky after 3-4 years. the diaphragm size remains the same no physical materials improvement just better tuning i agree. the loud was a disappointment.
cranking these up was terrible. i want mines to go so loud that i need to lower them. i like mines to be able to do this. theres no power off button. the midnight color is not black at all theres so much light grey accents and some aluminum blue hues. the cable that comes with it is not long enough and is not color matched either. battery life is terrible compared to others. and the bra case never got improved at all. at this point Apple doesnt want to give what people want and leadership keeping this cherade going even after 6 years later. just horrendous!!! supposedly rumor mill points to ultra headphones coming. at this point significant lightweight design and powering off feature will be the key factor for shelling out hard earned money to stay in ecosystem because my money is staying in my bank account.
@MrPun-yf5vv
April 14, 2026 at 11:05 am
Apple didn’t listen to their fans 😂
@TheGamingAudiophile
April 14, 2026 at 11:11 am
Bose QC Headphones Ultra 2nd Gen are better than both.
@tenkain3837
April 14, 2026 at 11:40 am
Apple max 2 i have tested it and its amazing
@PascalKeppa
April 14, 2026 at 12:03 pm
No change. the mesh canopy flattens out after a couple of months, confort is affected, and with no warranty from Apple (I’ve checked in an Apple Store). Too bad, really! Thank you for your review, I own the Sony and a iPhone, I will be comparing with the Max 2 soon and .. will make a decision. Cheers!
@WhatTheFragrance
April 14, 2026 at 12:32 pm
Sound is quite quiet
@DavidDatura
April 14, 2026 at 12:47 pm
The B&W Px8 Mk2 beats them both hands down on sound quality. They cost about the same as Apple phones too, if more expensive than the Sony. I have both the B&W’s and Sony Mk6, because I was so disappointed by the sound quality of the latter 🤷♂️
@peterring2714
April 14, 2026 at 12:51 pm
Was this video sponsored by Apple?
@Davesounds
April 14, 2026 at 1:22 pm
Apple’s aluminum > Sony’s plastic
@imax21i
April 14, 2026 at 1:44 pm
Just got the AirPods Max 2. ANC is insane, way better than Sony. Build quality is not even comparable to the plastic of XM5/6.
@sakenu16
April 14, 2026 at 7:55 pm
Yeah but it is heavy to wear for a long time. They could have at least make it lighter.
@jondavid4747
April 14, 2026 at 3:33 pm
The Max 2 look and sound fantastic but the weight, price and placement of the buttons (too hard to hit when putting on) made me send them back.
@chris_panda
April 14, 2026 at 3:40 pm
Definitely not B&W! I had 3 (three!!) PX7 and all of them broke! Not even under heavy use, under minimum use, maybe after 20 time of use max. And I am super careful with my devices. Sound started crackling, cushion got separated (maybe unglued) while it was in the case, LED indicator doesn’t show charging or when they are on, just so many issues! Never will buy any B&W products again.
@Alex-uy8zx
April 14, 2026 at 4:24 pm
awesome review! Thank you for the detailed comparison.
@hotdavesweet
April 14, 2026 at 5:28 pm
Nobody is talking about replacement earpads 😢 is like replacing glass jar of coffee maker 😢 yea yea I know: “buy a new one man”.
@hotdavesweet
April 14, 2026 at 5:31 pm
What about broken sliders of each sony headphones since wh-ch710n?? 720 same, xm4, xm5 same, 910 same 😢😢😢 no more Sony
@IntrovertClint
April 14, 2026 at 7:27 pm
go to rtings for better tests
@steevehudon8941
April 14, 2026 at 7:52 pm
They both look weird on you
@sakenu16
April 14, 2026 at 7:53 pm
I think the least Apple could have done in addition to making better ANC, etc, was to make it lighter. That alone would have been a big difference.
@Jorven-w1z
April 14, 2026 at 8:00 pm
Where is Bose Ultra 2? the excellent sounding king of ANC and comfort ?
@hop101
April 14, 2026 at 8:45 pm
luv da design n aesthetics of airpod max. i c younger peep airpod maxxing, honestly i wood pay a lil extra n choose max2 ovr xm6 just based on design