We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
TL;DR: The Sony WH-1000XM6 (Open Box) delivers 30 hours of play, adaptive noise canceling, and a 1-year warranty—now 22 percent off at $329.99!
If you’ve ever cranked the volume to drown out a plane or a chatty café, I prefer the opposite approach: make the world quieter. The WH-1000XM6 noise-canceling headphones from Sony help do just that by pairing a fast HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3 with 12 microphones that listen to your environment and how the headphones fit, then tune the signal on the fly. Sony calls that constant retuning the Adaptive NC Optimizer (and it even accounts for air pressure, which actually matters at 35,000 feet).
Calls get their own brain, too. A six-microphone AI beamforming system zeroes in on your voice so the person on the other end hears you, not the espresso machine. When I need awareness back, Auto Ambient Sound Mode blends in outside audio so I catch announcements without pausing my playlist.
The sound stack is classic Sony: High-Resolution Audio, LDAC for high-bitrate wireless, and Edge-AI / DSEE Extreme to restore detail lost to compression. There’s also advanced noise-shaping D/A conversion to keep distortion low and bass tidy. Comfort reads all day with a wider, asymmetrical headband, soft synthetic-leather cushions, and a foldable design for travel. Controls are straightforward, and the cans can detect when you start speaking and pause your audio automatically—which I end up using more than I expected.
Battery life is rated up to 30 hours, and a three-minute quick charge can yield up to three hours of listening. If you like to tweak, the Sony | Headphones Connect app lets you adjust Ambient Sound Control (including voices-only) and dial in the Equalizer to taste.
And if you’re not exactly sure what “Open Box” means, think of it as excess retail inventory: packaging that’s been handled, verified in new condition inside, cleaned up, and backed by a one-year warranty. In other words, nothing that’ll keep you from getting a top-tier pair of headphones.
Order the Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless noise-canceling headphones on sale for $329.99 (reg. $449.99) and keep the noise out for good.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
_
Sony WH-1000XM6 Best Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones (Open Box)