Sony
Sony WH-1000XM6
—
Released 2025-05
Best Over Ear Headphones · head-to-head
Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 is cheaper at $449. Every spec and price links to its source.
Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
$449
Released 2025-04
Which is better: the Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3?
The Sony WH-1000XM6 wins 1 of the 1 specs we compare head to head; the other wins 0.
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Full spec sheet
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | Sony WH-1000XM6 | Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 |
|---|---|---|
| US price | — | $449 |
| Brand | Sony | Bowers & Wilkins |
| Released | 2025-05 | 2025-04 |
| ANC | Yes | Yes |
| Driver (mm) | 30 | — |
| Battery hr | 30 | 30 |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Codecs | SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 | SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless |
| Wired option | Yes | Yes |
| Weight (g) | 254 | 300 |
| Release | 2025-05 | 2025-04 |
Sources — Sony WH-1000XM6: headphonecheck.com (verified 2026-06-15). Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: headphonecheck.com (verified 2026-06-15).
What's the difference between the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3?
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (2 of 7). Matching specs are omitted.
- Codecs: Sony WH-1000XM6 SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless
- Weight (g): Sony WH-1000XM6 254 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 300
What reviewers say
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Sony WH-1000XM6
Three whitelisted testers (SoundGuys, What Hi-Fi, Tom's Guide) rate the WH-1000XM6 a strong flagship. SoundGuys (5-day test) logged 37 hours 14 minutes of battery with ANC and a 4.8/5 MDAQS score, praising excellent ANC, sound and microphone but flagging thin pads and no USB-C audio. What Hi-Fi (Awards 2025 winner, five stars) calls it the best-sounding Sony flagship with class-leading calls and rates comfort a full 5/5. Tom's Guide's 3-months-later follow-up is the outlier, judging the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3 better-sounding and the Bose QC Ultra better at blocking noise, and calling the build cheap-feeling for $449. Reviewers split on comfort, value and how much the XM6 improves on the XM5. (3 sourced reviews, 1 lab-tested.)
Praised: Excellent, refined active noise cancellation; Best-sounding Sony WH-1000X flagship to date; Class-leading call/microphone quality.
Flagged: Comfort compromises: thin pads, ANC mic can rub the ear, headband pressure point; No USB-C audio / lack of cutting-edge connectivity; ANC gains over the XM5 feel marginal; Bose still blocks more noise (Tom's Guide).
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
All four whitelisted reviews of the exact Px7 S3 (SoundGuys, What Hi-Fi, TechRadar, Engadget) survived verification; every quote and the single measured figure were confirmed as literal text, none dropped. All four praise the premium build and comfortable, lighter 300g fit, and all agree the reworked ANC is improved but still trails Bose. Only SoundGuys published lab data (an average 83-84% reduction in perceived loudness); the other three are qualitative listening reviews. (4 sourced reviews, 1 lab-tested.)
Praised: Premium build quality and refined, handsome design; Comfortable, lighter 300g fit; Detailed, dynamic and entertaining sound quality.
Flagged: ANC improved but still not class-leading; trails Bose; Limited/basic feature set; spatial audio missing at launch; Price has crept upward / expensive for the category.