New Firmwares! Sony WH-1000XM6 (3.0.0) and WF-1000XM5 (6.0.0) 🔥
So we’ve got new firmware updates for the Sony WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM5. Firmware 3.0.0 and 6.0.0 respectively unlocks certain features in LE Audio mode like Digital Assistant and Head Tracking. There’s also Gemini Live support now so you can say the wake word and start talking to Gemini, and for Audio Sharing, they’re actually referring to Auracast and it only applies to devices that support Auracast, the S25 Ultra being one of them. Basically it allows you to receive Auracast streams and also broadcast what you’re listening to over Auracast.
The new firmwares also adds the Find Hub feature to the XM6 headphones, and for the XM5 earbuds, it now allows you to locate each side. But did the new firmwares change any aspect of their performance, be it sound quality, mic pickup, transparency or active noise canceling? We’re going to find out, so buckle up.
Microphone Quality
In terms of mic pickup in quiet conditions, both models sound the same as before the update, but in noisy conditions, it seems like the XM6 headphone’s noise gating has gotten a bit more aggressive, so a bit more of my voice was getting cut out whereas the XM5 earbuds remained the same after update 6.0.0.
👉 Have a listen to the mic samples quality
Active Noise Cancelling
For active noise canceling, previously it seemed like noise canceling was nerfed on the XM6 headphones when it went from 2.0.2 to 2.1.0, but on firmware 3.0.0 it seems to have gotten back to its previous strength, which is great. For the XM5 earbuds, noise canceling seems to be a little weaker up to the mids, but stronger in the upper mids and high frequencies, but I have to say overall, from the samples and from real life testing, you may not notice a difference in noise canceling power.
👉 Have a listen to the ANC quality samples
Transparency Mode
In terms of transparency, I’m not seeing much of a difference on both the XM6 headphones and the XM5 earbuds. Even though it does display a bit less passthrough in the mids than before, it’s such a small difference that most people won’t notice.
Sound Quality
For sound quality, previously the XM6 headphones seemed to have reduced their bass a little. This time, bass has gone back up a little, but also the upper mids on 3.0.0 seems to have a flatter tuning which, when compared to the previous firmware, appears to impact the brightness of vocals, but just a little.
👉 Listen to the sound quality samples
As for the XM5 earbuds, we can see that firmware 6.0.0 has no impact on sound quality at all.
If you want to know if future updates will affect the performance of the WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM5, subscribe to the main channel for all the content.
