Bose retains ANC crown over Sony in real-world noise cancellation face-off

Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Gen 2) demonstrate superior steady-state noise cancellation, yet Sony’s WF-1000XM6 offers a less intrusive fit, revealing a nuanced contest in premium earbuds’ performance and comfort.

Android Central’s hands-on test of Sony’s WF-1000XM6 earbuds and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Gen 2) suggests the ANC crown still belongs to Bose, even if the margin is narrower than the price tags might imply. In a series of real-world trials, the reviewer compared how each pair handled three common noise profiles: café chatter, a loud air-conditioning unit and the dense, overlapping soundscape of a shopping mall. The conclusion was clear enough on performance, but not on comfort.

The comparison matters because both companies have spent years turning active noise cancellation into a flagship feature rather than a box-ticking specification. What Hi-Fi reports that Bose’s latest QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds use an eight-microphone system and updated AI-based noise suppression, while Sony’s WF-1000XM6 also relies on eight microphones and a faster QN3e processor. On paper, the two are built to attack noise from different angles, combining microphones, processing and ear-tip seal to reduce what reaches the listener.

In a coffee shop, Bose handled the broad wash of background sound better. Android Central found that the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Gen 2) largely erased the room’s hum and music, though sharp bursts such as laughter, chair scrapes and the espresso machine still leaked through. The Sony earbuds, by contrast, were less convincing against mid-frequency noise such as conversation and overhead radio music, even if they did a better job of softening some higher-pitched sounds. Once music was playing at a moderate level, the gap narrowed, but Bose still had the edge for pure cancellation.

Under a rumbling air conditioner, Bose again came out ahead. Android Central measured the unit at about 60 decibels and found that both earbuds reduced it substantially, yet the QuietComfort Ultra model made the noise feel effectively silent even with no music playing. That result fits the wider pattern seen in headphone comparisons from Tom’s Guide, which says Bose continues to lead Sony in ANC for steady external noise. Sony’s set was still effective, but it left more of the low-end rumble intact.

The mall test, however, was more favourable to Sony. Android Central found that the WF-1000XM6 handled crowds, food-court chatter and sharp metallic noises more convincingly than Bose in that setting. The reviewer suggested the Sony earbuds may have benefited from a wall of overlapping voices, which can resemble a form of broadband noise that ANC systems can suppress more easily. Even so, Bose remained more consistent across the three environments overall. The final verdict was therefore split between performance and comfort: Bose won the noise-cancelling contest, while Sony was the pair the reviewer would be more willing to wear for longer sessions because it felt less intrusive in the ear.