The Spatial Audio Function on the WH-1000XM6 Is Surprisingly Good


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Sony’s WH-1000XM6 are my choose for the most effective premium headphones of 2025. After I reviewed them, I discovered they excelled in virtually each class. However a method I feel Sony might enhance even these incredible cans (apart from decreasing the value), is by making them extra user-friendly. After I was testing them, I could not work out the best way to use their model of spatial audio, the immersive film mode that makes it sound just like the audio is coming from throughout you. So I reached out to Sony to determine it out.

Sony has its personal title for spatial audio

Sony calls its spatial audio function “360 Actuality Audio Upmix,” however it’s basically the identical factor: The headphones upmix the audio you are listening to and course of it to create a 3D-like (or spatial audio) impact. This implies you may take heed to issues that aren’t meant to be immersive and the headphones will do their finest to make them sound like they’re. And so they do an excellent job of it.

Tips on how to activate Spatial Audio on WH-1000XM6

Three screenshots from the Sony app.


Credit score: Daniel Oropeza

To activate the 360 Actuality Audio Upmix function, open the Sony app and head to “My Machine” in the principle menu. Beneath listening mode, choose “Cinema.” That is it. There isn’t any indication throughout the app that you simply’re now utilizing the 360 Actuality Audio Upmix function, however you can hear the distinction straight away. It is extra apparent once you pull up a film with Dolby from a streaming channel like Netflix (or in YouTube audio exams like this one, which is able to sound fairly cool in your cellphone).


What do you suppose to date?

Whereas the 360 Actuality Audio Upmix function won’t ever match true encompass sound, it does an excellent job at upmixing non-immersive sound. I have been pleasantly stunned by how nicely it really works—I simply want Sony would make its app extra user-friendly so it was simpler to search out.



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