I don’t want to say I told you so, but…
If you were hoping to see a cheeky deal for Sony’s flagship wireless, noise-cancelling headphones, the WH-1000XM6, during Prime Day, you might be feeling a little disappointed right now.
But, realistically, a discount was always going to be a long shot.
We can completely understand why a deal would be highly sought after, though. In our WH-1000XM6 review, we were blown away by the quality these headphones offer.
From comfort to features, call quality to ANC prowess, the Sonys deliver on all fronts. And that’s before we start talking about sound quality, which we described as “the most detailed, dynamic, precise and open sound we’ve heard from a wireless Sony flagship”.
In fact, they're arguably the best wireless headphones on the market right now and the finest premium Sony wireless headphones we’ve heard, placing them above the older WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4 models.
Ironically, though, it’s the presence of both of these pairs which I think is part of the reason we haven’t seen any serious money shaved off the WH-1000XM6.
And, of course, you can add this to the fact that the XM6 just haven’t been out long enough to warrant a price drop, given the immense hype around them.
If the buzz is still strong, people are going to buy at full price.
Now, I have found some money off the WH-1000XM6, specifically $20 over at Amazon US. But I would honestly wait for more money off.
Yes, it means you’re probably going to be clicking your heels for a few months, but I think you’re likely to get a bit more than $20/£20 – I would think around $50/£50 would be realistic to start with, but not much more.
You see, there's still stock of Sony's older flagship models that needs to be sold. So it makes much more sense for us to see pricing continue to vary on these two models in the coming months.
You have to assume this will happen until, at some point, the stock of the WH-1000XM4 presumably runs dry.
I mean, if you look at the current asking prices for both pairs, there really is something for everyone, especially if you don’t have the budget that the XM6 demand.
If you don’t want to spend top dollar, the WH-1000XM4, a classic five-star pair that might be down the pecking order in terms of all-around performance, but the price adjustment more than makes up for any performance gap.
While sound quality, ANC and call quality might have moved on, this pair are still comfortable and they also fold (unlike the XM5). And for the money that's being asked now, I think they are still a solid buy.
Similarly, with the WH-1000XM5, they’re still a great pair of five-star headphones and their current pricing means they nicely fill a gap between XM4 and XM6. They are a step up from XM4.
Of course, if you want the best that Sony has to offer, I would point you firmly in the direction of the WH-1000XM6, but I think bargain-hunters will be satisfied by some of the big savings on the former flagships.
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