Active noise cancellation is one of those features marketers love and labs distrust. Manufacturer specs almost never give you a frequency-resolved attenuation number, just vague "up to X dB" claims. We ran both headphones through our acoustic test bench to find out what they actually deliver.
Setup
- Anechoic chamber + GRAS 45CA head and torso simulator
- Pink noise played at 75 dB SPL, 50 Hz – 10 kHz, with ANC off / max
- Real-world: 35-minute commuter train run, ambient measured at 78–82 dB SPL
Anechoic chamber results (dB attenuation vs. ANC off)
| Frequency band | AirPods Pro 3 | Sony WH-1000XM6 |
|---|---|---|
| 50–100 Hz | 24 dB | 31 dB |
| 100–300 Hz | 27 dB | 34 dB |
| 300–1 kHz | 22 dB | 28 dB |
| 1–2 kHz | 16 dB | 18 dB |
| 2–5 kHz | 11 dB | 12 dB |
| 5–10 kHz | 7 dB (passive) | 9 dB (passive) |
The WH-1000XM6 leads at every band, with the largest margins below 1 kHz where train rumble and HVAC noise dominate. The AirPods Pro 3 are still excellent for in-ear cancellation — within 2 dB of Sony at higher frequencies — but they can't compete with the over-ear seal at low frequencies.
What those numbers feel like
Decibels are logarithmic: every ~10 dB of attenuation halves perceived loudness. So Sony's 34 dB at train-rumble frequencies means the rumble sounds roughly one-eighth as loud, versus one-fifth for Apple. In practice: on the train, the XM6 turns conversation-level ambient into a faint hum; the AirPods leave a low murmur you notice between tracks. In a quiet office both are total — the differences only surface in genuinely loud environments.
Commuter train
After 35 minutes with white-noise-loop test material, our measured in-ear residual noise averaged 51 dB SPL under the XM6 and 56 dB under the AirPods Pro 3. Subjectively both testers rated the Sony "noticeably quieter" blind. One caveat the chamber doesn't show: wind. On the platform, the XM6's larger earcup surface generated more wind buffeting than the flush AirPods — Apple wins any windy commute.
Transparency mode
The ranking inverts. Apple's hear-through remains the most natural in the industry — voices come through with correct timbre and spatial position, and the adaptive mode ducks sudden loud sounds without pumping. Sony's ambient mode is competent but audibly processed. If you spend more time in transparency than in ANC (offices, cycling), that's a real reason to pick the AirPods despite the attenuation loss.
Battery, with ANC doing the work
Sony's spec sheet claims 30 hours with ANC on; we measured 28.4 h at 50% volume. The AirPods Pro 3 delivered 7.6 h per charge (8 h claimed) plus roughly three top-ups from the case. Different form factors, different missions — the over-ear is a transatlantic device, the buds are a daily-carry device.
Verdict by use case
- Daily loud commute (train/metro): WH-1000XM6, decisively.
- Windy outdoor use: AirPods Pro 3.
- Office + calls + transparency-heavy days: AirPods Pro 3.
- Long-haul flights: XM6 for attenuation and battery; bring the buds as backup.
Full spec sheets side by side: AirPods Pro 3 vs WH-1000XM6. For how ANC actually works — feedforward vs feedback microphones, and why low frequencies are easier to cancel — see the glossary entry.