I’ve tested Sony headphones for years, and these tweaks deliver the best sound for me – every time

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Sony’s headphones are among the best on the market, delivering exceptional sound, noise cancellation, and software features before entering the high-end headphone segment. What I really like about Sony is that their products offer great customization, allowing you to customize the headphones to your liking down to a granular level.

Also: Sony WH-1000XM6 vs. Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2: How can I justify spending $300 more on headphones

However, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, Sony’s feature list can feel like a foreign language. Here are some tips and tricks I’ve found over the years that make the $400+ even more worth it.

Turn on your headphones before plugging in the cables

If you want to listen to your WH-1000XM6 over a wired connection, make sure your headphones are turned on before playing any music. This may sound silly, but it’s so obvious that it’s easy to forget. Leaving the headphones off means that digital signal processing is disabled, which improves sound quality, saturation, and vibration.

You can listen to the XM6 over the phone with the headphones off, but you’ll get a thin, distant, muffled sound profile. I only recommend listening with cables — and with your headphones turned off — if the battery is on or dead.

Prefer other Bluetooth codecs (Android only)

Both iPhones and Android phones support the AAC Bluetooth codec, but Apple has developed it for its phones, while Android’s implementation and encoding is very different and unreliable. All phones also support the default SBC Bluetooth codec on the Classic Bluetooth radio, but it is associated with high latency, poor sound quality, and poor connectivity.

The silver lining is that Android users have more flexibility to switch between Bluetooth codecs, as most Android phones support Sony’s proprietary LDAC codec and/or the advanced LC3 Bluetooth codec, which operates on the Low Energy (LE) radio.

Also: How do I share audio from my Android phone to multiple earbuds (and why it’s a big deal)

For the best wireless sound while wearing your Sony headphones, enable the LDAC codec. To work best, this codec needs a stable connection and a lot of power, so enable it only if you are not in a busy area where others are tapping the wireless network. In your Android settings, you can adjust bitrates or enable the “Prioritize Sound Quality” feature in Sony Sound Connect to ensure the highest quality.

If you want a low power codec, choose LC3 codec or LE Audio. The Sony Sound Connect app has an “LE Audio Priority” feature that you can use to always connect your headphones to compatible devices using the LC3.

The LC3 codec typically provides higher bitrates for Android phones, resulting in lower latency, improved audio quality, and a more stable connection. This codec consumes less power than SBC, AAC, and LDAC, which should save the battery of your headphones and the source device for a long time.

Invest in comfort and convenience

I don’t like Sony’s foam eartips, and I realize that might be a “me” thing. Their soft material allows wax to seep into the products, and I can’t help but feel like any sweat or earwax gets into the tips. Sony advertises its high-end WF-1000X earbuds as water and sweat-resistant, but advises against using water, alcohol, or wet detergents to clean the tips, and says that even wiping them with paper can damage them. To me it sounds dirty.

Also: I’ve listened to Sony, Bose, and Apple headphones – and these two are ahead of the pack.

To fight this issue, I propose these silicone tips replacing foams when their structural or sanitary integrity is compromised. Apple’s AirPods Pro lineup chooses silicone over foam, which is one less reason I prefer it over Sony’s. With silicone, you can still get a strong seal for sound performance and noise cancellation while having peace of mind about its cleanliness.

Adjust ambient noise levels

Although Sony’s headphones and earbuds are equipped with an Adaptive Noise-Canceling Optimizer, you have the option to manually adjust how much ambient noise you let in. If you put your headphones or earbuds in Ambient Mode, you can use the slider to delay noise cancellation.

I find this feature very useful in “predictable dynamic” environments, such as a university library, a busy coffee shop, or a shared office space. You can hear what you want without blocking out everything or letting everything in.