For over a decade, Sony has been taking direct aim at Bose’s noise-canceling domination. The battle has led to some of the best headphones in history, with one or both brands topping our list of the best wireless headphones in nearly endless succession. Photograph: Parker HallWith Sony’s new WH-1000XM6 ("1000X mark six”), we’re now half a dozen iterations into a pair that began life as a good pair of headphones. This new version uses that experience to create something astonishing. It's enough to have even the famously superlative-averse brand calling the WH-1000XM6—accurately, in my experience—the best noise canceling headphones on Earth.