Is the Sony WH-1000XM6 worth the upgrade from the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro?
Verdict
Meaningful upgrade
The Sony WH-1000XM6 scores 9.4 points above the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro. That's a real improvement, though not the kind you'd notice on every track. The gains are concentrated in value (7.4 to 8.2). On paper: active noise cancelling, weight 260 g to 254 g and usb-c. Worth checking: driver size goes 38 mm to 30 mm. One caution: this steps down a line tier (HD 490 Pro to WH-1000XM6), and base models usually trade away tier features - check the codec and ANC rows above before trusting the score gap alone. It's also $31 cheaper, which makes this an easy call. Worth doing if you're replacing anyway; harder to justify as a pure upgrade if what you have still works.
What actually changes
Sub-scores both products have, on the same 0-10 scale. Bars extend right for a gain, left for a loss.
- Sound8.69.0
- Value7.48.2
Spec differences
Only where the two genuinely differ - everything they share is omitted.
| Spec | HD 490 Pro | WH-1000XM6 | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active noise cancelling | No | Yes | |
| Weight | 260 g | 254 g | |
| Driver size | 38 mm | 30 mm | |
| USB-C | No | Yes | |
| Controls | none | buttons | |
| Driver | 38 mm dynamic | 30 mm dynamic | |
| Frequency response | 5 Hz - 36.1 kHz | 4 Hz - 40 kHz |
About this verdict
Direction matters here: this page answers "HD 490 Pro to WH-1000XM6". The other direction is a separate question with a different answer. Scores blend published review verdicts across over-ear and shift as new reviews land, so a marginal call today may not be one next quarter.