Sony WF-1000XM6

The part that still pleases people is the sound, and the app that lets them adjust it. Owners who came from other earbuds describe the Sony as the better-sounding pair, and one said they feel like a quality product at a lower price than the alternative they returned. The app's range of settings comes up as a plus from everyone who mentioned it, though only a few did.

Fit is the adjustment. For some owners the buds seat firmly and the question never comes up. For others the seal loosens with ordinary movement and they are experimenting with larger tips to make them stay put. Noise cancelling gets a favourable mention from one owner who found them far better than a rival pair on a loud factory floor, but too few accounts touched on it to say more.

Nothing in these accounts describes a fault or failure on the XM6 itself. The problems owners describe are about fit, not about hardware breaking, and one who cannot get a secure seal is weighing a return rather than a repair.

The long-term picture is thin. Most of these owners had only just bought the pair, and several were writing mainly about a different product and mentioned the Sony in passing. One owner with a nearly two-year-old Sony pair was starting to contrast it with their XM6, but the account cuts off before saying how the XM6 has held up. There is not enough here yet to say how they wear over months of use.