The Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION headphones are a high-end audio accessory designed with quality and style in mind to suit a variety of listeners. The headphones are the company’s first product to use their Edge-AI-powered DSEE Ultimate technology, which analyzes compressed audio files in real-time to intelligently recover what was lost during compression.
For ten years, Sony’s flagship wireless series has been the 1000X range. The company has chosen to commemorate this milestone with a brand-new addition to its lineup: the Sony 1000X The Collexion over-ears.
Although these headphones are “celebratory,” consider The Collexion as a complete product in and of itself rather than a limited-edition one-off created for sentimentality or novelty. These headphones are available independently from Sony’s WH-1000XM6; they have a distinct sound, design concept, and materials, and they are priced comfortably higher than its stablemates.
For the Collexion cans, which Sony has named “the best sounding headphones we’ve ever made,” sound has actually been the company’s first priority. That’s a tantalizing assertion when you take into account some of the absolute treasures the Japanese brand has created in recent years. If we didn’t listen to them, we would be disappointing you.
The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 (£629 / $799) and the Focal Bathys (£699 / $799) are examples of “high-end” products. Although the 1000X series has always been a distinctly premium line, Sony has always resisted the urge to enter that more exclusive market. However, the 1000X The Collexion, which costs £550 / $650, is the closest Sony has ever been.
The Apple AirPods Max 2 (£499 / $549) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (£449 / $449 / AU$700) are just below the new Sonys, with the B&W and Focal competitors above them.
Even if reductions are now removing a few pounds or dollars from that RRP, the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 is priced at approximately £400, $450, or AU$699, while the five-star competition Sennheiser HDB 630 will cost you approximately £400, $500, or AU$1000.
If you grab a pair of Sony’s newest models, you might be mistaken for a Sonos Ace if you squint your eyes a little. The Sonys share the Ace’s sleek, simple form and oval earcups with a few real metallic buttons on the left earcup.
The 1000X The Collexion is a pair of cans that should look nice and make you feel good while you wear them, according to Sony’s engineers, and for the most part, that goal has been accomplished. The Collexion has a nicely padded headband that distributes pressure evenly for prolonged user comfort and slightly stiffer ear padding than the WH-1000XM6.
Everything on the device is either composed of metal or imitation leather. Each of the two color options for the Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION headphones is made with a unique vegan leather for a smooth, ethical touch. The headphones have a battery life of up to 24 hours between charges.
Although our test set is more prone to stains and marks than the smooth plastic of the majority of Sony’s other headphones, we don’t like the imitation leather’s appearance or feel. Grubby fingers and the rigors of daily use eventually leave their mark on the earcup because that imitation material covers almost the entire outside.
However, a thinner profile does contribute to lightweight; the earcups are about 40 mm wide from inside to outside, as opposed to the WH-1000XM6’s 45.4 mm.
Although The Collexion weighs more than their XM6 rivals (312g versus 254g), we hardly ever feel that extra weight. This does make for a noticeably light and inconspicuous wearing experience.
When moving around, some of our testers did notice some wobbling and instability from the earcups, but when you’re standing still, the new Sonys frequently just vanish into thin air as you forget you have them on your head at all.
Your Sony over-ears are primarily controlled by touch controls, albeit there are a few physical buttons. They function as you would anticipate, reacting swiftly and efficiently to our different orders and offering a wide range of control customization options through the practical Sony SoundConnect app.
These headphones don’t fold up into a ball like the XM6 over-ears or the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), but they are nonetheless rather portable thanks to their flattened profile and carry case, which has a hollowed-out handle that reminds us of a tiny purse.
