Premium isn’t new territory for Sony. The impressive build quality has made the 1000X series stand out from the crowd, becoming a top choice for listeners in the audio world. Today, the company announced a jump into the world of luxury audio with The 1000X ColleXion headphones.
The new headphones are Sony’s take on refined luxury, with an uber sleek look that’s totally eye-catching. The headphones were first leaked when Damson Idris, star of “F1: The Movie” was spotted wearing them out in public, and speculations have been swirling about the headphones’ capabilities ever since.
How much do they cost?
As you can imagine, since these are luxury headphones, they come with a luxury price point. The new 1000X The Collection headphones are available to purchase for $649/£550 from the Sony Online store.
This makes them even pricier than the Apple AirPods Max 2, which cost $549/£499/AU$999.
Since Sony is a premium audio brand, their regular gear isn’t exactly budget; its previous release, the WH-1000XM6 headphones, cost $399/£379/AU$649.
What do they look like?
The design of the new 1000X The ColleXion headphones clearly takes heavy inspiration from the WH-1000XM6 headphones, which were released last year. But there are some minor changes, which primarily include the materials used.
First, the headphones are available in Platinum or Black. This is a very basic color range, but we have previously seen Sony release more colors of headphones at a later date, so could it be something we see here? For example, the company is also launching a new Sandstone colorway for the WH-1000XM6 headphones today.
The headband of the new ColleXion headphones is metal with padding underneath. The earcups have also had a design change and are now covered in faux leather, but keep the same distinctive Sony shape. However, the earcup of the new headphones is a slimmer 40.1mm, compared to the XM6 earcups, which are 45.4mm.
Audio upgrades
The 1000X The ColleXion headphones see the introduction of DSEE Ultimate. Previously, only standard DSEE has been available in Sony’s audio gear, and this technology rebuilds compressed music files. The Ultimate version uses AI technology to upscale the sampling rate (resolution) and bit depth (dynamic range), restoring any lost detail.
The ColleXion headphones also have Hi-Res wireless and LDAC audio codecs. The sound has also been optimized with Walkman technology, using more advanced internal components.
ColleXion has three modes of 360 Upmix for stereo music, cinema and gaming. This aims to give a more immersive experience across the listening modes.
General performance
1000X The ColleXion features 12 microphones (six on each earcup) and an Adaptive NC Optimizer seen in the WH-1000XM6 for noise cancelling that adapts to the environment around you. They also allow background music options with the Sound Connect app, which is one of my favorite features to use on the WF-1000XM6 earbuds.
With 24 hours of battery life with noise cancelling turned on and 32 hours with it turned off, the ColleXion headphones can support all-day listening. This is a significant reduction from what we see in the XM6 headphones, which support 30 hours with ANC and 40 hours with ANC turned off. But with that said, it’s still more than enough to get you through the longest flights.
What do you think? Is it worth the upgrade to the premium model, or will you be sticking with the 1000X release from last year? Let us know in the comments.
Don’t forget to check out our full Sony 1000X ColleXion review.
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