If you’re a headphone aficionado, you’re no doubt familiar with Sony’s WH-1000X series, easily one of the most popular wireless over-ear noise-canceling headphones. One could say that Sony’s 1000X series has been the most popular choice over the years, along with the Bose QuietComfort 35, which started the trend. This achievement remarkably persisted even after many others, including Apple, entered the field.
Sony’s series of wireless over-ear ANC headphones turned 10 years old (wow), so the Japanese created something special to mark the occasion – meet the Sony 1000x The Collection (reads like collection). A more premium entry in the lineup, rather than succeeding and replacing the WH-1000XM6, it will be positioned above it.
So what’s new? Let’s start from the outside first. The new headphones are nicer to touch and wear. The headband is wide. The cups are covered with premium synthetic leather, and the stems are stainless steel.
But the new headphones don’t twist like the XM6 but only rotate (like the XM5). 1000X The ColleXion comes in either black or platinum white.
Like the WH-1000XM6, there are 12 microphones for calls and active noise cancellation. The 1000X The ColleXion also has a QN3 processor that is in charge of noise cancellation. But the integral processor is a new one, V3, which enables better sound processing and more advanced spatial modes.
The 360 Upmix is tuned for music, movies, and gaming, and the headphones have a dedicated hardware button to cycle between modes.
The sound quality tuning is also more (dare we say it) audiophile-friendly with an emphasis on clear highs and a wide stage. Sony has reportedly tasked high-profile acoustic engineers with tuning its new headphones.
This is a clear sign that Sony wants to take the 1000X The ColleXion a step away from the typically warm and bassy, consumer-friendly (some would say muddy) sound profile that the WH-1000X series is known for.
The improvements are not limited to the processing inside the headphones but also to the new drivers. They use a “unidirectional carbon layered core composite,” which promises to improve treble detail, separation, and soundstage.
The 1000X The ColleXion comes with a new carrying case with a magnetic clasp and an integrated handle. Like the previous model, the case has a 3.5 mm cable. We’ll update this article with pricing as soon as Sony announces it.
New carrying case with a handle