Sony 1000XX the Collexion headphones review: supreme comfort and quiet luxury for your ears

Special anniversary edition of award-winning headphones are some of the best sounding you can buy, but cost far more than top Sony noise cancellers

Sony’s latest noise-cancelling headphones are a special anniversary set made to celebrate a decade of its prized 1000X series, designed to be plusher, slimmer, more comfortable and the best sounding yet.

The original 1000X launched in 2016, igniting a fierce rivalry with the dominant Bose and its QuietComfort line, which would push noise-cancelling technology dramatically forward as each tried to outdo the other with subsequent releases.

Now Sony has taken the comfort, sound and technology from the last six 1000X iterations to create something more refined, not to replace the current kings of noise-cancelling headphones, the WH-1000XM6, but to offer a more luxurious set with plusher materials and sleeker design.

The WH-1000XX the Collexion cost £549 (€629/$649/A$1,000), sitting above the £349 1000XM6 and directly competing with high-priced luxury headphone rivals such as Apple’s £499 AirPods Max 2, B&W’s £629 Px8 S2 and many others.

The form of the 1000XX isn’t a complete departure from its siblings. But they do not fold for travel and are less bulky, with 5.3mm thinner ear cups and a more slender-looking headband. The headphones are covered in a high-quality pleather material and have highly polished and sandblasted stainless steel arms – no hard plastic in sight.

Everything about them is smooth, from the sliding of the resizing arms to the feel of the metal. But the most luxurious parts are the redesigned ear cups, which have more space for your ear and plusher cushions than standard Sony headphones. The sleek headband squishes out across your head when you put them on to spread the load, while a lighter clamping force on your head still keeps the headphones in place but without any undue pressure.

The result is one of the most comfortable sets of headphones I’ve worn, matching the very best from Bose and surpassing higher-priced rivals.

The battery lasts for about 24 hours of listening with noise cancelling active or up to 32 hours with it off, which is more than enough for any plane journey or commute, but is short of the regular 1000XM6. A five-minute charge adds up to 90 minutes of playback, with a full charge taking about 3.5 hours.

Specifications

• Weight: 320g

• Drivers: 30mm

• Connectivity: Bluetooth 6 with multipoint, 3.5mm, USB-C charging

• Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3

• Rated battery life: 24 hours ANC on

Quality sound and noise cancelling

The 1000XX feature the QN3 chip and noise-cancelling hardware from the 1000XM6, which produces a really good ambient sound mode and similar but not quite as capable noise cancelling.

They can easily handle engine roar and other low and mid-tone noise but can’t quite reach the same high bar set by the 1000XM6 on the higher-pitch irritations of background chatter, keyboard clicks and other commute or office sounds. The 1000XX still have very good noise cancelling, particularly for this class of high-end headphone, just not the very best on the market.

Instead, sound quality is really where the 1000XX shine. The headphones support Android’s super-high-quality LDAC Bluetooth audio format but also have a new, more capable AI music upscaling tech called DSEE Ultimate powered by the new V3 companion chip. That system rebuilds the data lost in compressed music and makes quite a difference to standard-quality streaming music and the AAC Bluetooth audio format used on the iPhone. You can also use the included 3.5mm headphones cable, though the USB-C port is for charging only.

Whichever way you listen, the 1000XX sound fantastic. They produce the kind of quality audio that has you hearing new elements of well-worn tracks with a level of detail, nuance and separation of tones that is rarely matched. They create plenty of deep and expansive bass without it being overly accentuated, which is complemented by powerful, warm and vibrant mids and sparkling highs for a more natural sound.

They are great with all music genres but sound a cut above most rivals with classical, jazz and other more nuanced tracks. The headphones are a very good listen out of the box but they also come with a 10-band equaliser for customising the sound to your taste.

The new V3 chip also enables some fancy spatial audio upmixing tricks, which convert stereo tracks to surround sound. The movie and game modes work quite well, adding to the immersion, but I found the new music mode underwhelming. Straight stereo sounded far better.

Call quality was very good in quiet and noisy environments, coming through nice and clear without letting any background sounds through.

Sustainability

The headphones are made with 25% recycled plastic. They have replaceable ear cups and a screwed-in battery designed to be replaceable by service. They also have a battery care system to prolong the battery’s useful life.

Price

The Sony 1000X the Collexion cost £549 (€629/$649/A$999.95). For comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM6 cost £349, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 cost £349.95, the B&W Px8 S2 cost £629 and the Apple AirPods Max 2 cost £499.

Verdict

The 1000XX are a special set of headphones from Sony that prioritise sound quality and comfort over everything else, made with simpler, quality-feeling materials. The result is a kind of quiet luxury aesthetic for your ears: a set of super-premium headphones that don’t scream a brand and silence the world around you.

They are some of the most comfortable and understated over-ear cans you can buy, particularly in black. With solid 24-hour battery life, plenty of connectivity options and noise cancelling that outdoes most rivals, if not Sony’s own leading WH-1000XM6, they are very easy to live with.

The best bit is the sound, which is nuanced and natural for a rich and relaxed listening experience that will reveal new details in well-worn tracks.

Whether that’s enough to justify the exceptionally high price tag remains to be seen, but with similarly sound quality-focused rivals costing as much as £600 or £700, there is a high-end market for them.

Pros: fantastic sound, supremely comfortable, 360/spatial audio, Bluetooth multipoint and AAC/LDAC support, 24-hour battery life, great buttons and controls, good cross-platform control app, more repairable design.

Cons: super expensive, no water resistance, do not fold for travel, no USB-C audio, noise cancelling not as good as WH-1000XM6.