Sony 1000X The Collexion review: The fancy cousin of the WH-1000XM6

Sony’s most popular pair of headphones has to be the flagship WH-1000X wireless headphones series, and we’ve been consistently impressed by them over the last few years. However, Sony has released a new pair in the series that’s even more expensive. 

The new pair of headphones is called the 1000X The Collexion, and while most readers might think of them as the the new flagship product simply because of their elevated price, Sony states that these headphones are “a new expression of the 1000X series philosophy”, and that the WH-1000XM6 remains the brand’s flagship. 

Promising to deliver a more refined experience with premium materials, are these headphones actually worth the S$839 price tag?

Design and fit

Off the bat, the 1000X The Collexion headphones look absolutely gorgeous. The sliders are made with stainless steel, combining both a sandblasted matte finish with glossy accents. The rest of the headphones are covered with faux leather that wraps around the outside of the earcup, with the same material used for the earpads as well as headband. 

While the use of faux leather does make it feel more premium, it raises the question of repairability. Earpads can be replaced, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get the entire earcup re-wrapped. 

The earpads use a different material compared to the WH-1000XM6, and while it’s relatively deep, the earpads are a bit narrow so larger ears might end up brushing against the back of the earpads. Even after six hours of non-stop music listening, the headphones were still quite comfortable. The clamping force wasn’t too strong, and the headband has enough cushioning to avoid hotspots at the crown of the head. 

The left earcup has the power and noise-cancelling buttons, along with a new listening mode button that switches between the Standard, Music and Cinema 360 Upmix modes. The listening mode button is higher up on the earcup, so you won’t accidentally hit it when trying to find the ANC button. 

As for controls, it’s essentially the same as the WH-1000XM6. The right earcup has the same touch controls, including the handy option to press your palm against the earpad to temporarily activate Transparency Mode for quick conversations. 

Unfortunately, there’s no USB-C audio. The only way to listen wired is through the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is disappointing for headphones that cost over S$800. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 might be slightly more expensive, but those offer 24-bit audio over USB-C. 

Sound & mic quality

The 1000X The Collexion headphones are using a new, bespoke 30mm driver unit with a high-rigidity dome that’s made from a carbon composite material, which is supposed to improve instrument and vocal separation while delivering a wider soundstage and clearer high-frequency detail. 

The headphones are not only equipped with the same HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 as the WH-1000XM6, but it also gets the Integrated Processor V3, which is a newer chip than the Integrated Processor V2. This also enables the new Music 360 Upmix feature, which I’ll talk about in a bit. 

If you’re wondering about whether this means the headphones sound different, I can tell you that it definitely does. The 1000X The Collexion is more analytical than the WH-1000XM6, with less bass boost and a tighter and cleaner sound that’s more focused on detail and spaciousness. 

Despite that, the low end is still substantial, with good rumble and texture. Something to take note of is that the headphones are rather anaemic when listening at low volumes, so if you’re used to listening at softer volumes like I am, you’ll likely be slightly underwhelmed by the sound until you crank up the volume. 35-45% works well enough, with an average SPL of around 65-75dB. 

The new Music 360 Upmix feature boosts the volume by about another 5-10dB, and opens up the soundstage significantly, making it less in-your-head. It’s definitely personal preference, but I’ve found it to work quite brilliantly with tracks that are predominantly centred. Enabling the feature makes it feel more like you’re listening to a pair of open-back headphones. A track I really enjoyed more with Music 360 Upmix turned on was Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits. 

With this feature, vocals get more airy with a touch less timbre, while guitars, drums and other instruments get brighter. This can backfire occasionally with tracks that are heavy on cymbals, as it can get a bit too sharp and sibilant. Complex tracks with plenty of vocal layering also don’t work well with this feature, as the softer backing vocals end up being boosted too much and start to compete with the main vocal. 

Some tracks just don’t work well with the upmix feature, however, resulting in a tinny sound and artificially expanded soundstage. It also changes the instrument placement, with most of the mix now being more centred in the soundstage. Depending on the track, this can be good or bad, with TOOL’s Chocolate Chip Trip really feeling like the instruments were going around and behind your head. But the sound does change since the percussion gets more airy and loses a bit of heft while the drums get slightly deeper. 

Live tracks you’re used to might also sound different because of the feature, with the 1994 Live on MTV version of Hotel California sounding more like a studio recording with the feature on. 

On the other hand, Game 360 Upmix is fantastic. I tested it out with Gran Turismo 7 on the PS5, and with the feature turned on, it boosted the road and engine sounds, making it much more immersive. 

Do take note that 360 Upmix doesn’t work when listening wired, but the best part about it is that it’s source-agnostic, so you can use it with any content when the headphones are connected via Bluetooth. 

It has the same microphone array as the XM6, but ANC isn’t as effective somehow. It can cancel out lower-pitched rumbles and commute noise, but higher-pitched sounds will still slip in unless you’re listening to music at a higher volume than normal.

As for call performance, the mic array does a good job of isolating your voice and keeping it clean and audible in most situations, even in windy situations. 

Connectivity & battery life

The headphones come with Bluetooth 6.0, and support for the SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3 codecs. Connection in general is rock solid. I haven’t experienced any stuttering or audio dropouts in crowded MRT stations or shopping malls. The headphones are also able to stay connected to my phone even when I moved about 10 meters away with two solid walls in between.

Sony Sound Connect app

Photo: HWZ

More 360 Upmix features to choose from.

Photo: HWZ

As always, you’ll want to download the Sony Sound Connect app to make sure you can get the most out of these headphones. All the regular customisation options from the WH-1000XM6 are available here, along with firmware updates and more. 

Plenty of EQ presets, with two custom options.

Photo: HWZ

10-band equaliser makes it easy to tweak the sound.

Photo: HWZ

You can change between the 360 Upmix listening modes here, and tweak your EQ. There are technically six presets, but the last one, Manual, is reserved for a custom setting based on a preset. You also get two slots to save your own custom EQs, with the 10-band equaliser offering adjustments from 31Hz all the way to 16kHz.  

Battery life isn’t too bad at up to 24 hours, although it’s a notch below the WH-1000XM6’s 30 hours with ANC turned on. Regardless, it’s enough for you to take any non-stop flight in the world and not have to worry about the headphones dying halfway. 

Final thoughts and buying advice

When Sony first explained that the 1000X The Collexion headphones weren’t the new flagship, I didn’t quite get it. Most of us have been conditioned to understand that the flagship product is the newest, most expensive model and that it’ll give us the best performance or sound. That’s not the case here.

While the 1000X The Collexion might be the most expensive wireless headphone model in Sony’s lineup, there are some aspects where the headphones don’t outperform the WH-1000XM6, most notably in terms of battery life and ANC. 

If you’re looking for the ultimate noise-cancelling headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM6 is still the one to go for. And if you’re looking for the longest-lasting pair, that title would most likely be taken by the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless.

But if you’re after a premium product that offers a combination of great sound, effective ANC and interesting features like 360 Upmix for games, movies and music, then the 1000X The Collexion ticks those boxes. The metal accents and build quality are excellent, without any of the plasticky feeling you get with most other headphones these days. And while it doesn’t support lossless wired listening, fussy listeners should be happy that there’s support for the high-quality LDAC codec.

It’s quite clear that these headphones are not here to usurp the flagship position, but rather to offer a new option for consumers who are looking for a different sound and experience.

Availability and pricing

The Sony 1000X The Collexion is available in Platinum and Black, with an RRP of S$839. The headphones can be purchased at Sony’s online webstore, Shopee, Lazada, and other authorised retailers.