Sony’s 1000X series has long been associated with class-leading noise cancellation and a rich wireless experience. With the 1000X Collexion, Sony pushes that familiar formula into a more premium category, pairing advanced features with a bespoke driver system and its latest Bluetooth technology. But does the improved construction and higher price translate into a truly superior listening experience? This review of the Sony 1000X Collexion examines its design, performance, battery life, wireless performance, and sound quality.
What You Get
- 1000X THE COLLECTION headphones
- Carrying case
- Headphone cable (approx. 1.2 m)
See & Feel
Starting with the WH-1000XM5, Sony’s Bluetooth headphones stick to a lightweight, functional design that prioritizes adjustable comfort. The Collexion, with its high price tag, comes with many advanced features that make it stand out from consumer models that rely on plastic construction. That’s replaced with new stainless steel accents and vegan leather covering its ear cups. This easily makes the Collexion one of Sony’s best-looking headphones, but it also sacrifices that ergonomic element. The earcups are roomy and sunken in with angled drivers that allow a good amount of breathing space regardless of the size of your ears.
Design and performance
The 1000X Collexion is built around a bespoke 30mm driver assembled by expert engineers. Its noise cancellation system includes QN3 and V3 processors with 12 microphones, while six-microphone AI Beamforming improves voice clarity during calls. Since this is a Sony headphone, the noise cancellation is best in class, close to muting all sounds that block out even the saddest voices. This is also a louder headphone than the previous Sony 1000X headphones, allowing you to listen with a more adjustable volume room. The Collexion also adopts the touch controls from the 1000X headphones for a completely responsive user experience. All the in-app features from the 1000X series such as EQ, 360 sound, and DSEE are all usable with the Collexion through Sony’s Sound Connect app.
Bluetooth
The 1000X Collexion uses Bluetooth 6.0 and supports SBC, AAC, LDAC, and LC3 codecs. LDAC enables high-resolution wireless playback with compatible devices, while LE Audio provides next-generation high-performance connectivity. Multipoint connection also allows the headphones to seamlessly switch between two paired devices, with a wireless range of approximately 10 meters.
Battery Life
The Collexion offers up to 24 hours of continuous playback with noise cancellation enabled or up to 32 hours with it turned off. A quick five-minute charge provides up to 1.5 hours of additional listening time, making it easy to top up the rechargeable lithium-ion battery before traveling or traveling.
Sound stage
Sony’s Bluetooth headphones have come a long way when it comes to reproducing stereo sound. The 1000X Collexion is supposed to be its highest level of wireless audio, and in terms of soundstage, that sounds about right. Spatial Sound has nothing to do with that compared to its consumer models. For the amount of width and more naturalness you get with the Collexion, the surround sound sounds more artificial than it does from the XM6. The instruments are compressed in the middle, and the layer is not much holographic than a standard stereo image. Aside from surround sound, there’s more separation and order in the mix, even if the display is more linear. The size of the image is enough to cover the listener’s head, while talking about better accuracy and ratio.
The Low End
You can always depend on Sony headphones for impressive bass response. In this category of high-end Bluetooth headphones, I can see this being the choice for bass heads, as the lows punch and roar with fury. It feels like a thin veil is being lifted for more clarity than the XM6 offers, but the bass still has that Sony bloat to it.
The bass is always the most prominent and dominant part of the sound signature, and even with more definition and finesse, the bass still has a lot of bleeding. This gives the bass a lot of texture, but isn’t great when it comes to being able to bring out finer details. Even if you don’t want a very refined sound and just want a powerful bass, you still have to deal with some different balance in non-bass instruments. That said, the Collexion has a deep sub-bass extension, which allows for more richness in the notes. It’s an unusual variation of tonal inconsistency, but the strong body of the bass cannot be ignored.
Mids
It’s not the strongest point of the 1000x series, but maybe the price jump means some mid-range improvements? Kind of. The catch here compared to other 1000X models is the way vocals are presented. They feel clearer and more high-end, with more clarity in the upper-midrange, but the rest of the midrange is still a bit stripped out. Words sound more defined, with proper pronunciation and emphasis, but many other instruments still seem muffled. The low mids are driving, but cloudy and muddy in them which makes most instruments lack grace. It’s a V-shaped sound signature that you can tweak a bit with EQ, creating more space and a bit of mid-tone correction, but it’s still not overwhelming.
They are high
Although the height has a colorful tone, their presence varies. Sometimes they can feel empty, but they still have a bite to them. Its output is really steep, but it doesn’t come out without a strong light output. You might call it crisp, but nothing ever rings in any meaningful way. I love hearing the treble tail off, but you don’t get that here. However, the height is still satisfying enough to ignore some of the shortcomings.
Summary
The Sony 1000X Collexion delivers a luxurious version of the company’s wireless headphone experience. Its stainless steel accents, vegan leather finish, open ear cups, responsive controls, and outstanding active noise cancellation make it feel more refined than Sony’s standard 1000X models. Bluetooth 6.0, LDAC, multi-point connection, and a wide selection of app-based features reinforce its appeal as an everyday headphone.
Its sound does not convince the whole world. The wide, well-structured soundstage and clear voice presentation represent a meaningful improvement, while the powerful sub-bass gives the Collexion plenty of power. However, the prominent low end, subdued midrange, and steep treble roll-off prevent it from achieving the balance and resolution expected of the best wireless headphones. The 1000X THE Collexion is ultimately best suited for listeners who prioritize premium construction, solid bass, and high-quality noise cancellation over a neutral or detailed sound signature.
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The Sony 1000X Collexion is available at Audio46.