Sony 1000X The Collexion Review: The Unexpected Anniversary Gift

Ten years is a long time in consumer electronics and when Sony launched the MDR-1000X in 2016, it arrived as a disruptor to what was then the industry benchmark: the Bose QuietComfort 35. The original 1000X matched Bose on noise cancellation while adding LDAC support, Quick Attention mode and Sony’s signature warm, dynamic house sound at a more competitive price. It set the template for everything that followed in the lineup.

A decade on, Sony is doing something different. Rather than simply iterating on last year’s WH-1000XM6, the 1000X The Collexion is positioned as a limited-production luxury offering aimed squarely at design enthusiasts and audiophiles willing to pay a significant premium.

At RM2,799, it enters a different conversation entirely, competing with the likes of the Apple AirPods Max 2, Sonos Ace and Bowers and Wilkins Px8 S2 rather than sitting alongside the mass-market XM lineup.

What Is It?

The Collexion arrives in a redesigned carrying case with a handle slot that is sleek and compact, with the headphones and a 3.5mm audio cable seated within. Two colour options are available: Platinum and Black.

The build quality makes an immediate impression and is an obvious step up from the XM6. The headband is metal with a matte sandblasted texture offset by hand-polished gloss, with each piece individually finished by skilled craftspeople, according to Sony.

Headband adjustment is stepless and smooth with just enough friction to hold its position. The earcups are covered in a faux leather that Sony says took two years to develop, resulting in a matte tactile finish with integrated metal buttons and microphone openings that sit flush with the surface rather than interrupting it.

The left cup houses the power button, the Ambient Sound Control toggle for switching between noise cancellation and Ambient Sound Mode, a Listening Mode button for the 360 Upmix feature and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. The right cup carries a single USB-C charging port and the touch sensor for gesture controls.

The ear pads are easily removable for future swaps, though Sony has yet to offer replacement pads as a separate purchase. Unlike the XM6, the Collexion does not fold flat, though the provided case keeps it reasonably compact.

User Experience

Despite being marginally heavier than the XM6, the Collexion is noticeably more comfortable for extended wear. The XM6’s stronger clamping force is likely the issue, while the Collexion’s different headband design distributes pressure more gently. The thicker pads and angled driver positioning within the earcups also provide more breathing room compared to the XM6, which can press lightly against the ears and hurt during longer sessions. The metal buttons add a satisfying tactility when toggling listening modes that the plastic controls of previous models do not quite replicate.

Standard WH-1000X touch controls carry over to the right earcup: double tap to play and pause, swipe up or down for volume, swipe forward or back to skip or return. Cupping the right earcup manually lowers volume and activates Ambient Mode. Everything works as expected and the leather surface provides a tactile sensation during touch gestures, a small but noticeable upgrade in terms of feel.

The new 360 Upmix feature adds spatial sound emulation across three modes covering music, cinema and a studio setting. In practice, the effect is hit or miss. Some tracks benefit from the added sense of space while others sound artificial. It is the kind of feature that is worth trying once but unlikely to become part of a regular listening routine, not mine at least.

Battery Life

Battery life is rated at 24 hours with ANC active, stepping down from the XM6’s 30 hours. While that is a step down from the XM6’s 30 hours, it should still be sufficient for most long-haul flights and road trips, provided you charge it beforehand.

In our testing, charging from 40 to 100 percent takes around an hour. A built-in feature also caps charging at 80 percent while the headphones are in use, only completing a full charge once they are powered off, which should help with long-term battery health.

Noise Cancellation

Despite sharing the same QN3 chip as the XM6, the Collexion’s noise cancellation performs slightly differently due to the changed fit and construction. Low-frequency noise cancellation is broadly comparable, but the Collexion allows a touch more high-frequency sound and voices to pass through. The difference is not dramatic but it is noticeable in side-by-side comparison, and the XM6 holds a marginal edge in outright noise cancellation performance.

Ambient Sound Mode

Ambient Sound Mode is similarly close to the XM6 experience, producing a reasonably natural-sounding pass-through that falls just short of the near-invisible transparency Apple has refined on the AirPods Max. High-frequency sounds such as wind noise and keyboard typing come through with a little more presence than ideal. Voices also come through somewhat muffled, making conversations feel less natural than you might hope at this price point.

How Does It Sound? Better than the XM6?

Sony apparently collaborated with GRAMMY award-winning and nominated mastering engineers to tune The Collexion, but they also claimed the same with the XM6. You might be expecting both headphones to sound the same; they do for the most part, with some slight differences.

The Collexion shares the XM6’s broadly U-shaped tuning but with the edges rounded off. The bass is equally warm but less bloated, the treble less sparkly and the overall presentation is smoother and more balanced as a result. Whether that is an improvement depends on what you are after.

For long listening sessions, the Collexion is less fatiguing and easier to settle into. For those who want energy and excitement, it may feel a touch tame. The sound also responds well to volume, becoming more dynamic and engaging as levels rise.

The soundstage feels slightly wider than the XM6, likely a combination of the angled drivers and the more restrained treble presentation. Instrument separation and perceived detail are both above average, benefiting from the extra perceived space.

The bass leans mid-bass rather than sub-bass, with a fast and tight delivery that is clean and controlled without being particularly weighty. Bassheads will find it lean, while most listeners will find it just right. The result is a low end that is noticeably cleaner and less bloated-sounding than the XM6. That being said, I did find the sub-bass to extend a little deeper than the XM6 while also subsequently being tighter.

The midrange is natural and sits at a comfortable distance, neither too intimate nor too recessed. This is, to me, an improvement over the more recessed and almost hollow-sounding midrange of the XM6. Male vocals carry good note weight though fall just short of the warmth I personally prefer. Female vocals are clear and well-defined but lacksa bit of air and breathiness, landing on the drier side of natural.

Treble is smooth and rolled off, prioritising comfort over crispness. Due to this, some might find the high-end to be lacking in energy or excitement. There is a decent amount of detail and perceived clarity on offer but the presentation lacks the sparkle and crispness that some will expect. The upside is a fatigue-free sound that holds up well over hours of listening.

Is It Worth It?

If you already own the XM6, the Collexion doesn’t make a compelling argument for upgrading. The noise cancellation is a hair weaker, battery life is shorter and the sound, while more refined, is not different enough to justify the price gap on audio quality alone.

Where the Collexion does earn its premium is in build, comfort and feel. It is a genuinely luxurious object that wears its price in every detail, from the sandblasted metal headband to the two-year leather development story. It’s also more comfortable than the XM6, at least on my head. For those who want a pair of premium noise-cancelling headphones that also happen to be a statement piece, the Collexion delivers on that front.

One lingering question is durability. How the faux leather holds up over time, whether through staining, peeling or the kind of sticky hydrolysis that has plagued synthetic leather on headphones before, remains to be seen.

When Sony first hinted at a premium audio release to mark the 1000X’s tenth anniversary, many, myself included, hoped it signalled a revival of the Sony Signature Series, home to beloved products like the MDR-Z1R and IER-Z1R that remain fan favourites to this day.

The Collexion is a different kind of premium entirely, and while that is not a criticism of what it is, my hope that the Signature Series might return someday remains very much alive.