Sony X1000 THE COLLEXION: Decade edition in quiet luxury

Sony is marking exactly a decade this year for its iconic X1000 series, which also turned Sony into one of the strongest players in the wireless over-ear headphones market. And how do you mark a decade celebration? With another headphone model, of course – this time particularly luxurious.

THE COLLEXION is an unnumbered model, seemingly outside the regular count of the X1000 models, the latest of which was, of course, the excellent XM6, and there are several good reasons for this: Although they use the same processor, these headphones are entirely different, externally and internally – they have new carbon fiber drivers, and the external design, though it reminiscent of the series, is a refined and luxurious version of the headphones (also in price, see summary). I spent a few weeks with them, and here are the conclusions.

THE COLLEXION, as mentioned, is a more refined version of the latest headphones in the series. Let us start with the special case, which some have claimed, and rightly so, has the shape of a sandwich toaster: This is an oval case, with a hole in its center that serves as a carrying handle. It takes up slightly more space than the XM6 case due to the fact that these headphones do not fold (which is a shame), but still, it is elegant and very comfortable to carry. Inside we will find only the headphones and a 3.5 mm audio cable. There is no charging cable for some reason, but that is not too bad.

THE COLLEXION itself is a beautiful creation, made of only two materials: Metal and high-quality synthetic leather, which in practice – I could not feel a difference between it and real cow leather. The metal headband was crafted by hand, with a sandblasted finish that gives it a special look – and it comes in two colors: Black and platinum, where in the platinum version the headband is silver metal and the headphone body is in white. I received the black, but both pairs are beautiful.

What is very present is that Sony "shaved" the earcups – and they are thinner than usual, and honestly – more elegant and do not look like the "Yopo cups" of the XM5. These are simply beautiful headphones, and they are also very, very comfortable on the ear and to wear, due to a redesign of the "clamping" of the headband on the head, and the earcups themselves. Their weight is only 226 grams – light as a feather.

Their look is very smooth and minimalist, where on the right earcup we will find the USB-C socket for charging, and on the left the headphone jack, and three hardware buttons: Power, noise cancellation (NC), and a new hardware button for listening mode, which is an innovation in this model – a choice between several listening modes: Cinema, music, gaming, and background music, where the first two also include a 360-degree sound mixing (upmix). The microphone grilles are also more delicate than before and are unnoticed. The general feeling is indeed of luxury headphones, similar to those of other sound brands.

The sound quality, as expected from Sony, is fantastic as always. Many will ask, and rightly so – how are they different from the XM6? And to that I will answer that the sound of THE COLLEXION is softer, especially in the high tones, while the XM6 has a sound profile that hits the ears harder, also on the bass side. Since we already mentioned bass, these are the first headphones to make use of DSEE Ultimate, which uses artificial intelligence to boost low frequencies. Of course, THE COLLEXION also offers the bells and whistles of the "regular" headphones in the series, through the app, such as speech recognition, ambient sound, wearing detection, personal equalizer, etc.

The different listening modes, which is a useful feature that until now was available only in the app, and not at the press of a button – indeed create different soundstages. I was very impressed by the cinema mode which indeed enriches movie watching, and the music mode also creates a wider soundstage, which is supposed to recall the sound design of a live performance. Also, the option of an ambient sound of a cafe space, which was a favorite of mine in previous models, is now available at the press of a button. However, if you still prefer an intimate and "close to the ears" sound, go for the regular mode.

"Train of Consequences" by Megadeth (which unfortunately is breaking up), sounds excellent, especially the cymbals and Mustaine's guitar wails, and "Telegraph Road" by Dire Straits gained significant stadium volume thanks to the music listening mode (although it is a masterpiece recording in any case), and surprisingly – this did not come at the expense of detail: I could still hear small details like the hum of the monitors and rhythmic clapping from the audience. Similarly, the rich and multi-layered orchestration of "Go West" by the Pet Shop Boys enjoyed a sonic upgrade thanks to the music listening mode.

Even with a ball of pure electronic music like "Swamp Thing" by The Grid they coped with dignity, with beautiful detail including the rattling banjo identified with the track and noticeable but not aggressive bass, which was felt well also in rap tracks like "Still D.R.E." Also in the classical-orchestral category, THE COLLEXION produces a pleasant and crisp sound, which highly flatters big band pieces as well as philharmonic pieces like "Swan Lake." Cashmere on the ears.

The noise cancellation, too, does not fall short of Sony's standards, and since it is the same processor and the same microphone system of the XM6, the noise cancellation here is superb, including handling frequencies atypical of noises requiring clear cancellation like on a flight or engine hums. THE COLLEXION also gives you your own quiet bubble if you need it, and you will feel it even in a quiet environment like a library.

Regarding the interface, apart from the ability to remap each of the hardware buttons, which is an excellent addition, the leather coating on the earcups also does good for the touch interface and reduces the possibility of accidental movements, besides the fact that it is simply fun to stroke it... the tactile sensation is very pleasant.

However, the thinner and tighter design of the earcups pays a small price in battery life: 24 hours of operation instead of the 30 of the XM6. Still, this is a respectable amount of hours that will suffice for you for two transatlantic flights without the need to charge the headphones.

THE COLLEXION are wonderful headphones, and constitute a "quiet luxury" version, like an Audi or Genesis car, which sums up beautifully the first decade of Sony's acclaimed headphone series. However, the price – is also one of luxury. If for the XM6 you will pay about NIS 1400, the price of THE COLLEXION already jumps to NIS 2300. A bit painful in the pocket, for luxury, quiet or not, you pay. And still, fans of Sony's creations will want these unusual headphones, which say: I have Sony headphones, but these? A collector's edition.