Sony 1000X The Collexion Review: Premium Sound and Upmix Features, but Not the Flagship

Sony has a pair of headphones that costs S$839 and, by the company's own account, is not its flagship. The 1000X The Collexion is the most expensive wireless model in the lineup, yet Sony describes it as a new expression of the 1000X series philosophy and says the WH-1000XM6 remains the flagship. HardwareZone's reviewer spent time with the pair and came away with a more complicated picture than the price implies.

Start with how they look and feel. The sliders are stainless steel, mixing a sandblasted matte finish with glossy accents. Faux leather wraps the outside of each earcup and also covers the earpads and headband. The reviewer found the result premium, with none of the plasticky feel common to headphones today, but flags repairability: earpads can be replaced, while re-wrapping an entire earcup is unlikely. The earpads are deep but a little narrow, so larger ears may brush the back of them. After six hours of continuous music, they were still comfortable, with moderate clamping force and enough headband cushioning to avoid pressure at the crown.

Controls largely follow the XM6. The left earcup carries power and noise-cancelling buttons plus a new listening mode button, placed higher up so it is not hit by accident. It cycles through Standard, Music and Cinema 360 Upmix. The right earcup keeps the touch controls, including pressing a palm to the earpad to trigger Transparency Mode for quick conversations. One omission stings at this price: there is no USB-C audio. Wired listening runs only through the 3.5mm jack, while the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, slightly costlier, offers 24-bit audio over USB-C.

The sound is where these differ most from the XM6. A new 30mm driver with a carbon composite dome aims for better instrument separation, a wider soundstage and clearer treble. The headphones pair the XM6's QN3 noise-cancelling processor with the newer Integrated Processor V3, which enables the Upmix feature. The reviewer hears a more analytical tuning: less bass boost, a tighter and cleaner presentation, more emphasis on detail and space. The low end still has rumble and texture. They sound thin at low volume, though; 35 to 45 percent, roughly 65 to 75dB average, works well.

Music 360 Upmix adds about 5 to 10dB of volume and opens the soundstage so it feels less inside the head, closer to open-back headphones. It worked best with centred tracks such as Ed Sheeran's Bad Habits, where vocals turned airier and instruments brighter. It falters elsewhere: cymbal-heavy tracks can turn sharp and sibilant, and layered vocals let backing parts compete with the lead. Some tracks go tinny with an artificially widened stage. TOOL's Chocolate Chip Trip felt as though instruments circled behind the head, while the 1994 Live on MTV Hotel California sounded more like a studio recording. Game 360 Upmix impressed more; in Gran Turismo 7 on PS5 it boosted road and engine sounds and made play more immersive. Upmix is source-agnostic over Bluetooth but does not work wired.

Noise cancelling is a weak point. Despite the same microphone array as the XM6, the reviewer found it less effective: low rumbles and commute noise are handled, but higher-pitched sounds slip through unless the volume is raised. Call quality is good, isolating the voice even in wind.

Connectivity is solid. Bluetooth 6.0 supports SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3, and the reviewer had no stutters in crowded MRT stations or malls, and kept the connection about 10 metres away through two solid walls. The Sony Sound Connect app offers the XM6's options, Upmix mode switching and a 10-band equaliser from 31Hz to 16kHz, with six presets (the last, Manual, reserved for custom tweaks) and two slots for saved EQs. Battery life is up to 24 hours, below the XM6's 30 with ANC on, though enough for any non-stop flight.

The verdict: for the best noise cancelling, buy the XM6; for the longest battery, the reviewer points to the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless. The Collexion suits buyers wanting premium build, a different sound and Upmix across games, movies and music, and LDAC will please fussy listeners despite the lack of lossless wired audio. It is not here to usurp the flagship, the reviewer concludes, but to offer an alternative.