Sony's WH-1000XM series of headphones is well known among mainstream as well as audiophile folks. The company recently unveiled the 1000X COLLEXION edition to mark the series' 10-year anniversary. Priced at ₹59,990, this is significantly higher and exactly what it is aimed for—more on the luxury side than the previous regular editions.
The first thing you might notice about the Collexion is that this is all leather plus metal now. It is slightly heavier than the WH-1000XM6, but not by a huge margin. The headphones' earcups are less bulky, and they rotate, but don't fold inwards.
The right side has the USB Type-C port, while the left side does the heavy lifting—having the quick-access buttons, power on/off key, and mode key to switch between music, cinema, and standard modes. The keys are quite comfortable to reach and do not require too much pressure to register a press. The headband can be adjusted for your size and has ample cushioning in the middle.
Coming to the audio quality, the headphones delivered ample loudness for most things. There is good room for clarity of dialogue, with bass handled well. Treble is slightly less pronounced, though it is not by a huge margin from what I could tell. Background tracks and instruments come out well, and you can try using the cinema mode while having these on during a movie or TV show.
Noise cancellation on these is decent, but certainly not the best we have seen from Sony. The company itself says ANC isn't the highest priority here, but the fit and design are. Noise cancellation is still very much usable for your usual use cases, such as working to cut out background noise like others' chitchat, air conditioning to some extent, and so on.
You can expect to get around 28–30 hours of battery life with little to no noise cancellation on the headphones, which isn't bad, but again, not as good as the WH-1000XM6.
Additionally, the carry case bundled here is really nice. It has this briefcase-like handle in an oval shape that is comfortable to carry and can snug into your luggage for travel.
All in all, the WH-1000X COLLEXION tenth-anniversary edition is a comfortable pair of headphones from Sony that look a little different from their usual, made of leather and metal. It isn't for everybody—not only because of the price tag, but also for what it all offers.
