Customer Ratings & Reviews

So, I was skeptical at first with these headphones. I know Sony was trying to polish previous attempts at high end headphones and I have to say for the most part I've been very impressed with these headphones. The first most noticeable thing is the build quality improvements over some of their other headsets. The headphones while not "heavy" have a premium feel and I don't feel like I'm going to break the things just by putting them on my head like some of their past headphones. Also, the material on the earcups (outside) is a nice touch over just plain plastic. Sound quality is on par or slightly better than other high-end headphones I've used (at least to my preferences). Also, I was able to get in a several hour listening session and almost forgot I had them on so that's a nice touch in the comfort area as well. One other area that wow ‘ed me was the ANC (noise cancelling), this is one of the best systems I've experienced so far. They blocked out all noise in the area I was in, and I did not get that strange static pressure sense like some earlier versions from Sony caused me. It's also nice that they don't just have on and off but that there is a true "passthrough" mode available as well, that's nice if you’re in an area where you need to be able to hear the things around you but still want to use the headphones. While the headphones don't tightly fold up there is a very nice carry case that comes with the headphones and for the most part, I feel that is acceptable for this class of headphones so no real complaints about that. It's nice that the case has a magnetic latch on it and it totally covers the headphones unlike some other brands "cases". Overall sound quality was great, and using the headset for things like phone calls was actually very good compared to some other headsets I've used in the past so that was a nice touch as well. If I had any complaints, it would be two things, first the headphones come with a nice 3.5mm jack so you can use the headset with a normal headphone jack which is nice, however they don't include a USB cable for charging in the case at all. I feel like not including a simple cable like that in a headset at this cost is a little bit of a copout. Those cables are not that expensive, and it should have been included so I could have a cable in the case with the headphones when I need to charge the things instead of needing to dig through my own collection of cables. The only other thing is while the earcups are super comfortable, because they are memory foam, they do tend to get a little warm after extended listening sessions. But overall, that's a minor issue and not something that would keep me from wanting them overall. I think with everything considered this is one of my new favorite sets of headphones overall which is impressive because of the sheer number of headsets I've used and currently have. I'll probably continue to reach for these first in a lot of cases now.

First of all, the reason for the weird name ‘The Collexion’ is, since this is the TENTH version of the Sony 1000X headphones, the “X” is for the roman numeral ‘ten.’ Yes, these are costly, the most expensive in the series yet. Is it worth it? For a few reasons I think it is. These headphones are more premium than all the others. Sony says they went ‘all out’ in these where they didn’t before in previous models, because they knew the price point would have to be higher. For those who don’t want to spend the extra money, the “XM6” model is still available for several hundred dollars less. So why spend the extra money? For one thing, the ‘build’ is better, more premium. Instead of plastic, the imitation leather feels better in your hands. The headband is wider and better padded for comfort. Speaking of comfort, the ear cups, even though they appear slimmer than past models, have more room for your ears inside. Equally important, these phones do not press as hard on your ears as previous models, increasing comfort, especially if you’re wearing them for long periods. Many say the sound is richer too. Battery life is good. 24 hours on a single charge. A 5-minute charge will give you an extra 1.5 hours of playtime. It’s not quite as good as the cheaper ‘XM6’ because the new improved drivers on the ‘Collexion’ require more power. I wouldn’t think there were many who wouldn’t be satisfied with 24 hours of listening though. The noise cancelling is excellent, as Sony has become famous. Three modes, noise cancelling’, ‘off’, or ‘ambient sound’ to bring in outside noises if you need to be more aware of your surroundings The free Sony “Sound Connect” app is really useful for tailoring the headphone to your taste. So many features. The equalizer gives you five preset modes and two custom modes you can tailor to your taste with 10 frequency adjustments, but where the app really shines is that you can bypass the equalizer altogether and use three “360 Upmix” settings, music, cinema and games. This takes two channel audio and gives it more of a ‘spatial surround’ effect. I found the ‘cinema’ setting really effective watching movies, however with music it was more hit or miss. Sometimes it seems a little too jarring for songs I was familiar with. No problem though, a tap of the button on the left side of the phones turns this feature off and on. Also available is Sony’s ‘DSEE Ultimate’ setting, which through AI takes audio with lesser quality and ‘upscales’ it into fuller richer sound. Bottom line, yes, these are the most expensive headphones I own. It you can afford it though, the extra quality build and features available I believe make it worth the extra cost.

These Sony 1000X THE COLLEXTION Headphones are quite simply the best that I've ever had in many ways. I've had many different premium brands over the years and they are all wonderful. This is replacing Sony 1000XM4 headphones that were my previous favorite ever. These improve on them in a few ways but also improve on most other headphones that I've ever had I the same ways. First and foremost, when talking about headphones we need to talk about sound. I was actually quite impressed with the standard sound. It was clear and the voice, bass and treble all came through as I would hope. But I've been using the immersive setting, and it improves the sound a lot. It really is immersive and the music sounds better than anything else I've ever used. One reason that the 1000XM4 were my previous all-time favorites was both because they sounded great and the touch controls. They retain the touch controls, so that makes me very happy. If you've never used similar ones, you tap to pause; double tap to play again; swipe forward to skip and back to go back. Swipe up to increase volume and down to decrease. You can also place your hand over the right side and it will let the sound through when you're using noise cancellation. Once you get the hang of the motions, it's awesome and so intuitive. Comfort is also just as important as sound since no matter how good something sounds, if you can't wear them long, it really doesn't matter. These are the most comfortable I've ever had, too. They fit completely over my ears and have room to space, so I have no ear discomfort. They are very light but still feel solid. I turned on the music and they almost disappeared as I listened. I generally don't used over the ear headphones while walking, but if you do then the adaptive sound is killer. It senses and learns where you are and will adjust the noise cancellation based on that. The times that I have used it, it is great in situations where a car or something is coming and it allows that sound through, so you're not surprised as it goes by. I can see this being very useful on things like public transport where the stops are getting announced. If there's one thing that I would want improved, it's the noise cancelling. Not so much that I'd rate it lower, but it's just a personal preference. It works very well, so don't get me wrong. I just wish that it blocked a little more. Overall, these are simply the best sounding and most comfortable headphones. I would recommend them to anyone.

While these Sony “1000X THE COLLEXION” headphones have a silly name, they’re the most comfortable and powerful headphones I have ever used. I’m about 6’3” 220+ with an extra large head, and I don’t even need to max out the size on these which is a first for me! Between the sizing, the band and ear cup comfort, you might not “forget you’re wearing them”, but you can comfortably wear them for hours without head squeezing pain or extra head sweat. ANC is near the best if not the best I’ve ever used, I can barely hear my 8 month old scream with it on right next to her! With the hearing through "ambient sound” mode, I can watch TV/have a conversation with them on and not miss anything! The adaptive modes work well, but call me “old school”, I prefer to just adjust it myself according to what I’m doing at the moment. (My 4 year old loves to randomly say stuff across the house to just yell and ask me if I could hear her through the headphones!) Audio quality in general is top tier, I’m no audiophile, but this is stellar! Call quality is also great, but I’m only able to compare it to my mid tier wireless buds, and it completely obliterates them. I’m not a huge fan of the app, it works fine, I just feel like it should be top tier in this value category. I am a big fan, however, of the fancy touch panel on the right earcup that controls stuff like up and down for volume, forward/backward for skipping, and tapping to answer calls or play/pause! Overall I give these fancy beasts top marks, just make sure this value category fits your budget! If they do, go for it!

I’ve owned the Sony WHCH720N for years. They are good noise-canceling headphones. Not the best; they are more of a budget headset. I have an office that sits near a busy street. I would hear cars drive by, I would hear my A/C run, and I would hear the garbage truck. When I put the Collexion on, I hear none of that. I had to check my camera feed to see if the garbage truck even passed by. I can only tell if the AC is on by taking the headphones off or just by feeling how cold it is in the room. Without a doubt, this is the best noise-cancelling I have ever experienced. You can still barely make out the audible noise from my AC or heater with the headphones, but you have to focus hard on trying to hear it. The Collexion comes in the most eco-friendly box I’ve ever seen. Inside the box, you get a carrying case that looks like a purse. I may have to end up using it when I travel because when you unfold the headphones and lay them around your neck, they are tight. I have been able to wear them for hours on my head, but unfortunately, when I take them off, sometimes the headband gets stuck to my hair. When I first picked them up, I was surprised by the build quality. I’ve owned maybe 15 different pairs of headphones, and by far this is the heaviest and best-constructed one I’ve ever seen or felt. It is incredibly soft, and the glossy metallic headband glides smoothly. The high price tag makes sense. The pairing process is odd. On my PC, I can pair through Bluetooth, but on my iPhone, I had to pair it with the Sound Connect app. You cannot go into the Bluetooth settings and pair it there. This is unlike my other Sony Headphones. This app also asks you to create or log in to a Sony account and sign a bunch of agreements. Let me repeat that. I had to sign a couple of agreement forms for… headphones... While going through the process, I did encounter an error trying to log in. It read “An error has occurred. Please start again from the beginning.” Which is the most frustrating message to read after you’ve already spent several minutes logging in. Every other pair of headphones I have ever used just takes a few seconds to pair, and not several minutes. After you are signed into the app and have completed those agreements, even if you have to repair the process is a lot shorter. Still has to be done through the app, but at least you can repair it in under one minute. You can cover the right earcup to go into ambient mode. This is a mode that helps you hear your surroundings. I turned the speak-to-chat feature off, which is a feature that turns on the ambient mode when it notices you are talking. If you find yourself always having your hands full and someone wants to have a conversation with you, maybe this would be of use to you. Sometimes I would sing a song or talk out loud, and then I would go into the ambient mode, so it did not work for me. They have multiple listening modes that are able to be switched between with a dedicated button on the headphones. They have a standard default option, one for music, one for gaming, and a few more. I found that, honestly, the standard sounds good regardless of what you’re doing. The music mode is heavy on the bass, which I like, but the voices of the artists sound weird, not sure how to describe it. I thought I would like the gaming mode, but honestly, the standard mode is just fine for gaming. I thought maybe I could go into the music mode and adjust the EQ, but you cannot. You can only adjust the EQ on the standard mode. I was hoping on the music mode I could keep the bass where it is and adjust the EQ accordingly to fix the voices, but you cannot. On the app, you are forced to keep the standard and pick between two other modes. Ideally, I wanted the cinema mode, music mode, and gaming mode to switch to, but that is not possible. You have the ability to switch between 2 devices simultaneously. Although I could not really get it to work. I was playing music on my computer, and then I started playing a TikTok video on my phone. Even if I paused the music, I would not be able to play the TikTok video through the headphones. I think this is meant for calls? You are able to prioritize sound quality or connection on the app, which I do like. I have the priority on quality, and even if I am far away from my computer, like on the other side of my house, it still sounds good and does not cut out. The other button on the headphones is to turn on noise cancelling or to change it to ambient sound. So it’s not much different than the speech-to-chat feature or putting your hand over the earcup. So yeah, there are multiple ways to go into the ambient sound mode. Also in this mode, you can hear yourself clearly. I suppose so you don’t end up yelling at the person you’re talking to. Alternatively, you can also just remove the headphones and your music will pause the music. Once you put your headphones back on, it will resume playing. There is also a head gesture feature. You can shake your head to reject a call, for example. One feature that you may like, but I did not, was the automatic power off. I use these headphones for VOIP calls. By default, the option is enabled to save you power. Since I take a lot of calls, I never want the headphones to turn off by themselves. & since my priority is my work, I unpaired my phone so a personal call or music playback would not interrupt a work call. So guess what, yes I had to go into the Sound Connect app and spend a minute repairing through the app, and then turning off the setting. You are not able to change the turn-off time, nor does it tell you when it automatically turns off. It’s maybe only 10 minutes or less. Just now I went on an hour-long lunch and came back, put on my headphones, and music automatically started playing. So much better than saving battery. All these settings (and more that I did not even get to test) can be added to the app’s homescreen. It will become a quick toggle. So overall, these headphones are not perfect. The noise cancelling is good. The sound modes need work and need customization. I would imagine the pairing process is going to stay locked behind an app, an agreement, and an account. Hopefully, my neck does not get a rash from wearing these around my neck. And I hope I don’t go bald in a few months after it continues to pull my hair out. To tell you the truth, this feels like a beta product. Which should not be the case, considering Sony has been making headphones for decades. Even if you went with something like the WHCH720N, I think you would still be happy with it. You would end up saving $500 and still get decent noise cancelling. That feels like a finished product. I don’t feel like a beta tester wearing it. If you have the money, then spend it on these luxurious headphones, but if you don’t, maybe don’t spend your money on a beta product. I’ll still daily these but there may come a day when I put on my old headphones. I just hope we get more customization, and I hope that these might need a break-in period to feel more comfortable.

The Sony 1000X The Collexion is a luxury audiophile version of the XM series with decent active noise cancellation. You get a comfortable set of headphones that are wrapped in vegan leather for a luxurious feel. I was able to wear the headphones for 6 hours without the top of my head hurting. The top of my head is a headphone pain hotspot if they do not fit well or are too heavy. The Collexion’s sound stage is the star of the show with a wider, more spacious, and more refined sound stage than the Sony WH-1000XM6. Vocals and instruments, especially with lossless or LDAC playback. For iPhones you will need to connect the headphones with a cable to receive lossless audio but android phones such as the Google Pixel Pro and the Samsung Galaxy line are good to go on LDAC playback. The Collexion blocks noise very well, but Sony clearly tuned it to prioritize sound quality and premium comfort over maximum silence. Make no mistake, the XM6 still wins in the active noise cancellation category. The Collexion will give a respectable amount of active noise cancellation and truer sound representation than what comes out of the bass heavy XM6. If you are in high noise environments where you need top tier active noise cancellation then The Collexion might best be used at home for you. The Sony sound connect app allows you to customize and “upmix” audio to sound better on the headphones. Besides that feature I didn't think many other features helped enhance my headphone experience. The Collexion will work well in an airplane, trains, and typical city noise. However if you are battling loud Bluetooth speaker on the metro or constant siren noises The Collexion might not be for you. However, if your priority is pure music enjoyment and luxurious design, The Collexion is arguably Sony’s best sounding wireless headphone yet.

These are almost the perfect headphones I am no audiophile, but these are the best sounding headphones I’ve ever listened to, even out of the box. I have the Sony WH-1000 xm6 also, and the 1000x sound even better than those. I really don’t notice much improvement in the noise cancelling. Maybe the 1000x are a little better with NC, but I really cannot tell a difference under normal use around the house and office. The amount of EQ customization is fantastic, much more options over the Bose EQ. I have tailored the headphones to match my preference in sound perfectly. The build quality is great. They feel and seem like a higher quality build with premium materials. The case is nicer too, but at this price point, surely a charging case could’ve been included. The issue keeping these from 5 stars is the fit. The ear cups are very comfortable, but they are very loose on my head, and I have a pretty big head. With normal walking movement, they will slip towards the front of my head no matter how I try to wear and adjust them. On my 13 year old daughter, much smaller head, they fall right off if she leans slightly forward. It’s like they didn’t even try to test them with people moving. I’m very disappointed in the fit to say the least. While the sound is the best, I cannot recommend these over the 1000xm6 due to the fit.

Sony Has Done It Again: I’ve been a multi-decade Sony fan; but even if I were new to Sony, I couldn’t refute the superior quality of these WH-1000XX headphones. This is Sony’s 10-year anniversary model which is meant to celebrate/highlight their hugely popular WH-1000XM series of headphones. (Among other pairs of Sony headphones, I still use a pair of 2017 Sony WH-1000XM2 headphones in black with my desktop PC & laptop in my home office.) Back to the new headphones: from the initial unboxing of the new tech packaging & travel case to the next-level softness when I slid them over my ears, it was apparent that Sony is still competing/striving to remain at or near the top of the leaderboard in premium consumer audio headphones. Out of the Box: I topped these off with a charge (about 20 min). Before I forget, & this is admittedly a small thing, but I’ve never liked that Sony uses an orange/amber charging indicator. I prefer a green light like most other brands employ so that I know when the device is fully charged. The amber light isn’t intuitive, & I find myself searching to know when charging is complete. Anyway, I already had the Sony Sound Connect App loaded on my Android phone; so, the headphones paired quickly, & I was able to begin listening to my music in under 5 minutes. Premium Build Quality & Comfort: These headphones beg to be held in your hands & strapped to your head. But if you reach for them, do they really feel as good as they look? Yes! In a word or two, they look & feel refined & luxurious. The softness of the padded headband, earcups, & earpads almost feels like lambskin. But it’s a premium synthetic leather that Sony reportedly spent 2 years developing & engineering to look & feel more like real leather. The kicker is that the material these headphones are wrapped in, is not only more durable & touch-sensitive vs. most faux leathers, but it’s exceptionally comfy to wear during extended listening sessions. Case in point: over the last few days, I binge watched a multi-episode business documentary, listened to several teaching podcasts, & enjoyed some beautifully orchestrated instrumental music tracks from my playlist of favorite artists. Over the hours, I found these headphones wore exceptionally well. Instead of feeling pressure & discomfort on my temples, the tops of my ears, & the top of my head, as I usually do w/most over-the-ear headphones, these continued to feel plush & comfortable. I also like the way the hand-polished metal & close-tolerance sliders in the headband are designed for smooth adjustability. And the quality spring on the headband keeps it secure but, again, not too tight. It’s clear that Sony gave a lot of thought paid a lot of attention to detail when they designed & engineered these sleek, stylish, modern, minimalist headphones. Sound Quality: Without question, these cans offer some of the best sound quality of any headphones I’ve tried. With multiple Listening Mode options, 10-band EQ adjustments, & multiple mechanisms included in the Sony Connect App, you can dial in & enjoy a rich variety of full sound quality across a broad cross-section of genres—from classical to instrumental, from pop to rock, & from movie soundtracks to Broadway musicals—& hear the kind of music you want to listen to, the way you want to hear it. In addition, you can adjust settings so that you can discern a more precise separation of instruments. Just over the last several days, I’ve been able to recognize musical nuances that I’ve been unable to glean from my previous headphones. And the voice clarity on phone calls & podcasts is also exceptional. In reading Sony’s acoustic architecture technical specs, they highlight their custom dynamic 30mm carbon composite soft-edge drivers & AI-powered DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) Ultimate audio upscaling. This is Sony’s first wireless headphone model to feature DSEE Ultimate w/its enhanced sampling rate & upscaling technology that restores lost detail & dynamic range & essentially rebuilds compressed music files as you listen. Sony’s proprietary technology effectively upscales low-res or compressed files to sound more like hi-res audio. 360 Reality Audio Upmix: Sony utilizes a spatial audio technology they call 360 Reality Audio Upmix. There’s a dedicated button on the left earcup that allows you to choose from different listening modes—Standard, Music, Background Music, Cinema, or Gaming—so that you can change the sound dimensions to simulate a more immersive 360º Surround Sound-type experience. The upmixing provides a way to identify, define, & more distinctly separate the brass from the woodwinds from the strings from the percussion & so forth, not to mention breaking out the vocals from the instruments. You can customize a lot between the listening modes & the EQ. Of course, for max personalization & enjoyment, you’ll want the ability to create & control your own custom audio profiles, which you can access through the Sony Sound Connect app. Adaptive Noise Cancelling (ANC): This important feature is powered by Sony’s next-gen dual chip processor which includes the QN3 HD NC processor & the V3 integrated processor along w/12 mics (6 mics in each earcup) to continuously adjust to your environment. While Sony struck a nice balance between supreme sound quality & noise canceling, at some pt., their design engineers had to make a choice as to where they would invest the most time, effort, & funds. I think they rightly decided to focus their efforts first & foremost on producing the best studio-grade sound quality they could. Having said that, while the noise cancelling on this unit isn’t the best I’ve heard, it’s still as good or better than most. For NC, I’d give these a 4 out of 5. It may be apples & oranges, but I still find that my in-ear Sony earbuds possess a better capability of blocking out more outside noise than these over-ear headphones. But as circumaural headphones go, these are still quite good. Wireless Connectivity: -BT 6.0 LE audio & lossless streaming for listening to music & making phone calls. -Audio Codecs: LDAC & AAC for high-res music streaming. -Multipoint connection: pair 2 devices at once Earcup Controls: I like the intuitive controls on the earcups rather than having to whip out my phone App every time I want to access a different headphone feature or make an adjustment. The left earcup contains the physical, tactile buttons to press for Power, NC, & Listening Modes, whereas the right earcup is strictly swipe. Through the touch controls you can answer calls, play & pause music (music auto-pauses when you remove your headphones), skip tracks, control volume, turn on/off NC, etc. You can also access voice asst. to ask questions, send texts, & control your music. Rechargeable Battery Life: Sony lists up to 24 hrs. of battery life per charge with NC on (& up to 32 hrs. with NC off). I’ve enjoyed these headphones for 5 days straight & I’m still on the initial charge. This is happily far more battery life than I’ve enjoyed with any other set of headphones or pair of earbuds. So, I don’t understand what the rub is for folks who’re unhappy that these don’t provide 30 hours of battery life per charge when you can do a 5-min. quick-charge & get another 90 mins. of play from them. Accessories: Included is a sculpted low-profile case w/a carry handle & magnetic latch for quick storage & transport as well as for easy-open access when you’re ready to use them again. I’ve developed a habit of storing these in their case whenever they’re not in use to protect them from spills, dust, & damage in the event they’re dropped. Also included is a black 4ft 3.5mm audio cable for wired use. No USB-C charging cable is included, which is hard to believe at this price point. Summary: I rated these at 4.5 stars but rounded up to 5-star quality headphones that truly shine. Sony’s latest effort is a good start towards the kind of no-compromise top-tier consumer headphones I’m still hoping they’ll eventually build.