Sony has finally made the WH-1000XX ‘The Collexion’ headphones official. This pair is meant to be the company’s premium headset in its 1000X range and marks the tenth anniversary of the MDR-1000X’s launch in 2016.
Add these to your Collexion
Some obvious changes, which we saw a little early, include a redesigned hinge with metal accents. Those are joined by a slightly wider headband with more cushioning (apparently), and a premium-looking faux leather finish to the earcups. Your colour options are the standard black and ‘Platinum’.
Inside the ‘The Collexion’ (this is why you don’t give your product a ‘the’), Sony has used a pair of 30mm drivers that use unidirectional carbon composite domes. This is meant to produce more detail in the highs and result in clearer instrument separation, according to Sony.
These are also the first headphones from Sony to support DSEE Ultimate, which “uses Edge-AI to upscale compressed digital music files in real time, restoring lost detail and dynamic range for a richer listening experience”. Can’t have a product without AI these days. Not even Sony is immune.
Strangely, the claimed battery life is six hours fewer than that of the XM6. That’s not a very premium move from Sony. But maybe that won’t matter to the folks likely to buy these. There’s only so long you can sit listening to these in your Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair before you need to move.
Another notable change comes to the carry case. Sony’s put a hole through it so you can, ehh… carry it better?
The ‘more premium’ part is certainly present in the price. The WH-1000XM6 launched last year for R11,000 ($450). We don’t know yet if these will make their way to South Africa officially, but if they do, we expect them to be even pricier. We’ll update this article if we hear back.
UPDATE 20/05: That didn’t take long. We’ve confirmed that Sony’s new headphones are already available in South Africa, with a R16,000 price tag.
