The Sony 1000X The ColleXion is a 10th-anniversary flagship headphone — more refined materials, elevated design, and subtle tuning adjustments over the already-excellent 1000XM6. After extensive testing across commutes, long-haul flights, office work, and music listening sessions, here is the complete review.

Why This Exists: The 10-Year Story

The original 1000X launched in 2016 and redefined noise cancellation as a mainstream consumer technology. Before it, premium ANC headphones were airport-lounge expensive and sonically mediocre. The 1000X proved that ANC and excellent sound quality could coexist in a consumer product. Every major version since — the M2, M3, M4, XM5, XM6 — maintained that dual focus while improving both. The ColleXion is the anniversary celebration of a genuinely influential product lineage.

Design and Build: The Luxury Upgrade

The most tangible difference from the 1000XM6 is material quality. Soft vegan leather on the earcups and headband replaces the standard synthetic material, metal accents replace plastic on the adjustment sliders and earcup housings, and the colour options — Deep Sea Blue and Midnight Black — are more sophisticated than the consumer-oriented colours on the base model. The result is a headphone that looks appropriate in a business or formal context, not just a casual commute.

The carry case upgrade is meaningful for travellers: a rigid semi-hard shell replaces the 1000XM6’s soft pouch, providing significantly better protection for checked luggage or dense bag packing. Weight is essentially unchanged at 254g — the material upgrade adds cost and quality without adding bulk.

Noise Cancellation: Still the Best for Low-Frequency Noise

The 1000X series’ greatest strength has always been cancelling the low-frequency drone of aircraft cabins, train vibration, and air conditioning systems. The ColleXion continues this tradition — aircraft cabin noise is reduced to near-inaudible levels, enabling genuine focus on work or entertainment at 37,000 feet without needing to raise audio volume to uncomfortable levels. Adaptive Sound Control automatically adjusts ANC depth based on detected environment, stronger on transit, lighter in offices, and transparent when you stop moving.

Compared to rivals: the ColleXion’s total noise reduction depth is slightly better than Bose QuietComfort Ultra on low frequencies, roughly equivalent at mid frequencies, and marginally behind Apple AirPods Max on high-frequency ambient noise. For the commuter and traveller whose primary noise sources are transit rumble and engine drone — the majority of buyers — the ColleXion wins the comparison.

Sound Quality: Warm, Rich, Customisable

Sony’s signature 1000X sound tuning is warm and bass-forward with clear (not harsh) highs and slightly elevated vocal presence. This signature works exceptionally well for pop, hip-hop, Bollywood, R&B, and streaming content — the music genres that most users actually listen to. For classical, jazz, and acoustic music that benefits from a more neutral presentation, the Sony Headphones Connect app’s parametric EQ allows substantial tuning.

LDAC codec support provides the highest Bluetooth audio quality available when paired with Android phones — virtually all current flagship Androids support LDAC. iPhone users connect via AAC, which is still excellent though slightly less data-rich than LDAC. 360 Reality Audio spatial processing is effective on supported streaming content through Spotify and Apple Music.

Comfort: Outstanding for Extended Sessions

The vegan leather earcups and lighter clamp pressure of the ColleXion make four-hour-plus sessions genuinely comfortable. On long-haul flights, the headphones remained comfortable across a 7-hour Delhi to Bangkok journey without the earcup heat buildup that affects some competing models. The headband distributes weight evenly, avoiding the crown pressure that occurs with some over-ear headphones after extended wear.

Battery and Connectivity

40 hours of playback with ANC enabled is exceptional — sufficient for a full week of office use between charges, or multiple long-haul flights. Quick charge gives 3 hours of playback from a 3-minute charge. Multipoint Bluetooth maintains simultaneous connection to laptop and phone with seamless automatic switching when a call arrives on the phone during music playback from the laptop.

India Pricing and Verdict

The ColleXion is priced at ₹39,990 in India — approximately ₹7,000 more than the 1000XM6 at ₹32,990. The premium pays for upgraded materials, a better carry case, and the anniversary design. The core ANC and audio performance differences are incremental rather than generational.

Choose the ColleXion if the premium materials and travel case justify ₹7,000 extra — particularly if you travel frequently and value carry protection. Choose the standard 1000XM6 if performance is the primary criteria and materials are secondary. Both are outstanding; neither requires an apology.

Verdict: 9.0/10 — The best Sony headphones ever made, for buyers who value premium materials alongside class-leading ANC.

Published June 9, 2026 · Updated August 2026 · Digital Idea Gadget Review.