Sony's 1000X The Collection is a luxurious and expensive celebration of its iconic headphones, but is it worth the price tag? Ten years ago, Sony introduced the MDR-1000X headphones, revolutionizing the wireless noise-canceling market. They combined noise canceling, good sound, design, and comfort in a way that we hadn't seen before. The 1000X set off a line of consistently excellent wireless noise-canceling headphones that became the go-to for comparisons. I still have a pair of WH-1000XM4s that hang on the side of my desk. To celebrate the launch of the original, Sony is releasing the 1000X The Collection. The new 1000X cans don't replace the WH-1000XM6, which Sony released a year ago. According to Sony, the XM6 are designed for functionality while the 1000X are a luxury design focused on comfort. The 1000X are priced at $650, which is at least $200 more than the WH-1000XM6 and $100 more than the Apple AirPods Max 2. So are these headphones worth adding to your collection? The new 1000X look a lot like the XM6, with some callbacks to the design of the original 1000X headphones from a decade ago. The design choices do have some drawbacks, though. The headphones are heavier, and the noise-canceling performance isn't as good as the XM6. The battery life is also less efficient for fast charging. However, the 1000X do have some improvements, such as a more comfortable fit and a more detailed sound. In my opinion, the 1000X are a luxurious and stylish addition to the XM series, but they're not an evolution. They're an expensive celebration of the original 1000X headphones. If you're looking for comfortable, functional, and great-sounding headphones, I'd still get the 1000XM6.
