I tested Sony's new premium headphones, and they define practical luxury for me

Sony released 1000X The Collexion to commemorate a decade of flagship over-ear headphones. The $650 model builds on the WH-1000XM6 with a similar silhouette but a sleeker look, more premium materials, and upgraded internal audio components. The key change is a unidirectional carbon driver designed to reduce dome flexion and lower distortion. The headphone keeps Sony’s warm, detailed, colorful sound signature while delivering deeper, tighter low frequencies and smoother, less sharp highs compared with the XM6, without EQ adjustments. Listening impressions include clear, dense bass on “Please” and well-rendered harmonies.

"Sony just entered said category, pricing its 1000X The Collexion at $650, in exchange for its design and audio upgrades, which build on the WH-1000XM6, released one year ago. Thus, 1000X The Collexion shares a similar silhouette to its more affordable sibling, but debuts with a sleeker appearance, more premium materials, and higher-quality internal audio components."

"Sony markets 1000X The Collexion as a deluxe version of the WH-1000XM6, but it offers internal improvements that set the special-edition headphones apart from the standard model. 1000X The Collexion features a unidirectional carbon driver, opposed to the XM6's standard carbon driver. This speaker design should reduce dome flexion, therefore reducing distortion."

"1000X The Collexion still features Sony's signature sound profile: warm, detailed, and colorful. However, I noticed that 1000X The Collexion's sound profile is more lively than the XM6's, with deeper and tighter low frequencies and less sharp high frequencies, all without any EQ tweaks."

"BTS's "Please" has a vibey bassline that's clear and dense without any rumbling, and the harmonies of the group's members are reproduced beautifully. Overall, 1"

Read at ZDNET