Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION
I just picked these up from my local retailer, who were awesome enough to reduce the price by $100, and let me be one of the first to tell you, if you love the XM6, you will LOVE the 1000X Collexion.
Out of the box, the tuning is refined and you can tell that a lot of energy has gone into these cans.
The design and materials feel nice, premium - the head band and the way it glides is so smooth and satisfying.
The Audio Quality and Sound Signature is still very Sony, but now at an elitist level.
The Bass thumps noticeably more, but not in a bad way - very controlled like you can feel it. Example, in Habits by Eminem @ ~2.05 - 2:30 there is a sub bass sequence that just absolutely slaps and the drop is epic on these with little to no distortion. I would say similar to mids and treble. Sound stage is wider but voices are also clearer and details just stand out more. I am sensitive to timbre and these do not resonate at all.
The ANC feels virtually identical to the XM6 to me. If there’s a difference, it’s very minor.
The comfort, omg. Immediately, my ears sunk into the cups and I can wiggle my ears without feeling any internal materials. My ears are not as flush to my head and I would often have the inner ear cups of the XM6 rub inside the ear cups. These feel as deep as AirPods Max to me. Weight and clamping force is perfect.
I'm using a Questyle Pro USB C LDAC adapter with my iPhone 17 Pro and I highly recommend this if you want to make the most out of any Sony headphone - noticeably better clarity over AAC etc.
Personally, I don't buy into the AI, DSEE, or spatial "360" audio. It sounds like junk on any headphone - period.
These respond super well with the app's EQ and sound noticeably better than the XM6.
With all this said, yes they are expensive so I will leave the answer to the question of if the added cost is worth it to your own financial situation, but if you want arguably the best ANC/Sound Quality headphones, these are it. 👌🏻😎