Sony’s 1000X The Collexion headphones launched this week, and it marked a fork in the road for Sony.
The new headphones mark 10 years of the 1000X series, but this isn’t a limited edition to celebrate that occasion. These are mass production headphones designed to reach a certain audience – the fashion-conscious with money.
The WH-1000XX could have been no-holds-barred wireless headphones from Sony. But instead, they’ve put their efforts into other areas. You’d have noted from our review (and plenty of others) that the noise-cancellation and the battery life aren’t to the level of the WH-1000XM6. For £200 / $200 more, would you have expected performance and specs to be an upgrade?
But that’s not the remit of the 1000X The Collexion. With these headphones, Sony wants a piece of that ‘fashion-forward’ market the likes of Bowers & Wilkins, Focal, Mark Levinson and Bang & Olufsen have trucked in for years.
This is less about ‘technology’, an area the WH-1000X series has operated in, and more about delivering “a luxurious listening experience that prioritises sound quality and comfort and craft above everything else”.
Premium price, specialised experience
This isn’t a trend that’s just started, but it has become more noticeable.
Several years ago, the expectation was that premium headphones cost £350 / $350. The AirPods Max changed all that.
It’s not as if the AirPods brought features to the table that were any different or greater from headphones that already existed. If anything, the AirPods lineup is limited because it serves Apple’s own ecosystem, and any innovation is tied to iOS at large.
Effectively, with the AirPods, you pay more not because you’re necessarily getting an experience that’s any greater than others, but to get a specific ‘Apple-led’ experience. What the AirPods Max achieved was to raise the boundary of what a premium headphone could cost and how much people were willing to pay for that specialised experience.
There have always been expensive headphones that reached into four figures. Often, these are wired headphones aimed at either the traditional hi-fi market or the hi-fi luxury market.
But wireless headphones have waded into these more expensive, tropical waters with the likes of Bang & Olufsen, Loewe and Mark Levinson placing an emphasis on luxury. Not far behind are hi-fi brands such as Focal, Dali, Bowers & Wilkins, premium brands that believe headphones can act as an entry-level route into hi-fi and therefore bring crossover appeal.
What’s different is that the above headphones started from a position of marketing towards a niche audience. They’re less interested in the mainstream market and instead want to appeal to people who are already familiar with the name and brand and can afford the associated costs.
What the AirPods Max did is take their mainstream cachet developed over years, a brand people are wholly familiar with, and appeal to a different audience who are after luxury, comfort and style. Apple especially has raised the ceiling for wireless headphones, leading to the likes of Sony following with their 1000X, but expectations at this price are different.
Premium-priced headphones are a different category from a workhorse, everyday pair of headphones with top-tier specs. These are headphones that offer a specific experience, one in which some specs can be reduced so long as comfort and sound come to the fore.
Don’t expect battery life that goes on for weeks, or an abundance of features (although the Sony 1000X might do that). Don’t expect that because the price has gone up, that you’re getting more or better value. At this price, with this emphasis on a specific experience, less is definitely more.
Fashion forward, setting cultural trends
Headphones represent a sense of personal expression – they are a part of you and wearing them presents ‘some’ of your personality to the outside world.
The type of headphone, the choice of colour, how you use the headphones, and what clothes you wear to go with them all offer a representation/say something about who you are. Consider the Dyson OnTrac as an example, headphones where you can mix and match the earcups, earpads and headbands to create a look that’s uniquely yours.
But, of course, you don’t have to spend a pretty penny to get that style. Headphones have always been stylish, right from the early days with the Sennheiser HD 420 and Sony MDR-3L2 on-ears with their coloured earpads. But now it feels like there’s been a concerted effort made to embrace style to stand out and create your own ‘vibe’.
Take Marshall’s headphones for example. You’ll likely see someone wearing them during a week of commuting. The rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic stands out, the gold Marshall lettering is simple but iconic. They’re a symbol status of who that person is and what their interests might be, and even though I don’t know you, such is the pull of the Marshall brand, I could take a leap and guess what you’d be interested in.
Like your make-up and jewellery, headphones will go with your clothes, even your skintone too and present that outward-facing personality you want the world to see.
Have you seen anyone wearing a Marshall headphone in the gym? I haven’t, and that’s because they don’t belong there. Have you ever walked through the First Class or Business section of a flight and seen people wearing budget headphones? Of course not. But the rest of the passengers will likely be sporting Sony, Bose, and Soundcore.
Headphones say more about who we are than some might think. Clip-on earbuds have become more popular, and as Bose showed with the Ultra Open Earbuds, they’re a fashion accessory too, decorating your ear in a similar fashion to jewellery.
Wired headphones have made a comeback, but they haven’t really gone away. Are they back because there are people who don’t like wireless technology? Has everyone forgotten the tangles and limited functionality, that wires can split, and the contact plates of 3.5mm jacks stop working? Has no one caught onto the fact that most smartphones don’t have a 3.5mm jack, so you’ll need to buy a USB-C adapter for wired headphones?
Of course, people are aware of these issues, and while wired headphones lack the convenience of their wireless siblings, part of the wired renaissance lies in the fact that they’re also fashion-forward.
A pair of simple, white earphones look good with a leather or denim jacket and jeans. It’s a stylish pushback against the modern world, and another way in which headphones form part of cultural trends and styles.
Headphones are fashionable. Headphones are luxury. They’re affordable. They’re stylish. They’re all of the above. They have been from the off, and they always will be.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
