Sony 1000X the Collexion – WH-1000XM6 in Disguise?

Specifications

The 1000XX and WH-1000XM6 share many of the same specifications, which is why people assume the new model is a reskin of the XM6. But there are differences. For instance, the 1000XX ships with Bluetooth 6.0 support, while the WH-1000XM6 version 5.3. While both models use the same QN3 ANC processor, the 1000XX is equipped with the new Sony V3 chip, where as the WH-1000XM6 has the Sony V2 which debuted in the WF-1000XM5. The 2 models are related, and share certain components, but the 1000XX is not a reskin of the Wh-1000XM6.

Sony V3

The 1000XX uses Sony’s newly developed V3, which is the Mediatek MT2855. I first mentioned the chip details back in March 2025, in my YY2998 post and then in the Collexion trademark post in early April. Props to Mr.Walkman for providing the info.

Sony does not release any details for their chips, but I suspect that the MT2855 is a custom version of Airoha’s AB1595 SoC for Sony. In the AV-Watch article, Sony states that the V3’s memory capacity has been tripled compared the Sony V2. Perhaps this is the custom modification to the Airoha SoC, as the standard AB1595 chip has the same 8MB/16MB integrated memory like the previous AB1585. I will have a separate post up for the Sony V3 down the road. You can check out my Sony V1 and Sony V2 write ups to get more details on the past chips.

Battery Life

Unfortunately the 1000XX battery life is less than one would expect from a premium high end Sony headset. The WH-1000XM6is superior in all scenarios.

But there is an explanation why the battery life is not as good, a lower capacity battery, or batteries. The WH-1000XM6 is equipped with a 1050 mAh cell, where as the 1000XX has the battery split into 2 cells, both 375 mAh, for a total of 750 mAh.

The above from the Taiwanese certification, mentions only one battery, with 2 suppliers, but the teardown reveals that the headset has 2 of these batteries inside the right earcup on opposite sides (see photo bel0w). While not specifically mentioned anywhere, the battery does appear to be easily replaceable. After removing the earpad, 4 screws attach the driver section to the earcup. After removing the driver section, the batteries can be unplugged from the PCB, the plastic containers opened, and the cells removed. I checked Ebay and Aliexpress, and no such battery model is on sale, so it must be a new unit.

Based off the rest of the internal photos, there are 3 reasons Sony went with 2 batteries instead of 1. First, the area in right side earcup where the battery normally would sit, is occupied by the Bluetooth wireless antenna. Second, 2 smaller sized batteries would allow Sony to reduce the height of the earcups, reducing the amount of plastic and overall weight. And finally, the driver takes up most of the internal space inside the earcup, so there was no room for a large flat battery.

Since the battery capacities are not identical, what if Sony had used a 1050 mAh battery in the 1000XX, what kind of operating times could we theoretically see? Well here are the results from my calculations:

• LDAC with ANC – max 28 hours (vs 26 hrs)
• AAC/SBC with ANC  – max 33.5 hours (vs 30 hrs)
• LC3 with ANC – max 31 hours (vs 30 hrs)

So it seems that with the same QN3 processor, a 30mm driver, and identical amount of ANC mics, the 1000XX has a slightly improved battery life when the battery capacity is identical. I calculated max hours/1000 mAh and the % difference in the table below to check the improvement.

It still looks like LC3 and ANC are not playing well together, with a rather pathetic 2.7% improvement. But otherwise, good increases for LDAC and SBC/AAC. From what I know, Sony is working on a new WF-1000XX for next year with the MT2855, so we should see an improved battery life if Sony decides to keep the same capacity cell in the new earbuds.

New Bespoke Driver

The driver size in the 1000XX may be the 30mm like in the WH-1000XM6, but the driver unit is not the same. The 1000XX driver features a soft edge, and a newly developed high-rigidity dome using a unidirectional carbon composite material. The new material is meant to help separate the vocals from the instruments, and enhances the higher frequencies, resulting in a richer and wider soundstage.

Reading various reviews and owner comments, the sound quality is slightly better than the WH-1000XM6, but there are some user opinions that the quality is nothing to get excited about. I cannot comment personally, but I will say this, everyone’s hearing is different, so one person’s experience will not be universal for everyone. The best solution is to test them at the store if you are able to, ideally with music you listen to on regular basis.

If we compare the expanded views of the 1000XX and WH-1000XM6 drivers, the design is almost the same, with some minor differences, notably the membrane, and the two external sections. The 1000XX is also missing the 2 black plates on the back of the driver. I do not know what purpose they serve in the XM6, but there obviously is one, as they are present in the photo.

AV-Watch has a photo of the 2 drivers, and we can see that the area/plastic surrounding the driver has also been significantly reduced. This change decreases the footprint of the driver inside the earcup and also reduces the overall weight slightly.

I wonder if Sony experimented with a 40mm driver inside the 1000XX during development. I suspect a larger driver would have a fit, but would it have brought any noticeable difference in sound quality or noise cancellation performance? I do not know.

Functions

All of the functions are the same as the WH-1000XM6, including the 360 Upmix, which now is expanded to 3 modes. stereo music, cinema, and game content. Features like Google Gemini, voice control, gesture control, and quick access are shared between the 2 models.

DSEE Ultimate

The 1000XX is Sony’s first wireless headset to feature DSEE Ultimate, previously only available on Xperia smartphones, and recent Walkman models. The upscaling engine uses AI (Edge-AI) to upscale files from 16-bit 44.1 kHz, all the way up to 24-bit 96 kHz. Previously, Sony’s headsets used DSEE Extreme, which was not able to “expand” the bit depth when upscaling.

I have tried and use DSEE Extreme and Ultimate, and I do not hear any difference on my various files I have tested. I have tried 320kbps, 192kbps, and 128kbps files, and the quality is not improved anywhere near what Sony claims it would be. Once you remove data, putting data back in, even with AI will not bring the file back to the original quality. Maybe it is just my hearing and I cannot hear the difference, but try the following. Take a 1920 x 1080 photo, reduce the resolution to 960 x 540, next using AI upscaling, bring it back to 1920 x 1080. The quality of the photo will never be like the original 1920 x 1080.