If you have never considered bluetooth headphones before, the decision taken by Apple to remove the headphone jack from its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus may have focused your mind a little. If more companies follow suit, we may all be looking for a new solution to our audio problems.
Enter Sony with its latest noise cancelling bluetooth headphones, the MDR-1000X.
The company has – cleverly – hedged its bets a bit. Unlike other Sony headphones, these are not purely bluetooth, so if you do lose power, you can plug in the 3.5mm cable and use them with a regular jack. No power means no noise cancelling, but the ear cups block out a lot of noise by themselves, and if the music is up loud enough, chances are you won’t notice the background hum.
But it would be a pity to use them like this in all but an emergency. Once the noise cancelling is activated, it’s like being in a bubble. The distractions of the office, the street or your commute are dulled into insignificance.
You have the choice to allow ambient noise filter through though, in two different ways. The first allows all ambient noise; the second, only voices. Hit the ambient sound button and it will knock off the noise cancelling, turning ambient sound mode to normal. It activates the built-in microphones on both ear cups, so you can hear exactly what is going on. That’s the one that allows all ambient noise through. Hit the ambient sound button again and it will switch to voice mode, blocking out the worst of the background noise and just picking out voices. It’s a compromise between the shut-everything-out mode that noise cancelling offers, and the hum of the office.
The controls for all this are located on the bottom of the left ear cup. The buttons have a raised edge so they are easy to find, and scan through what you need. The right ear cup, meanwhile, controls your audio volume and track changing. Swipe up or down on the cup to raise or lower the volume; swipe back and forward to control tracks.If you want to play or pause your audio, you tap the centre of the ear cup.
There’s another nifty trick. Put your hand over the right ear cup and it will turn down the audio, activating the microphone that allows ambient noise past the headphone barrier. It’s a handy feature if someone approaches you to talk, meaning you don’t have to take your headphones off.
The drawback to that is that in taking the headphones on and off, you can activate those controls unintentionally.
None of this is any good without decent audio, and the Sony headphones deliver on that front. These particular ones are compatible with high-res audio, which is still finding its feet somewhat. That won’t be a concern to many people thinking of investing in a new pair of headphones, but if you do adopt the high quality standard in the future, at least your headphones will be up to it.
Even streaming audio tracks sound good on these, and voice tracks work just as well, making these a good all-round set of headphones.
The good:
The 1000x feel like they’re worth the money you pay for them. The headband has a metal strip running through it, although the headphones themselves are mainly made of plastic. The leatherette ear cups are comfortable, and the overall effect is a comfortable pair of headphones that grip your head enough to stay put, but don’t squeeze so hard they become uncomfortable.
The not so good:
The touch controls on the ear cup can be accidentally activated when you pick up the headphones, so you need to be careful. Also the play/pause button can take a while to find; you need to hit it in the right spot.
The rest:
The Sony headphones also include NFC to help you get set up quickly with your compatible bluetooth devices. The pack also includes a hard carry case for the headphones, and an adapter for using them on aircraft.
The verdict: At €430, these Sony headphones aren't the budget option. But they certainly tick all the right boxes when it comes to portable audio.
