Hands-on review: IFA 2016: Sony MDR-1000X Wireless Headphones

Sony has launched a new pair of premium noise-cancelling headphones at IFA 2016 in the form of the MDR-1000X – and spoiler alert, it's impressive.

The headphones cost $400, £330 or AU$700 and will be in stores in October this year, but a couple of new features make them better than anything we've seen from Sony's headphone line before.

During our short time with the headset it felt comfortable with a well padded headband, and the same for the ears. You can fold it away into a smaller package for when it needs to go in your bag and it feels like it's durable from tugging it around a little.

The headphones are lightweight and you're not going to be complaining about the size either.

We've only had the chance to listen to the MDR-1000X with a wired connection – but it seems to be great sound quality, especially if when listening to High-Res audio.

Sony's new flagship set of cans support DSEE HX built-in to upscale compressed music from any source to near Hi-Res Audio sound quality, even in wireless mode.

Despite support for Sony's new LDAC technology that passes three times the data over traditional Bluetooth, Sony representatives told TechRadar the sound quality is a touch worse when used in wireless mode.

Sony tells us that there are two microphones on the outside and inside of this headset, one for each earcup, and two mics inside each earcup that are used for a technology called Sense Engine to learn the size and shape of your head to give you the best sound experience possible.

One example Sony mentioned is that those who wear glasses might not always have the best seal around their ears. The MDR-1000X can pick up on this, and actually push out a bit more noise-cancellation and volume to compensate for the open space.

But the real highlight – and what Sony hopes is the MDR-1000X's secret weapon against Bose's QuietComfort headphones – is the headphone's noise-cancelling features that give you a handful of ways to block out as much of the world around you as you'd desire.

One of the modes Sony showed us used the outer microphones to admit outside ambient noise into your music, which would come in useful if you were using these when riding a bike on a busy road and needed to hear car horns or if you were at the airport waiting for an important announcement over the PA system.

If you need to completely tune into the outside world, however, you can also hold your hand up to the right hand side of the headset and the outside mics will pass along whatever they pick up into the headset. Take your hand away and you'll then be back to listening to your music at exactly the same volume it was already at.

This feature is smart and it takes mere moments to be able to hear the world around you, like say in an office space when someone walks up to your desk or when a flight attendant walks by to ask what you'd like for your in-flight meal.

Pairing the MDR-1000X to your smart phone can be done in two ways: There's NFC to quickly connect to your Android device or you can use the Bluetooth button on the bottom of the left earcup to pair your phone in the traditional way. Also along the bottom of the headset are the Ambient Noise button as well as the power switch. On the opposite earcup is the microUSB slot for charging.

Speaking of batteries, Sony says that its new flagship set of cans should last up to 20 hours in between charges, though, that number would likely be much higher if you're not using the noise-cancellation features.

Another interesting design choice Sony's made is with the physical media controls – which is to say, it decided not to include any. You control volume and playback by swiping the earpiece. Swiping up raises the volume, swiping down lowers it, left skips forward and right skips back. It's a neat system, and similar to what Samsung used on its recent Level On Pro Headphones – although I did find that the controls were a little more temperamental here and sometimes would require multiple swipes in order for it to work.

Early verdict

If Sony's really interested in taking down Bose's stalwart award-winning noise-cancelling headphones, the MDR-1000X is its best shot – the design is beautiful, the sound quality is impressive and the noise-cancelling features so far surpass what Bose offers on even its highest grade pair of cans.

That said, there are a few features we'll need to test in our own homes before we can say for certain whether it's worth the amount you're spending on this headset is well-spent, but we'll be sure to put the 1000X through our full testing regiment as soon as possible.

On first impressions alone, though, it looks like the 1000X may be the perfect headset for the frequent traveler or the person who wants to block out the world, but have the ability to jump back into it at a moment's notice.