Sony introduces wireless in-ear headphones with noise cancellation
Sony has presented three wireless headphones with noise cancellation in the new X1000 series at IFA. These are in-ear headphones, a model with in-ear tips and a neckband and an over-ear model.
The separate earbuds are named WF-1000X and come with a housing that doubles as a power bank, so they can be charged on the go. When the earbuds are removed from the housing, they are switched on automatically and a connection is made via bluetooth and NFC with, for example, a smartphone. According to Sony, you can listen to music for nine hours if the earbuds are fully charged. There is also a built-in microphone for making phone calls.
The WI-1000X version also uses in-ear earbuds, but these are attached to a neckband. It vibrates for incoming phone calls. The battery life is ten hours with wireless use and the noise cancellation lasts up to fourteen hours with a wired connection.
The WH-1000XM2 is an improvement of the MDR-1000X released earlier this year. The new over-ear model has a better battery life, with which you can listen to music wirelessly for up to thirty hours. There is a quick charge function that allows you to listen to seventy minutes of music after ten minutes of charging. Like its predecessor, the headphones have a Quick Attention mode: by placing the palm of your hand on the outside of the earcup, the noise cancellation is temporarily switched off.
According to Sony, all three models are equipped with Smart Auto settings to adapt the noise cancellation to the moment of use. At an airport, for example, broadcast messages are passed through. The WH-100XM2 and WI-1000X also have an Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing function, which Sony says analyzes the atmospheric pressure in the aircraft and adjusts the noise cancellation accordingly. The 1000X series headphones can be controlled with Sony’s Headphones Connect app. This makes the settings for noise cancellation adjustable and the equalizer can be adjusted.
All three variants will be available in black and champagne by mid-September. The WF-1000X caps cost 220 euros, the WI-1000X neckband has a suggested retail price of 330 euros and the WH-1000XM2 headphones cost 380 euros.