Entry 235 : First Impressions - Sony 1000X Series and h.ear Series Wireless Headphones & NW-ZX300 Walkman®

Hey, everyone!

On the back of a very busy week, I finally have the chance to share with you guys my coverage and impressions of Sony's brand new wireless audio devices.

Sony Malaysia launched their wireless 1000X and h.ear series, along with the new NW-ZX300 Walkman®

From bottom left: Danny Bong, Head of Personal Audio; Satoru Arai, Managing Director of Sony Malaysia; Hideyuki Wada, General Manager of Marketing

The launch started off with Mr. Satoru Arai giving his presentation on the current state of the market with regards to audio devices, which clearly showed how Sony has been dominating the market share for quite some time. It was definitely a proud moment for the people at Sony who have been "at the forefront of audio technology" as quoted by Mr. Satoru Arai, himself.

Mr. Satoru Arai, glowing and overflowing with pride 

Next, there was a presentation by Mr. Muhamad Azriff, Product Specialist in charge of the new wireless headphones. First, he talked about the 1000X series headphones, consisting of the WH-1000XM2 (headband style), WI-1000X (behind-the-neck in-ear style), and WF-1000X (truly wireless in-ear style). It was a short presentation that mentioned on mainly the innovative new features of the wireless headphones, followed by a demonstration by Mr. Satoru Arai and Mr. Danny Bong that illustrated the real-world use of the new technology.

Mr. Muhamad Azriff holding the WH-1000XM2 wireless headphones

Mr. Satoru Arai demonstrating the adaptive sound control feature of the WH-1000XM2

Wonderful features of the premium WH-1000XM2 series include:

• High-resolution audio quality, along with Sony's in-house SENSE ENGINE, designed to provide a personalised experience for every single sound, including music and ambient sound, tailored to individual needs.
• Adaptive Sound Control automatically changes the level of music and ambient sound according to the user's current state, whether "riding", "walking", or "staying".
• Industry-leading noise cancelling (NC) technology, combined with unique Ambient Sound mode, Personal NC Optimiser and Quick Attention mode.
• Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing analyzes the surrounding atmospheric pressure and improves the NC performance. 
• 30 hours wireless battery life, 40 hours with an audio cable, and possesses Quick Charge that gains 70 mins of battery life with just 10 minutes of charging.
• Intelligent gestures to control playback.

Impressive features of the WI-1000X and WF-1000X include:

• Behind-the-neck in-ear WI-1000X possesses noise cancelling, Adaptive Sound Control and Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing. Lives up to 10 hours wireless and 14 hours plugged in. Capable of high resolution audio.
• Truly wireless in-ear WF-1000X is the pinnacle of hassle-free high-resolution audio listening. Features noise cancelling, Adaptive Sound Control, and Ambient Sound Mode. Battery life is 3 hours but comes with a charging case and only requires 1.5 hours for a full charge, while 15 minutes of Quick Charging provides 70 minutes of playback.

Next, there were two more brief presentations on the new h.ear Series headphones and the brand new NW-ZX300 walkman.

The new wireless h.ear Series headphones provide brilliant audio quality in fashionable colors

Left: WH-H900N headphones and Xperia XZ Premium in Moonlit Blue

Right: WH-H800 headphones and NW-A40 Walkman® in Twilight Red

This new series of headphones, that include three wireless (WH-H900N, WH-H800, WI-H700) and two wired (MDR-H600A, IER-H500A) along with matching Walkman® were designed "to suit the music loving, style conscious millennial". I personally love the new color options as they breathe fresh air into the very stale audio device market.

Brilliant colors to choose from

Anti-clockwise from the front: Twilight Red, Pale Gold, Grayish Black, Moonlit Blue, Horizon Green

The new h.ear series headphones are capable of handling high resolution audio, where the wireless options come with exceptional battery life and Quick Charge. The larger headphones (WH-H900N and MDR-H600A) come with NC technology while the smaller WH-H800 utilizes the same 40mm driver as the larger one but does not have NC technology.

At last, the testing session began and I was quick to jump on the bright red WH-H900N. The following are my thoughts on this headphone in particular, followed by my thoughts on the other devices that were launched on that day.

WH-H900N

I want one. I am a huge advocate for wireless technology and have started to look for wireless options for my work setup, which is why I bought the Razer Man O' War wireless headset and also why I was excited to attend this event in the first place. Obviously audio tech is out of my comfort zone as I am more used to camera gear, but I have always been an avid music fan.

Experiencing the audio quality from the WH-H900N for the first time wasn't the mind-blowing audiophilic trip I'd imagined. At first, I blasted Michael Jackson's Billie Jean to get a good sense of the subtle tones and exaggerated vocals. The layers in the song were to give me a good representation of the sound rendered from the drivers in the headphones. I wasn't too impressed but I just thought that maybe the headphones required some tweaking in the Sony | Headphones Connect app.

I then moved on to Lotus' remix of San Holo's I Still See Your Face. The song has been a lovely listen ever since I first heard it and I wanted to hear how faithful the layers of sounds were rendered. This time was much better. I could hear every piece of sound being mixed into the song, where the vocal separation was matched with the beautiful blend of the beats.

I then played Kygo & Ellie Goulding's First Time and a few other songs on full volume while casually walking around the venue taking photos. There wasn't any distortion even when the loud "drop" came during the chorus nor was there any noticeable interference from the wireless devices nearby. The latter, however, is mostly due to me being the only person to pair the headphones with a device. If the headphones had paired with a nearby device beforehand, I might have experienced unbearable interference like my colleague did with the WH-1000XM2 headphones.

I am not sure whether the WH-H900N warrants quite the exclusive price tag judging by the audio quality alone. Sure, it does propose great battery life and handy gestures & features, but if I were to invest in pricey headphones, I would want to be impressed more. Currently, I'm not too blown away. Longer hours of listening and comparing with other headphones is definitely required to fully judge the WH-H900N's performance.

From left: WH-1000XM2, NW-ZX300 Walkman®, WI-1000X

WF-1000X

I was astounded to see the adaptive technology implemented in the 1000X series during the demonstration. It was a brave move for Sony to utilize such subjective and environmentally-dependent technology into noise cancelling headphones that really made me rethink the way I listened to music on the go.

I did have some concerns with the way the headphones reacted, though. One negative that I've drawn is the headphones' ability to instantly heighten ambient sound and lower the music volume to a whisper for the Quick Attention feature, which is found not only on the WH-1000XM2 but also on some of the other releases, including the WH-H900N. When someone requires your attention or response, you can place your hand on the right ear-cup and the headphones adjust its noise cancelling to accommodate the person you are talking to while still keeping the music playing in the background. This feature was poised as a way to "maintain listening momentum", where you will not lose track of your song. I, however, personally do not like this at all. I would much rather the headphones pause my song when I gesture for Quick Attention because I am the kind of person who does not want to miss a thing in the song, especially if I'm listening to a podcast. 

Vesper from The Adventures of Vesper trying out the WH-1000XM2

Other than that, as I said before, if previously paired with a number of devices, the WH-1000XM2 picks up a lot of interference as experienced by my fellow "slashy" Vesper from The Adventures of Vesper. This might cause a problem with people who listen to music on multiple devices but forget to turn off their Bluetooth such as myself. Although obviously prevalent at the launch event, where the headphones had paired with a multitude of devices, how they actually behave in a more controlled setting is yet to be tested out.

NW-ZX300 Walkman®

Frankly, I do not see people going for the new Walkmans. I find them obsolete solely because they cannot connect to the internet for music streaming on apps such as Spotify or Apple Music. I personally do not know of anyone who would go through the tedious task of downloading songs onto their computer and syncing them with their Walkman before going out to enjoy their music. Sure, the Walkman has absolute high-end specs and provides the purest form of sound, but who saves songs anymore these days?

With regards to the other releases by Sony, I wasn't able to test out all of them at the event.

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All in all, I was very pleased with the new releases, mostly due to the innovations. Sony take practicality to a whole new level with automated adaptive sound technology, which is something I would like to see more people use and talk about. The price of this technology is quite high now as these are some of the newest headphones to implement such features, but with more and more companies joining in on the road to wireless everyday peripherals and accessories, I believe that this technology will be accessible to the masses in no time.

The price listing and availability of all releases are as follows:

• 1000X Series available in Black and Gold
• WH-1000XM2 is now available at RM1,599
• WI-1000X is now available RM 1,499
• WF-1000X is now available at RM 899
• h.ear Series available in Horizon Green, Grayish Black, Twilight Red, Pale Gold, and Moonlit Blue.
• WH-H900N is now available at RM1159
• WH-H800 is now available at RM959
• WI-H700 will be available in 18 Dec 2017 at RM859
• MDR-H600A is now available at RM799
• IER-H500A is now available at RM399
• NW-A45/NW-A45HN is available at RM899 in 16GB
• NW-A46HN is available at RM1299 in 32GB
• NW-ZX300 Walkman® is available in Black only at RM 2,599 with 64GB internal memory

My deepest appreciation goes to Sony Malaysia for inviting me to the media launch.

Check out photos from this event and more at my Flickr gallery here.

Till next time. Take care.

DISCLAIMER: I do not represent Sony or any other brand that might be showcased/mentioned in this first impressions. This first impressions is written for THE FEAR and is delivered with utmost honesty and sincerity.