The Sony 1000X are probably the most important headphones of the past decade. Launched in 2016, the 1000X became synonymous with noise-cancelling performance, designed to take down Bose’s QuietComfort and win some space in the premium headphones category.

From the off, the performance of the MDR-1000X was exciting and the design was hugely popular too. I still have my original pair from 2016 and although we’ve been through six iterations since, I still rate the performance of the original headphones.

I’ve been fortunate enough to review the various iterations along the way, with minor improvements to boost the battery life, the noise cancelling performance and the sound quality. The 1000X remains positive, but I always thought that something was lost with the shift to the redesign in the 1000XM5.

IMAGE CREDIT: SONY

The Sony WH-1000XM4C undoes that look, returning to the slightly more angular aesthetic, giving Sony a second bite of a design that was hugely popular. I think it’s a masterstroke, reviving an aspirational design, with a price that’s hard to ignore. The Sony WH-1000XM4C will only cost £219 at launch, suggesting the discount price will be more like £179.

Tuned for the latest music trends

Sony says that the WH-1000XM4C have “updated sound tuning to match the latest music trends”, which hints that Sony wants these headphones to appeal to younger users. The latest trends don’t always apply to older buyers – after all, I’m still listening to the same music I was 10 years ago and that music was old then.

But that does at least tell us that Sony hasn’t just dusted off old stock and put them on sale. There are three colours – Platinum Silver, Black and Lavendar – while Sony emphasises that these headphones are great for travellers.

This reveals something about the 1000XM5 and the more recent 1000XM6, neither of which really nailed the folding mechanism quite as well as the older design did. Its return will be welcomed, as well that lower price: the 1000XM5 currently only cost £229 on Amazon, so it’s not a huge saving, but the 1000XM6 are £349, so sit in a different price bracket.

That outlines the 1000XM4C as a design choice rather than a budget option and as much as I’ve enjoyed the latest models, I’d absolutely reach for the 1000XM4C just for the design, because I think it looks better.

IMAGE CREDIT: SONY

Premium sound without a premium price

Let me underline how good I think the 1000X are. Every long haul fight I’ve been on over the past 10 years, I’ve chosen the 1000X as my companion. The long battery life, the bundled cable, the protective case – all these things make the 1000X great for travel, over hundreds of hours of flying, and hundreds of thousands of miles.

But the comfort, over long periods of time, mean that I’ve also slept in the these headphones. I just engage the noise cancelling, turn off the music and settle down to sleep. When I need to switch to Ambient Mode that’s just a tap away, while I’ve always found the touch controls worked well too.

As more and more people get comfortable wearing proper headphones out in public, the return of this icon, in this design, marks out the 1000X for the next stage of its success.

For me, it means I can continue to wear my old headphones and no will know the difference.