Sony MDR-XB500 40mm XB Diaphragm Driver Extra Bass Headphones

I have several pairs of mid priced headphones that include Beats Sennheiser and now these Sony cans...I was nervous because of the price but these things are sweet. The bass is solid but not as rich and deep as my beats...although people say they are better ..they really do not sound better than the beats solo. They are cheaper and but the bass in my opinion is not as detailed. Make no mistake the bass is awesome and for 70 bucks you get one heck of a headphone. They are also very comfortable but I won't wear them outside too much as they are just too big in my opinion. The beats I can wear anywhere because they are stylish. If your looking for a good headphone for your teenage kids that will likely lose them or tear them up you can't go wrong with these...the kids will love them...and I am enjoying them at home as well. I believe the kids will really like them and they really can't tell the difference in sound in my opinion. For older kids and adults I would go with the beats as they are more refined and stylish and in my humble opinion sound better. I did just order the xb700 as I am starting to build my headphone collection and I found a good deal on them...reviews say they offer better bass and better overall sound. Summing it up these headphones are rock solid...the bass is deep...strong...will vibrate your ears and give you chills if you crank the volume...it is pretty much all bass...for bass heads looking to spend less than a hundred bucks there is no better headphone on the market in my opinion. They are not as refined as the Beats they are not as stylish as the Beats but they are a rock solid buy and a great comfortable headphone for those that love bass like me. I run them on my iPad and classic iPod ...they don't need a lot of power and are very efficient so you don't need a headphone amp....I have an F11 amp by Fio but to be honest I am afraid to give these bad boys any more power as I am already getting chills from the bass without an amp...remember chills from the bass...the highs and mid range are all kind of muddled together ...these are strictly for the base head !

I love these headphones, I've had them for about 4 years now and I never get tired of them. Me being an music producer can tell you right now that these headphones are not useable in a production envoriment. The bass is too high and the mids are a little muddy. moving on. For an average consumers headphones, these are great. It has excellent audio reproduction and the bass comes in crisp and clear. These are high Impedence headphones though so grab a Fiio E5 headphone amp while your at it and you can get these heaphones to really hit with a bang. It's like subwoofers for your head except they sound good. A little EQ and you can bring out those mids and never turn back. The loss however is negligible for the average person and you can still hear everything just fine without having to fiddle with EQ settings. It's great for any type of music. The ear cups are great and feel like pillows. They fit great over the ear and do a decent job of cutting outside noise. I could wear these all day. Comfort level awesome and I wear glasses. I have used alot of consumer headphones with active amplification systems for their "Subwoofers". So far these paired with the headphone amp blows all of them out of the water. I since I have had them for 4 years I can tell you how well it holds up. The leather wrapping around the head band has begun to deteriorate with little rips all over, I have also managed to break one side of the guide clips on one of the band adjustments. It holds up fine though and hoesnt really cause any issues. They are big headphones and transporting them is essentially putting them in a backpack or keeping them around your neck. they don't fold up so laptop bags and purses are out. The chord isnt too long and isnt too short. It goes down to just past the waist (I'm 6'2" with oddly short legs). My only bugger about the chord is the fact that it is a Y chord. I would like it much better if it went on on one side. It also features a braile dot on the left side to identify which way is the right way without having to look at them. I love this little feature.