Ultrasone HFI-580 vs. Sony XB500 [Comparison Review]

Nice review, kudos to you.

I really hope the 100$ for XB500 is worth it, is it ?

WTF, XB500 is $50...

I know, i know :(

They're not available in my country nor any other brand except sennheisers and denon which retail for near mrp here, so i was left with no choice to import the xb500 from the states :| over 16000 km :|

Though I like them well enough with EQ, I wouldn't have spent $100 for them. =(

I would have spent up to $200 for the XB500 if I had to after hearing how it sounds like after burn-in and the optimally tweaked EQ settings, I can't think of anything I'd really want to change, sounds near perfect for my taste but then again I prefer a very warm and forward sound and that's what XB500 is all about. As a bonus despite the very forward sound the soundstage isn't horrible, depth is a bit better than width but both are very acceptable comparing to fully closed headphones and comfort is extremely good.

Calling it warm is just an excuse for how veiled and muddy the XB500 is, IMHO. It's so muddy, it's no wonder they use monster truck tires for pads to get around in all that mud.

With the amount of EQ this thing needs, ANY craptastic headphone can sound decent. Having heard so many headphones this past year, I know for sure that they got the pricing right on the XB500. Asking for anything close to $100 would be a rip off. The XB500 is a one trick pony. Bass, bass, bass. EQ-ing makes it better, but EQ-ing any headphone will make it better.

If it weren't for the awesome comfort, I'd have gone with something else and just ramp up the bass to make it sound like the XB500.

Not all headphones respond as well to EQing and XB500 so far has responded best to it, I EQ all my headphones optimally, D1100, ATH-M50 or DT770 Pro aren't nearly as great sounding for me unEQ'd or optimally EQ'd. It'll depend a lot on the source/EQ you use as well, I use some of the best working EQs I know about. But it'll also depend a lot on how you want it to sound like, XB500 is close to my preferred sound signature, how much a headphone is worth will vary for all people, if I'd put a pricetag how much XB500, XB700, DT770 Pro, ATH-M50, D1100 would be worth to me for example then it would be something like this:

XB500: $200

XB700: $150 (a bit more recessed mids, slight lack of bass punch)

DT770: $100 (too boomy bass vs lack of punch, too recessed mids, too shrill highs, overall too laid-back sounding)

M50:    $135 (slight lack of bass quantity, slightly harsh highs at times)

D1100: $100 (too recessed mids and lack of deep bass output and sharp/edgy sounding upper highs, slightly too laid-back sounding for my liking)

A headphone worth $50 to some people can be worth $200 or vice versa for another person because their taste of how it should sound like varies.

Also it's worth pointing out XB500 sounds muddy cuz of the unbalance, the excessive bass boost especially around 200~400Hz, the bass curve should start dipping a bit sooner to not color the mids and also the highs that are slightly veiled. Bad quality sounds muddy/undetailed even when perfectly balanced because sound quality is so poor, on XB500 it's pretty good for the price which can be heard with optimal EQ settings.

I did not mean to stir anything :|

Since i've got it, well it's on the way, I'll PM you RPG for EQ settings and any EQ's, can't use the one you use because i don't have a audigy 2 ZS card.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

It's so muddy, it's no wonder they use monster truck tires for pads to get around in all that mud.

Heh, good one!

(Your new avatar threw me off...)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD 

Not all headphones respond as well to EQing and XB500 so far has responded best to it...

I'll agree with that. Out of all headphones I've EQ'ed, the XB500 does respond the best. But that is perhaps because it needs it the most.

For $50, if you EQ properly to your own tastes, I'd say they're the best $50 you can spend on a headphone. There's plenty there to work with.

Katun, I thought people would be used to my constant avatar changes by now. ;)

Though I do like throwing people off. =D

Nice review! I had the chance to get the 580s for something like $70. I should have gone for it. There is always another time. I think I would like them much more than the XB500s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scytus 

Oh alright, my apologizes.

 

I haven't tried to EQ the XB500's, I was just under the impression from some reading that you could bring out a lot more of the sound detail through a proper EQ. I was actually unsure how close it would be to the HFI-580.

Well I doubt wind016 has ever owned XB500 even and he's been a huge HFI-580 fanboy in the past too so, he probably tried EQing it at the store out of his mp3 player quickly and hasn't given it a proper time. I'm willing to bet the difference wouldn't be huge at all if you'd really EQ it properly. (if you don't like how it sounds like out of box you often don't even bother giving it proper time and see what it can do with tweaking the settings etc)

Certain things you can't change with EQ though and that's soundstage for example and to some extent instrument separation where I probably believe the Ultrasones should do better.