Final Thoughts: Sony MDR-XB1000 vs. MDR-XB700 *** Pictures *** - Page 20

hmm... Stil $299 at the Sony Store.  It will be interesting to see what happens to the price of these as time goes on.  I still think that the expected audience of these is not going to like them, but I wouldn't be surprised if other people to find and enjoy them.

Can you comment on if the XB-1000's bass takes over the whole headphone? I like trance because of the rezzy super sonic transparent synths and all the layering that is in the music. Would the bass on these headphones take over everything?

If your main goal is to listen to detailed layering and transparency, the XB1000 is probably a pretty bad choice.  The massive drivers dish out a pretty fun sound, but they aren't particularly fast or precise.

 

Look into something from Ultrasone instead, and maybe Beyerdynamic (the less popular but awesome DT150 comes to mind).

How are the xb1000 for Hip-Hop?

I really like them for Hip Hop, I was listening to the bass line on KRS-One's 'Material Love', and the XB1000 came through with flying colors, no distortion or over extension of the drivers.

XB1000's sound is actually more balanced than the rest of the series. Bass is VERY deep, but not punchy at all. Its quite soft. Mids and highs are miles better than the XB700 imo. However resolution is still lacking. Soundstage is very nicely presented.

Grabbing another pair of Sony XB headphones(Either xb700's or the xb1000's), hoping for some advice here:

 

. I already have a pair of Sony MDR XB500's. I do consider myself an audiophile(My main 2 channel home system features Kef XQ10's with a pair of 15" Rythmik subwoofers powered by a pair of monoblocks and either my ipod or Wadia or Adcom cd transports for source), but I love my bass and feel that the foundation for good sound starts with the low end. For the $45 bucks I paid for my xb500's I find they were a great bang for the buck. When using my ipod touch I find they sound best and most natural with the "bass reducer" setting in the EQ. At this setting the bass and frequency response seems smoothest and most natural. I mainly listen to rock(Ranging from older Van Halen, Twisted sister, to newer bands like Rammstein, Limp Bizkit, Tool, RATM etc)and a bit of RAP(Dre, Dogg etc), and even some other alternatives like Phish, 311, Blues Traveler, String Cheese incident etc. on occasion.

 

So, would a pair of XB700's for $90 bucks be the way to go, or spend $250ish(which is stretching my budget as I only will be using these on my ipod touch while doing cardio or my laptop playing SC2)  for a pair of XB1000's? I also like smooth and neutral midrange and treble. My ears are very sensitive to harsh sounding high frequencies. I like smooth/dark/laid back treble.

 

Also, some have commented that the XB500's are the easiest to power, but the sensitivity rating on the 700's and 1000's is a few db greater/higher(106db at 1khz vs 104 of the 500's)plus they have a lower impedance value at 24ohms vs. 40 on the xb500's, so I would think either of these headphones would be easier to drive than the 500's and need nearly half the amount of power to get the same output) I have now? Or am I missing something?

 

Anyway, some suggestions and recommendations would be welcome, like to order up a set today to have by Xmas. :)

Edited by ntrain96 - 12/17/11 at 6:47am

I've never heard the other XB's but I went for the Big Dogs right from the get and I really enjoyed the XB1000's.

Croozer, how do you compare it to the D7000? By what I read, it sounds like the better balance of the XB1000 over the XB700 would put it as a cheaper alternative to the D7000.

I did a A/B comparison between the two and as expected the D7K does everything the XB does and does it MUCH better but that comes at a higher initial investment but in my view its worth it.

For its intended audience the XB-1000 performs great, it is a better sounding, lower cost alternative to the Monster Beats.

Cool. I miss my D7000, and would love a cheaper alternative. I find the XB comfort to be better than the Denon comfort (something about Denon's headband that bothers me). I do find the XB pads to be ridiculous hot though.

The D7K is a great all around headphone, especially when you can nab a pair at a great price, have you looked at the HiFiMan HE-500, those are appearing on my radar.

I have looked at them, but I know the lack of treble sparkle just wouldn't appeal to me. I'm a treblehead and need some emphasis there, I keep hearing smooth, and thick about the HE500, which isn't what I want. The HE4 is the Ortho for me, which I owned and absolutely loved, even more than the D7000 on certain things.