Sennheiser HD485 vs Sony MDR-XB500

 
I just picked up the Sony MDR-XB500 from Best Buy as a modern replacement for my HD485 which are more than 5 years old. Actually, I think they're 6 years old now. Also I apologize in advance, I'm not a professional audiophile or anything.
 
I try my best to have at least 320kbs mp3's and the minimum I will accept is 192kbs so none of the mp3's that I listen to are lower than that.
 
The equalizer setting I use on iTunes is -8, -5, -2, -4, -5, -6, -4, -2, 0, -3 and then I turn up the Preamp to a desired setting
 
 
Sony XB500
 

earcups about the size of a credit card
 
Pro's
-Flat Cord - Never gets tangled
-Closed design and big cups that enclose your whole ear - You can probably use these in the library and most of the outside noise will be blocked. also the cups are about the size of a credit card.
-Carrying Case - Very nice addition, plus it seems pretty durable
-A lot of BASS. That's why people buy these headphones right?
-Very very comfortable. I've had these on for an hr straight and I forget that I'm even wearing them.
-3Ft. Cable - this is subjective but I like the shorter cable, it's much less clutter
 
Con's
-I don't think I can recommend these for people who listen primarily to rock or classical but for hip-hop the extra bass is nice.
-Cables coming out of the Right and Left sides, but they're nice and flat so it's not a big deal
 
 
 
Sennheiser HD485
 

 

 
Pro's
-Lighweight
-Very "clean" sound, no static or anything like that. I thoroughly enjoy listening to all kinds of music with these especially rock and occasionally classical.
-Detachable 3.5mm Aux Cable
-Single sided cable
-Withstood the test of time, I've owned these for ~6 years and they still sound incredible and they're still better than modern cheapo $20-30 headphones
 
Con's
-The cable is like 6+ ft. long, it's a real mess
-Cheap Plastic feel, the paint is chipping but it's been through 4 years of college, drunken nights, and I've moved 4 times so I'm surprised
-The pads are worn out and flattened, the right side plastic tabs that hold down the pads have 2 broken tabs so occasionally the pad falls out
-Can't use these in the library, all the sounds come right into and out of the headphones due to the open design but I think this also attributes to the excellent sound.
 
 
I will report back in a while after using the XB500 for a little longer. It's just different from the hd485's so they're not a "replacement" but I will use the xb's primarily so that I can prolong the life of the 485's which are discontinued. 
 
As for first impressions, I think I still like my HD485's better. Just has a slightly more crisp and precise sound which I notice more when listening to classical. Just feels like the XB is trying to compensate too much by using heavy bass.
 
Thank you HD485's for serving me so well and still producing great sound.
 
 

XB500 wasn't aimed for balanced/flat sound listening I suppose but this iTunes setting makes it reasonably balanced sounding in my ears with only slight bass emphasize in bassheavy songs but not to the point it would mask details and such:
 

(I dislike iTunes' EQ though, not very good at all compared to my soundcard's EQ obviously)

personally i use this, it's just a cleaner way to use the equalizer imo:
 

Looks like you prefer midbass. I tested your setting and sounded better than I expected really. In my ears there's some slight emphasis on the mid/upper bass region with it like I expected with that setting as XB500 is the headphone with the biggest boost in the 125 ~ 300Hz or so range that exists probably so it makes sense having that range a bit drawn back if you'd balance the sound as it with untouched EQ it definitely overpowers the midrange but it didn't sound bad at all, treble-wise the settings seem to sound similar, at times the peak at 8kHz can be somewhat intrusive as according to frequency response graph and my own ears as well that's whereabouts the XB500 is fairly on a neutral level in the treble as it has somewhat of a "peak" around that region but at 4kHz and 16kHz for example it's a bit veiled. As a midforward enthusiast I found the mids to be slightly lacking but there's something about iTunes for starters that bring vocals somewhat forward so it didn't sound too bad. Anyway who gets XB500 which are among the most colored headphones for listening to "flat"/neutral-sound anyway, that's like sucking out its soul.
 
I haven't used iTunes other than for testing purposes to try out the EQ and try recommend settings but it's growing on me but it doesn't touch foobar2000 with dolby headphone plugin.
 
Oh and when looking at your EQ curve I think Denon D1100 would possibly be to your liking cuz it reminds me so much of it, big midbass hump centered around ~125Hz especially and doesn't have a lot of deep bass presence so the bass is fast and punchy and midrange is somewhat recessed and highs are slightly less veiled/smooth than on XB500 and has less warm sound and is a quite a bit more laid-back sounding and somewhat more of a "crisp" sound what I'd associate with rock especially.