I have the 5010 though they only have around 20 hours of burn in on them so far. I would say that they are extremely close to the sound Joker describes in his review of the Mee SP51. I have heard the CC51 and Hippo VB but not the SP51. I would agree on the points that they have a larger stage than the CC51 but not as deep. Also think they are a different sound than the VB. Having the Trident(6.7 for SQ) and the CLX60(7.2) on hand, I would give the Xeport about a 7 for sound which is in line with Joker's 6.9 for the SP51.
Xeport reminds me of older MEE with their packaging and black background website. They also have excellent customer service. They sent the phones quickly and well packed in a nice sturdy little box. I happened to get a balance port screw that was a bit off with the threading. I was bound to lose it eventually since I was able to pull it out by hand yet all the others caps screwed in fine. Xeport got back to me in a couple of hours and are sending me a new pack of caps. The caps are the same as the MEE btw, silver, gunmetal, and black for balanced, enhanced, and bassy. Seems the only thing missing compared to the SP51 is a pair of bi-flanges and the higher price. http://xeport.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6
The cable is something like the Koss ur55/Ecci PR100,200 cable combined with SoundMagic-like aluminum Y and straight plug. Different from the SP51 and Hippo VB is the strain relief which is both angled away and further to the outside end of the aluminum housings. This allows for deeper insertion which some people have complained about with those phones. It kind of switches out the issue where people would wear the VB/SP51 over the ear to get a deeper fit and better isolation. The fit and isolation is better straight down with this design but it is not as easy to wear them over the ear. They can be worn over the ear but the fit is a bit more tricky than with the VB.
Can't say anything bad about these little guys for $14.95. High quality, great price, excellent customer service! Pretty hard to beat!
Edited by jant71 - 11/19/11 at 4:50am