[idvsego]

I would kidnap it and would never be seen again.  Picked up these 2 at Best Buy the other day and I just cant pick one. 
 
The xb500 has big bass which I l've but sometimes everything else gets lost in that.  I am trying to EQ it down some.  I mean, these things are like my car stereo system back in the day.  its the closest to having subs on my head that I have ever heard.  Guilty pleasure cans for sure.  the bass is so present I am havign a hard time commenting on much else unless I am actively listening to them.  I am going to give them a shot at gaming and movies.  If the dialogue doesnt get lost in the boom of the effects, these could be fun.  Build quality is good for the price range.  I tried on the Koss ur55 which is only $25 less and the Koss felt like toys comparatively.  I mean, the Sony is plastic, but it feels pretty solid anyway.  reasonable amount of clamping and big cushy earpads.  Its like couch pillows on my head...but they look ludicrous when out and about.  Pretty comfy but heavy compared to the hd428. 
 
 
The HD428 has a great fit , more subtle look and a nice smooth sound...but not enough bass for me.  My hip hop tracks have some presence but kickdrums don't kick so much in the rock genre.  Much more clear and not as in your face.  nuetral is a good word as most have said.  They remind me of the audio technica m40fs I use for TV watching.  The problem is, I moved the m40fs to tv so I could get something that had a bit more spunk.  not really seeming like the 428 fits that bill even though I really really want them to.
 
I am burning in both sets to see if anything changes.  I have them for about 22 mroe days before the BB return policy expires.  I dont really do these reviews much so if anybody has any questions about these two let me know.  I would be happy to help if I can.  I am also going to check some other options at my local sound shop.  Hoping they have some m50s and the like to listen to.  I dont really want to buy any blind so they kind of need to be local.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

For you I'd suggest try EQing XB500 sth like this:
 

 
I've spent months EQing this (I actually prefer a bit higher values myself than in above pic cuz I'm a fan of aggressive/forward sound and a bit higher at especially 31 - 125Hz cuz I'm a basshead but these would be good as a starting point) and I think XB500 should have all values rather raised than lowered or it becomes sounding rather dull, it really opens up somehow and becomes more natural sounding with a bit higher values as it's not meant to sound laid-back (especially when 1kHz and 4 - 16kHz is set to 3dB and above), above are actually the lowest I'd go, you might try even higher but the most important is ofc obtaining the shape of the curve and the relevance of the values to each other like in above pic, I'm 100% positive this kinda curve after tweaking the EQ so much now for XB500 is the optimal for it.

 

[idvsego]

I am using them on a portable right now.  Sansa Fuze+, probably a cowon j3 soon.  I will play with a similair curve on my smaller band EQ though, thanks