[Axegrind]

Ordered Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 on ebay and Fiio E5+LOD L3, guess my package got caught up with the holiday season, been waiting for around 2weeks already. I cant wait no longer! Hehehe. So I went to Best Buy to get a pair of Sony MDR-XB500... Its Boxing Day Sale anyways theyre only 49.99$! Went home to try them out hoping to get at least a decent sound from them while waiting for my beyers, hooked it up directly with my iPhone 3Gs and wow! these headphones can really deliver! no amps or lod... Very happy with my purchase. I'll compare it with the beyers fiio e5 lod l3 combo when they arrive, if the difference isnt that much will probably just sell the beyers, daym these xb500s cost only close to the shipping of the beyers combo. Thanks for all the reviews of the XB500, these cans are really bang for the buck! Btw fwiw i returned the shure 440s same day i got them few weeks ago, i find them very tame and didnt get the richness, fullness, oomph i want, maybe its just my type of music. I was also considering the xb700 but fwir the 500 are better sounding.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Great you like them, maybe you can see now why I often recommend them. In fact I prefered these even over the Beyer DT770 Pro/80, will be interesting to see your opinion, so please post your comparisions later, it would be very interesting to hear.
 
There's a possibility you prefer warm sound which XB500 have, "full" description is actually pretty good for the XB500, they are very warm which gets this "meaty"/forward/aggressive sound which is quite opposite to what DT770 Pro are, these are more laid-back, "thin" sounding, I will make a bet at this point and guess you will actually prefer XB500 cuz usually you like either of these but not both because they are quite the opposite sounding IMO except for both got strong bass (XB500 a bit stronger).

 

[jasonb]

it's hard to listen to other headphones right after using the XB500's. the bass quantity is just ridiculous. glad you like them, they are a unique headphone.

 

[Axegrind]

Great you like them, maybe you can see now why I often recommend them. In fact I prefered these even over the Beyer DT770 Pro/80, will be interesting to see your opinion, so please post your comparisions later, it would be very interesting to hear.


 


There's a possibility you prefer warm sound which XB500 have, "full" description is actually pretty good for the XB500, they are very warm which gets this "meaty"/forward/aggressive sound which is quite opposite to what DT770 Pro are, these are more laid-back, "thin" sounding, I will make a bet at this point and guess you will actually prefer XB500 cuz usually you like either of these but not both because they are quite the opposite sounding IMO except for both got strong bass (XB500 a bit stronger).

 


Oh i remember you sir... Youre one of the main culprits/b.i. Why I itched for the xb500s! Haha. Thanks a lot! These cans are a steal! Ok ill try my best which is not much to compare it with the dt770 pro80 when they arrive. Well comparing the xb500 with the shure 440 which i got for 130$, i find the sound of the 440 incomplete, just mids and treble with very light bass, again the 440 is just not for my type of listening but ive read a lot of good reviews on them.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

it's hard to listen to other headphones right after using the XB500's. the bass quantity is just ridiculous. glad you like them, they are a unique headphone.

I don't only compare bass you know. I usually EQ out the bass to the bottom of the EQ after that's tested to focus on mids and highs and I like those just as much as I like the bass. It's just everything happen to fit perfectly for my taste on XB500, the warm sound, the deep vs upper bass balance, the unusually up-front mids for a headphone in this price category whit lots of fine details in it , the smooth highs with no sibilance present whatsoever and doesn't become harsh/ear piercing when boosting them either while still providing more detail. As long as you're not a fan of very laid-back sound and hate bass with as great instrument separation as possible with boosted highs then it's very hard to not like XB500 IMO. They are definitely "fun" headphones meant for providing great enjoyable music listening experience, not the type you want for studio use/analytical listening.

 

[Axegrind]

 
Also tried the 200 and 300$ beats and bose at the store and the 50$ xb500 owned them imo price-sound wise! just cant imagine these 50$ cans would sound this good! Sony really did great on these phones, ive had other low priced sonys and these xb500s really made me laugh! In a positive way ofcourse. Haha

 

[Axegrind]

I don't only compare bass you know. I usually EQ out the bass to the bottom of the EQ after that's tested to focus on mids and highs and I like those just as much as I like the bass. It's just everything happen to fit perfectly for my taste on XB500, the warm sound, the deep vs upper bass balance, the unusually up-front mids for a headphone in this price category whit lots of fine details in it , the smooth highs with no sibilance present whatsoever and doesn't become harsh/ear piercing when boosting them either while still providing more detail. As long as you're not a fan of very laid-back sound and hate bass with as great instrument separation as possible with boosted highs then it's very hard to not like XB500 IMO. They are definitely "fun" headphones, not the type you want for studio use/analytical listening.

 

I agree with you 101%! Everything you said above of the traits of the xb500 should be the reason why i am overwhelmed with these 50$ phones. i have no choice but to just leave the analysis to you sir... As im just a noob, but wth i know how i want my music should sound! And these phones really made me stop looking for the perfect ones for me, as of now. but definitely will keep these phones, really a keeper for me.

 

[jasonb]

i never implied that you did.
 
i do kinda like the XB500, i have a pair. i just find the bass to be to much for most of my music, and i can't always use an EQ. actually i never tried any EQ on them because a good portion of my music listening is done on Rdio.com, and there is no way for me to EQ it. i can use an EQ when i listen to my FLAC files or Shoutcast streams, but that's it.
 
the mids also sounded drowned out by the bass, but i'd assume an EQ may help this. i listen to mostly metal and progressive rock which un-EQed these do not sound good on.
 
they do sound hella fun on dubstep and bassy stuff like that, but i get to tempted to crank it up. these things are definitely capable of causing serious hearing damage and i prefer not to lessen my hearing. they do have a time and a place though.
 
Quote:

I don't only compare bass you know. I usually EQ out the bass to the bottom of the EQ after that's tested to focus on mids and highs and I like those just as much as I like the bass. It's just everything happen to fit perfectly for my taste on XB500, the warm sound, the deep vs upper bass balance, the unusually up-front mids for a headphone in this price category whit lots of fine details in it , the smooth highs with no sibilance present whatsoever and doesn't become harsh/ear piercing when boosting them either while still providing more detail. As long as you're not a fan of very laid-back sound and hate bass with as great instrument separation as possible with boosted highs then it's very hard to not like XB500 IMO. They are definitely "fun" headphones meant for providing great enjoyable music listening experience, not the type you want for studio use/analytical listening.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Yea unEQd I'd agree that probably some users would be overhelmed by the upper bass especially in the 125 - 250Hz range which kinda masks up the fine details in the mids especially but they have changed a bit with time as well for me (now got ~1000hrs on them), I needed more EQing at first to get the optimal sound, now I need very tiny adjustments for it to sound just about right (right amount treble vs bass) as the highs have come out more to what it sounded at first. I would show my EQ setting in case I wouldn't be at parents place. I only use them at my computer and I tweak the soundcard driver's EQ which is applied then for basicly everything. 

 

[jasonb]

yea, it doesn't work like that in my setup. i use a USB DAC so i no longer have any system wide sound card settings. i also now use Ubuntu linux and there is no system wide soundcard EQ anyway. i just prefer my HD650's, so they get used 99% of the time.
 
Quote:

Yea unEQd I'd agree that probably some users would be overhelmed by the upper bass especially in the 125 - 250Hz range which kinda masks up the fine details in the mids especially but they have changed a bit with time as well for me (now got ~1000hrs on them), I needed more EQing at first to get the optimal sound, now I need very tiny adjustments for it to sound just about right (right amount treble vs bass) as the highs have come out more to what it sounded at first. I would show my EQ setting in case I wouldn't be at parents place. I only use them at my computer and I tweak the soundcard driver's EQ which is applied then for basicly everything. 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

How would you guys compare the xb700 to the xb500? i have the 700 and once listened to the 500 in a store. but when for the 700,

 

[Lex]

Glad you're liking the XB500, they are a delightfully bassy treat.
 
Fantastic synergy with the gumstick player too.

 

[jasonb]

the xb500 and xb700 have the same overall bass quantity. xb500 has more mid-bass though and will sound warmer.  other than the bass i have no idea.
 
Quote:

How would you guys compare the xb700 to the xb500? i have the 700 and once listened to the 500 in a store. but when for the 700,

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Here's some "minimalistic" EQ setting I draw in excel quickly which should be quite close to how I have them EQ'd using the minimalistic setting, I also use another EQ setting with greater boosted values with more bass etc for more aggressive/warm sound but this is to just balance out the sound.
 

 

[jasonb]

the numbers on the left are in single db? if so those adjustments are so small they will barely even be noticeable. our ears can just barely tell a 1 db difference.
 
if i was to EQ the XB500 i would be cutting more like 5-6db from about 80hz and lower. probably about 8db at 200hz or so. then they would still sound more bassy than my HD650's.
 
Quote:

Here's some "minimalistic" EQ setting I draw in excel quickly which should be quite close to how I have them EQ'd using the minimalistic setting, I also use another EQ setting with greater boosted values with more bass etc for more aggressive/warm sound but this is to just balance out the sound.