[sneaglebob]

Quote:

 
The XB1000 has deep bass, and has comparatively good clarity as far as basshead cans go. You're not going to get a lot of excitement out of it un-amped. It needs to be paired with a good bass boost amp to really shine, though.
 
Like the others have said, just wait around and see what the new cans have to offer.

Well I have a fiio e6. I might get a digizoid ZO 2 or an E11 but I'm not planning on anytime soon.

 

[Prakhar]

RPG the problem is I can no longer find any Zo 2.1s....

 

[DeanKeith]

I was reading about the ZO2, and it appears the ZO2.1 does not have the high gain / low gain modes that the newer ZO2.3 has.  Since I use a line out doc (LOD) with my iPhone, that seems like the ZO2.3 would be better?
 
http://www.digizoid.com/support/
 
Also, has anyone directly compared the ZO 2.1 vs. E11 with M-Audio Q40?

 

[sneaglebob]

BREAKING NEWS. New sony headphones releaesed, Sony MDR X10

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

BREAKING NEWS. New sony headphones releaesed, Sony MDR X10

 
Yea which most likely is the same as XB900 in only different styling for $100 extra! xD This is quite promissing though as Sony usually is quite reasonable with the pricing of low-midrange headphones, so the XB900 might actually sound pretty good if they are confident they would be able to sell some also at $299. Well that or then they just looked at the Beats headphone and said if they can we can easily too.

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

 
Yea which most likely is the same as XB900 in only different styling for $100 extra! xD This is quite promissing though as Sony usually is quite reasonable with the pricing of low-midrange headphones, so the XB900 might actually sound pretty good if they are confident they would be able to sell some also at $299. Well that or then they just looked at the Beats headphone and said if they can we can easily too.

 
Better style? Check.

Better quality? Check.
 
Better BASS? Hell yeh.
 
Sony has always had the Beats series beaten with the XB cans.

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

 
Better style? Check.

Better quality? Check.
 
Better BASS? Hell yeh.
 
Sony has always had the Beats series beaten with the XB cans.

Regarding the XB line, I agree on quality and bass, but not so sure on style.  I think the cushions on the current models are so big they are embarrassing.  Also, have you seen the X-10?  Looks more like a kid's toy than a quality headphone.
 
Sadly, this headphone is now available while I am still waiting for MUCH better choices in the same price range including M-100, Momentum, K267 Tiesto and others.
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Well I couldn't care less about X10 but I'm keeping close eye @ XB800/900 for at least $100 less with the same sound most likely and less embarassing styling.
 

 

[sneaglebob]

I notice how the 900s don't have bass ports or whatever you like to call them and the cord is not removable unlike the x10

 

[sneaglebob]

Theres already a review out and I'm dissapointed, again. But yet again this person is not a head fier so i might as well not trust him completely

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

It does have vents but they are moved to the bottom edge. For me the FR graphs in the review was a lot more useful than the whole text part, from those I can see significant step up vs previous XB headphones balance wise. The XB headphones are still bassy and are for bassheads which the reviewers on that site aren't (you can check their Fischer headphone review which is a very balanced headphone for its price which they praise a lot). Everything is relative, you have to be able to interpret what you read too, the fact that they don't spoke very negatively about headphones with like 10dB bass boost (Beats Studios quantities) in XB900 and maybe 12~13dB or so in XB600 could possibly be interpreted as a good sign for people who prefer a more flat balance.

 

[the tiny bus]

Are the bowers & wilkins c5 really considered to be basshead IEMs?  I just got a pair and I'm slightly unimpressed with the sound.  Everything else is amazing though.  I finally understand why guys geek out on the packaging of their purchases. 
 
edit: I'm running them un-amped.  I just ordered a digizoid Z0 because of this thread.  My bank account hates headfi

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

Are the bowers & wilkins c5 really considered to be basshead IEMs?  I just got a pair and I'm slightly unimpressed with the sound.  Everything else is amazing though.  I finally understand why guys geek out on the packaging of their purchases. 
 
edit: I'm running them un-amped.  I just ordered a digizoid Z0 because of this thread.  My bank account hates headfi

I own them, consider myself a basshead, and find them very satisfying regarding bass presence, punch and extension for an IEM.  Maybe some burn-in?  What are some popular songs you have sampled that you feel should be bringing out the bass?  Most importantly, have you tried all the sizes of ear tips and adjusted the loop inside your outer ear to ensure you have a good seal?  The standard tip was too small for me and the bass was on the light side.  The loop does a great job keeping them in your ear, but having the right size tip is critical.  I went up a size and...BAM!  These can really slam if you have a good seal, even without an amp.  I also turn them slightly clockwise (actually right driver clockwise; left driver counter-clockwise) after they are in my ear which seems to enhance the fit.

 

[DeanKeith]

I will probably write more... but I tried out my M-Audio Q40's today, and I really do like them.
 
Here is the short version:
Tried them first unamped. They sounded great. Easily as good as Beats Pro (from what I can remember). The bass was very nice, and nothing else was missing or muffled.
 
Then added the Fiio E6 and LOD, and wow! The bass came alive and these are now easily the best headphones I have ever heard... (though I've never tried anything really expensive).
 
The bass definitely goes very deep into the sub-bass realm, just as I was hoping for. The bass is definitely not overpowered for my taste... in fact I was assuming it would be a little more forward than it is... maybe why so many people like pairing these up with a bass-enhancing amp.
 
Overall, huge thumbs up, and thanks to everyone for helping me make this decision.
 
I did a quick comparison with my other cans: Q40 vs. XB500: No contest, the Q40 wins in every category except maybe the amount of mid-bass... but I still call that a win for the Q40 since the XBs have probably too much mid-bass.
 
Q40 vs. Sennheiser HD570: HD570 wins for comfort, but they are open-air, light, and have velour pads, so it's not fair. I have velour pads in the mail already for my Q40s. Sound quality-wise, the HD570s are more airy (duh) so therefore have wider soundstage, but I can hear more detail and accuracy in the Q40s easily... and bass-wise there is no contest. The HD570s have bass, but they are not basshead cans so they are not even in the same ballpark for bass and sub-bass.

 

[the tiny bus]

Quote:

I own them, consider myself a basshead, and find them very satisfying regarding bass presence, punch and extension for an IEM.  Maybe some burn-in?  What are some popular songs you have sampled that you feel should be bringing out the bass?  Most importantly, have you tried all the sizes of ear tips and adjusted the loop inside your outer ear to ensure you have a good seal?  The standard tip was too small for me and the bass was on the light side.  The loop does a great job keeping them in your ear, but having the right size tip is critical.  I went up a size and...BAM!  These can really slam if you have a good seal, even without an amp.  I also turn them slightly clockwise (actually right driver clockwise; left driver counter-clockwise) after they are in my ear which seems to enhance the fit.

 
 
I don't really have all of the head-fi vernacular so here goes nothing.
 
I've changed the tips to get what I think is the best fit.  I have had westone 3's, I still have my yamaha eph-100's, jvc fx101, velodyne vPulses, monoprices and I just don't get the feeling that these have much low end punch.  Even with my EQ'ed htc one x as my music source I can't really seem to get these to really bump.  These seem to be on the level of my ath ck6's.  Maybe I got a bad pair.  Such a shame since these are beautiful and incredibly well built. 
 
I actually bought them because I remember reading your post about them and saw them at the apple store today.  I'm going to give them the full 14 days and I'm curious to see if they get significantly better than my other options.