[JML]

The bass on the XS is more neutral than the M-80, but still strong.  For well-recorded rock, it is a great set of cans; that is, unless you like overly boosted bass and piercing treble for rock, in which case you'll be disappointed.  

 

[Tom22]

Iv'e seen people say that they distort a bit with heavy bass songs but in high volume but I don't know the source and if it's amped or unamped.

it depends on what you mean by "high volume" the XS is very efficient so yes it will distort if you push it above 85-90% on say an iphone/ipod touch (theres no reason to turn it that loud anyways, even if your say on the subway (50% is more than enough, i tend to say in the low to mid 40s even on the subway). 
 
theres no reason for you push these  past 60-70% unless your ears on on its way out. 
 
if your amping it theres even less reason to turn it to the max (i used it sparingly with my fiio e6 which has a max volume of 62 or so clicks (compare to the iphone at 16 clicks, but the iphone puts out less juice, naturally) 
 
however i'm curious what you mean by heavy bass songs, care to share a link? i'll test it out for you (on comp, on my ipod/iphone, fiio e6 amp) just lemme know

So how well do the XS' do with rock?
Does it sound bloated?
Sennheiser Momentum on Ears sounded too bloated for rock.

I can get the HD25 Aluminum for $119 now, or wait to get the XS.

 
if you see the alluminums for that price id snap it up. the xs is great really as a OVERALL package, if you want something that looks good on the head and around the neck ( i think so anyway) portable, comfortable, durable and "adjustable"-> bend the headband to the shape of your head/ alignment of your ears.  (haven't heard of the hd25 but hearing the praise on the speed of the kick drums and other bass notes and that sparkly treble (might be a bit harsh for long term listening though) 
 
i'll give the xs a try on some "rock" songs that i do have. lol but id imagine its a lot more manageable and less fatiguing with the xs
 
but be sure to post me a link on the songs you consider are "rock" its not really my genre per say 

 

[Tom22]

  The bass on the XS is more neutral than the M-80, but still strong.  For well-recorded rock, it is a great set of cans; that is, unless you like overly boosted bass and piercing treble for rock, in which case you'll be disappointed.  

i'm curious about that, now i never owned the m80 but i actually don't find the xs neutral, really at all.
 
its "somewhat" balanced, id actually put them in the "bassy" category. again this might be because the rest of my gear is actually really neutral: hifiman re400, vsonic gr07, my old but broken now monoprice 8320.
 
i actually think in terms of bass quantity its behind my monster turbines but  in terms of the thickness of sound its right around there
 
the xs might not be agile enough for rock, but i'll give em a shot

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

 

(haven't heard of the hd25 but hearing the praise on the speed of the kick drums and other bass notes and that sparkly treble (might be a bit harsh for long term listening though) 

 
i'll give the xs a try on some "rock" songs that i do have. lol but id imagine its a lot more manageable and less fatiguing with the xs
 
but be sure to post me a link on the songs you consider are "rock" its not really my genre per say 

Yeah, the harsh part for long term listening is keeping me away a bit..

 

[Tom22]

  Yeah, the harsh part for long term listening is keeping me away a bit..

 but remember if their  actually ear-piercing sharp in the highs they wouldn't have such popularity. thats just my interpretation.
 
most problem just mean it gets fatiguing listening to nothing but rock for 3-4 hours at a time
 
i own the gr07 be (not the fair comparison since its an iem) but its known for having a siblant lower treble. and yes it is noticeable when i first bought them but after a bit of brain burn in
 
you get use to it, now i don't even notice it after like 15 minutes of listening. now when i a/b them with other gear yes i hear it (but thats cause your looking for it)
 
just turn the hd 25 down in volume a bit from what your using now and it'll probably be fine. for 2-3 hours at a time, plus the isolation is known to be superb so you won't need to crank up the volume

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

So this is the kind of music I listen to:
 

10:46 - 13:52 (Haunted)
 

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?list=PLzvACyVH7jtgon6S6j90wXfCTCyVDgNgO&v=NNyLrg6FFZchttp://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=kXtDA0zKrpohttp://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=JjpmkVzVHWUhttp://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=lrFWZLZf_9Qhttp://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=W9bn7IR_i6Yhttp://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=_OKE72iz1y4

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=lrFWZLZf_9Q

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?list=PLzvACyVH7jtgon6S6j90wXfCTCyVDgNgO&v=NNyLrg6FFZc

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=VTvy2-orUuA

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=_OKE72iz1y4

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=JjpmkVzVHWU

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=kXtDA0zKrpo

 

[jazzman7]

  Yeah, the harsh part for long term listening is keeping me away a bit..

Take a look at the frequency graph below.  I'm using the Senn HD-25-1 and Amperior (warm colors) for comparison with the V-MODA M80 and XS (cool colors) -- courtesy of HeadRoom. 
 
All four have a treble spike around 9kHz.  Compared to the V-MODAs, the Senns have a spike there that is 3dB to 7dB higher (depending on which two you compare) which gives these headphones sparkle in the highs but is somewhat fatiguing to me (I own all four).
 
Both V-MODAs have much more polite treble.  The M80 is too rolled off for me, and the XS is just right for me.  The bass on the XS is a bit much for me, which is why I EQ it down a few dB to tame it for more careful listening.  If you are a basshead, you listen at lower volumes, or you need a headphone that has some bass boost to overcome ambient noise from outside, then the XS works well without EQ, in my opinion.
 

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=PTv34dvq6PU one of the crazzy ones