I owned the XB 500, 700, and the 1000s. I currently own Denon D7000 and Ultrasone Pro 2900 (so I may compare).. The XB 500 and 700 didn't give me any benefit to my current setup, they sounded muffled, the bass was present but not very clean, they didn't suit my taste. I read a great deal about the 1000s so I took the plunge once they became available in the US. I was really excited to get them cause I thought the ultra huge pad look would be kinda cool and comfortable.. But after wearing them for about an hour I have to say, I'm not crazy about having those massive pads on my head, almost feels claustrophobic, not because they are closed phones, but because they are huge and you really sense it when its on your head.
As far as sound quality the 1000s definitely sound much much better than the lower lineup. They don't have loud thumping bass that the 500s had, but they have this weird ability to create almost a suction type feeling on your ear drums when sub bass hits, it was actually so weird I had to take them off the first time I heard it. They are neat in that respect (hopefully thats safe for your ears-long term), but their audio quality doesn't come very close to my other headphones and it didn't give me enough of something different (sound wise) to merit keeping them. So I did return them after a trial period and personally for the price I would recommend other headphones with similar costs (and there are many like the Ultrasone Pro series, the Sen HD650s - Amazon sells them for $360 often - even the Denon D2000s sound better - another pair I previously owned).
I can't really merit a recommendation for this headphone for the price, maybe if it could be had for $200 it would be fun, but if you're looking for your first big purchase of a nice headphone, i would do some research and get a pair with better sound quality.
I do want to mention something, I read a few peoples reviews stating that the 1000s sound "amazing" for house and electronic music... I think they sound ok, I listen mostly to electronic music and both my Denon and Ultrasones do them much better justice than the Sonys did, especially in clarity, bass reproduction, and vocals (just my opinion).
As far as sound quality the 1000s definitely sound much much better than the lower lineup. They don't have loud thumping bass that the 500s had, but they have this weird ability to create almost a suction type feeling on your ear drums when sub bass hits, it was actually so weird I had to take them off the first time I heard it. They are neat in that respect (hopefully thats safe for your ears-long term), but their audio quality doesn't come very close to my other headphones and it didn't give me enough of something different (sound wise) to merit keeping them. So I did return them after a trial period and personally for the price I would recommend other headphones with similar costs (and there are many like the Ultrasone Pro series, the Sen HD650s - Amazon sells them for $360 often - even the Denon D2000s sound better - another pair I previously owned).
I can't really merit a recommendation for this headphone for the price, maybe if it could be had for $200 it would be fun, but if you're looking for your first big purchase of a nice headphone, i would do some research and get a pair with better sound quality.
I do want to mention something, I read a few peoples reviews stating that the 1000s sound "amazing" for house and electronic music... I think they sound ok, I listen mostly to electronic music and both my Denon and Ultrasones do them much better justice than the Sonys did, especially in clarity, bass reproduction, and vocals (just my opinion).