Sony MDR-XB300 30mm XB Diaphragm Driver Extra Bass Headphones

appsmarsterx

500+ Head-Fier
Pros: comfortable
Cons: boomy uncontrolled bass, veiled, tinny, echoey sound
This is a quick review and there is nothing much to say about this obsolete headphone much. I'm not a huge fan of on-ear designs much, but this thing is very comfortable, has very small clamping force, but ears will start to heat up due to garbage bag earpad covers. build quality is nothing spectacular either, very cheap plastic headbands, non tangible cable is a welcome addition.
 
Here comes the bad news, these things are build for very amateur bassheads. Despite the thundering  boosted low end, bass is very boomy, very uncontrolled, bleeds in to the midrange. Overall sound signature is darker with rolled off highs and a noticeably recessed midrange. Unpleasant echoey sound signature ruins everything  for me, very tinny, veiled and there is metallic edge to the sound too.  Soundstage is also congested in a big way. 

JurassicPoop

New Head-Fier
Pros: SQ has developed and turned great over time, very comfortable once earcups have settled.
Cons: Takes long to get used to, long burn-in time, slips out of my head
A bit of background of mine:these were  my first decent pair of headphones and I've been turning to an audiophile just recently so that's why I decided to write a review.
 
Okay, on to the review. So I got these thinking I'd get a big punch of bass quality out of the box, I was wrong. When I plugged these  into my pc they sounded quite bad, bass felt muffled and muddy while mids and highs sounded harsh and fairly cheap. Gave it a listen for a couple hours hoping for burn-in to be evident, it didn't happen, so I  decided to keep them plugged into my iPod for that night. I definitely felt a difference next morning, So I left them doing the burn-in for a week, trying them out every morning. There was a difference everyday until the week ended. Sound quality was great after the burn-in had settled. Then I realised the value is great. 
Yet it was uncomfortable and warm-feeling on my ears. But I didn't really mind, I used them for short periods at a time. The foamy inside had settled and the pleather earcups felt much softer.
 
Bass does feel colored and harsh to my liking but I'm sure newbie bassheads would like them. Since it has no support on your head but the earcups (they're very light, so they are comfortable) they can slip out if you tilt your head to the front or back. They feel uncomfortable when laying your head on anything.
 
After 2 years of using them I can definitely say I recommend this, use them and let them burn-in for at least 50 hours if you expect them to sound as great as everyone says they do. After weeks of use they will sound much better and feel a lot more comfortable.

La Volpe

New Head-Fier
Pros: Will NEVER break, mould to your ears, very comfy, awesome bass, crisp sound quality.
Cons: Discomfort after 2 to 2 1/2 hours, cable length too short, no headband padding, some may dislike the snug fit.
I got the Sony MDR XB300 headphones for my 13th birthday, and they were great. I was (and still am) at boarding school, and these phones have handled constant dropping, sharing and leaving about over the years with ease. Though I was no audiophile back then, I noticed that after a year the sound quality had significantly increased; the bass was less sloppy and the mids and trebles were very crisp- the only way I can describe this is that when listening to a drum track the hi hats and snares were very clear and the toms and bass drum filled my ears with a smooth bass.
 
Now, I'm not saying that these are accurate headphones, god knows they're not, but they are just really nice to use. For example, when I would sit down for a pc gaming session, I wouldn't be thinking "this is a shame because I'm gonna have to stop playing in about 2 hours because of the heat on my ears". I would think "god these gunshots sound cool!" or "I can't wait to hear that spaceship/soundtrack again!".
 
When I got these phones, I was very pleased with their comfort, durability and sound quality. Recently at my school there's been an outbreak of Beats by Dr. Dre (which are complete and utter *****), and unfortunately for those who have bought those treacherous things, they all say that they prefer the bass on my MDR XB300s. Which I bought for literally $150 (£100) less. Please, do not buy Beats.
 
However, 4 years on, 18 years old and looking towards a music production course at university, I've come to realise the two faults of the XB300s; cable length and discomfort. The cable length really isn't a huge issue for me, as I play various instruments which require me to move all over my home studio so I use extensions, but when I'm sitting down at my desk and working or gaming I often wish the cable was just that little bit longer so I could lean back in my chair or sit a bit farther away.
The more prominent problem, though, is the ear discomfort. If you're gonna use these headphones for an hour to two hours, you're going to have no problem whatsoever; the super-thick leatherette cushions are SO soft on your ears, they are almost comforting to wear. However, if you're planning on wearing these for longer than 2 hours at a time, the top of your head is going to become irritated by the lack of padding (it's just plastic) and your ears are going to BOIL. This may be because I have rather a large head and thick hair, but seeing as these cushions are so thick, I think this problem will apply to most people.
 
If you're willing to forgive the long-term discomfort issue, these headphones are absolutely fantastic. No, you're not going to get top quality audio,  because you're only paying about $50 (£30), but I have recommended these headphones to friends of mine who do hi-fi work, need instrument headphones and dj, and I keep these faithful phones with me at all times.
ayaflo
ayaflo
tbh...these headphones suck pretty bad for the price you bought them..try a rp-htf 600 by panasonic ..

bigmetalhead

New Head-Fier
Pros: powerfull, clear bass. Very confortable fit.
Cons: Poor response with high frequencies.
Both one of those in 2008 for the first time from Argos. Loved them but had to return them.
Have both 2 pairs as presents for work colleagues since then, and last year found them with a discounted price of about $50 and had to have them. I like the way they sit on the ears, enabling you for long listening hours. The leather earbuds look very nice but the small openings make it hard for the high frequencies to pass through. However, pressing them against your ears offers a much better sound.
 
Suitable for TV and movies I guess.
takato14
takato14
Honestly, the XB500 I tried at Best Buy was horrible.

alvincapalad

Head-Fier
Pros: Surprisingly no sound leakage, great for commute, inexpensive, EQ responsive
Cons: Recessed mids, muddy, colored bass
Let's get this over quick. Bought this XB300 today,  freshly out of the box. 0 hours burn-in. Writing this review while listening to them.
 
Sound Quality: Out of the box, they are terrible. They might improve with a little burn-in. The selling feature of these headphones are its bass and it is so colored that it overwhelms the mids and highs. The bass feels unnatural, it's there but it doesn't have the punch like the XB500 had. However, it responds well to EQs take off the bass or boost the trebles it turns quite okay, but not great.
 
Comfort: This are on-the-ear-cans compared its brothers the XB500, XB700, and XB1000s which are over-the-ear phones. Some people may not be a fan of s[size=small]upra[/size][size=small]-[/size][size=small]aural [/size]but I thought they are great for portability and commute. The pads are absolutely marshmallow soft and there is no clamping pressure, yet they hold on to you even you try head-banging.
 
Isolation: This was a bit of surprise to me, but it's isolation is quite good. When, I put them on I don't hear any noise from the outside, considering I'm beside a very noisy fan. Sound leakage? No leaks, another surprise because the XB500 leaks like mad. Even at 80% volume, the XB300 is well controlled all you hear are faint badumps from it's bass.
 
Build: Exceptional build, you can literally stretch them more than 180 degrees or even 360 and it won't break. If you don't believe me check the Youtube videos. But, I like to point out the pads. The pads on the XB300 feels cheaper than the premium pads on the XB500. It looks like something that can get flaky over time. The XB500's pads feels like real leather. I love the cables on this cans, they are not removable, but they are spaghetti-like-flat and tangle free. It also has an L-shape gold-plated jack.
 
Value: You get what you paid for. If you want a sturdy cans that can take some beating, and something that is comfortable for everyday commute or probably jogging around the park this cans are great. You can even play DJ with it, since the band is very flexible for cueing and the isolation is great. Other than that using it as an audiophile reference is a No.. No.., I thought this headphones are simply for fun, nothing serious.
 
The reviews about the clarity of these cans on the internet are overrated. They are too muffled for my taste, probably these people don't have a refined taste when it comes to music or I'm just listening to my M50s too much.
 
I would recommend these cans for watching movies, daily commute, jogging, and casual listening. But, I won't recommend them for audiophiles, serious listeners, audio reference, mixing. The sound quality from XB500 and XB300 are so different. I thought the XB500 are great for bass-heads but the XB300s are simply too colored and unnatural.
 
Works for people who aren't bothered to keep changing their EQ settings because this babies simply doesn't work on flat EQs they have too much bass.
 
After 24 hours of burn-in update
The mids has started to come-up out, the bass is now more laid back than it was out of the box. At 70% volume, the sound signature has started to become like the XB500s. Still, the mids and highs sounds nasally unlike the XB500s which are great out of the box. Its either the mids and highs are lacking warmness or the bass is simply overwhelming. Nothing is accurate with it..
IXentimenTI
IXentimenTI
I can confidently call this crap bass has to do with smaller pads. Bass on XB series, to this day, where entire lineup has changed, was 99% acoustic, and pads played 100% role in how bass resonates (I had one XB headphones cable break and in process of replacing cables I had insight in their acoustics). Interestingly finding reviews of newer models on this site is impossible task. Oh, well...
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