XB-500 Vs SHURE 440 Vs ATH-M50
Do the Shure 440s hold their own? Is the XB-500 the king of bass?Is the ATH-M50 equal to its hype? Is it cool to hate on the M50s???? Find out below!
Alright guys, so this has been a long time coming since I've been on here for a while and this will be my first review. I have a lot on my plate these days (I'm a physician) so I can't do an individual review of each of these thats why I'll simply do a comparison. Also, I'll stress this right now SOUND and not comfort, looks, brand name, or accessories is the most important thing to me.So that'll be the focus of my review.
Brief history
My very first headphone was the xb500. I literally walked into a best buy having heard nothing but my apple ipods. To be honest I wanted Beats because I knew nothing about sound quality and if you don't do your own research you're lead to believe this is the best sound quality possible. Anyways, I couldn't afford them and my number one priority at the time was sound and comfort and price. When I put on the xb500s I was immediately blown away. The giant pillows on either side of your head are unlike anything I've ever felt to this day. They are so comfortable. So I bought them and used them daily, and i mean daily for >10 hours (long study sessions in medical school). Now for those of you who know anything about headphones you know that the XB500s are known for the HUGE amount of bass they provide. Well over the last 3 years I used these headphones and always thought to myself "wow if my 80$ headphones are this amazing then I wonder what a 200$ headphone can do." Little did I realize I had stumbled onto the most bass heavy headphone from the getgo. Another family member of mine owns the Shure's and I recently bought the ATH-M50. That is how I am able to compare all 3.
Design
None of these headphones are flashy, in fact they are wholey plain. If I had to give the nod to anyone I'd say the xb500s, they just look so inviting.
Comfort
This one is easy. The XB-500 is the most comfortable headphone I've ever put on my ears. The ATH-50 gets uncomfortable after about an 1, the shure's are hard to get used to period.
Build quality
This is a tie between the XB500 and ATH-M50. They are both made out of plastic but it is not cheap plastic. Neither one of them makes rickety noises or feels like its 2 seconds away from breaking. I get the impression both could withstand a considerable amount of abuse. I can definitely vouch for the xb500s in that regard as they have fallen, been thrown around stepped on and abused so much over the last 3 years and they are still just fine.
Sound
The meat and potatoes. Look, the very first time I put on my sony XB-500s years ago I was blown away. Those headphones make your head rattle and I was hearing things in songs I didn't know existed. Those headphones opened my eyes to good sound. 3 years later and I now have 2 other headphones at my disposal, so how do they compare?
Bass. I spent 3 years thinking all headphones had the same amount of bass as the XB500s. I thought this was standard. I was so wrong and I had to unlearn what I had learned in order to realize there's more to music than bass. Enter the Shure's. Out of the 3 these are the most balanced, the most true, and....the most boring. I don't record music or anything I just listen to it, so I need a headphone that's fun to listen to. The Shure's have great treble but I wouldn't describe them as bright, they're just so crystal clear that you feel like you're listening to music that has no depth at all. More importantly, they had zero bass. Its like someone asked them to turn down the bass so that they can hear everything else only in the songs. Not good. I can see their uses, this would be a great headphone for a guitarist recording music but nothing more than that. so lets leave the Shure 440s behind for the rest of this review because there's not much else to say about that except: don't bother.
The XB-500s on the other hand, deliver gobs and gobs of boomy punchy bass. The mids are heavily recessed and muddied up but I didn't really know this because I had nothing to compare to. Everything I listen to with these things sounds "heavier" and "thicker." I was in love with these things and I thought I had found the most amazing pair of headphones. I also listen to a lot of vocal things like opera and vocal trance and the xb500s never failed to deliver sound that was up close and personal and in your face. I was that guy who probably told everyone not to bother with any headphones except XB-500s. In fact several weeks ago I bought the V-MODA Crossfade LP and returned them a few days later because they were the exact same as the xb-500s except with half the bass. All that changed when the ATH-M50 arrived at my doorstep a few days ago.
There is a lot of hype surrounding the ATH-M50. And I mean a lot. I'm the type of person who is meticulous enough to read every review and watch every youtube video on a product before buying it. I could not keep up with the M50. There were too many places to read about these things and almost all were positive. so I began to read only negative reviews. The majority of people who gave these headphones bad reviews either got a defective broken product or cited it as "overrated." So I decided to buy these things and find out for myself if they live up to the hype. I can tell you with a lot of confidence that they do not live up to the hype, they exceed it. And by saying that I know I've contributed to this hype but that's because I am convinced these things deserve it and I'm confident that they will live up to the expectations of its consumers provided they are reasonable people. These headphones will not cure cancer, they will not make your coffee and they will not make you orgasm when you put them on. What they will do is make you feel bad for paying 300+ dollars on other headphones that don't sound half as good. The ATH-M50 is remarkable because it can produce sound that is compelling, fun, and still true to the source. The treble is great, the mids are there if slightly recessed, and the bass.....oh my god the bass. Its not the amount of it that blows me away because I'd say its about half as much as whats in the sony's. Whats amazing about the bass is that it feels powerful and so in control. It appear exactly when it should and goes away exactly when it should. This is in direct contrast to the XB500s which always have that crazy insane boomy bass going on. I just didn't realize it all these years because thats how I thought music should be. By removing all the bass everywhere my ears were able to focus on so many other aspects of music. Now thats not to say that the XB500s don't have details..they do. In fact when I listen to the headphones side by side I am able to pick out the same details its just that in order to hear those details I had to first notice them on the M50 and then go back and look for them on the Xb500s and while they are there on the xb500s they lend themselves to being blurred in the background. The bass on the XB500 is more powerful though, so when listening to music that doesn't have many details in them and you just want to feel subs in your ears then the xb500 is the right choice. But for anything with words in it, or other more subtle instruments the M50s do one hell of a job of making sure you feel the bass without distorting other parts of the sound spectrum. Speaking of vocals, this is one area where the ATH-M50 without question tramples on the Xb500s. Just take for instance this classic below:
The first 50 seconds or so of this video is clapping. On the M50s you can actually hear clapping, almost individually as different people clap at different times and without any distinct synchrony. On the XB500, there is no such detail..the clapping sounds like one large globby undefinied noise that doesn't change the entire time. It sounds like you had earplugs in and stood outside the theater as people cheered whereas the M50s you felt like you were in the audience. As the vocals began I was able to detect little details in their voices like them taking quick breaths whereas on the XB500s their voices are so thick and heavy you just can't discern that kind of detail (again after hearing it on the m50s, I did go back and was able to pick up those details with the sony xb500 but wouldn't have noticed it by listening to the xb500s first). Of course in the above video the amount of clarity was breathtaking with M50s, and fairly good on the XB500s but theres just too much boooooooooom everywhere on the sony's to be able to focus on the music for what its supposed to be.
Another example:
Alot of the same stuff from the first youtube video I posted apply. But particularly different is those beats/drums in the background. They are distinct and occuring at different times. When I first heard them with the Xb500s they sounded like one sound (or I didn't notice them at all) but on the M50s I realized they are different and had their own rhythm. Its really quite satisfying.
Lets try something a little different. I watched the trailer below recently, first with the xb500s then with the M50s:
With the Sony Xb500s, there is just so much bass that the majority of time you are missing tiny details. For instance at the beginning of the trailer when the guy in the helmet starts talking, it doesn't sound any different than anyone else talking whereas on the M50s his voice has a "closed in" sound making it sound like he really is wearing a hemlet. Another quick example is at the end when the giant robot is dragging a ship behind him on the streets. On the Xb500s it is so hard to discern the sound of the metal from the ship scrapping on the concrete street but its very distinguishable on the M50. I know its kind of a minor point but these little things are noticeable to me.
Conclusion
The shure 440s are worthless for most people. I mean, they aren't bad they just don't do anything special that most other headphones can do and they are not exactly cheap.
The sony XB500 is an incredible experience, you will never get this much bass anywhere. I have tried the DT770s, the ultrasone 580s and most other "basshead" headphones and believe me nothing comes close. If you want bass (and I did for a long time) and don't mind sacrificing some of the details for that over the top rattle your head and punch you in the face bass then this is the pair of headphones you've been dreaming of. By the way, I forgot to comment a little on the quality of the bass but thats because its a bit of a foregone conclusion..the bass here is quality...it not that crap you hear on skullcrushers or even beats. Overall these headphones are awesome..and honestly for the 75$ they go for right now they're probably the best value out of the three headphones I've reviewed. They offer all those "audiophile" level things like detail and ability to pick out layers in the music. In fact they do a lot of things quite well and they were on my head for the better part of 3 years and for good reason. If my Xb500s every broke, I'd probably get another pair just to have them for that one song or two where you just want the bass to completely dominate you.
And finally the ATH-M50s. I love them. I really do. As a self-proclaimed basshead and someone who got used to the bass of the XB500s I was worried I wouldn't find good headphones with good bass. There are a lot of people out there who will tell you these cans don't have bass but I'm not sure what the hell they were listening to. Let me reassure you, the bass is there and its deep and very satisfying and present at all the right times. This is the headphone I've been looking for. All those people who love to hate on M50s are out of line in my opinion. These people fall into 3 categories:
1.) They hate anything popular.
2.) They hate that a 115$ headphone can do the same thing as their 400$ headphones.
3.) They genuinely don't like the sound that comes out of these things and have some obscure picky taste in sound (I'm sure this is the minority of people, most people are in the top 2 categories).
You might be wondering why I am "hating on the haters" and its because these people almost caused me to miss the chance to own these awesome headphones. Just because you outgrew them and now own a Stax or HD 650 that doesn't mean you can call the M50s overrated.
To anyone out there who is considering these, please add me to the list of positive reviews of these really impressive headphones. If you have any questions let me know.
Do the Shure 440s hold their own? Is the XB-500 the king of bass?Is the ATH-M50 equal to its hype? Is it cool to hate on the M50s???? Find out below!
Alright guys, so this has been a long time coming since I've been on here for a while and this will be my first review. I have a lot on my plate these days (I'm a physician) so I can't do an individual review of each of these thats why I'll simply do a comparison. Also, I'll stress this right now SOUND and not comfort, looks, brand name, or accessories is the most important thing to me.So that'll be the focus of my review.
Brief history
My very first headphone was the xb500. I literally walked into a best buy having heard nothing but my apple ipods. To be honest I wanted Beats because I knew nothing about sound quality and if you don't do your own research you're lead to believe this is the best sound quality possible. Anyways, I couldn't afford them and my number one priority at the time was sound and comfort and price. When I put on the xb500s I was immediately blown away. The giant pillows on either side of your head are unlike anything I've ever felt to this day. They are so comfortable. So I bought them and used them daily, and i mean daily for >10 hours (long study sessions in medical school). Now for those of you who know anything about headphones you know that the XB500s are known for the HUGE amount of bass they provide. Well over the last 3 years I used these headphones and always thought to myself "wow if my 80$ headphones are this amazing then I wonder what a 200$ headphone can do." Little did I realize I had stumbled onto the most bass heavy headphone from the getgo. Another family member of mine owns the Shure's and I recently bought the ATH-M50. That is how I am able to compare all 3.
Design
None of these headphones are flashy, in fact they are wholey plain. If I had to give the nod to anyone I'd say the xb500s, they just look so inviting.
Comfort
This one is easy. The XB-500 is the most comfortable headphone I've ever put on my ears. The ATH-50 gets uncomfortable after about an 1, the shure's are hard to get used to period.
Build quality
This is a tie between the XB500 and ATH-M50. They are both made out of plastic but it is not cheap plastic. Neither one of them makes rickety noises or feels like its 2 seconds away from breaking. I get the impression both could withstand a considerable amount of abuse. I can definitely vouch for the xb500s in that regard as they have fallen, been thrown around stepped on and abused so much over the last 3 years and they are still just fine.
Sound
The meat and potatoes. Look, the very first time I put on my sony XB-500s years ago I was blown away. Those headphones make your head rattle and I was hearing things in songs I didn't know existed. Those headphones opened my eyes to good sound. 3 years later and I now have 2 other headphones at my disposal, so how do they compare?
Bass. I spent 3 years thinking all headphones had the same amount of bass as the XB500s. I thought this was standard. I was so wrong and I had to unlearn what I had learned in order to realize there's more to music than bass. Enter the Shure's. Out of the 3 these are the most balanced, the most true, and....the most boring. I don't record music or anything I just listen to it, so I need a headphone that's fun to listen to. The Shure's have great treble but I wouldn't describe them as bright, they're just so crystal clear that you feel like you're listening to music that has no depth at all. More importantly, they had zero bass. Its like someone asked them to turn down the bass so that they can hear everything else only in the songs. Not good. I can see their uses, this would be a great headphone for a guitarist recording music but nothing more than that. so lets leave the Shure 440s behind for the rest of this review because there's not much else to say about that except: don't bother.
The XB-500s on the other hand, deliver gobs and gobs of boomy punchy bass. The mids are heavily recessed and muddied up but I didn't really know this because I had nothing to compare to. Everything I listen to with these things sounds "heavier" and "thicker." I was in love with these things and I thought I had found the most amazing pair of headphones. I also listen to a lot of vocal things like opera and vocal trance and the xb500s never failed to deliver sound that was up close and personal and in your face. I was that guy who probably told everyone not to bother with any headphones except XB-500s. In fact several weeks ago I bought the V-MODA Crossfade LP and returned them a few days later because they were the exact same as the xb-500s except with half the bass. All that changed when the ATH-M50 arrived at my doorstep a few days ago.
There is a lot of hype surrounding the ATH-M50. And I mean a lot. I'm the type of person who is meticulous enough to read every review and watch every youtube video on a product before buying it. I could not keep up with the M50. There were too many places to read about these things and almost all were positive. so I began to read only negative reviews. The majority of people who gave these headphones bad reviews either got a defective broken product or cited it as "overrated." So I decided to buy these things and find out for myself if they live up to the hype. I can tell you with a lot of confidence that they do not live up to the hype, they exceed it. And by saying that I know I've contributed to this hype but that's because I am convinced these things deserve it and I'm confident that they will live up to the expectations of its consumers provided they are reasonable people. These headphones will not cure cancer, they will not make your coffee and they will not make you orgasm when you put them on. What they will do is make you feel bad for paying 300+ dollars on other headphones that don't sound half as good. The ATH-M50 is remarkable because it can produce sound that is compelling, fun, and still true to the source. The treble is great, the mids are there if slightly recessed, and the bass.....oh my god the bass. Its not the amount of it that blows me away because I'd say its about half as much as whats in the sony's. Whats amazing about the bass is that it feels powerful and so in control. It appear exactly when it should and goes away exactly when it should. This is in direct contrast to the XB500s which always have that crazy insane boomy bass going on. I just didn't realize it all these years because thats how I thought music should be. By removing all the bass everywhere my ears were able to focus on so many other aspects of music. Now thats not to say that the XB500s don't have details..they do. In fact when I listen to the headphones side by side I am able to pick out the same details its just that in order to hear those details I had to first notice them on the M50 and then go back and look for them on the Xb500s and while they are there on the xb500s they lend themselves to being blurred in the background. The bass on the XB500 is more powerful though, so when listening to music that doesn't have many details in them and you just want to feel subs in your ears then the xb500 is the right choice. But for anything with words in it, or other more subtle instruments the M50s do one hell of a job of making sure you feel the bass without distorting other parts of the sound spectrum. Speaking of vocals, this is one area where the ATH-M50 without question tramples on the Xb500s. Just take for instance this classic below:
The first 50 seconds or so of this video is clapping. On the M50s you can actually hear clapping, almost individually as different people clap at different times and without any distinct synchrony. On the XB500, there is no such detail..the clapping sounds like one large globby undefinied noise that doesn't change the entire time. It sounds like you had earplugs in and stood outside the theater as people cheered whereas the M50s you felt like you were in the audience. As the vocals began I was able to detect little details in their voices like them taking quick breaths whereas on the XB500s their voices are so thick and heavy you just can't discern that kind of detail (again after hearing it on the m50s, I did go back and was able to pick up those details with the sony xb500 but wouldn't have noticed it by listening to the xb500s first). Of course in the above video the amount of clarity was breathtaking with M50s, and fairly good on the XB500s but theres just too much boooooooooom everywhere on the sony's to be able to focus on the music for what its supposed to be.
Another example:
Alot of the same stuff from the first youtube video I posted apply. But particularly different is those beats/drums in the background. They are distinct and occuring at different times. When I first heard them with the Xb500s they sounded like one sound (or I didn't notice them at all) but on the M50s I realized they are different and had their own rhythm. Its really quite satisfying.
Lets try something a little different. I watched the trailer below recently, first with the xb500s then with the M50s:
With the Sony Xb500s, there is just so much bass that the majority of time you are missing tiny details. For instance at the beginning of the trailer when the guy in the helmet starts talking, it doesn't sound any different than anyone else talking whereas on the M50s his voice has a "closed in" sound making it sound like he really is wearing a hemlet. Another quick example is at the end when the giant robot is dragging a ship behind him on the streets. On the Xb500s it is so hard to discern the sound of the metal from the ship scrapping on the concrete street but its very distinguishable on the M50. I know its kind of a minor point but these little things are noticeable to me.
Conclusion
The shure 440s are worthless for most people. I mean, they aren't bad they just don't do anything special that most other headphones can do and they are not exactly cheap.
The sony XB500 is an incredible experience, you will never get this much bass anywhere. I have tried the DT770s, the ultrasone 580s and most other "basshead" headphones and believe me nothing comes close. If you want bass (and I did for a long time) and don't mind sacrificing some of the details for that over the top rattle your head and punch you in the face bass then this is the pair of headphones you've been dreaming of. By the way, I forgot to comment a little on the quality of the bass but thats because its a bit of a foregone conclusion..the bass here is quality...it not that crap you hear on skullcrushers or even beats. Overall these headphones are awesome..and honestly for the 75$ they go for right now they're probably the best value out of the three headphones I've reviewed. They offer all those "audiophile" level things like detail and ability to pick out layers in the music. In fact they do a lot of things quite well and they were on my head for the better part of 3 years and for good reason. If my Xb500s every broke, I'd probably get another pair just to have them for that one song or two where you just want the bass to completely dominate you.
And finally the ATH-M50s. I love them. I really do. As a self-proclaimed basshead and someone who got used to the bass of the XB500s I was worried I wouldn't find good headphones with good bass. There are a lot of people out there who will tell you these cans don't have bass but I'm not sure what the hell they were listening to. Let me reassure you, the bass is there and its deep and very satisfying and present at all the right times. This is the headphone I've been looking for. All those people who love to hate on M50s are out of line in my opinion. These people fall into 3 categories:
1.) They hate anything popular.
2.) They hate that a 115$ headphone can do the same thing as their 400$ headphones.
3.) They genuinely don't like the sound that comes out of these things and have some obscure picky taste in sound (I'm sure this is the minority of people, most people are in the top 2 categories).
You might be wondering why I am "hating on the haters" and its because these people almost caused me to miss the chance to own these awesome headphones. Just because you outgrew them and now own a Stax or HD 650 that doesn't mean you can call the M50s overrated.
To anyone out there who is considering these, please add me to the list of positive reviews of these really impressive headphones. If you have any questions let me know.
, don't agree about the m50s bring the best <$400. I purger the cityscape uptown, k167, and mdr 7506. M80 is $130 and it might be better. 
