[porsche55]

im getting one of these 2 for sure so dont suggest anything else please. from what ive read and heard the m50 has better sound quality than the xb500s. ive listened to the xbs and there pretty good. ik that the xb500s HAve OUTSTANDING bass and wanted to know from someone with experience with m50s and xb500s, does the m50 have enough bass for dubstep/heavy bass music. also is the bass in the m50s close to the xbs at all. thanks for reading even if u didnt answer guys. CYa

 

 

[Liver]

I have owned the XB700 and they did have some serious bass.  However, it was very muddy and slow.  It was just blah.  I would not recommend the XB700 based on that (I don't know how it pertains to the XB500).  I hope that helps.
 
They were quite comfortable.

 

[neato]

I bought the M50's thinking it would be a basshead phone. It's not. Its bass is just slightly boosted if at all. It's a great sounding phone, don't get me wrong. But if you want big bass, the XB500 would be a better option. The M50's however do have a clearer sound overall. I've only heard the XB500 a few times but always in a loud environment so I may not have the best judgement on its sound. But I can tell you with confidence that the M50 is not at all a basshead phone. 

 

[bowei006]

I've heard the XB500's a couple times and have the HFI 580's which are very close to the M50's. since you are a consumer that wants super bass. get the XB500's. the M50's may have a bit more bass than the HFI 580's...but even then...it's hard to beat the bass of teh XB500's. audiophile headphones/bass is completley different from what you are thinking about...

 

[atomikn00b]

basically.
if you didn't notice that there were other parts of your music "missing" on the xb500s when you listened to them, then get them.
if you feel some sounds are lacking or "hiding" behind the bass, get the m50s

 

[Limenyang]

as a basshead, i found the amount of bass on the m50 to be lacking relative to the xb500. the xb500 however sounds muffled to me. your choice. bass>clarity?

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

as a basshead, i found the amount of bass on the m50 to be lacking relative to the xb500. the xb500 however sounds muffled to me. your choice. bass>clarity?

exactly what we are trying to say. thanks for putting it into more layman terms Limenyang. I like the muffled sound of the XB500 when i tried it. but in terms of those times when i really want music..ill go with audiophile stuff. but really. most consumers should just stck to the XB series
 

 

[Bill-P]

I had the chance to audit the XB500, and I have a pair of M50S.
 
Technically, depending on what kind of bass you want, they are both about equal. XB500 has more low bass extension, so the phones rumble more. M50S has more mid bass and upper bass emphasis, so it doesn't rumble as much, but the impact is definitely harder with my M50S.
 
I wouldn't say the XB500 is muffled, but it definitely doesn't have as much extension in high frequency as the M50, which can sometimes sound too harsh depending on the recording.
 
What I didn't like about the XB500 was that the soundstage was not as open. But for roughly half the price of the M50, I think the XB500 is a nice choice for anyone under a budget.
 
But if you can stretch your budget, M50 + a good head amp with bass boost does wondrous to the sound quality. With the XB500, it's very hard to boost the bass because things get overpowering very quickly.
 
Edit: also forgot to note the important part: I know there are at least two kinds of M50 sound signature. One is a V-shaped response where both high and low frequencies are boosted, giving more bass and treble extension but recessed mid. The other is a flatter response, giving less bass impact, less treble sibilance, but overall more balanced. And from my experience, it may depend on how you burn in the headphones, or... other factors. But I know that this difference exists, as my dad's M50 (coiled cord) sounds very different compared to my M50S (straight cord).
 
My M50S is the flatter response.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Let me guess you audited at BestBuy? Because there's no way in hell that M50 punches harder in the midbass than XB500 whatever version of M50 u got. xD However lots of people have audited XB500 at best buy and didn't notice any huge bass response until they took it home where it feelt like it got a 3x bass boost.

 

[Amorgan]

I'd go with the cheaper ones first: XB500's. They are the most comfortable headphones i have tried, and they can be EQ'd.

 

[Bill-P]

Quote:

Let me guess you audited at BestBuy? Because there's no way in hell that M50 punches harder in the midbass than XB500 whatever version of M50 u got. xD However lots of people have audited XB500 at best buy and didn't notice any huge bass response until they took it home where it feelt like it got a 3x bass boost.

Yep. That's weird. I didn't think the environmental noise around would make that much of a difference, but it turns out it did? Huh... the XB500 actually isolated pretty well from what I could see. I do also know that while I was there, pushing the Bass Boost option on my E7 up just one notch in the EQ caused some serious distortion with the XB500, but the M50 was perfectly fine.
 
I planned on getting back there with an E11, but I think I won't now.