[Dutchi MerenGue]

the xb500's are already bassier than the pro700mk2's by themselves.
 
what sets them apart is that the pro700mk2's are better controlled in the bass department and respond much better to eq without clipping, also the mids and the highs are better on the pro700's
 
but just bass, that visceral slam, punch, kick whatever you want to call it, i dont think a headphone exists that rivals the xb500 
 
 
i think going the xb500 route with digizoid and keeping a pair of m50's around for general listening is a safer play than getting pro700's by themselves that you may not even consider an upgrade

 

[reminence]

Quote:

how do the xb pads attach? hot glue?
 
 
 

 
Yep, 3rd set of pads hotglued to them. take them off with a thick hot knife and they come off easily.
 
I have not heard the XB500, but have owed the XB700 and XB1000 and with my pro700/Xb pad combo I think they would give the XB500 a run for their money in the bass department but the bass would be a lot more like the XB700 (subbass) and U shaped response of which I love.
 
Oh and the XB series of cans IMHO reproduce sound in a very fake way, its hard to describe but I can say that they do not translate music the way it was intended and things just sound off/fake/artificial and more so with the XB1000's. They sound like your in a club but the music seams to be severely compromised as a consequence.
 
Here it can be seen that the XB1000 (the apparently clearest and most neutral can of the XB's) has a terrible results when tested. The 300hz square wave response is just ridiculous for a $250+ can. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SonyMDRXB1000.pdf
 
I believe a headphone can have a colored frequency response and wide stereo imaging whilst still reproducing the music truthfully, just like the pro700 can

 

[yungshun]

Can someone chime in on this? I've had my eyes on these headphones for a couple years now and finally pulled the plug on them for Christmas – to an enormous letdown. I was under the impression that these were headphones ruthlessly catered to bass, and I was quite surprised to find the supposedly "earthquake" bass extremely minimal, so much so that I submitted an exchange from Amazon convinced that the first pair I got was defective. The replacement pair arrived today with similar results. I despise Beats by Dres but how can people compare these to them?

I play music out of an iPod Classic with an LOD and Fiios E11 so it was quite a surprise to find these headphones being underwhelming in the bass department. I had read probably every review in existence of these cans and many noted they could be easily powered with an iPod, but benefited from a bass-boosting amp, so I was not expecting this sort of weak sound. I can get the cans rattling to a fraction of how I imagined they would with certain tracks at unlistenable volumes, but even then it seems to be hit-or-miss. My go-to headphones at the moment are some ATH-CKS70s (very bassy IEMs) so I expected similar levels of boom in the ATH-PRO700MK2s.

I'm not quite convinced that a sufficient burn-in will suddenly get these trembling like the "two subwoofers" I had imagined, but maybe some of you can convince me otherwise. I can tell these headphones have the POTENTIAL to rattle the world, but I just could not get them to that level at comfortable listening volumes. Help?

Edit: Before anyone suggests this, I'm quite aware that the cable on these headphones have to be screwed in to the cans upon connecting. This is not the reason for underwhelming performance.

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

it wont. burn in i found didnt have any significant change to the overall sound.
 
when i first got my pair i had the same exact reaction you had, i was just staring at these uncomfortable cans and feeling anger, like..."wow, headfi really just lied to me"
 
 
i also remember having every intention of sending them back i even placed the pickup order with amazon to have a delivery man come to my door and pick them up the next bussiness day, but since it was friday, that meant monday at the earliest so i would be stuck with these things for the weekend
 
 
somewhere within those 2 days, i dont know when exactly but i fell in love, you may not like what im going to tell you but if you want anything even remotely resembling a wall of bass that'll dropkick you on the side of your head, you pretty much HAVE to become best friends with your eq.
 
i eq in something like 24db's of bass, and amp them. then and only then will you see what other people are talking about. the beauty of the pro700mk2's is in their ability to scale up to damn near any level of eq you can imagine. i have still yet to hear them clip or distort
 
if you're on foobar, dload real bass exciter and use the recommended settings and you'll definitely get your bass fix

 

[yungshun]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm back "home" for winter break so I'm away from my primary desktop, but yeah, I do believe these will perform better when I get back to school and play 'em EQ'd. Like I said I can tell they have the potential, I'm just disappointed because other reviews convinced me these were monstrous out the box.

I intended on using these in public as well, so the combination of my iPod and E11 not producing the kind of bass I wanted is disappointing, especially with the constant Beats comparisons. The ATH-CKS70s are just bonkers especially amped, so these are a bit reserved. The sound quality is nevertheless quite nice, though, so I don't immediately have thoughts of getting a refund. I'm just weirded out that really any ol' pair of headphones with the E11 thump quite hard, but these seem so underpowered even without thinking of them as bass cans. But I digress.

Edit: Stuffed the lining of the earpads with cotton for added comfort and to add some more distance between the drivers and my ears and that helped with the punch. Also, to my chagrin, changed the EQ on my iPod from off to "bass boost" and these headphones are finally coming alive...

Edit 2: Scratch that, "bass boost" sounds horrible.

 

[reminence]

Its all in the pads and a good seal. Of course I've got The XB pads that make a huge difference. If you are sure you have a great seal and have tried a few pads then there's no other "decent" headphone that will satisfy your basshead requirements.
 
Oh on another note, I don't need an amp when using my PRO-700's with my rockboxed clip+. It does look ridiculous, having such huge headphones connected to something so tiny.
 
Edit: on the clip+ I have a + 3db EQ from 400hz and below to counteract the clips bright signature and then a +4db at 40hz for some extra oomph. That's all I need to satisfy my quite large Basshead craving.

 

[xrM]

Anyone tried washing the DT250 pads? I'm using them on the pro700mk2 and it seems with every washing it gets flatter. I'm placing nylon rope under the pads but it looks like it no longer pushes up the pads enough.

 

[Prakhar]

Quote:

Anyone tried washing the DT250 pads? I'm using them on the pro700mk2 and it seems with every washing it gets flatter. I'm placing nylon rope under the pads but it looks like it no longer pushes up the pads enough.

You don't really wash them... I think you're just supposed to wipe them down, and eventually just replace them. :/

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

Can someone chime in on this? I've had my eyes on these headphones for a couple years now and finally pulled the plug on them for Christmas – to an enormous letdown. I was under the impression that these were headphones ruthlessly catered to bass, and I was quite surprised to find the supposedly "earthquake" bass extremely minimal, so much so that I submitted an exchange from Amazon convinced that the first pair I got was defective. The replacement pair arrived today with similar results. I despise Beats by Dres but how can people compare these to them?
I play music out of an iPod Classic with an LOD and Fiios E11 so it was quite a surprise to find these headphones being underwhelming in the bass department. I had read probably every review in existence of these cans and many noted they could be easily powered with an iPod, but benefited from a bass-boosting amp, so I was not expecting this sort of weak sound. I can get the cans rattling to a fraction of how I imagined they would with certain tracks at unlistenable volumes, but even then it seems to be hit-or-miss. My go-to headphones at the moment are some ATH-CKS70s (very bassy IEMs) so I expected similar levels of boom in the ATH-PRO700MK2s.
I'm not quite convinced that a sufficient burn-in will suddenly get these trembling like the "two subwoofers" I had imagined, but maybe some of you can convince me otherwise. I can tell these headphones have the POTENTIAL to rattle the world, but I just could not get them to that level at comfortable listening volumes. Help?
Edit: Before anyone suggests this, I'm quite aware that the cable on these headphones have to be screwed in to the cans upon connecting. This is not the reason for underwhelming performance.

 
Well, to be honest, I was also expecting thundering bass, especially since the initial reviews all painted it in such a positive light. It's by no means a poor basshead can; it just needs an amp or an EQ to make it shine. Plus points go to its ability to be pushed far beyond other basshead cans. It retains some semblance of clarity when the bass levels are heavily attenuated.
 
For example, on the Headfonia review, the PRO700MK2 is said to have heavier bass than the TMA-1. I found this to be the opposite when auditioning between the 2. I actually found the TMA-1 to be bassier at stock levels than the PRO700MK2. They are both equally dark, though.

 

[invalid404]

Is it viable to buy from Japan's amazon and using a service like Tenso to get them to Canada?

 

[JPCF98]

I loved this part, good descriptions. Good review. "The bass.  Man.  Bowel-hitting.  The bass has robbed the bank and dropped some change for me as well!  Incredible presence is jiggling the cups on my dome.  It is fantastically deep and has authority like a disturbed rhino.  The bass is ridiculously satisfying and hits like a shot of Bacardi 151.  Seriously, if you love bass, your plate is full - and that includes dessert.  It doesn't distort at high volumes either and amazingly doesn't stomp the daylights out the mids and highs.  From top to bottom, these are full and engaging.  Yup, fresh out the pen and sittin' on monster swoll, these have more low note crunch than any headphone that I've owned (case in point : D2000, M50, DT990).  If you don't like bass, steer clear of the LZ!"

 

[Csirus]

Thanks for the review, looking to get a pair of new cans and it sounds like this might be the one!

 

[skesmizio]

Nice review, i think I'm gonna get these with the M50 pads.

 

[Wintersxx866]

Even Mr. Bones likes them... His external auditory meatuses
 
 love them...

 

[nikhil007]

Are Sony xb 700 better than these?