[Xoria]

I tried the infamous Dr. Dre's Studio's, and they blew me away. The cash is crazy though.
 
 
After doing a bit of research, I decided that the Sony XB 500's bass = awesome. Unfortunately, I keep hearing that the mids, and highs aren't very crisp. Where can I buy headphones with similar bass to those sonys but with crisper mids, and highs?

My budget: Anything less than 150$
 

 

[TMRaven]

I don't think you'd be too disappointed.  The mids and highs on the Beats aren't exactly stellar either.  Well the lows aren't stellar as well, but whatever.
 
 

 

[Xoria]

I hope so, I just sometimes see people complaining about instrument seperation, and muddiness, whatever that means.

 

[Graphicism]

Yeah bass-forward headphones have to have set back mids and highs otherwise the bass would be normal. Sony XBs are a lot better than the Dr Dre toys.
 
Frequency response -
 
Dre Studios: 20-20,000Hz
Sony XB500: 4-25,000Hz

 

[Xoria]

Wow, sounds good. Those are more than what I can even detect! Now I got one more question. The reason I'm getting the XB 500's is because the 700's look HUGE. Will they be too awkward to carry outside the house?

 

[wind016]

The Ultrasone HFI 580 is an excellent match for what you want.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I hope so, I just sometimes see people complaining about instrument seperation, and muddiness, whatever that means.

Instrument separation is analogous to muddiness.
 
It means how well the headphone produces complex sounds where each different instrument / voice / noise is distinct. The less it is able to do that, the muddier it is. Dr Dre Beats are some of the worst, especially with its unnaturally bumped-up low frequency.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

For the crazy amount bass the XB500 packs, it's not really THAT bad. What you read on this site is always exaggerated to the extreme to separate headphone's sound signatures from each other as much as possible. ^^
 
If you liked how Beats sounded then you'd surely enjoy XB500 too. There's SEVERAL reports around for people that's tried Beats and went with XB500 and concidered it as an upgrade even, yea that's how bad the Beats are for the price. Sony XB series are aggressively/appropriately priced basshead headphones, Beats are way overpriced in terms of sound quality. BTW XB500 is even bassier than big brother XB700.
 
XB500 also responds very well to EQing but I feel mine doesn't even require barely any EQing anymore and sounds rather balanced these days apart from the huge bass quantity then (I've had mine for like a year now though). The upper bass is still somewhat too prominent but the highs have come a lot more forward and I can barely concider them as being veiled anymore when I originally thought they were quite smooth/dark sounding.

 

[Xoria]

So, good, The XB500 sounds like the best choice. Any more info about the Ultrasone HFI 580? Does anyfeature in the Ultrasone HFI 580 compensate for the awesome sony pillow softness on the ears?

 

[wind016]

The HFI 580 is a higher resolution headphone. It doesn't have as much bass impact as the Sony, but there is much more clarity in the mids and highs. When paired with a Cowon or Samsung MP3 player, it can definitely get into Sony XB levels of bass impact. You won't get that with the HFI 780 but only the HFI 580 in the Ultrasone line can get such an aggressive sound.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

I hope so, I just sometimes see people complaining about instrument seperation, and muddiness, whatever that means.

Heya,
 
Try these?
 
Otherwise, the XB700's are good (smoother in the areas  you specified needing more help with). There's also the HFI 580's. Also check out the FA-003's.
 
Very best,

 

[Xoria]

Quote:

The HFI 580 is a higher resolution headphone. It doesn't have as much bass impact as the Sony, but there is much more clarity in the mids and highs. When paired with a Cowon or Samsung MP3 player, it can definitely get into Sony XB levels of bass impact. You won't get that with the HFI 780 but only the HFI 580 in the Ultrasone line can get such an aggressive sound.

How can you compare ultrasone hfi 580 with Beats Studio?

 

[wind016]

Quote:

How can you compare ultrasone hfi 58 with Beats Studio?

I A/Bed a Beats Studio with the Ultrasone HFI 580 before. Actually, I was surprised by how dull and weak the bass was compared to the HFI 580. The HFI 580 could hit harder so it's obvious the Beats in the demo stations at Best Buy were either EQed or playing really bass emphasized tracks, because the HFI 580 hit harder in the bass through my own music. The Studios also have no treble or mid range resolution. The HFI 580 blow them away in that aspect also. Instrument separation is easily better on the Ultrasone.
 

 

[Xoria]

Thanks alot. I think I'll stick with the sonys. If the Dres aren't much crispy than them, and they cose only 49 bucks, I might as well get the sony XB 500s. Thanks alot for the help.

 

[TMRaven]

Keep in mind that it's common for people on head-fi to cater way more towards bass 'quality' and 'impact' and not all-out quantity, and a lot of times it's the quantity that a lot of bass-oriented consumers are looking for.  I have no problem with high quality bass that's well textured and diverse, but I do feel bass impact is greatly exaggerated for headphones.
 
I personally wouldn't wear the XB500s outside, but that's just me.