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If you are an audiophile of any kind, avoid the the XB500.
I am a basshead and the XB500 fails to deliver an acceptable level of detail, clarity, and sound stage with its overpowering, unnatural bass.
It is excessively BOOM BOOM BOOM. The bass line will prevail over all other parts of the song. I thought this would be good at first, but ultimately it was clearly for the worse, you can no longer hear the musical part of the song.
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Yea but it's the strongest bass around, therefore some1 could claim it to have the "best" bass, take your typical teenager Rap listener and hence it was given as an example where bass quantity defines what's best.
XB1000 / Darth Beyers for having the strongest deepest extending bass, LCD-2/3 for having the most flat non-emphasized nor recessed bass response etc. My point like the poster above was that different people define "best bass" differently based on what's important to themselves and you can't just say "this one is the best bass headphone".
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Best bass headphone doesn't necessarily have to be strong bass though which most if not all those mentioned headphones/IEMs have. A basshead wants more than "neutral" bass but for some1 else neutral bass might be the best.
bassheads want neutral bass, but they've always complained the bass wasnt loud enough when it is neutral.
reason being, the headphones of the past have been lacking.
nowadays, headphones continue to lack.
indeed? headphones are getting better and better, but the fact remains.. the 'feast' is something typical of the highest price points.
try telling that to a dieing person who doesnt have the time or money to wait.
most naturally, the advisors will tell you.. if you cant find what you are looking for now, you MUST start saving up your money and wait for that product to be released.
that way, when the new 'series' of headphones is introduced to the consumer market.. your savings will be high and you will walk away with improvements over those who didnt save anything more than a month's worth of money.
bassheads push the envelope of dB levels because they desire SPL.
idiocentrics come to a conclusion about bassheads without doing an interview with an honest thirst.
SPL can be neutral.. and when it happens, bassheads drool brain juice and blood pressure.
it is because of the many generations of lacking woofers.
there are HUNDREDS of generic subwoofers on the market designed to be used in combination with something else to complete the seasoning of the air.
get large amounts of dB = a large win from the 60's and 70's
get large amounts of SPL = a large win from the 80's and 90's
get large amounts of details = something available since the 50's .. but appreciating those extra details are a differential observation. (some worship the speaker, others went through 2,3,4,5 of the speakers from abuse)
there has been many subwoofers that employ 'enhanced' details.. but the volume output was much lower to promote further audio equipment purchases.
typically bigger trunks, more amplifiers, and more amplifier accessories.
what is the number one complaint with speaker setups nowadays? ... MORE DETAILS.
people expect the speaker to simply plug into the radio and sound better because they paid more for it.
this isnt always the truth, but there are speakers that can be bought and placed into use with an immediately noticeable improvement.
typically, if there is an improvement to be had.. it will present itself as a difference the moment you lay your ears on the speaker.
however,
getting into the aspect of using REAL equalizer settings, not the fake attempts people make with their sine sweeps and guessing at what is right or wrong.. you start doing the equalizer with a calibrated microphone and you will begin to view speakers like christmas boxes with a secret gift inside the box.
nobody wants to keep tabs on the many speakers that are made for these reasons:
specific room size
specific room texture (carpeted or hard floor and no fabric in the room, or hard floor and lots of plush furniture)
impulse response delay requirements despite the cubic space of the room
polar responses for using multiple speakers in the same cabinet
polar responses tailered for square or rectangle rooms
speaker placement on the floor or in the middle height of the room.. or perhaps small amounts of lift to get at ear level while seated.
if the speaker is ment for single speaker use or multiple speaker use
if the speaker is ment for 2 or 3 speakers per channel.. or a wall of 5 or 6 speakers per channel
sensitivity to equalizer adjustments of linear phase
sensitivity to equalizer adjustments of multiple different phases
i really wish you would seperate the difference between 'bass' and 'base'
the strongest 'base' around is the deep harmonics that give SPL
think of it like this.. there are three main soundwaves in a room - the axial, the oblique, and the tangential
the majority of headphones speak from the tangential and oblique waves.. completely leaving out the axial wave (or showing spikes of additional inclusion)
the xb500 headphones start with the axial wave and their strength here is quite hidden thanks to the sample rate and bit depth.
but
since the tangential waves are missing, people do claim the headphones are not musical.
the importance has priority, and it is the exact opposite for different people
axial has highest priority, because the raw shape of the soundwave starts here
oblique has second highest priority, because the raw shape of the nuances ends here with the addition of the axial to form a complete equation with a result.
tangential has the third highest priority, because all of the extra things like transients, multiple instances of phase differences, additional equalizer allowances, and perhaps extra cone stroke are all hidden here. (the list goes on, but i am shattered and weak)
people think if the speaker can blow air, it is musical.
they are followers that gathered information from a leader.
the leader said, extra long stroke is needed to provide details within those peak to peak movements.
that is how you make a woofer act as a replacement for multiple speakers.
obviously.. the trash will show mixed emphasis where a woofer does some strong subwoofer tasks, but instead of completing the frequency response in that area.. there will be improvements beyond the midbass frequency range.. making the thought of a woofer being used as a midrange become all too real.
we are not a stupid species, us humans, because we already allow single speakers to do frequency ranges of 4hz - 30khz in headphones.
4hz - 5khz seems like a reasonable request from a single woofer (not a headphone speaker, but look at the many many 2-way speakers on the market)
jiggawho needs to use my equalizer settings as suggested.
the bass isnt any louder than the midrange or treble with those settings.
because of me, people see the frequency response chart and it gives them a chance to spew their mouth without ever listening to the headphones.
DO NOT forget the price range you are in.
there are a hundred other headphones out there in the same price range that utterly fall on their face flat and hard when talking about those words you list.
the details are an improvement, and you notice this right away without ever touching an equalizer.
there isnt any dirt in the sound, but because of the missing tangential 'harmonic' the musicality comes across 'bright' and 'intelligent' and 'clean' and 'improvements with trimmed function'
the soundstage is in your head good and tight.. no getting around that, because the tangential 'harmonic' .. and even further harmonics.. allow the soundstage to pull away from the head.
this specific 'in-y or out-y' is a highly specific request that changes from one listener to the next.
they both earn equal right to be here, because some people will enjoy both soundstages during the same day (add another side dish to your meal).
what makes me upset are the people that bully the speaker because they are different.
the xb500 are like a microphone placed TOO CLOSE to the person's mouth.
the majority of other headphones are like a microphone TOO FAR AWAY from the person's mouth.
when you zoom in and listen real close to those other headphones, it sounds like there is something in their mouth preventing them from speaking clean, clear, and crisp.. as if each word is meticulous for syllable & tone.
a lot can be said about a person's care when they choose not to listen closely to the person's vocabulary in enhanced definition.
the xb500 are strange to me because the more i listen in and try to zoom in on the sound, the less and less i can find something wrong with them.
its like all of the atomic details are perfect, and as those details get bigger and bigger, that is where the headphones start to fall short.
as i've said before, the majority of other headphone are the opposite (or an ugly combination of both).
if you think a combination is better, consider asking yourself why you bother to listen in on the frequency response at all if there are octaves of enhanced detail and realism.. with other octaves of saturated detail and realism.
quite clearly to me..
an audiophile should be zooming in on the frequency response for the full spectrum (all octaves included).
it is a stupid ugly trap to see the enhanced details of one octave.. and then there is these other octaves with problems.
why is it stupid and ugly?
because one octave is drawing you in closer and closer, and then these other octaves are pushing you further and further away.
nobody should be in a relationship with a person that says 'i love you and i want you near me' as they raise their hand to your forehead to hold you BACK.
that person is torn apart, and deep inside is something shattered in many little pieces.
the unhealthy person should be nursing themselves back to health instead of speaking with other people.
of ANY kind?
c'mon.. kindness comes from wholesome goodness.
as of right now..
i am listening to some pop song and the guitar strings are loud and clear as the drums are thumping and the digital synthesized bass is aciding.
there isnt much seperation between ANYTHING.. and that might prove to be a serious turnoff.
but seperation is a very high quality on the list of demands from an audiophile.
seperation proves to be the last thing requested generally.
i mean seriously..
get ONE layer sounding perfect (or very close to perfect) before you start requesting more layers.. because once that second layer gets there, it is going to be another layer that needs to be sounding perfect (whether that comes from tweaks or happens naturally).
there is seperation within the layer that exists, enough to seperate the bass from the midrange and treble.
enough to seperate the midrange from the treble.
and enough to hear multiple things in the upper extension of the midrange area.
there almost sounds to be some serious seperation beginning in the bass to midrange area.
indeed.. there isnt enough seperation in the bass area as i want.
but what does play together in the bass area seems to lay themselves on top of eachother instead of bleeding and mixing and blending together.
i mean, these headphones can play a bird chirp with echoes perfectly.
they play rain effortlessly.
the vocals sound like my ear is 2.5ft away from the persons mouth.
and the bass is all accurate, but a little bit smooth.. yet layered on top of eachother instead of being a traffic jam of confusion.
the headphones are kindergarden / 1st / 2nd grade for audiophiles.
read my words..!
your ear shape isnt going to have much to do with it.
once the frequency response has been made flat, it is going to sound no different than everyday life.. unless the headphones reach their limit of realism.
nobody should be deviating from a flat frequency response.. and if you devaite from the standard, your headphones will sound flat, and the rest of the world will always sound like an annoyance at specific frequencies.
it is better to stay with the standard and keep outside noises normal.. because there is very little that is going to change the output levels for specific octaves.
that is what your ear shape requests?
realism comes from what you hear on a day to day basis.
every artist needs a flat frequency response to start.
that way they can raise and lower each frequency ONE TIME and it will be the same for everybody.
accumulation can occur because of the ear shape, and this creates a frequency that is louder than the rest.
simply 1 or 2 dB higher or lower is going to be noticeable.
most speakers are flat within 5dB of eachother and it makes it a whole bunch better.
it feels like the music started to try more because i was trying more with the frequency response.
sine sweeps are not fully accurate from the amplifier.
music does not contain one frequency at a time.
that is why they use pink noise that plays more than one frequency at the same time.
it is like CPU usage percentage on your computer.
the sine sweep is only use 4% of your amplifier
music uses 60% - 80% of your amplifier
that is why you use pink noise to bring the usage percentage up, for a more complete calibration.
listening to timbabland and aaliyah's 'are you that somebody'
timerbland's voice doesnt blend in with the bass.
aaliyah's voice doesnt blend in with the bass.
this song right here goes solid enough to call out a liar..!
there is no mixing or blending with the baby and the knuckle cracks.
they are not fully seperated, but they are not dull and inspiring confusion.
anyways..
LET THEM KNOW YOU CARE.
