[iliendo]

Hey guys and gals,
 
I'm looking to buy a new pair of over the ear headphones this weekend, it's mostly used for home use (so I don't really care how it looks like). I mostly listen to rap/hip-hop music from various artist (the lonely island, kanye west, 2pac etc.) so I want something optimized for those genres. I was looking at the Sony MDR-XB 500 (the one with the extra bass

, I like bass a lot! ) it seems like a pretty good pair for the value but I'm not an audiophile so what do I know! 
 
I'm coming from some knock off beats by dr dre studio from china (which are the same quality as the real ones) but I'm tired of replacing those damn batteries and I'm tired of them because EVERYBODY has a pair of beats! So if you have any suggestions or think that the MDR-XB500 are a good choice please tell me!!!

 

[Amorgan]

I actually think the XB500's suit your genres well, if you want bass. 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

For this genre and type of sound, I think XB500 will satisfy you greatly. This headphone is very tuned for hiphop (and dubstep) IMO.

 

[jorich]

Never personally tried them, but have researched them a lot and I think they will suit what you want! Plus they are a VERY cheap headphone compared to the beats, you can get them for around $50. Plus you won't look like a follower by wearing something that EVERYBODY has. Beats are more of a trend than anything.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Never personally tried them, but have researched them a lot and I think they will suit what you want! Plus they are a VERY cheap headphone compared to the beats, you can get them for around $50. Plus you won't look like a follower by wearing something that EVERYBODY has. Beats are more of a trend than anything.

 
I'd say XB500 has started to gain rather widespread recognition today as a cheap Beats alternative with at least equal or better bass (the average joe measures bass as more = better).

 

[Amorgan]

Quote:

 
I'd say XB500 has started to gain rather widespread recognition today as a cheap Beats alternative with at least equal or better bass (the average joe measures bass as more = better).

 
Yep. After comparing them side by side, i liked the XB series more. I wouldnt pay $100+ for the beats. 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

 
Yep. After comparing them side by side, i liked the XB series more. I wouldnt pay $100+ for the beats. 

 
Yea about 8 out of 10 people on head-fi that demoed both would pick XB500. Beats Studios is worth aprox 40~$50 in sound quality, XB500 both has the bass quantity and beats it in quality, it's like not a huge margin in terms of quality but yea for such a price difference, it's an easy choice. Of course it exists even cheaper headphones with better sound quality say for example Panasonic HTF600 but if we take bass quantity into concideration as well then XB500 is probably the best competitor vs Beats in terms of cheapest that "Beats" them in their own game.

 

[iliendo]

Wow thank you guys for all the fast and great answers! I do agree with Amorgan that beats are way to expensive, because for way cheaper you could get better headphones that look good too! I pretty much hate my beats headphones because everybody has them and the ****ty quality (for the price) makes me hate doctor dre even more than I did before.
 
Now I'm wondering two things: whats the difference between the XB300 the XB500 and the XB700 (exept for the price), I've heard some people say that the 500 are the best because it's the most balanced one, but I tried them all at a store and I can barely notice the diffrence between the 3 headphones.
 
The other thing, can i use the 300 to produce some professional quality music on my computer? I dont have much experience but I'm trying to learn to make some good music on my computer.
 
Ps. If my English sucks, it's because I'm very tired (didn't catch much sleep last night) and because English isn't my first or second language.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I don't know what XB300 sounds like but I also can say that the demo stands may also not give a very accurate view of the headphones, for example the demo stands in Best Buy in U.S. is known for having weird results, the XB500 are often described as quite basshy for example and not overly great soudning and then when it was brought home it was almost like a different headphone. (I bet BB EQ'd down the bass on purpose on XB500 to sell more of the expensier Beats xDDD wouldn't be suprised at all if it was done on purpose)
 
Since I've had both XB500 and XB700 I can say that XB500 has a bit bigger bass, namely midbass, they are fairly close in subbass, the XB700 has slightly better bass extension but XB500 is already amazing in this sense already and XB500 brings a noticable bigger impact and it's also a bit "tighter", the XB700 is a bit loose, soft and slow but rather rumbly, the XB500 is a bit snappier but versus high quality headphones the bass response still remains relatively loose and boomy in XB500 too but for the bass quantity concidered it's not too bad at all. The XB500 has a bit more  forward lower-midrange than XB700 so the vocals, especially male vocals appear a bit more forward on XB500  (great for hiphop) but while the vocals or midrange in general appear a bit more distant on XB700, it's also slightly clearer sounding than XB500's which is slightly excessively smooth/warm for some people without EQing. The highs are very slightly exaggerated on XB700 while they are slightly veiled and rolled-off on XB500. Soundstage is similar on both, XB700 has ever so slightly bigger stage while XB500 had slightly better positioning in my ears. Also XB500 is among the most efficient headphones I've tested and works very well ampless and barely offers any improvements if amped while XB700 actually sounds quite a bit better with amp.
 
Finally if above didn't make much sense, I'd explain the bass response difference between XB500 and XB700 in the following analogy; the XB700 is like an earthquake while the XB500 is like some bombs going off frequently.

 

[iliendo]

Quote:

I don't know what XB300 sounds like but I also can say that the demo stands may also not give a very accurate view of the headphones, for example the demo stands in Best Buy in U.S. is known for having weird results, the XB500 are often described as quite basshy for example and not overly great soudning and then when it was brought home it was almost like a different headphone. (I bet BB EQ'd down the bass on purpose on XB500 to sell more of the expensier Beats xDDD wouldn't be suprised at all if it was done on purpose)
 
Since I've had both XB500 and XB700 I can say that XB500 has a bit bigger bass, namely midbass, they are fairly close in subbass, the XB700 has slightly better bass extension but XB500 is already amazing in this sense already and XB500 brings a noticable bigger impact and it's also a bit "tighter", the XB700 is a bit loose, soft and slow but rather rumbly, the XB500 is a bit snappier but versus high quality headphones the bass response still remains relatively loose and boomy in XB500 too but for the bass quantity concidered it's not too bad at all. The XB500 has a bit more  forward lower-midrange than XB700 so the vocals, especially male vocals appear a bit more forward on XB500  (great for hiphop) but while the vocals or midrange in general appear a bit more distant on XB700, it's also slightly clearer sounding than XB500's which is slightly excessively smooth/warm for some people without EQing. The highs are very slightly exaggerated on XB700 while they are slightly veiled and rolled-off on XB500. Soundstage is similar on both, XB700 has ever so slightly bigger stage while XB500 had slightly better positioning in my ears. Also XB500 is among the most efficient headphones I've tested and works very well ampless and barely offers any improvements if amped while XB700 actually sounds quite a bit better with amp.
 
Finally if above didn't make much sense, I'd explain the bass response difference between XB500 and XB700 in the following analogy; the XB700 is like an earthquake while the XB500 is like some bombs going off frequently.

Hey thanks for all your effort! Yes I do think you best buy theory is true

 I'll probably go out tommorow and buy the XB500 because their cheaper and there is barely difference if I understood it right between the 500 and the 700 (well not enough to pay more for it). Could you explain what the diffrence is between midbass and subbass, I'm trying to learn a bit more about sound and headphones 

 

[RobustOrange]

Quote:

Hey thanks for all your effort! Yes I do think you best buy theory is true

 I'll probably go out tommorow and buy the XB500 because their cheaper and there is barely difference if I understood it right between the 500 and the 700 (well not enough to pay more for it). Could you explain what the diffrence is between midbass and subbass, I'm trying to learn a bit more about sound and headphones 

Sub bass is the deep kinda sound like you get on a Bass violin. Mid bass is the impactful sound used in hip hop as a bassline. 

 

[reddragon]

i say go for the xb500, i just ordered it too (just for the bass so sometimes i can listen to a really bass heavy headphone for fun) and midbass is like this boomy sound (if emphasized, you can clearly hear it being overexaggerated in the beats) but its not as deep and low as the bass. the bass should sound deep and low. subbass is basically vibration, subwoofers are made for that. hope my response helps.

 

[reddragon]

Quote:

Wow thank you guys for all the fast and great answers! I do agree with Amorgan that beats are way to expensive, because for way cheaper you could get better headphones that look good too! I pretty much hate my beats headphones because everybody has them and the ****ty quality (for the price) makes me hate doctor dre even more than I did before.
 
Now I'm wondering two things: whats the difference between the XB300 the XB500 and the XB700 (exept for the price), I've heard some people say that the 500 are the best because it's the most balanced one, but I tried them all at a store and I can barely notice the diffrence between the 3 headphones.
 
The other thing, can i use the 300 to produce some professional quality music on my computer? I dont have much experience but I'm trying to learn to make some good music on my computer.
 
Ps. If my English sucks, it's because I'm very tired (didn't catch much sleep last night) and because English isn't my first or second language.

 
 
and no, do not use the extra bass series to produce music, thats not what its meant for. get other headphones for music production.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Subbass is aproximately 80Hz and lower and midbass about 80~150Hz or so range especially. Lower Hz is slower, "softer" and the duration of the higher tones are decaying faster resulting in a bigger "focus" & impact of the tones. The XB700 focuses mostly on the sub-100Hz range and isn't overly bassy in the 100Hz+ range, in fact most of my bassy headphones have more midbass presence than XB700 while none can compare to it in subbass. Since I'm a fan of balanced subbass vs midbass presence, the XB500 easily wins for me in bass response.
 
Finally here's an subbass example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FonmhUBsXOY#t=0m31s (0:31 forwards)
 
and here's some midbass example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMppa-s7zqQ (midbass is commonly used in techno/trance especially)
 
Genres such as dubstep and hardstyle for example combines subbass and midbass tones. I'm a great fan of hardstyle and in hardstyle you often speak about "kick" (subbass notes) and "punch" (midbass notes) which is mostly used in succession.  I'm following a young talented producer and giving him feedback and often master his tracks for him so yea I'm quite interested in all these kinds of stuff too.

 

[Bradsnake412]

im so getting the XB500 as well but im buying them off Headphones.com so it may cost me $80 thats postage as well i hope as they are $60 US and im hoping postage to Australia is only $20 also what Headphone would be good for making music ^_^