[jronan2]

Quote:

Okay guys, I bought the Pro900. Got it for $350 shipped. Should be here next week. I will have to give it a good break-in before I do a comparison thread against the XB1000.

The Pro 900 need a long burn in...Most people on the Pro 900 appreciation thread advocate 400 hours for a full break in, because of the titanium drivers. I think that's a little much but these headphones do change, mostly tightening the bass a tad but mostly with the highs not being as harsh. I think your really going to like the sound especially the bass impact. My only gripe with the Pro 900's is the stock pads are crap, not comfy and make around my ears itchy. Some people have modded the denon J$ pads to them and I plan to do this sometime in the future. Can't wait to see how the xb1000 stack up to them.

 

[MorbidToaster]

The Pro 900 need a long burn in...Most people on the Pro 900 appreciation thread advocate 400 hours for a full break in, because of the titanium drivers. I think that's a little much but these headphones do change, mostly tightening the bass a tad but mostly with the highs not being as harsh. I think your really going to like the sound especially the bass impact. My only gripe with the Pro 900's is the stock pads are crap, not comfy and make around my ears itchy. Some people have modded the denon J$ pads to them and I plan to do this sometime in the future. Can't wait to see how the xb1000 stack up to them.

I OBJECT.

I think the pads are great! I loved them on my Pro 750.

I vote that it's the headband that's awful.

 

[DjAmTraX]

The headband on my XB1000 could use more padding.

 

[MorbidToaster]

The headband on my XB1000 could use more padding.

I hoenstly think that's the only problem with the whole line. Pillows on your ears, and a super thin headband. If it had a bit more padding, they'd be super comfy.

 

[maverickronin]

 
I agree.  It's pretty decent for what it is.  Gives entertaining bass, a decent mid and treble balance and is comfy as heck.  I rarely if ever use it simply because it is just not as resolving as my other cans. 
 
 

I use mine with videogames that use old school synths and not a prerecorded soundtrack. They are great for that.

 

[namco]

I have beats stdio,pro900,pro2900 and xb1000

here comes some comparison

sound quality
pro2900>pro900>studio>xb1000

sound stage
pro2900>pro900>xb1000>studio

balance
pro2900>pro900>studio>xb1000

sensitivity (easy to push)
studio>xb1000>pro900>pro2900

clarity
pro2900>pro900>beats studio>xb1000

I usually listen hip hop music, my order is
studio>pro900>pro2900>xb1000

my friend order is
xb1000>pro2900>studio>pro900 (in electric music)

studio has the best balance in hip hop music,heavy bass,clear voice,easy to push ( even on iphone ,it works well !! )
pro900,pro2900,xb1000,need a powerful amplifier to push not recommend for portable using

xb1000 is good for electric music without vocal,because vocal on xb1000 is not good...

 

[MorbidToaster]

I have beats stdio,pro900,pro2900 and xb1000

here comes some comparison

sound quality
pro2900>pro900>studio>xb1000

sound stage
pro2900>pro900>xb1000>studio

balance
pro2900>pro900>studio>xb1000

sensitivity (easy to push)
studio>xb1000>pro900>pro2900

clarity
pro2900>pro900>beats studio>xb1000

I usually listen hip hop music, my order is
studio>pro900>pro2900>xb1000

my friend order is
xb1000>pro2900>studio>pro900 (in electric music)

studio has the best balance in hip hop music,heavy bass,clear voice,easy to push ( even on iphone ,it works well !! )
pro900,pro2900,xb1000,need a powerful amplifier to push not recommend for portable using

xb1000 is good for electric music without vocal,because vocal on xb1000 is not good...

I feel so trolled.

 

[jronan2]

I'm not the only one that thinks the pro 900 pads suck, there is a reason why people are choosing to go with a J$ mod, it's not just to blow more money. But it is opinion.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Ummm I may be stepping on other peoples toes with this comment. I agree that the XB700 is lacking in detail but I think some people are missing the point behind these cans. These cans aren't meant for rocking out and especially are NOT meant for audiophiles. These cans are a straight up plain and simple old school bass head can. I threw some Melody Gardot (Jazz) at the XB700 and thought the music sounded OK, not great but still OK. As bright sounding and as compressed the sound stage is on my Grado SR60i's I still enjoy my jazz by far more on my Grado's because the SR60i's mids and highs reveal so much more of the little nuances in the music. To get the sound the average bass head craves you need a warm sounding can and as far as I know its next to impossible to get away from that warm sound signature. I'm not as knowledgeable as others on here but as I understand it you'll always lose detail especially in the treble to get that deep heavy thump in the lows. And its not uncommon in a bass oriented can for the lows to sometimes bleed into the mids. It comes down to what the listener is looking for. If you want great audiophile grade detail across the sound spectrum with a slightly heavier bass signature then get a set of Denon D7000's. If you just want good bass slam that makes you think you're at a rave then get a Sony XB700 or 1000. The D7000's and the XB1000 are two completely different animals and the people who buy either product in my opinion are also two completely different animals. The XB700 isn't great when we're talking detail but considering the bass slam it has I think it does a decent enough job for the kind of headphone it is. I can only imagine what the XB1000 must be like. Maybe I'll grab a set down the road and find out for myself.
 
Just my two cents.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

People need to remember they are only costing $80 (I'm from europe so paid only 65 EUR which is even cheaper when the 23% VAT is taken into account) so you shouldn't expect miracles SQ-wise but among the bassheavy headphones I've tried in this priceclass and a bit above I find them very good for the price. If it was all about bass they wouldn't be as popular as they are. I'm sure other XB700 owners can relate to this. I personally sold both ATH-M50 and Beyer DT770 Pro/80 which are like 140~150 EUR here after listening to XB700 & XB500. No they don't have Grado mids & highs forwardness but not every1 want that either.

 

[Croozer]

So your going to go by that graph and say the xb1000 is way better than the Pro 900?

My post was clearly about bass output.

Sony made it quite clear what the XB1000 was designed for, they also make the Z and SA series for different tastes but the XB is designed to get the party started.

 

[maverickronin]

Ummm I may be stepping on other peoples toes with this comment. I agree that the XB700 is lacking in detail but I think some people are missing the point behind these cans. These cans aren't meant for rocking out and especially are NOT meant for audiophiles. These cans are a straight up plain and simple old school bass head can. I threw some Melody Gardot (Jazz) at the XB700 and thought the music sounded OK, not great but still OK. As bright sounding and as compressed the sound stage is on my Grado SR60i's I still enjoy my jazz by far more on my Grado's because the SR60i's mids and highs reveal so much more of the little nuances in the music. To get the sound the average bass head craves you need a warm sounding can and as far as I know its next to impossible to get away from that warm sound signature. I'm not as knowledgeable as others on here but as I understand it you'll always lose detail especially in the treble to get that deep heavy thump in the lows. And its not uncommon in a bass oriented can for the lows to sometimes bleed into the mids. It comes down to what the listener is looking for. If you want great audiophile grade detail across the sound spectrum with a slightly heavier bass signature then get a set of Denon D7000's. If you just want good bass slam that makes you think you're at a rave then get a Sony XB700 or 1000. The D7000's and the XB1000 are two completely different animals and the people who buy either product in my opinion are also two completely different animals. The XB700 isn't great when we're talking detail but considering the bass slam it has I think it does a decent enough job for the kind of headphone it is. I can only imagine what the XB1000 must be like. Maybe I'll grab a set down the road and find out for myself.
 
Just my two cents.

People need to remember they are only costing $80 (I'm from europe so paid only 65 EUR which is even cheaper when the 23% VAT is taken into account) so you shouldn't expect miracles SQ-wise but among the bassheavy headphones I've tried in this priceclass and a bit above I find them very good for the price. If it was all about bass they wouldn't be as popular as they are. I'm sure other XB700 owners can relate to this. I personally sold both ATH-M50 and Beyer DT770 Pro/80 which are like 140~150 EUR here after listening to XB700 & XB500. No they don't have Grado mids & highs forwardness but not every1 want that either.

I can't speak for everyone, but I do know their target audience and the limitations that often come along with a smaller price tag. I think they do amazingly well despite all that. I'm just wishing that they were better while keeping the same basic sound sig. I love the bass on them. The quantity is clearly far more than neutral, but I think its of good quality as well. It also goes far deeper than any full size headphone I've personally heard besides the LCD-2. (I haven't head the XB1000s though. I'm awaiting its US release.) The D7000 isn't even in the same league of extension. There's just nothing else like the XB series that I know of.

 

[shamrock134]

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by maverickronin /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 It also goes far deeper than any full size headphone I've personally heard besides the LCD-2. (I haven't head the XB1000s though. I'm awaiting its US release.) The D7000 isn't even in the same league of extension. There's just nothing else like the XB series that I know of.

 
Out of interest how do you test for bass extension?
 
I've got some Monster test files someone uploaded for me and using the 20Hz tone file I can hear/feel something on the XB700, D7000 and Pro900. Hard to say which has the greatest amplitude though.
 
How much lower does the XB700 go?
 
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Both XB700 and XB500 goes deeper than your hearing capabilities in my experience, ofc it's a little hard to tell exactly how it sounds (my hearing capability cuts off at 15Hz which I could hear on both XB500 and XB700) but it can definitely be felt which is something that I can't speak for any other headphone I've tried so far. I think they at least are able to produce 10~15Hz without much problem. In some songs I also notice when there's bassdrops that goes down from like 100Hz to 0Hz I can feel the bass even like 1~1.5 sec after I stop hearing it.
 
Based on my experimenting with sample tones and headphone.com's graph I'd make a guess that XB500 probably starts having an issue somewhere around 8~9Hz and XB700 probably a bit deeper, 7~8Hz or so compared to more common headphones with good bass extension around 15~20Hz or so. I'm talking at the point of which the headphones start producing really distorted frequencies and low volume etc. I doubt only more than a very few select headphones can produce 10Hz or so frequencies.
 
Some1 should convince Dave Rat to give these headphones a run on his equipment.

 

[maverickronin]

 

 
Out of interest how do you test for bass extension?
 
I've got some Monster test files someone uploaded for me and using the 20Hz tone file I can hear/feel something on the XB700, D7000 and Pro900. Hard to say which has the greatest amplitude though.
 
How much lower does the XB700 go?
 
 

Several different ways depending on what gear I've got with me at the time. If I'm trying to measure something somewhat accurately I use sine wave generator on my PC. (Link to one at the bottom of this post.)

Slightly more subjective judgments can be made with test tracks. There is a sine wave sweep linked above that may be useful as well. The Heartbeat track on the Open Your Ears album from HDtracks counts down to lower and lower pitches. I also like this one a lot and its free. Its a quick and dirty test, but there are plenty of headphones out there that will miss half the sound completely. Be careful with the volume on it. Its the kind of thing that can damage equipment. A specific piece of music is rarely a complete test so it usually better to go with something you like rather that simply grabbing the most bassy song someone else can think of.

I'll have to test again later to see what lowest frequency I can feel (not hear) from my XB700s is, but I think it was something insane like 5hz last time I tried it.