[HynchSidrick]

to those who keep on commenting but never tried or heard it why dont you get one and see for yourself how good it really is

 

[wind016]

 
Quote:

I buy headphones for their designed sound, not my tailored sound if that makes any sense.

 
Then you could as well listen to music the way they were produced with flat headphones. People seem to prefer buying equipment over EQ on Head-fi. There's nothing wrong with good EQs. They sound great if you know where to look and how to use an EQ. Personally, I prefer EQ (a good one) over tube rolling any day. IMO it sounds better, more versatile, and is much less of a hassle.
 
I'm on a search for some good EQs, but there's almost no interest on Head-fi compared to pro audio sites. Go figure.

 

[jronan2]

Because people don't want to spend a crazy premium for a headphone that is right around the corner from being available here. Not knocking those you have bit the bullet and purchased overseas, if you really wanted them then go for it.

 

[WasabiJ]

First impressions/comparisons, unequalized, with the XB-1000, through MacBook Pro, USB, to E7+E9:

Barenaked Ladies: Brian Wilson - Live

Surprised that I can almost make out what the crowd is conversing about in the beginning of the recording for the first time. I've always been aware of them but could never make out any words; for the first time sounds like two ladies are talking about the song about to be played and one of them called it. Guitars are just as sparkly as they were on the XB700's, vocals are a bit recessed, but definitely articulate and clear, just sounds as if he's sitting a bit further upstage and away from the mike. WOW the upright is tight and loud, but definitely not quite the same punch in the ear each note was on the 700. Definitely forward sounding bass, but that's to be expected and in this song, even encouraged. I can definitely follow along (if I had my bass, that is). Drums are also nice and tight; I can't keep myself from air drumming with these things on. The upright solo is a real treat on this song and with these phones it's most definitely showcased. This track definitely showed me how this phone likes to open up the soundstage.

Winner: XB1000. The control and clarity of the deep end on this phone make this song shine; this track has a very strong vocal track. I'm not sure if that's the reason I'm not concerned with recessed vox range.

Björk - Hyperballad

So realizing the intro was not really a series of sustained bass notes, but more like low but rapid pulses was something I learned on the 700; however the 1000's definitely made sure that was known. Björk's voice could be more opened up, but I suspect fiddling with EQ would fix that; again it's extremely clear. You can tell exactly when and how she breathes, which is such a huge component to her vocalization. The synth snare is slightly veiled, comparatively. The instrumentals during the chorus are phenomenally good, with different layers all being stacked yet all defined. It's definitely easy to widen your listening scope, then bead in on different sounds throughout the song with this phone.

Winner: Tie. While the nice clarity, and improved bass are a bonus, it's hard to say the XB1000 because the XB700 highlights Björk's vocal performance better. The positives are great on both sides, so I'm just gonna go the easy route.

ACK duty calls... I have to cut the write up short!

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

It's a shame about the recessed mids really because XB700 and XB500 doesn't have that much recessed mids at all compared to other bassy headphones, on headphone.com the graphs actually shows a boost in the mids whereas most headphones are flat around "zero"-level but it's somewhat required due to the bass emphasize.
 

 
Here the black line I draw would probably be the optimal basshead headphone to me if we speak strictly frequency response (something in-between XB500 and XB700):
 

 
I like warm sound so highs should be a bit rolled off like on XB500 especially but not quite that much and mids could be even slightly more emphasized too while keeping the very forward sound signature and would especially reduce some of its upper bass for less midrange bleed coupled with that slightly emphasized midrange would make it a lot better balanced. I had hoped something like this for XB1000 but that's far from the truth now, XB1000 is more like a XB700 taking an even further step away from XB500 sound (less warmth, less forward sound, recessed mids, more highs?).

 

[Holdmyown83]

ok quick question..i need an portable amp and maybe a good pair of IEM i was thinkn Westone or the maybe some customs . My budget bout $500 on it all but willing to pay just a lil bit more. all this i would most likely be taken with me at all times in a messenger bag..doesnt have to be as small as the Fiio e5 but nothin too too hugh. Any ideas?
 
p.s noob audiophile here...but my dad was a Audiophile so im pretty spoiled when it comes to good sound he started me out REEAAL early.
 

 

[WasabiJ]

@ RPG

The recessed mids are just in my own view. You have to remember I'm a military member, in a theater of operations, that on a day to day basis is exposed to a fairly constant high dB range. I'm not sure if they are truly recessed or my own ears are incapable of focusing on more than a few sounds at a time. I will say that I'm not sure if "recessed" is the correct term, but according to the dictionary on this site, I believe that's the best word for it.

This is a very very critical review. Both phones sound fantastic and I definitely enjoy my 1000's more than my 700's at the moment. As I stated before, you can hear every detail, well and easily. The vocal range, especially of female singers, seems to be just quieter than those of the 700's; that's the only comparative negative that I had with them. The XB1000's did win the competition in Daft Punk's "Overture" from the Tron soundtrack, hands down, because the detail on every instrument was incredible, and the impact of orchestral pieces was better conveyed. I used to play brass, and hearing things like valves moving, players breathing, and bows being rested and unrested on the violin just add to the vivacity of orchestra, and these phones showcase these things very well.

Is this a reference phone? No. This phone is far from being a neutral sounding. Does this phone showcase vocals? Yes and no. Details of the vocal performance are definitely highlighted and thus make vocals more articulate, but the bass can make it more difficult to hear the vocal performance. Do these phones sound miles better than these reviews indicate with less than 15 minutes EQ? Yes.

 

[Croozer]

LOL, Sony makes no secret of the market they are aiming these cans at but I see people picking them apart like a pair of audiophile reference cans, these are designed to be a fun, bass heavy headphone for certain types of bass heavy music (techno, dub, electronic, etc.).
 
When I get mine I got a E9, some Kraftwerk and Model 500 waiting for them.
 

 

[DjAmTraX]

I think everyone should consider getting both XB700 & XB1000. They are good at different things, not one is better than the other.

 

[jronan2]

Quote:

I think everyone should consider getting both XB700 & XB1000. They are good at different things, not one is better than the other.

Just wondering how much do you actually use the xb700 or the xb1000 since you have a bunch of top reference phones?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

XB500 too if you like a VERY forward "in-your-face" sound, if you thought XB700 was forward sounding, I'd laugh my ass off hearing you comment on XB500. I think this is probably why some people like XB500, others not, they are like Grados, not for every1.

 

[DjAmTraX]

There is no one perfect headphones so I go to the one I like most for the genre I plan to listen.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Originally taken from my official review of the MDR XB 700
 
OK I just bought myself a pair of MDR XB 700's 4 days ago to see for myself what all the fuss was about.
 
Positives:
Overall so far I'm pleased with my purchase. Although I find these cans generally speaking a fail with metal/rock/grunge they completely own when they're used on the electronica/rap genres. These cans have some very nice deep bass slam and I found the bass to be generally well controlled and acceptably defined for my tastes. The highs have passable detail without being shrill and the mids are generally also good. I'm surprised how good the bass slam on this thing is. You get some very nice low frequency slam without it being bloated, muddy, and most importantly the bass doesn't bleed and overpower the mids and highs. The form factor is generally nice and I was glad to find out that a nice leather poach for storage is included when you buy the headset. Although these cans are mostly plastic they don't feel flimsy in my hands and feel like they will last a long time with proper care. The fit is excellent and the clamping force for my head is just right. There may be better headphones out there that can do the bass head thing better but considering most of the competition is pricier the XB 700's are a steal for the kind of sound signature your getting. These cans sound signature may not be prim proper snooty audiophile grade sound but they are a incredibly fun sound signature to groove to and play around with different electronica songs with.
 
For those who already have the XB 700 get the album Tweekend by The Crystal Method. This album sounds so freaking neat on these headphones. I couldn't help but smile while I listened to it on these cans for the first time.
 
Drawbacks:
I wish Sony had included an alternate product package with this model. I would gladly have thrown an extra 10 or 20 bucks down if I could get a decent protective box for this headset instead of the standard issue leather pouch. These cans also lack a 1/4 inch plug so if you want to hook up (depending on your gear) you'll need to have your own 1/4 inch jack on hand. Although these cans are being marketed as mobile headphones they are far from ideal as on the go cans.They're rather big and don't fold up so you'll need room in your bag for them and because they only come with a soft poach you'll have to be careful of hard knocks etc if you don't want to ruin them. These are not a good choice if you're seeking an all purpose do it all set of cans. If you like your industrial/metal/rock/grunge overly bass heavy then OK whatever floats your boat but for most people these headphones won't work for certain genres. Put simply these can's aren't a headbanging headphone they're cans meant for the bass head not the rocker. They're also not audiophile headphones so if you want to dissect music get a pair of mid/higher end AKG's, Sennheisers or Grado's. As said above in the Positives section if you just want a fun sound signature to groove to then these are the cans for you.
 
The LoL section:
 
When I first bought these cans I couldn't wait to get home and listen so I ripped open the packaging and plugged them into my iPod and wore them while doing my errands for the evening. In a span of two hours I had 1 guy say "nice headphones, must be nice to have headphones that double as pillows" and 2 friends who I ran across commented "hey princess Leia when did you get a sex change and become a man". Be prepared for a little light ribbing when wearing these in public especially if you have friends who are Star Wars geeks.

 

[DrDustCell]

hey guys, i think i'm prepared to order the xb1000 on taobao for CNY 1300 (USD 200) after two weeks (med school midterms~~)
i'm an electronica and jazz junkie, and my curent mid-end phones are HD650 and DT990 600, powered by the La Figaro 339 tube amplifier
i've never done an impression writeup before but i'll try when i get them babes!
 
two questions:
 
1. how do they sound, volume-wise, unamped? i do have a C&C XO+ portable amplifier, but sometimes i just want to listen while working in the lab (lots of movement) or walking to the cafeteria without making space for the portable amp... going to be driving them with just my psp.
 
2. how's the isolation? from the images they look like closed circumaural cans.. i'd love to use them in the library (have, but not fond of IEMs). i think anyone who's owned the xb500 or xb700 could answer this as well

 

[DigitalFreak]

 
Quote:

hey guys, i think i'm prepared to order the xb1000 on taobao for CNY 1300 (USD 200) after two weeks (med school midterms~~)
i'm an electronica and jazz junkie, and my curent mid-end phones are HD650 and DT990 600, powered by the La Figaro 339 tube amplifier
i've never done an impression writeup before but i'll try when i get them babes!
 
two questions:
 
1. how do they sound, volume-wise, unamped? i do have a C&C XO+ portable amplifier, but sometimes i just want to listen while working in the lab (lots of movement) or walking to the cafeteria without making space for the portable amp... going to be driving them with just my psp.
 
2. how's the isolation? from the images they look like closed circumaural cans.. i'd love to use them in the library (have, but not fond of IEMs). i think anyone who's owned the xb500 or xb700 could answer this as well

I'm currently saving up for my first audio rig. Right now I'm running the XB 700 through my audio jack out on my Acer laptop. I can't really comment if they will sound better amped or not but I can say they sound pretty good stand alone no rig. I even used them straight connection to my iPod and found they sounded not to bad and there was ample volume to play with. These headphones aren't to power hungry and are easy to drive compared to many others. I use iTunes on my laptop and I set my preamp gauge in my iTunes equalizer window to about 2/3's up to get a bit more juice into my Grado SR 60i's and XB 700's and thus far its served me well. As for isolation the cups act like a suction cup around your ears and does a pretty good job preventing noise leakage. Unless you have them cranked up to deafening volumes I doubt you would have to much trouble using them in a library.