Grabbing another pair of Sony XB headphones(Either xb700's or the xb1000's), hoping for some advice here:
. I already have a pair of Sony MDR XB500's. I do consider myself an audiophile(My main 2 channel home system features Kef XQ10's with a pair of 15" Rythmik subwoofers powered by a pair of monoblocks and either my ipod or Wadia or Adcom cd transports for source), but I love my bass and feel that the foundation for good sound starts with the low end. For the $45 bucks I paid for my xb500's I find they were a great bang for the buck. When using my ipod touch I find they sound best and most natural with the "bass reducer" setting in the EQ. At this setting the bass and frequency response seems smoothest and most natural. I mainly listen to rock(Ranging from older Van Halen, Twisted sister, to newer bands like Rammstein, Limp Bizkit, Tool, RATM etc)and a bit of RAP(Dre, Dogg etc), and even some other alternatives like Phish, 311, Blues Traveler, String Cheese incident etc. on occasion.
So, would a pair of XB700's for $90 bucks be the way to go, or spend $250ish(which is stretching my budget as I only will be using these on my ipod touch while doing cardio or my laptop playing SC2) for a pair of XB1000's? I also like smooth and neutral midrange and treble. My ears are very sensitive to harsh sounding high frequencies. I like smooth/dark/laid back treble.
Also, some have commented that the XB500's are the easiest to power, but the sensitivity rating on the 700's and 1000's is a few db greater/higher(106db at 1khz vs 104 of the 500's)plus they have a lower impedance value at 24ohms vs. 40 on the xb500's, so I would think either of these headphones would be easier to drive than the 500's and need nearly half the amount of power to get the same output) I have now? Or am I missing something?
Anyway, some suggestions and recommendations would be welcome, like to order up a set today to have by Xmas.