[1cuz]

Story: (skip to question if you don't have time or want to read all this)
I am a new member and will be sticking around the forums for quite a while. I'm looking for preferably around the ear headphones. I did some searching around on the forums last night and also amazon reviews.
I'm a real bass junky, but just have been looking for a nice set of cans for the first time. I read the bass lover thread and concluded that I would look into buying the Sony KB500 or KB700. I for not many reason love Sony products for reliability and performance.
 
I went into Best Buy this morning and went to the Sony stand where the KB500's sat. I put them on and cranked them to the stand's maximum volume and was not impressed, they were quiet and muffled. I still considered buying them to test them on my phone (HTC Hero) on Pandora listening to various hard-style artists such as Headhunterz. I then did a bass test on YouTube and I did like the frequency that they produced, but again everything was just to quiet for me. (Yes, my phone was turned all the way up and No, I'm not hearing impaired)
I returned them and listened to other demo products like the SkullCandy DJ and Monster Dre Beats. The prices were unattractive to me.
 
What I'm looking for:
Under $100. LOUD, Pounding bass and treble. I listen to hardstyle, techno, trance and hip-hop. Leakage is a minimum-moderate concern to me. Blocking out exterior noises is somewhat important to me, but I'm not a fan of noise-cancelation. The most important thing to me is being able to hook up to my laptop, cell phone and 1st gen. iPod Nano without an amplifier, I might consider one down the road.
 
 
 
My Question: The Sony XB500's are 40 Ohms @ 104dB/mW and XB700 are 24 Ohms @ 106dB/mW  -CNET
 
Why were the XB500's quiet to me? Is it because I want to connect them to laptop/cell phone and iPod? Is the XB500's impedance too high for the devices I want to plug them into? Will lower impedance like 24Ohms be louder, if the sensitivity is similar?
 
I have Sony Earbuds that are 16Ohm @ 107dB and are plenty loud.
 
 
Thank you for taking the time to help me out.
 
Thank you,
-Cuz

 

[Aizura]

Because of the headphones higher impedance they require more power and therefore won't go as loud as your earbuds. As far as i know the Sony XBx00's are pretty easy to drive though, so i guess you would need to go IEMs if you want higher volume without an additional headphone amp. You could try the Fiio E5 amp. It's dirt cheap and perfect for volume/bass boosting.

 

[1cuz]

 
Quote:

Because of the headphones higher impedance they require more power and therefore won't go as loud as your earbuds. As far as i know the Sony XBx00's are pretty easy to drive though, so i guess you would need to go IEMs if you want higher volume without an additional headphone amp. You could try the Fiio E5 amp. It's dirt cheap and perfect for volume/bass boosting.
 

I've been thinking about getting the Sony XB700 and the Fiio E5 amp that you recommended. Is this pairing compatible or work well with eachother?
 
I'm not sure how the amp works and it says it's for high impedance or low sensitivity headphones...the XB700 are 24Ohm @ 106dB/mW, if they would work well together? How about the XB500's they are 40Ohm @ 104dB would this amp still boost them enough? If the amp really makes much of a difference I could save money getting the XB500

 

[1cuz]

I ordered the Fiio E5 already, just would like to know if they would work for the XB700's?

 

[Aizura]

 
Quote:

 
I've been thinking about getting the Sony XB700 and the Fiio E5 amp that you recommended. Is this pairing compatible or work well with eachother?
 
I'm not sure how the amp works and it says it's for high impedance or low sensitivity headphones...the XB700 are 24Ohm @ 106dB/mW, if they would work well together? How about the XB500's they are 40Ohm @ 104dB would this amp still boost them enough? If the amp really makes much of a difference I could save money getting the XB500

The E5 will improve both headphones. Don't expect a night and day difference though, it will probably just add some more bass impact. But the volume can go way higher with the amp which is what you're looking for. Don't listen too loud if you ever want to experience the difference high end amps/headphones can make though 

 

[1cuz]

Just purchased the XB500's over the XB700's. After reading around on these forums. Thanks for the help.