So, what you're telling me is that the Sony 1000XM3 are to be driven with a DAC otherwise they just make it decent sound, and the XB950APs are the usual headphones that just pump the basses.
But, the first one are made for BT use. They've to be good out of the box, don't they?
I'm saying they're named XBxxx for a reason - XB means e
Xtra
Bass.
And no that's not a matter of driving it with a DAC because:
1. A DAC does
not drive anything. It's just a Digital to Analogue Converter. That means it just takes a digital signal and converts it to analogue. And amplifier circuit, even one as simple as a chip that has both a DAC and driver in one die, takes that signal and amplifies it into a stronger signal that can move the drivers. Devices that can drive headphones similarly have a DAC and a headphone amp circuit in the same chassis, usually running off the same power supply.
2. A BT headphone isn't automatically good by default. It can be a bad driver designed almost exclusively for high sensitivity so a tiny chip running off a tiny battery can last several hours driving it with effectively only 1mW.
3. You can have a good BT headphone driver that has a good enough frequency response, and that's what the 1000XM3 is. It is inherently
not an XB series headphone. In short, using a DAC-HPamp, even if it can bypass the circuit built into the headphone, is
not your problem. This is nothing like having a 3.3L V6 sedan and adding twin asymmetrical, quick spool turbines with a variable vane oversized kompressor so that you can have enough torque at 2000rpm to 3500rpm such that it will feel like a 5.7L small block LS1 V8 engine in a Corvette. The only way amplifiers "add" bass is if you're comparing one amp to an amp that reduces the bass thanks to output impedance (or just skews the balance because of sharp treble) or you deliberatly use EQ, whether Bass Boost built into the amp or software EQ, to give such a headphone the same response as an e
Xtra
Bass headphone.
I mean just because you see or have heard of LCD-x headphones visibly moving does not mean they sound like an XB headphone. For one, for them to visibly move, it's probably a bass test track, or they're playing
really loud, not to mention the open back earcups on most LCD-x headphones means "lots of ambient noise."
One other way of looking at it is how "hot" can mean both celsius and Scovilles (ie, spicy), and basically what an amplifier will do to the food is more like increasing celsius. You need to actually have some hot sauce in there to increase the Scovilles.