[zSyntex]

Hi guys, 4 days ago I bought a new pair of Sony 1000XM3 to subsitute my old XB-950AP. I see that has a good division of sound, better than my old headphones but.. doesn't vibrate. The bass sounds like flat, are present but didn't give me any sound feedback.

I see that only on my PC with 40% I got a nice boost. On my iPhone XS, with BT, I've to set volume to 70-75% to get a similar sound.
But my XB950AP vibrate better and powerful.

Why? Thanks in advance

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi guys, 4 days ago I bought a new pair of Sony 1000XM3 to subsitute my old XB-950AP. I see that has a good division of sound, better than my old headphones but.. doesn't vibrate. The bass sounds like flat, are present but didn't give me any sound feedback.

I see that only on my PC with 40% I got a nice boost. On my iPhone XS, with BT, I've to set volume to 70-75% to get a similar sound.
But my XB950AP vibrate better and powerful.

Why? Thanks in advance

I'm going to put it this way.

The 1000XM3 is basically the headphone equivalent of something like a Monitor Audio or Paradigm hi-fi speaker system.

The XB series is like dat Cadillac Escalade in da hood wit dem fo 12in subwoofaz powered by fo 1,000 watt amplifiaz drivin' round and you could hear it from six blocks away, brotha. And if you ain't hearin' it, take cover, because they about to gun down rival drug dealaz and them pigs can do nuthin' bout it, ya dig?

 

[zSyntex]

I'm going to put it this way.

The 1000XM3 is basically the headphone equivalent of something like a Monitor Audio or Paradigm hi-fi speaker system.

The XB series is like dat Cadillac Escalade in da hood wit dem fo 12in subwoofaz powered by fo 1,000 watt amplifiaz drivin' round and you could hear it from six blocks away, brotha. And if you ain't hearin' it, take cover, because they about to gun down rival drug dealaz and them pigs can do nuthin' bout it, ya dig?

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?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

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 eXtra 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 eXtra 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.

 

[PaganDL]

@ProtegeManiac,

Regarding your car & lifestyle analogies you always have awesome responses, it is very entertaining, as always & much appreciated.

@zSyntex,

I will add to @ProtegeManiac's points.

1. DACs are just basically sophisticated signal converters with fancy chips to varying degrees which more people tend to be more concerned with tech specs than actual implementation in sound quality.

2. BT headphones definitely don't tend to be good by default for various reasons, the primary reason being the source device, eg phone, DAP, etc, doesn't always have &/or choose the best codec to use for playback, which can be annoying.
1000 X series being a good example as unless a source device has LDAC, which is the 'best implementation' so far for BT codecs, especially where natural bass response is concerned & overall sound quality.

However, source quality, especially recording quality is still very important no matter if its wired or BT so that matters more than whether you, as a listener can hear &/or feel bass response.
This is why a lot of people don't understand there is a difference between pro sound bass response vs consumer bass response.

Hope this all makes sense.

Hope everyone has a great day !

 

[IXentimenTI]

XB stands for Extra Bass. I mean, is there something not clear about it? XMs are relatively balanced set of headphones, and XB950s are made to push as much bass as possible. You will have to get used to normal bass, or use EQ. There is nothing wrong with headphones.

 

[mattiav]

Open the app and EQ in some bass if you want more bass. For my money the Sony’s (which I own) are already on the bassy end of the spectrum - certainly not tuned super flat. Fairly balanced, but definitely a bit of a bass boost. The only things I have that are ‘naturally’ bassier are my Atlas IEMs...

 

[Tsukuyomi]

The 1000x3 are more for public transit and every day casual use with mobile devices. I wouldnt use them for serious music listening, thats when you get a dedicated pair of headphones, cabled, and with a good amp and dac.

 

[tony210]

Trying different kind of eartips It would help to get more low, mid or high frequencies.