[YoYo JoKeR]

I too feel your unit is defective. Just return them, get a replacement (or refund, if you like to go for other cans)

 

[jodgey4]

Also, make sure you EQ the mids and highs down, and leave bass at or below +/- 0 db. A good EQ software should handle that anyways.
 
Either your ears just really need more bass, there's a driver issue, or something else. I'm skeptical that both ears would have the same failure... but in any case, I'd return the pair you got if you don't like it, and just go for a bass heavier model.

 

[Music Alchemist]

So should I get a replacement and hope it sounds much better, or just get a refund?

 

[cel4145]

Fair enough. Do they sound tinny and artificial to you, though?

I'm very confused when I read endless reviews about a headphone being (relatively) accurate, but then have the opposite experience when I buy it.

If anything, their reputation for accuracy is off because they have a bit more bass than a neutral headphone should.

 

[Music Alchemist]

If anything, their reputation for accuracy is off because they have a bit more bass than a neutral headphone should.

 
Then my pair is most likely defective. Even when I use EQ to increase the bass to maximum, there's hardly any bass at all!
 
Unfortunately, I spent all the money I had left over on the headphones, so now I can't even pay to send them in for a replacement (or refund) until I get more money.
 
By the way, speaking of the XPT100 quote in your signature, I just put them on (with no music playing) when there was external noise, and I didn't hear the noise at all!

 

[cel4145]

Then my pair is most likely defective. Even when I use EQ to increase the bass to maximum, there's hardly any bass at all!

Unfortunately, I spent all the money I had left over on the headphones, so now I can't even pay to send them in for a replacement (or refund) until I get more money.

By the way, speaking of the XPT100 quote in your signature, I just put them on (with no music playing) when there was external noise, and I didn't hear the noise at all!

Yep. They are pretty darn isolating

 

[Music Alchemist]

Yep. They are pretty darn isolating

 
So did you notice any of the problems I mentioned? Or were yours nothing like mine?

 

[cel4145]

So did you notice any of the problems I mentioned? Or were yours nothing like mine?

They are not mine. They are my son's. I have not listened to them in a while.

 

[Music Alchemist]

They are not mine. They are my son's. I have not listened to them in a while.

 
If you hear them again in the near future, let me know if they sound tinny or artificial to you at all.

 

[cel4145]

If you hear them again in the near future, let me know if they sound tinny or artificial to you at all.

My son spends the school year at his mom's house in another state. So not likely.

The XPT100 is the same drivers and cups as the Brainwavz HM5 and Fisher FA-003, so same sound. There other threads for those on Head-Fi where you might also seek advice

 

[Music Alchemist]

My son spends the school year at his mom's house in another state. So not likely.

The XPT100 is the same drivers and cups as the Brainwavz HM5 and Fisher FA-003, so same sound. There other threads for those on Head-Fi where you might also seek advice

 
Ah, okay. But it doesn't seem like you had any major problems last time you heard them.
 
Yep. I read lots of reviews for those headphones before making the purchase. Same goes for the M40x, which I also ended up hating. I even sent the M40x in for repairs, and they said nothing was wrong with them. No idea why people think they sound accurate, because they sounded awful to me. And I know what the recordings are supposed to sound like. They sound fine on a decent car stereo or other speaker system, for example. Anyway, I trust reviews far less now.
 
I wish there was a definite way for me to find out whether a headphone is defective without having to send it in.

 

[ahunatu]

I'm guessing you have a lot of experience with much more expensive headphones. But I agree with you a lot of the popularly recommended headphones turn out to be gimmicky -They may have quality in some way but overall they tend to be uneven.
 
I am curious though which headphones you liked in the under 150 or 200 dollar range. I was thinking about getting the M40x but your review really throws a wrench into it. I kind of assumed the XPT100 was a gimmick already especially with those giant earcups. 
 
Dammit now I don't know what to buy.
 
Also of note if  we're comparing M40x and XPT100 to your QC15's, your QC15's are much more forward with accentuated bass and treble not to mention much much more expensive, while the former are labeled as studio monitor's purposefully trying not to accentuate any frequencies. 

 

[BillsonChang007]

Hey there!

Sorry for the late respond (as I just read your email). Is it possible for you to list down some tracks that you find your headphone to be dry sounding?

There are many possibilities than can cause what you are listening now:
- the cable jack was not soldered properly (if possible, try it with a different cable. I believe there is two cable included right?)
- behind the driver of HM5, there is a foam that prevents reverb and I believe it keeps the bass alive as well (?)
- you have not set your EQ back to neutral yet from last listening
- your headphone is defective.

Either way, feel sorry to you as having such terrible experience twice with headphones :/ but the HM5 sound accurate to me.

Hope it helps
Billson

 

[lin0003]

What amp are you using? I just tried running them off a Talisman T35HP and it sounds awesome. Granted people generally don't use $1K amps with $120 headphones, but they scale very well. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I'm guessing you have a lot of experience with much more expensive headphones. But I agree with you a lot of the popularly recommended headphones turn out to be gimmicky -They may have quality in some way but overall they tend to be uneven.
 
I am curious though which headphones you liked in the under 150 or 200 dollar range. I was thinking about getting the M40x but your review really throws a wrench into it. I kind of assumed the XPT100 was a gimmick already especially with those giant earcups. 
 
Dammit now I don't know what to buy.
 
Also of note if  we're comparing M40x and XPT100 to your QC15's, your QC15's are much more forward with accentuated bass and treble not to mention much much more expensive. 

 
It's certainly been frustrating for me lately.
 
After owning the QC15 for years, I became sick of it and set out to get better headphones. Unfortunately for me, every headphone I purchased that was supposed to be better sounded so bad I couldn't even listen to it! Everyone always talks about how noise cancelling headphones have inferior sound quality, but I kind of get the feeling that to compete with a $300 noise cancelling headphone, you need to at least be near its price range.
 
I want to quickly mention that the V-MODA Audio Only Cable drastically improved the sound quality of my QC15. I think the stock cables (which have electronics that interfere with the signal) play a large part in why Bose headphones get such a bad rap.
 
The QC15 is definitely more colored in terms of tonal balance, but it still manages to get much closer to the essence of recordings than many headphones I've heard in the $100 to $400 range, at least in certain aspects. It still somehow sounds closer to a good speaker system than all of the "accurate" (*cough* hype *cough*) headphones I've heard. Heck, from my experience, $20 Sony or JVC headphones do as well. (That's not to say that the M40x and XPT100 don't have a lot going for them.)
 
In addition to being a musician practically all my life, I've been to music studios. I have a good grasp of when something doesn't sound right. I'm thinking it's much easier for speakers to properly reproduce sound, because every headphone I've heard has plenty of problems. Yet, I still prefer the presentation of headphones. At any rate, I'd rather have too much bass than nearly no bass at all.
 
The Focal Spirit Professional is the headphone I really want to get next (as you can see from my obnoxious signature offering to trade my soul and all my possessions for it

), but it's $349. After getting a desktop amp and DAC, my budget is exhausted for the time being.
 
As for recommendations, I liked the Sennheiser HD 558 more than a handful of other $100-$400 headphones when I briefly auditioned it, despite the fact that it was the most affordable one...but I still prefer the QC15 overall. Clarity and spaciousness were the only categories in which the Sennheiser beat it, in my eyes. I honestly prefer the more intimate soundstage of the QC15, though, so it's really only one category I preferred the HD 558 with.
 
(I'm actually selling my QC15 for $150 or best offer here.)
 

Hey there!

Sorry for the late respond (as I just read your email). Is it possible for you to list down some tracks that you find your headphone to be dry sounding?

There are many possibilities than can cause what you are listening now:
- the cable jack was not soldered properly (if possible, try it with a different cable. I believe there is two cable included right?)
- behind the driver of HM5, there is a foam that prevents reverb and I believe it keeps the bass alive as well (?)
- you have not set your EQ back to neutral yet from last listening
- your headphone is defective.

Either way, feel sorry to you as having such terrible experience twice with headphones :/ but the HM5 sound accurate to me.

Hope it helps
Billson

 
I answered your question in my PM:
 

But basically, it sounds like someone turned the bass all the way down and the mids and treble all the way up. Doesn't sound accurate at all. I listen to all types of music, and I know the recordings have far more bass than my XPT100 is reproducing.

 
They sound bad with all the tracks I play, in all styles of music. The mids sound even more off than the bass. Very weird tonality that sounds nothing like it does when you play music on some decent speakers. I felt the same way about the M40x, which I made sure was free from defects.
 
It's a shame, because I do love the XPT100's aesthetics, design, and comfort.
 
Oh, and I tried both cables. No difference.
 
And it's not an EQ issue. I don't typically use EQ. I also mentioned that even when I used EQ to set the bass to maximum, there's still hardly any bass at all!
 
I should have just quietly saved up for the Focal Spirit Professional (as originally planned) and saved myself all this trouble.
 

  What amp are you using? I just tried running them off a Talisman T35HP and it sounds awesome. Granted people generally don't use $1K amps with $120 headphones, but they scale very well. 

 
Did you not read the first post? Schiit Magni 2 Uber. (Has far higher output power than many amps.)
 
I mentioned that the same problems with the headphone's sound exist straight out of my laptop's headphone jack and that the problem is not my system. I also don't notice much difference with and without the amp.