I feel like this should be a sticky for all the bassheads.
If anyone is considering buying Beats, they should at least be considering the Sonys.
If you listen to dirty south and drum n bass, then you know that most of the songs
have the bass drum going on constantly between 20Hz and 100 Hz.
Therefore XB-500s are not balanced for this purpose.
The Beats are probably the best phone for just this purpose.
It's very difficult for 20Hz to give you that
boom.
Therefore, 20Hz should be a little louder than say 60Hz, and will result in the bass sounding "even."
If low, low bass is disproportionately important to you, then get the Beats.
Problem is they're $250.
The XB-700 will probably be the closest in getting that low bass sound.
Say someone is trying to teach you how to Dougie.
Nothing is more annoying when that low bass doesn't hit like you expect it to.
If you've never had woofers in your car, maybe you won't know what I'm talking about.
But the lowest bass should hit just a little bit harder than the other bass frequencies.
If you know what I'm talking about, then get the 700s.
If you've never had woofers, then the 700s probably won't seem like a better headphone.
Midrange can always be EQ'ed up.
However, a headphone that doesn't do 20Hz well, won't be fixed with EQ.
The 500s have the benefit of being cheaper, and probably more all purpose.
They will be good for listening to Trance or Techno, which just do a continuous drum beat.
Since you aren't really experiencing different bass frequencies, the 700s become less of an advantage.
The 500s may even give you the feeling of more bass as well, but I suspect that the real reason is that it is rolled off the highs.
Therefore, it allows for the 500 to be turned up louder without sibilance, giving the impression that there's more bass.
Conclusion: This board seems to favor the XB-500 over the 700. They like feeling of more bass / mids I suppose.
I prefer the 700 because some songs want to hit at 20Hz and when I don't get it, it is really annoying.
It's down to personal preference, but make sure you are aware of what you're getting.