[Omaatjehenk]

Thanks for all the extra information, the graph definitely makes things clear. But that's just the way you would describe them, right? So no real facts.
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If you look at the cans in my signature you'll notice that the XB700 stands out. Which is exactely why I bought them. I wouldn't want them to be balanced, I just want them to blow my head off.

Very well put and exactly the reason I got my XB's. They are just incredibly fun and give a wonderful sub-sonic head massage

Lex, do you've got the 500's or the 700's and why did you make your choice?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Thanks for all the extra information, the graph definitely makes things clear. But that's just the way you would describe them, right? So no real facts.

 
Yes, my ears/brain couldn't possibly tell the 100% truth ofc but I've tried bunch of different sounding headphones with different signatures so know roughly where they stand in comparision and I'm very used to tweaking EQ for the headphones and kept doing so for years as I enjoy doing so for better results and can tell quite fast how it should be configured for better results (ie, I can tell pretty easily if it's there's excessive upper bass or highs are too veiled or mids too recessed etc). Here's for example my minimalisticly tweaked XB500 EQ setting for better balance (I also use another with more aggressively boosted values for a more warm/forward engaging sound that sounds even better for me but that would be my subjectively preferred sound signature) which if you compare to that graph on previous page you'd see those settings would make that curve seem a bit more balanced but ofc the bass would still be a bit higher than the rest of the frequency range but that's how I prefer it to be for headphones and concider it "balanced" even if it wouldn't be a 100% perfect straight line as drivers of this size in headphones really need at least a slight bump in bass to sound realistic IMO compared to speakers at least but that's a whole topic on its own.
 

 
I don't have any minimalisticly tweaked XB700 EQ setting as I don't own them anymore otherwise I'd attached it for comparision's sake.
 
EDIT: Ofc I have to add that sound quality will still vary between headphones and you can't possibly make a $50 sound like $500 only by using the perfect EQ with the perfect settings as the quality of the lows and mids and highs will still vary and also soundstage, instrument separation amongst other things but in the case of Sony XB series I find the XB500 and XB700 to have very great sound quality for the price and it's mostly the unbalanced frequency response that worsens the result what otherwise could have been sold as 150 ~ $200 headphones IMO cuz the sound quality is there what I can hear by EQing them and that's why I like them so much as for me having to EQ to get there is no con but a pro as it saves cash too. Maybe XB1000 will be that balanced version of the XB series.

 

[Omaatjehenk]

Thanks, I believe you've got a lot of experience with EQing headphones! This is my first pair of headphones I'm going to buy, so I'm a lot less experienced. But the cables of the retro Philips SBC 484 my dad gave me are getting bad. So that's why I decided to get some of my own, some with bass. I'm going to mail some shops in my area to ask if I can order them 2 and return the one I like the least.
 
 
EDIT: Is there a good Equalizer app for the iPod Touch V2? So that if the EQ isn't good enough, I can EQ it myself? The presets by apple aren't my favourites..

 

[Lex]

Thanks for all the extra information, the graph definitely makes things clear. But that's just the way you would describe them, right? So no real facts.
Quote:

Quote:

If you look at the cans in my signature you'll notice that the XB700 stands out. Which is exactely why I bought them. I wouldn't want them to be balanced, I just want them to blow my head off.

Very well put and exactly the reason I got my XB's. They are just incredibly fun and give a wonderful sub-sonic head massage

Lex, do you've got the 500's or the 700's and why did you make your choice?

I went with the 500's after auditioning both coming to the conclusion that:

1/ The 700's didn't do anything that my Ultrasone DJ1's could do better with the right EQ settings.

2/ I wanted a bassy can that didn't need amping to do it's stuff. (Both the XB700 and the DJ1 need amping for maximum bass impact)

3/ They are cheap, the cheapest headphones I own and also the easiest to drive meaning that they sound excellent straight out of my Gumstick/Clip/iPod.

(points 2 and 3 might be basically the same...)

If you're using your cans at home out of a receiver/USB DAC/decent soundcard etc, then I would say that the 700 is the way to go as you can throw in a few db's of EQ at 100hz or so to give it that XB500 thump.
If you want to run them straight out of your 'pod the it's XB500 all the way baby.
Hope this helps! 
 

 

[Omaatjehenk]

Sweet, that's what I wanted to hear! I am going to run them straight out of my iPod too, thanks! I'm ordering the Headphones right now, I'll post my experiences in this very same thread.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

iTunes Equalizer seems to work with those which would probably be your best option. http://osxdaily.com/2010/05/13/how-to-set-custom-equalizer-settings-on-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/ maybe a bit hazzle unless you can select all songs rather quick.
 
I remember wind316 commenting on that EQ working relatively nice, haven't got any experiences with it myself.

 

[Omaatjehenk]

Quote:

iTunes Equalizer seems to work with those which would probably be your best option. http://osxdaily.com/2010/05/13/how-to-set-custom-equalizer-settings-on-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/ maybe a bit hazzle unless you can select all songs rather quick.
 
I remember wind316 commenting on that EQ working relatively nice, haven't got any experiences with it myself.

Looks pretty sweet, but there is not an option of EQing on your iPod when on the move? I would love to try and get some right presets which I can vary between. Got plenty of time to seek the right EQ's when travelling.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

After reading a bit more upon that it seems it might not work though. But why create an EQ that can only use presets? Oh wait it's Apple... limit features for the sake of limiting...
 
Of course iTunes eq wouldn't work quite as good as a hardware based EQ though that I use.

 

[Omaatjehenk]

Yeah.. Apple is the best (to me) with designs, apps and other features. But one thing they complete forgot, the iPod is designed to play music and should at least have all the features that have anything to do with playing music. A fully customizable EQ is one of those features..
 
Just downloaded an EQ app, let's try it out.
 
EDIT: The app doesn't work as I expected it to, you have to load the song you want to use the EQ with one by one. The low bass gets "cracky" and so do the very high tones.. How disappointing, I might take a look at some mods in cydia. I'll post it when I find a proper EQ for the iPod.

 

[legcramp]

Holy bass sauce. Just literally took the XB500 from amazon out of it's box. These sound as close to a live set of trance/house as you can get as far as bass in a set of headphone!

 

[Omaatjehenk]

Quote:

Holy bass sauce. Just literally took the XB500 from amazon out of it's box. These sound as close to a live set of trance/house as you can get as far as bass in a set of headphone!

Getting them tomorrow if the delivery isn't delayed, I'm very curious since everybody seems to be pretty amazed by them. When they come in I'll be listening to them all day I guess

 

[jjmai]

If money is no object, then it may be a bad time to buy xb500 or xb700 right now, while the new xb1000 is just on the horizon.

 

[Omaatjehenk]

Quote:

If money is no object, then it may be a bad time to buy xb500 or xb700 right now, while the new xb1000 is just on the horizon.

The XB1000 is another class (looking at the price). Not comparable with the class the XB500 and XB700 are in, so I guess it won't make a lot of difference

 

[astroid]

 
I find it strange that you buy a headphone for the bass and then EQ it to within an inch of its life, so that it sounds ..... more balanced.
 
Just sayin...

 

[ziweiwu]

Get XB７００，　reason is for comfort. xb500 earpad is not big enough to cover your ear, so your ear need shrink to fit inside. xb700 is much more comfortable. and the soundstage is bigger too. bass is also deeper