[Eggohmlet]

black , but you can get red and blue at Best Buy USA

 

[HAL 9000]

These have got to have the worst sound I've ever heard out of a bluetooth over-ear setup. Ever.
 
My roommate has the MDR-XB950BT and I have the Bose AE2W. We decided to swap for a day because I always tell him I love bass... and I do, but wow. Just wow. These Sony's. It's really hard to describe what I had to put up with for a day.
 
The best I could describe it is imagine putting your head in a PVC pipe with the pipe circumference barely bigger than your head (just enough to fit), and at the other end of the pipe is one of Sony's 1000w (100w RMS) subs that tries too hard and just ends up making all this extremely fatigued bass. Then right by your ears are two tweeters. Two harsh, sparkly little tweeters with not a single ounce of mid-range extension to be found anywhere. And if you have to ask about imaging... PIPE. You're in a pipe. What image. It honestly, at times, felt mono. Oh and comfort... or, rather, lack thereof. The Bose ear cups wrap completely around my ears and sit against my head. The Sony's sit on my ears and mash them into my head. Not even comfortable in the slightest.
 
Now, I have several different headsets. Bose AE2W (Wireless or wired to a FiiO Mont Blanc Amp), ATH M50, XB700's, and several others. Let me say now that the XB brand started out as something entirely different. My XB700's are a quality piece of kit. Sub-bass extension for DAYS, but they well represent the other frequencies as well. Sound stage is good but the imaging isn't that great. The M50's sparkle in the high-range, but they hit HARD. The M50's have a better sound stage and image better. 
 
But what's really odd to me, and maybe this is just me (after all headphones are HIGHLY subjective to personal taste) but the Bose is just so much more balanced in the mid-range and high-end and still has a very good bass extension. I think what the Bose does is reach for sub-bass more than the XB950BT. A LOT more. The Sony's amplify a very specific range of very tight bass, but it doesn't have any feel of depth like good bass should. I can listen to Antedote by Travi$ Scott on the Bose and they just drip with bass... the Sony's almost give me a headache. Lets move to Purity Ring - Crawlersout... on the Bose that bass and imaging is delicious. The Sony still just can't. Then try to play something other than bass music and the Sony headset fails even harder. One of my favorite Christmas songs is Carol of the Bells by Straight No Chaser. With the Bose you can almost individually pick people out of the chorus but the Sony still fails to image anything. Turn on the Xtra Bass setting and it completely ruins this style of music. Listen to Freestyle by The Taalbi Brothers on the Bose and it's an experience. With the Sony's it's just flat... no feeling. Numb.
 
Another way I can put it that someone might could understand (it makes sense to me lol) is that if sound could be represented like color temperature, the XB950BT would be about 9000k. The Bose would be a nice 6300k... a touch warm, but not a bad thing. 
 
IDK. I guess I expected something completely different seeing as how they were priced pretty up-there, and since they were Sony's higher-end bluetooth solution. At the end of the day I was all but begging to swap back. 

 

[daveyostrow]

  These have got to have the worst sound I've ever heard out of a bluetooth over-ear setup. Ever.
 
My roommate has the MDR-XB950BT and I have the Bose AE2W. We decided to swap for a day because I always tell him I love bass... and I do, but wow. Just wow. These Sony's. It's really hard to describe what I had to put up with for a day.
 
The best I could describe it is imagine putting your head in a PVC pipe with the pipe circumference barely bigger than your head (just enough to fit), and at the other end of the pipe is one of Sony's 1000w (100w RMS) subs that tries too hard and just ends up making all this extremely fatigued bass. Then right by your ears are two tweeters. Two harsh, sparkly little tweeters with not a single ounce of mid-range extension to be found anywhere. And if you have to ask about imaging... PIPE. You're in a pipe. What image. It honestly, at times, felt mono. Oh and comfort... or, rather, lack thereof. The Bose ear cups wrap completely around my ears and sit against my head. The Sony's sit on my ears and mash them into my head. Not even comfortable in the slightest.
 
Now, I have several different headsets. Bose AE2W (Wireless or wired to a FiiO Mont Blanc Amp), ATH M50, XB700's, and several others. Let me say now that the XB brand started out as something entirely different. My XB700's are a quality piece of kit. Sub-bass extension for DAYS, but they well represent the other frequencies as well. Sound stage is good but the imaging isn't that great. The M50's sparkle in the high-range, but they hit HARD. The M50's have a better sound stage and image better. 
 
But what's really odd to me, and maybe this is just me (after all headphones are HIGHLY subjective to personal taste) but the Bose is just so much more balanced in the mid-range and high-end and still has a very good bass extension. I think what the Bose does is reach for sub-bass more than the XB950BT. A LOT more. The Sony's amplify a very specific range of very tight bass, but it doesn't have any feel of depth like good bass should. I can listen to Antedote by Travi$ Scott on the Bose and they just drip with bass... the Sony's almost give me a headache. Lets move to Purity Ring - Crawlersout... on the Bose that bass and imaging is delicious. The Sony still just can't. Then try to play something other than bass music and the Sony headset fails even harder. One of my favorite Christmas songs is Carol of the Bells by Straight No Chaser. With the Bose you can almost individually pick people out of the chorus but the Sony still fails to image anything. Turn on the Xtra Bass setting and it completely ruins this style of music. Listen to Freestyle by The Taalbi Brothers on the Bose and it's an experience. With the Sony's it's just flat... no feeling. Numb.
 
Another way I can put it that someone might could understand (it makes sense to me lol) is that if sound could be represented like color temperature, the XB950BT would be about 9000k. The Bose would be a nice 6300k... a touch warm, but not a bad thing. 
 
IDK. I guess I expected something completely different seeing as how they were priced pretty up-there, and since they were Sony's higher-end bluetooth solution. At the end of the day I was all but begging to swap back. 

Stock tuning is overly warm, similar to the xb500. What makes them shine is proper EQ

 

[HAL 9000]

  Stock tuning is overly warm, similar to the xb500. What makes them shine is proper EQ

If you're talking about the Bose, I think they're fine as-is. If you're talking about the Sony's... you're not supposed to EQ over BT. That's not how that's supposed to work.

 

[DDDYKI]

I wont poo-poo your opinion, because we know the listening experience is very personal and subjective. But my pair is extremely comfortable (just not in warm weather) on my ears. I have a 7-3/4 hat size and have no complaints with the comfort. None with the sound either, other than lower-bitrate files, or using the BT bass boost with classic rock tracks like Thin Lizzy or the Eagles; those tracks weren't produced for extra bass, IMO.

 

[daveyostrow]

If you're talking about the Bose, I think they're fine as-is. If you're talking about the Sony's... you're not supposed to EQ over BT. That's not how that's supposed to work.

Bose should be fine, though not known to excel in much but comfort and sound cancelling. The sonys can be EQed over BT, but EQing from phones are never very good. From a pc it works just fine.

 

[dragion]

I was in the market for a pair of Bluetooth headphones and considered the MDR-XB950BT, but instead went with the MDR-ZX770BT/L...purchased at Best Buy for $69 on sale.
 
How does these compare?
 
The 770BTs are a Holiday gift for my daughter and she listens to Pop, R&B and Hip Hop...the usually top hits on the radio.
I thought the 950BTs would be a bit large on her and wasn't as "attractive" as the 770BT...she's 12yrs old.
The heavier bass might not be desired and a more balanced headphone would be a better fit.
 
I researched here on Head-Fi for information on the 770BTs, but couldn't find any.
 
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

 

[dweaver]

I have owned both, the 770BT is definitely a more balanced sound and is not as heavy. The 950 offers more isolation. Both have good Bluetooth implementations. For a girl I think the 770BT would be more appreciated due to the weight and looks alone.

 

[dragion]

I have owned both, the 770BT is definitely a more balanced sound and is not as heavy. The 950 offers more isolation. Both have good Bluetooth implementations. For a girl I think the 770BT would be more appreciated due to the weight and looks alone.

Thanks dweller for the helpful advice.
 
Looks like I won't be joining the 950BT crowd...sticking with the 770BTs.
Surprising...well balanced and overall neutral sounding for BT headphone.

 

[Kelpox]

I bought this for 4 months, i love this headphone,but suddenly this happened
It broke when i was listening to music casually any ideas what happened ?

 

[Eggohmlet]

I bought this for 4 months, i love this headphone,but suddenly this happened
It broke when i was listening to music casually any ideas what happened ?

Looks like someone sat on them sorry man

 

[p4s2p0]

 
If you're talking about the Bose, I think they're fine as-is. If you're talking about the Sony's... you're not supposed to EQ over BT. That's not how that's supposed to work.

I have used my EQ over Bluetooth with no issues

 

[Crimguy]

I've had these headphones for about a year.  Got them on sale at BB for $99.  I wasn't expecting audiophile quality out of them, and so wasn't disappointed in that regard ;-D
 
The noise isolation is excellent - making noise-cancelling unnecessary.  I've used them repeatedly on flights and they do a great job of keeping external noise out.  
 
They get uncomfortable after a while.  Band is a bit tight, and they're not the lightest.  The cups are very comfy.  Battery life is incredible.
 
BT sound quality is ok.  Range is impressive, although switching from one source to another can be a pain in the a**.  I've leant them to my son, and afterwards they'll connect to his chromebook, despite it being across the house.  gotta find his laptop and turn off bluetooth.  
 
Again, sound quality is not accurate at all, a bit muddy.  Highs are a bit recessed, bass is over-emphasized.  Tip:  never use the extra bass button.  Goes from over-emphasized to silly-stupid.  Nonetheless, I enjoy the sound quality for casual listening.  It's overall fairly lively sounding.  I've put many an opera through it and overall enjoyed the music.  I would like to have another set of headphones, hifiman or other, for more critical listening though.
 
I think they're a good value if you can get them on sale.  At $199 I'd think you can do better.  

 

[laelle]

I have the Sony MDR-XB950AP version and from my integrated Realtek soundcard on my PC, and compared to hearing a movie in a theater, the sound quality is horrendous.
 
The sonic range is extremely limited and the sound, dissapointing.
 
The bass is nowhere, the mids are very present but the treble is absent.
 
The bass should be extended to deliver those low frequencies, they're not, offering zero rumble and the treble, it's a mudfest unimpressive at best.
 
I don't know if it's the rig I have, but anyhow, it sounds BAD.
 
The only thing I like is that it's got more mids than average headphones.
 
But the dynamic range is useless, no low and no high.

 

[dragion]

I ended up picking up a pair for myself today at Best Buy.
Amazon had a "special" price earlier today for $128 and I took the advantage of Best Buy's price match policy.
The only model was the Black ones that Best Buy would except the price match for...I was hoping to grab a pair of the Blue ones.
I received a nice $50 Best Buy Gift card this Christmas and used that towards the purchase...came out spending $86 out of pocket total.
 
I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't any case that came with it...bad choice on Sony's part!
I ended up ordering one from Amazon...a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I guess for $23 isn't too bad. 
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TCP2XZ4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
 
I will mostly be using them at work, so I need a protective case for transporting them back and forth.
 
I will need a few hours to burn them in before I can make a decision on how I like them or not...so far so good.