[Bill-P]

  Nice mod, it was very interesting, thanks for your job. 
It would be great to see the photo of left headphone disassembled to answer the question what kind of batteries used there. Is it replaceable?

The battery is in the right ear cup. Notice the black square thing in the photos I took?
 
I'm not so sure if it's replaceable or not. It seems to be replaceable since there are clips and stuffs... but the problem would be how you can procure a replacement, given that typical Sony gears are not so user-serviceable.

 

[kimragone]

Is the aptX codec activated automatically if the source supports it or is there a setting for that?

 

[dweaver]

I believe holding the up volume button while turning on the power button sets it to it's best setting which should be the aptx setting.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Is it this or holding power and up while the unit is already on? When you do the latter it gives you 3 steady flashes.

I believe holding the up volume button while turning on the power button sets it to it's best setting which should be the aptx setting.

 

[Bill-P]

The difference between "regular" mode and "high quality" mode is very noticeable with my iPhone 6+. But it's not sound quality.
 
"Regular" plays fine, but sounds and music trail behind the actions I do on the phone by some seconds, so if I were to play a game, it'll be all over the place. I'd end up doing something, and then it would make a sound way later.
 
"High quality" mode is practically about the same as "wired". I can't detect any delay. It's instantaneous. Sometimes it'll cut out when there is interference, but most of the time, it's pretty spot on. There does not seem to be any negative effect on battery life, either. I'm getting the same great battery life, and my phone would always end up dying way before the headphone does.
 
Regarding sound quality... I honestly can't notice a difference. Nadda.
 
I can tell the difference in sound (when wired) between my different DACs, and my iPhone 6+, and my MacBook pretty well, but not between the 2 modes on the headphone, so I'd think they should be identical. You're not really missing out on anything by not engaging the "high quality" mode.
 
But still, take that with a grain of salt. Perhaps it may make a difference with something that's different from my 6+ and MacBook.

 

[Ultimate Audio]

As for the xb-950bt's bass boost button, I hardly used it so not being able to use it in wired mode wasn't a deal breaker for me. It shouldn't be for you either since the battery on them lasts a long time.
 
is true ?? for me is a deal breaker (

 

[LxJLthr]

Make sure your other devices with bluetooth, have bluetooth feature shut off, or else the headphones will keep pairing with original device and not pair with new device.

 
 

To enter pairing mode on the xb950bt hold the power button for 7 secs (the light should flash blue & orange) In which your device should recognize the headphones.
I personally had no issues pairing with my devices.

 
The issue was with my devices, I forgot to make them discoverable to other devices outside already paired ones...that's what I get for being impatient to play with new toys

 

[Ultimate Audio]

  As for the xb-950bt's bass boost button, I hardly used it so not being able to use it in wired mode wasn't a deal breaker for me. It shouldn't be for you either since the battery on them lasts a long time.
 
is true ?? for me is a deal breaker (

 

[HotShotMedic]

After about a week of ownership I believe the mids and highs have moved forward slightly. These cans still sound dark but in a good way. These have become my favourite cans, at least for now haha.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

After about a week of ownership I believe the mids and highs have moved forward slightly. These cans still sound dark but in a good way. These have become my favourite cans, at least for now haha.

To me it just sides too much in the dark side, shelf liner and dynamat are en route for mods. Hopefully I get to the side of neutral even if it keeps some warmth. And when I want to get crazy, bass boost.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Just got done with the mod, very happy with the results. Followed it step by step except for foam on the vent and foam behind the driver. Instead I have the vent fully open but with dynamat on the inner vent of the plastic driver housing as instructed. I also put a round cut of dynamat in place of foam directly behind the driver. Results are veil has been lifted and music now sounds more linear. Some songs still bring out some darkness but it's much more acceptable than stock. Bass also is very controlled and the mids/highs benefited greatly from this. Using the bass boost still gives an earthquake on your head kinda feel but much more controlled and more in the region of sub-bass where as before it was towards mid-bass.

I highly recommend doing these mods. I may eventually try foam on the outer vent to get a bit more control but even as it is, it's quite an improvement if a more neutral sound is desired without the bass boost.

Couple of notes from modding:
-When removing the 4 screws and you have a magnetic screwdriver, instead of pulling the screws out with the screwdriver it's better to grab the screw by hand. The magnet of the speaker can pull the screws right off the screwdriver if you get close enough.
-You only need to order 1 thing of the dynamat. There are two sheets included on that Amazon link and I didn't even use half of 1 sheet to finish the mod.
-The left driver wire is taped to the back of the driver plastic housing. Peel the plastic to give more wire slack and allowing the separation to go cleanly instead of putting pressure on the wiring/solder.
-Dynamat on the back of the driver can be used as a substitute. (I didn't order any foam and didn't want to reopen the headphones).


Here's the original instructions of taking the headphones apart and placements of materials. Including Amazon links of items on the very bottom.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

  Photos time!
 
Let's dissect this thing:
 

 
The left side will be exactly the same, so I'll only show you how to dissect the right side.
 
Step 1: pull the ear pad off. You can either start pulling at the rear or the front of the headphone. I usually go for the rear, but it doesn't matter.
 

 
Wiggle it a bit if it's being difficult. Either way, the ear pad should come sliding off. Like this:
 

 
And we have the exposed driver:
 

 
Apply dynamat (or similar material) on the inner lip like so:
 

 
And on the outer lip like this:
 

 
Alright. That's it for the outside.
 
Step 2: getting to the innards... unscrew the 4 screws in the spots I have highlighted:
 

 

 
And after that, BE CAREFUL NOT TO YANK OFF THE WIRES IN THE BACK!!
 
Grab the whole front enclosure (including the red ring bit) and gently lift it from the front... like so:
 

 
Once you lift it off, set it down gently as well. The wires are very very thin, and though I'm sure they won't come off that easily, please don't take any chances with them! It's a hassle having to solder wires that small.
 
Anyway, here you can see a bit of the other stuffs that I did: one piece of dynamat on the back of the plastic enclosure, and a square-ish sheet liner material on top.
 

 
Here's the other mod: dynamat pieces lining the enclosure close to the top, next to the bass port. Make sure you do this for both sides of the bass port.
 

 
Okay. And that's the inner enclosure. Let's get even further inside!
 
Step 3: getting even deeper. Unscrew the 2 screws at the spots highlighted.
 

 
The driver baffle should fall right off, but just to be sure, lift it from the front again (note: front means no wire). And here you can see a part of my mods again: piece of foam directly in the back of the driver. Any crafting foam about 2mm thick should do.
 

 
And here's the rest of the mods... in overview: dynamat circle directly on top of the plastic enclosure opposing the driver, then the same sheet liner material on top. Then more dynamat in the slot on top and one small piece of dynamat on the small square piece on the bottom.
 

 
That's not all. There's also dynamat on the top here. One piece on the extra plastic space beside the bass ports, and one piece directly blocking the square hole. You'll know what I mean by "square hole" once you open your headphone up.
 
Note: the piece blocking the square hole needs to be the exact same dimensions for both sides. This is important, otherwise you'll have channel imbalance. The exact dimensions are up to you. Bigger square = more treble/clarity, less bass. Smaller square = retain some bass/warmth. You may also opt to not do this part.
 

 
On the other side: you already saw the foam piece sitting on top of the back of the driver, and also... dynamat pieces lining the plastic space between the 3 screw holes
 

 

 
Last but not least, push a piece of foam that's cut precisely to the bass port's size, and then shove it in there like so:
 


And... that's it! Enjoy!
 
Links to purchase stuffs:
 
Sheet liner:
http://www.amazon.com/Con-Tact-Premium-Non-Adhesive-12-Inch-4-Feet/dp/B001AH8PLI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1418008040&sr=8-4&keywords=shelf+liner
 
2mm foam:
http://www.amazon.com/Foam-Sheet-X12-2mm-Black-pack/dp/B005M2Q9MO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418008087&sr=8-3&keywords=foam+sheet
 
Dynamat (you may get away with this much, but I'd suggest purchasing more to be sure):
http://www.amazon.com/Dynamat-10415-Self-Adhesive-Deadener-Speaker/dp/B00020CATC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418008111&sr=8-3&keywords=dynamat

 

 

[Bill-P]

Oh, great! Glad to know someone else shares the same thoughts.
 
Yeah, foam on the driver and foam on the outside vent (note: outside, not inside!) would bring that extra dampening for the "boomy" bass (make drums sound more snappy), and make the upper mids a bit more forward so that would help with some songs where it's bit dark, but otherwise, it's not going to be night and day. Most of the other parts of the mod (dynamat and shelf-liner) already did most of the work to tune the headphone toward neutrality.
 
Also, try wired mode if you haven't. I think you'll find that the sound has opened up quite a bit.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  Oh, great! Glad to know someone else shares the same thoughts.
 
Yeah, foam on the driver and foam on the outside vent (note: outside, not inside!) would bring that extra dampening for the "boomy" bass (make drums sound more snappy), and make the upper mids a bit more forward so that would help with some songs where it's bit dark, but otherwise, it's not going to be night and day. Most of the other parts of the mod (dynamat and shelf-liner) already did most of the work to tune the headphone toward neutrality.
 
Also, try wired mode if you haven't. I think you'll find that the sound has opened up quite a bit.

The foam you're using is 2mm thick or thicker? I will try to find foam from work to try. I think I have some that are used for hard drive shipping but just need to know how thick to make it..

*edit: just tried hard drive shipping foam and it's definitely super lightweight as far as density goes. I'm almost wondering if felt would do a better job. I'll keep an eye out for a more dense foam.

 

[Bill-P]

It's 2mm. Not quite thicker. More dense, though. I think less density will help with high frequencies but may not allow bass to be tighter.
 
Although, you are welcome to experiment, of course. It's part of the fun of modding!

 

[david8613]

Anyone want to trade my 950, for a pair of logitec 9000?