[Malfunkt]

Just got to try out the Xb950AP versions.

I imagine they are very similar, but are the passive versions of the BT? I know when it came to the MDR-1r the passive version had some sonic advantages over the BT versions and I wonder if it's the same case here.

Also, does the passive version have the same performance as the 'bass boost' mode as the BT in passive. If someone has had a chance to compare it would be great to hear some comparisons.

Anyhow, Sony has a winner here. if you want to get some cans for electronic music, hip hop, dub step, dub, ambient, and if you don't mind EQing down the bass (by over -6db!) for other music, just get this can and be done with it. Unless one wants to put down some more dough and a dedicated amp, this is one of the comfiest and best sounding headphones in the sub $200 price range.

Yes, massive bass, and in my opinion bleeding into the mid range. It is tubby, and there are gobs of it.., it's almost hilarious. But, you know what, it has a ton of character and works well for fun genres of music.

What's suprising is that if you strain to hear the mid range (I'm exaggerating) and highs it's actually quite good. I think I like these more than the mdr-1r as they are so much fun. They are actually quite clear. Almost felt a bit at home alongside my Denons. They didn't have the addictive presentation of my HD-25s but fit was better, they were incredibly comfortable for my large head.

If I didn't own my Denons these would have been an instabuy. They make the Denon AH-D600 sound almost neutral in presentation. The D600 has tighter and more controlled bass, is a bit more spacious sounding, and probably better overall. But Sony is really delivering with this can for bass heads who don't want to fuss with amps. From my understanding these will distort with too much load, so no EQ or heavy amping, just use as is or mod to your liking.

Right now in Canada the AP is going for $100 and the BT for $150 on sale. I didn't feel that the MDR-Z7 was the best value at its MSRP, but it is a big step up, but if your genres are described above you may not need to, Sony packed some of its best dynamic driver technology into this can.

Want Sony balanced go MDR professional series. Want to have fun and non-critical listening yet by blown away get these. Such comfy pads and really undercutting the price of the competition. Well done.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

These really take on an amazing dynamic of music genres with the dynamat mods. The mids and highs without bass boost makes rock, alt, classical, and jazz sound great. With bass boost and edm/elextronixe, hip hop, r&b sound great with a fun sound sig. All through bluetooth which imo is far superior than my previous Sennheiser BT phones.

 

[ateam043]

Just want to give out a shout-out to
Mr.Xiro.

I had been looking at these for a while and with only a budget of $200 these were in my range. Mm thanks to his notice I ended up getting them for $79 (yes, seven-nine).

When the Christmas sale hit I got a 20% employee discount as my employer has a relationship with Sony and we got their employees discount as well.

Although I agree the sound boost drowns out the sound, I don't find confidence in modding them myself and don't want to take the risk with my financial situation currently unstable (supporting unemployed parents/brother in their tough times).

For $79 + tax I can't complain about anything. Love em.

 

[Diablito]

The best settings so far for me.(Rock)
EQ app for android.
Highs & Mids are great and bass is punchy. No bass boost.

 

[Malfunkt]

Well listened to the AP versions again today. Still fun headphones but I was a bit over enthusiastic in my previous post. They are several steps below the D600 in terms of performance. Bass doesn't have the control it requires especially for rock or acoustic. But even a lot of electronic music requires this.

The headphone works really well for certain tracks, and perhaps the BT version with bass boost off sound much better. Will have to try that out.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Well listened to the AP versions again today. Still fun headphones but I was a bit over enthusiastic in my previous post. They are several steps below the D600 in terms of performance. Bass doesn't have the control it requires especially for rock or acoustic. But even a lot of electronic music requires this.

The headphone works really well for certain tracks, and perhaps the BT version with bass boost off sound much better. Will have to try that out.

On the other hand, the Sonys aren't as V shaped as the D600. The Denons do have a level of clarity on the bass (sub bass too) and treble over the Sonys but the V shape sound to me pushes mids way too far back and ruins a lot of genres including rock and acoustic. The Sonys on the other hand still presents the mids and highs better and more on an even keel vs the Denons, even if it's slightly veiled (more-so stock than modded). To me this allows the Sony to shine with more genre despite not having a very good level of clarity. I do need to listen to it more with wire to give it better comparison but to me the Sony is 90% on wireless duty.

 

[Malfunkt]

On the other hand, the Sonys aren't as V shaped as the D600. The Denons do have a level of clarity on the bass (sub bass too) and treble over the Sonys but the V shape sound to me pushes mids way too far back and ruins a lot of genres including rock and acoustic. The Sonys on the other hand still presents the mids and highs better and more on an even keel vs the Denons, even if it's slightly veiled (more-so stock than modded). To me this allows the Sony to shine with more genre despite not having a very good level of clarity. I do need to listen to it more with wire to give it better comparison but to me the Sony is 90% on wireless duty.

I was just doing some level matched comparisons between the D600 and the Hd650 this evening. The d600 has more pronounced bass and its treble is a bit wonky, the 650 has better realism, but the d600 felt quite balanced. its a pretty solid headphone, but the 650 bests it.

The xb950ap, I know what you mean, in that the bass is quite pronounced but then the mids and highs are flat, but they are just overpowered by the bass. But hey, it's a Extra Bass Not Extra Reference

I am thinking that with the AP being wired, they are just EQd for maximum bass.. I'll need to go by the Sony Store and take a listen to the BT version (and take another listen to the Z7 while I'm at it).

There was something addictive about the bass in any case, and it's making me think I should sell the D600 and go full basshead and get a JVC SZ2000.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Oh, i thought you had the xb950BT, wonder how they tuned the wired version since there isn't a boost. Did they go full time boost or just like the bt without boost enabled? Maybe something to ask the Sony guys or test when you go in there.

Wonder where the closest Sony is here...wouldn't mind trying the z7

 

[Bill-P]

Well, if you're loving the clarity of the mods, then... there's more to come!
 
More modding instructions to follow either this weekend or around there.
 
I didn't rest on my laurels, thinking I was able to extract all that there was to the XB950BT, and... I wasn't wrong. It could sound even better than the last mods. The current mod makes the last one sound bloated and slow.

 

[Malfunkt]

Oh, i thought you had the xb950BT, wonder how they tuned the wired version since there isn't a boost. Did they go full time boost or just like the bt without boost enabled? Maybe something to ask the Sony guys or test when you go in there.

Wonder where the closest Sony is here...wouldn't mind trying the z7

 
Well, I caved and bought the Sony Store's last XB950BT. I'll have more detailed impressions later, but here are some basics:
 
- The AP version is permanently set on maximum bass, and as far as quantity goes, it may even have more than the XB even with 'Bass Boost' on. Part of this may have to do with the 'Bass Boost' being DSP based. Later I'll try these wired using the bass boost from my C5D and see how that works.
- as far as quality of bass goes the XB seem tighter (don't have an AP in front of me, but from memory). The bass doesn't seem to interfere with the mid-range as much as the AP.
- Thank you a dozen times over Sony for making the Bass Boost a switch. You'll want it off for certain genres.
- The treble is pretty rolled off. You can EQ it up to get back some detail but it will have some artifact.
- love the Bluetooth capabilities. 
- very comfy and light on the head
- very nice construction quality, feels sturdy even though it is light.
 
My Denon AH-D600 beat it - they are more detailed, clearer, better soundstage and defined on the low end. But as an overall package, I may consider keeping it for its practical form factor, fun sound and most of all wireless capabilities (I have a chompy cat at home). 
 
Also, this is right of the box, and its sounding a bit murky, so we'll see if this clears up. 
 
Edit: Actually, what helps clear things up is the wired connection. I'm using an iPhone 6 which doesn't have Apt-X... so perhaps that is contributing to the 'murkiness'. Very nice phone wired though, which is fine, because when I was trying out the AP I was thinking I wish there was a 'bass off' switch, and with the BT wired, it is off by default. Great
Update: the AP version actually is not the bass emphasized equalization you hear in the BT version Electro Mode. The bass on the AP is better than the BT version (via Bluetooth didn't have my wire with me at the time for the BT to compare). Part or all of this is due to the wire performance, but if you want the best XB950 all the time go with the AP.

 

[david8613]

These things need serious burn in, mine changed alot out of the box, for the better....

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

About 150hrs i feel. You can accelerate the burn in after 20hrs of music in regular volume by running pink noise (also listening levels) for 4-5hr shifts with breaks in between.

These things need serious burn in, mine changed alot out of the box, for the better....

 

[mamamia88]

These things need serious burn in, mine changed alot out of the box, for the better....

Are podcasts good enough for break in? Mostly use these for podcasts

 

[Malfunkt]

Well, some additional thoughts. A lot of this is going to be critical opinion.
 
I made sure to set the Bluetooth mode to its highest quality, and I can run APT-X on the Mac and AAC from the iPhone. 
 
Through Bluetooth, the high-end has some splashy artifact, and perhaps that is why the treble is so reduced, too mask some of this.
 
I find with the Bass Boost, it is just too slow and loose. Over-powering but not in a controlled way. The good thing, is that without it enabled, the bass is quite good, with some punch. 
 
This is a dark phone. It really needs some air and treble energy. The angled drivers do help a bit, especially for imaging. Instrument separation and detail are just okay. You will still get a decent sound of room size, but it is more of a ‘small room’ than ‘club/warehouse’. As such, all that extra bass sounds a bit out of place. 
 
They are actually quite good for low-volume listening. 
 
This is a ‘$100 headphone’ with excellent Bluetooth /NFC capabilities and amp added. In it’s price range, it has fantastic construction and feel. 
 
They are probably the best sounding Bluetooth headphones I’ve heard. However, they are lacking the refinement for classical, jazz, and other acoustic renditions. They are really not made for this type of listening though.  Of these, jazz is probably the one it can work with best. 
 
The headphone responds okay to equalization, as other have already posted their EQ settings, I’d be in line with these as well. Turn down the bass, and turn up the treble and you will get something more approximating a more natural tone. It’s quite easy to hear, as you turn up the treble reverb ambience and other transients can be heard. 
 
Sony could have tuned this headphone differently, but I wonder if they may have been worried about stealing value from their MDR-1R lineup. 
 
Even with EQ, what still bothers me is the ‘hollowness’ which is more than likely some chamber resonance. I’d be interested to know, from those that have modded the headphone, if this can be brought under control. 
 
I’m going to return these. Just a bit too murky and tubby. Not too convinced that ‘burn-in’ is going to fix the overall frequency curve or significantly tighten up the bass. - this would have to be some serious magic and would be worthy of having a marketing sticker on the box (“Play these for 60hrs and watch them grow!”). 
 
Think I’ve been spoiled by my other phones. Sony Ex600 / MDr-7550 line has in the past pushed me to return another Sony headphone - the MDR-1r. That’s the case here too, where the 7550 has far more articulate bass (especially using noise-isolated foam inside of the hybrid tips).
 
My recommendation, is that if you need the functional features of this headphone as a wireless, and listening to primarily electronic and club music, they are good. Don’t make them your only headphone, get something higher end. 
 
If you want better quality on the move, go with something like an Amperior/HD25/DT1350 or high-end in-ears. 
 
But spending a bit more (on the right headphones) will get you a lot more headphone in the sound department. 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  Well, some additional thoughts. A lot of this is going to be critical opinion.
 
I made sure to set the Bluetooth mode to its highest quality, and I can run APT-X on the Mac and AAC from the iPhone. 
 
Through Bluetooth, the high-end has some splashy artifact, and perhaps that is why the treble is so reduced, too mask some of this.
 
I find with the Bass Boost, it is just too slow and loose. Over-powering but not in a controlled way. The good thing, is that without it enabled, the bass is quite good, with some punch. 
 
This is a dark phone. It really needs some air and treble energy. The angled drivers do help a bit, especially for imaging. Instrument separation and detail are just okay. You will still get a decent sound of room size, but it is more of a ‘small room’ than ‘club/warehouse’. As such, all that extra bass sounds a bit out of place. 
 
They are actually quite good for low-volume listening. 
 
This is a ‘$100 headphone’ with excellent Bluetooth /NFC capabilities and amp added. In it’s price range, it has fantastic construction and feel. 
 
They are probably the best sounding Bluetooth headphones I’ve heard. However, they are lacking the refinement for classical, jazz, and other acoustic renditions. They are really not made for this type of listening though.  Of these, jazz is probably the one it can work with best. 
 
The headphone responds okay to equalization, as other have already posted their EQ settings, I’d be in line with these as well. Turn down the bass, and turn up the treble and you will get something more approximating a more natural tone. It’s quite easy to hear, as you turn up the treble reverb ambience and other transients can be heard. 
 
Sony could have tuned this headphone differently, but I wonder if they may have been worried about stealing value from their MDR-1R lineup. 
 
Even with EQ, what still bothers me is the ‘hollowness’ which is more than likely some chamber resonance. I’d be interested to know, from those that have modded the headphone, if this can be brought under control. 
 
I’m going to return these. Just a bit too murky and tubby. Not too convinced that ‘burn-in’ is going to fix the overall frequency curve or significantly tighten up the bass. - this would have to be some serious magic and would be worthy of having a marketing sticker on the box (“Play these for 60hrs and watch them grow!”). 
 

That's too bad, they do get less boomy and the mids/highs come out after 100-150hrs but your call. This difference between out of the box and burned-in is substantial