[sofastreamer]

Hi,
I own the following fullsize headphones:
Dt990pro
Aurvana live
M50
Srh-750dj

Like the shures Best, because of their soundsstage recessed highs and good Bass.
Right now i Wonder if the xb700 or xb500 would outperform them in Terms of Bass and soundstage.
I usually use my iPhone 4 with Fiio e5. Eq Flat without bassboost.

Anyone already compared the shure and the Sonys?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

If you like Shure 750DJ most of those I think you'd easily like XB500 better than XB700 as XB500 should remind you more of the sound signature found in the Shures. XB500 got also somewhat recessed highs and the bass is both punchy and delivers strong deep bass too. XB700 has more pronounced highs, more recessed midrange and strong deep bass (about the same as on XB500) but has much weaker upper bass. XB500 is more warm/aggressive/forward like the Shure 750DJs while XB700 is a bit more laid-back such as the Beyers. The soundstage I find to be very good on the Sony XB series probably because of the huge airchamber created between the thick comfy pads and the ear and the bass vents at the back which lets the headphone breath a bit.
 
I think there's at least one guy that tried the Shures after having owned a XB500 and was kind of missing the bass found in XB500.
 
With XB500 you may still want to EQ it with a tiny boost in the highs and possibly slight decrease at 125 - 250Hz range for optimal result. The highs are really nice on XB500 if you hate sibilance or ear-piercing edgy highs as the highs on XB500 is very gentle to your ears, even if you boost them quite a lot on the EQ they don't become harsh at all and sound very "meaty" compared to most other headphones that are usually much edgier, thin and sharp or however you'd describe it.
 
I would be very interested in hearing your feedback on XB500 looking at the list of the headphones you own and which you prefer most of them because while I'm not sure if it will actually beat the Shures as the Shures may be tiny bit more balanced without EQing (I think the Shure would probably be slightly less warm, highs might be tiny bit less recessed and the upper bass isn't as strong as on the XB500 and this would probably provide slightly more clear overall sound by default) but they should probably easily take the 2nd spot. But it could very well be you might really like the strong bass found in XB500 and the very warm sound signature too.

 

[RaZrReD]

I own the XB500 and tried the Shures. I really didn't like the Shures, not because of the sound, but because of the fit.  Headband was to flat and the ear pieces didn't extend out long enough. 
 
I wasn't really fair with my decision, but from initial usage, the XB500 were still the better sounding headphones when it comes to BASS.
 
I would try out both 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

RaZrReD> Do you remember how they differ in terms of warmth and which of them had less recessed highs and on the Shures, how balanced did you find the deep bass vs upper bass to be compared to the XB500?

 

[RaZrReD]

Well the time I gave the Shures was about 2-3 days.
 
I had them EQed using my MacBook Pro -> iTunes -> ROCK setting in the EQ.
 
The bass was lacking in the Shures and I really couldn't tell any "booming" bass that you would hear from the XB500. Like I said though, if anything my review of them is seriously biased because I really didn't like the feel of them to begin with. Someone else around here just brought up a discussion about how the bass compared to M50 was lacking.
 
Since the Shures are dynamic drivers, you would probably need to give them a thorough burn-in. That is why I recommend anyone who wants to try them out, to give them some time (50+ hours) of burn-in before making a decision.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

OK so it would appear the Shures might be a bit more focused on the upper bass if you thought "booming bass" wasn't there, at least I'd associate "booming" word with that soft deep rumbling bass. Upper bass is more tight/fast/fades away quickly but you usually feel it better and provides impact to the bass. XB700 lacks impact from the bass compared to XB500 because its upper bass isn't nearly as emphasized.

 

[RaZrReD]

Yea, when I listened to them I was alternating between Trance, Techno and rock. Mainly listening for the "low" bass (the kind that rattles your teeth) not the warmth of the "upper" bass.
 
I am still learning terms when it comes to music so bare with me 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

You may also want to take a look at this. 
 

 
The Shure 750DJs bass looks actually very balanced regarding deep and upper bass (possibly slightly more focused at the deep bass in this case at 40~80Hz even), it's just that it doesn't quite appear to be as strong which ofc again could make it seem "boomier" for RaZ. The 750DJs are probably slightly brighter than XB500 when checking the noticable difference at 8~9kHz and might have especially female vocals pop out a bit more pronounced due to the stronger 2kHz boost compared to XB500 but I've learnt that frequency response graphs can't be interpreted like this very accurately anyway and on the XB500 I thought 2kHz frequencies are very good on it and doesn't need to be touched at all while I'd gladly boot 1kHz a bit and that at 8kHz it's actually very good but 4kHz and 16kHz again needs a bit stronger boost than at 8kHz which would be somewhat contradicting with this frequency response graph.

 

[sofastreamer]

Following the graPhs it Seems the xb500 Should fit my needs. But what about the Stage compared to shure?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I haven't heard the Shure 750DJs but compared to the other headphones I've tried the soundstage is suprisingly good, very "airy" sound but instrument separation isn't exactly the best possible on XB500 in particular because it's extremely warm/forward/aggressive sounding and this tends to lead to a more "melted together"/smeared sound but this is actually a positive thing to me after hearing how very laid-back sound with great separation sounds like it just doesn't sound as enjoyable to me but the sound is very wide and airy though that's for sure, M50 felt quite a bit "closed-in" like being stuck in a cave in comparision.

 

[SoSpecial]

Thye Highs on the Shure isn't recessed at all, if anything the mids are very slightly recessed. The Soundstage is Dynamic going from Forward and agressive to airy as you music becomes more complex(like in electronica genre's this is completely neccessary and very welcome to my ears). They aren't really that warm if anythiong they are bright and Analytical as far as texture goes.
 
Comfort on them is their weakest point, the XB500's are very good for their price and have 0 comfort issues for me especially in these cold days of winter.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/529980/so-they-finally-arrived
 
There's my full review if you want to take a look.

 

[Xymordos]

Hey off topic question,
I found that Beats Tours and XB700 have an extremely similar sound signature, harsh-ish highs and big bass, except Xb700 hits lots lower but weaker punch. XB also have better details and layering by far, possibly because Tours gets them covered with bass. But they sound amazingly similar. What do you guys think?

 

[RaZrReD]

@Xymordos

Are you sure about the Tours? I actually tried them for a week before I jumped to the dark side and went with full-sized cans. The Bass really wasn't there for me even after burn-in.

I have tried the xb700 also and I really couldn't tell that the bass response was the same.

 

[sofastreamer]

any more sugestions?

 

[SimH]

I got the 750DJs and XB700... the Shure's have a wider soundstage and more space between the instruments - they let the mix breathe - while the XBs are a more compressed, compact sound. The Sony's bass is very pronounced - kind of bloaty - but in a fun way - it makes your earlobes flap. The Shure's bass has better slam and impact - you feel the Shure's bass in your soul; you feel the Sony's bass in your testicles. 
 
Overall I prefer the Shures because they are less coloured, more neutral and generally sound more involving - and suit all kinds of music. But the XB700s are good for just chucking on and bending your ears once in a while with a bit of mindless trance or electronic.
 
The Shure's comfort improves if you bend some light wire into a compressed oval, and slip it under the earpads. It then shapes the earpad into an oval instead of a circle, and fits loads better.