[MrVinny1113]

I have been looking for a new pair of Sony MDR xb500's recently but I can't seem to find any new pairs under $100.

Most of the reviews I looked at though say that were available on Amazon for $50 or less; but
right now the lowest Amazon price for xb500's are $75.99 for a used pair.
Even the cnet price history says it doubled from around 75 a pair to 150 a pair.

Why did his happen and does anybody have a place to buy them cheaper?

 

[bob2299]

The XB500's were a popular "budget Basshead headphone",but were discontinued (the xb300,500,and 700) along with price gouging.
Thus is the life of purchasing endangered headphones.

 
I don't think the new series is as good,though i could be wrong.

 

 

[swiftW1nd]

It is because the new updated model aren't as good as the discontinued, hence why the XB500's market price increased. 

 

[MrVinny1113]

1. What are the new headphones Sony is putting out nowadays and are they any good?
2. It's sad Sony discontinued a product that is so valuable in these times in a world where Beats are considered top-notch headphones by half of the world's population. I see Sony as a place to buy high-quality headphones for low-quality prices and this just really damages my vision of Sony.
3. Are there any alternative headphones like the xb500's that would fit someone who wanted to buy these?

 

[swiftW1nd]

The VModa M100s may be outside of your price range.. otherwise they are the best basshead cans to me with a great reputation on this forum. If you want something cheaper, I actually suggest you check out the Denon D400. They pale in comparison to the headphones in their MSRP, but they are 100 bucks on Amazon, at this price they are a steal and quite a bit better than the XB500 imo.

 

[bob2299]

This might help,particularly rpgwizard's post
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/651018/xb500-700-alternative