[bitterasacid]

I've not seen too much love for any of these models for some odd reason.
After a bit of a painful headphone buying dilemma, while simply trying on the headphones at Target one day, I came across the XB600s sitting on the Sony rack (surprise, next to the beats rack.) along with the overpriced X headphones. Having a hard time dealing with the XB500s for the lack of comfort for me, I decided to try them on to see how on-ears felt. Holy jesus they were so comfortable. The way the fit was phenomenal. Not too light, not heavy, not feeling it's sitting on my ears or my head. I tried on the X, same thing. Reading online afterwards, I heard that these have a poorer sound quality than the 500s. This wouldn't be a HUGE deal to me, only I feel like I should be moving upwards. The extreme bass getting nerfed is not what matters to me about that, it's the fact there could possibly be LESS treble/mids. On top of that, price is a bit of an issue. Has anybody tried both the XB400s & XB600s, or the XB600s & XB800s and has anything to say about the differences in sound quality? Have not seen much on anything, pretty disappointing considering these are the only headphones that don't feel like they're destroying my head.

 

[Croozer]

[VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68oSIyARsZY[/VIDEO]

 

[bitterasacid]

Definitely got me there. Was looking more into something about the actual sound, though. Thanks for the video.
 
My fear also is that the XB400s will have smaller cups than the 600s and be uncomfy.

 

[AHorseNamedJeff]

ooh. new XB cans i can tell you that for portable use, the XB500's are quite nice sounding when EQ'd

 

[AHorseNamedJeff]

oh goodness. i just took a look at the Sony website for the new XB's, and they look very tragically designed. the new on ear design looks awful for an XB can. the giant pillowpads on the previous line were awesome.
(sorry for double post )

 

[bitterasacid]

Quote:

ooh. new XB cans i can tell you that for portable use, the XB500's are quite nice sounding when EQ'd

 
Quote:

oh goodness. i just took a look at the Sony website for the new XB's, and they look very tragically designed. the new on ear design looks awful for an XB can. the giant pillowpads on the previous line were awesome.
(sorry for double post )

 
I have the 500's but my dumbo ears make them hurt like crazy. The new XB are actually very comfortable, just concerned with the sound quality, especially between the 400s and 600s.

 

[greenback]

I just bought a pair of XB800 headphones tonight. Went to the local Sony store and they had the 600's on sale for $78 dollars and the 800's for $99. I listened to both and the 800's were definitely better in terms of clarity.I have a pair of Heir Audio 4.a's and Ultrasone HFI 580's, and I think they are still worth buying if you enjoy bass. I tend to have to use my Fiio E17 and set the bass to 10 when listening to EDM, I don't need to do that with the 800's, which is nice. I wouldn't personally pay $159, the retail price in Canada, but on sale... I just had to go for it.
 
They are very comfortable on the ears, and the isolation is really really good, even at low volume I have found, so far. There is sound leakage from the bass ports, but it seems to be almost imperceptible in a quiet room. definitely worth checking out the 800's if you can find them for a discount. Or maybe the sound is for you and they are worth the 149/159 retail price. If you like any of the lower models the 800 is definitely a good upgrade in terms of detail and more control over the bass without losing the punch.

 

[bitterasacid]

Thanks for the response! Should we be checking out the Sony store? Were the 600s at least 500-level?
 
It's hard to tell when they only let you sample 8kbps mp3s at kiosks.
 
EDIT: Was it a Sony Store or Sony Outlet?

 

[greenback]

It was in Metrotown mall in Vancouver Canada and it was a Sony store. They had the version below the 600 there as well, but I never listened to it, so I can't tell you how it sounded compared to the 600, sorry. In fact I got the last unit they had for the 800, and they had just got a new shipment in today, so I guess the are selling well with the discount.
 
I have no idea if they are doing that sort of sale anywhere else, but it is Christmas and they do want to move the new headphones, so I assume they are likely doing it at other stores.
 
I should also note that I tried them out with my Note 2 and and Rdio playlist I had. From my experience stores like that always allow you to try them. In fact, he took the 800 out of the box, cut the wrapper and all to let me try them out. The others were on display on hooks that you could plug into your mp3 player or phone.

 

[bitterasacid]

Might just try that. I'm in the US though so they might not have them on sale in the store. & yeah cause there's a new i model with the inline controls. Hopefully that cheapens the original model!

 

[Croozer]

I don't like the on-ear design.

I love the big pillows on my XB-1000's.

 

[bitterasacid]

The 500's actually either squeeze my head or sit on top of it so it's painful. Judging by the kiosk it's (suprisingly) for me.

 

[greenback]

It is actually pretty comfortable. It only starts to bother me after long listening sessions, several hours, due to the pads pushing my ears into my glasses. If you don't wear glasses I don't see how that would even be an issue. They really are big  enough that they act like over the ear headphones but with much better isolation, without the clamping. It takes a little getting used to, but I am enjoying them.

 

[HeadSource]

I just bought the xb400 for my son to use next year for his school. They sound good enough for the price..... Approximately 50usd from Hong Kong. The bass is pretty prominent. On some tracks it tends to overpower the rest of the music. Mids especially does sound a little recessed. Highs are quite present.... Very much a v shaped frequency response..... And can be driven adequately by an iPad. Comfort and noise isolation is pretty good.... If I had to buy again, I would try the Xb600 to hopefully get better sensitivity and midrange response.
I did figure out how to tune/increase the mids of these cans by pressing it into the ears and holding it to squish the pads.... Which tends to produce a more balanced sound....

 

[Alexuttzzuu]

i just bought xb 600 and i am verry happy, the sound is great, i just love it, everything is just perfect, i recommand them