Sony MDR-XB950AP Premium Xtra Bass Overhead Headphones - Black

Product Information

Both headphones seem equal in terms of durability. They’re both made from plastic and have metal yolks with ridges that help you get an accurate fit. They also come with flat cables, which should minimize tangles. Finally, both headphones come with a mic and remote. Neither headphones fold, but they both swivel flat.

Sony XB950N1 Extra Bass Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones Sony XB950N1 Extra Bass Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones

However I sometime experience some glitches as if the audio is playing slow and choppy, even the Youtube I watch experience the same, I had to turn off/on the headphone to recover?? So not sure if others people experienced the same? I have a new Sennheiser Urbanite on-ear here that is roughly the same price, it doesn’t compare on the top end to the Sony’s clarity, nor does it compare to how well the top end is portrayed in a physical sense. The weightiness of the treble is stellar for the price, firm and solid, yet not at all sibilant or harsh.Audio 46: Audio-Technica ATH-WS550 Solid Bass Headphones (Use our promo code, “majorhifi” and get a 10% discount) Anyway, thought I’d share. And someone let me know if you find the equivalent tweak for plugged-in mode. Cheers! The midrange is perfectly fine, the treble needs to be boosted just a bit to make me happy and the bass quality could use a little cleaning up. Sony RnD, please with a cherry on top find a way to make any future Bluetooth headphones pair with Wasapi and 24bit output via Foobar2000. We need a BT dongle that handles this, as well as a headphone capable of actually doing it justice. Our Verdict

MDR-XB950B1 | Sony UK Manuals for MDR-XB950B1 | Sony UK

The frustrating thing is I can’t (yet?) reproduce this while plugged in because the BT buttons deactivate in plugged-in mode. Anyway, I don’t know if it was a freak of nature on my headset but it works. Seems like I have to hit the BT volume button up again each song change (there’s a beep – then I adjust the iPhone volume), and voila. That sounds like a game issue and not the headphone or dongle. If music and YouTube videos sound and look in sync, but the game doesn’t, then the game has audio output lag and there isn’t anything you can do to stop that but attempt a reinstall.

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There are sets out there that are much more recessed in the midrange, ones that offer that damned U-shape sound signature that is god awful, so it feels weird to me to hear the XB950BT’s mids and treble walk hand in hand behind the powerful bass. Staging

Sony XB950B1 Extra Bass Wireless Headphones with App Control Sony XB950B1 Extra Bass Wireless Headphones with App Control

Nothing on the market is quite like it in that price tier and I want desperately for Sony to make a brand new Flagship with vastly improved everything over the XB950BT, but one that retains that yummy and fun tonality, epic bass, and great liveliness in the midrange. If what you’re seeking is skull-rattling bass, the Sony MDR-XB950N1 have you covered. Even without the bass effect EQ turned on, the Sonys have a bass-heavy sound that makes listening to rap, electronic and trap music fun. The Sony MDR-XB950AP extra bass headphones contain powerful lightweight 40mm neodymium drivers that produce adeep, balanced sound, even at high volume.Sony combined these drivers with a highly sensitive diaphragm that enables users to turn the headphone volume up louder without needing an amp. The wideband frequency range of 3 Hz to 28 kHz is designed for today’s bass-heavy music. But 99% of the time no issue, so I am not sure if it is my laptop or the headphone. While listening on my phone Samsung A8 I did not see the issue.The audio is very nice, rich bass, audio cancellation is fine, I have Bose QC20 to compare to, maybe not as good as QC20 but very reasonable. The Sony reacts to bass EQ phenomenally well. Not so much in the mids or treble, which generally stay the same with moderate tweaking. The bass however can be dropped to make the headphone more linear, or even boosted for even more bass…which is crazy and shouldn’t be done. But, it is responsive via the wired connection, it dips to 3hz. BT stays at 20-20 sadly. No need to burn in, just enjoy. Im not a firm believer in the product burning in, I believe its our brain that burns in.

Sony MDR-XB950 Extra Bass vs Audio-Technica ATH-WS550 Solid Sony MDR-XB950 Extra Bass vs Audio-Technica ATH-WS550 Solid

Another feature of these headphones that I ended up enjoying much more than I thought I would is the bass boost. I listen to a lot of rap music and in some songs (think 808s Kanye) the boost is unreal. It's like someone put subwoofers beside my ears. If you're not a fan it's very easy to turn off with the button on the physical headset, which is something I appreciate when I'm studying. The 950BT will never function with the PS4 for both audio output from the game, as well as the BT microphone. Sony explicitly told me that would never be a thing, despite them saying 2 years ago it would soon be supported. They’ve abandoned that completely some time ago. The reason is that the 950BT is not a gaming headset, it is to Sony just a headphone with a bonus BT functionality that is specifically coded to work with portable devices that accept it’s type of codecs. The PS4 has a totally different codec that will never support it. Sony wants you to buy a Sony gaming headset for it to work without issue. Finally. Headphones done well. I’ve been on a solid 3 month hunt. Buying and returning until my head was spinning but the Sony XB950N1 is a welcomed addition to the long line of over-the-ear bluetooth headphones I’ve tried. These headphones aren’t perfect but they’re good at everything they attempt to do. And that’s what’s been hard to find – a pair of headphones that does all things well. Don’t get me wrong, there are headphones that do some things better, much better, but those end up falling short in other critical areas. So I welcome the Sony XB950N1s as the best all-around headphone out there, for me at least.Looks certainly aren't everything for a headphone, but they are an area where the XB950AP/H does well. While quite a few of the XB series sport garish colour combinations, the XB950AP/H is a mixture of gunmetal and matte grey, and has a fairly refined sensibility. It's not eye-catching, which is, in my opinion, for the best. It's not a fashion statement, and it won't clash with anything one wants to pair it with, but the smooth lines, fairly low-profile fit, and well-matched colours leave it pretty easy on the eyes. Starting off with a very potent bass, to begin with, the Booster function ups it to silly levels…too much actually…but damned if it isn’t extremely fun. I had no idea Bass like this was even possible in a Bluetooth headphone, compare and contrast for yourselves if you get the chance. EXTRA BASS: the extra bass is my favourite feature, especially doing gym stuff. HOWEVER, it kept sliding off of my head, so I have to adjust it before starting my set (especially when lying down, like doing a bench press or upper chest workout; deadlifts are fine though). Frequency Response changes drastically when running off BT alone, reaching only 20-20,000hz, whereas the wired connection dips down to a gut-wrenching and inhumane 3-28,000hz. Connectivity is simply wonderful, i do occasionally get small skips in the music mainly when i'm on my phone doing something that takes up a lot of power, like gaming. the NFC is a nice added touch, as it connects to my phone crazy fast (galaxy S7).