tdockweiler
Headphoneus Supremus
For about a year I was always curious about how these sound. I always assumed they were some cheap Kid's toy. For people who just want bass and only bass!
Out of the box, they're good for a laugh. The sound is severely muffled and not clear and detailed. AT ALL. When I bought these for $46 I had every intention of only using them with an EQ.
With my Cowon Iaudio 7 I drop the bass down a ton. We're talking like anywhere from 4-6DB!! I then boost the mids and upper mids by 1-2db and then the treble as well. These things respond extremely well with an EQ! With a massive EQ change you can actually make these sound quite neutral, but still fun!
You know that muffled and unclear sound? It's GONE! Completely. I'm really picky when it comes to the clearness of sound. For $46 and with an EQ the sound is really quite clear. One strange thing is that when I put these on the pads compress to almost nothing. Am I lucky? Maybe this is what makes the sound for me so much better? Hard to say. With a little EQ these drivers are quite capable! When I amped them it seemed like the soundstage got even larger!
I was listening to some Phillip Glass music and was surprised at how good the sound was. In "Of the Girl" from Pearl Jam it felt like I had hearing things from outside my head. Huh? On the XB500?! Violins sounded so lifelike and as if I was sitting right next to them. They sound considerably fuller than on my DJ100 and Grado SR-80. Almost similar as to how they sound on an HD-600!
Now with the EQ, there's actually quite a decent amount of detail! They pick up lots of tiny details including recording hiss.
For $46 they're just too dang comfortable. For those willing to EQ the heck out of them, they're certainly worth a try. With EQ they beat the heck out of many other headphones at this price. Without an EQ I find them un-listenable for my music preferences. Sorry, but it's true.
Out of the box, they're good for a laugh. The sound is severely muffled and not clear and detailed. AT ALL. When I bought these for $46 I had every intention of only using them with an EQ.
With my Cowon Iaudio 7 I drop the bass down a ton. We're talking like anywhere from 4-6DB!! I then boost the mids and upper mids by 1-2db and then the treble as well. These things respond extremely well with an EQ! With a massive EQ change you can actually make these sound quite neutral, but still fun!
You know that muffled and unclear sound? It's GONE! Completely. I'm really picky when it comes to the clearness of sound. For $46 and with an EQ the sound is really quite clear. One strange thing is that when I put these on the pads compress to almost nothing. Am I lucky? Maybe this is what makes the sound for me so much better? Hard to say. With a little EQ these drivers are quite capable! When I amped them it seemed like the soundstage got even larger!
I was listening to some Phillip Glass music and was surprised at how good the sound was. In "Of the Girl" from Pearl Jam it felt like I had hearing things from outside my head. Huh? On the XB500?! Violins sounded so lifelike and as if I was sitting right next to them. They sound considerably fuller than on my DJ100 and Grado SR-80. Almost similar as to how they sound on an HD-600!
Now with the EQ, there's actually quite a decent amount of detail! They pick up lots of tiny details including recording hiss.
For $46 they're just too dang comfortable. For those willing to EQ the heck out of them, they're certainly worth a try. With EQ they beat the heck out of many other headphones at this price. Without an EQ I find them un-listenable for my music preferences. Sorry, but it's true.