[TiestoFan]

Quick history: I have owned a pair of Sony MDR-xb500 for the past 3 years. I listened to them every single day for quite afew hours (long study hours). They were so worn and used that the ear pad leather was mostly pealed off but they were the most amazing headphones ever every time I put them on I felt transported to another world. Everyone who put them on agreed. Every sound was clear and had its place inside my eardrums and the bass was awesome, punchy, surrounding, and clean.

A week ago i ripped the cord off of them and tired to fix the wires but failed miserably.  Without hesitation I ordered the same pair from amazon. Got them in the mail 3 days ago. As soon as I put them on and listened to something I was like woah What is this? It sounded terrible, nothing like the very same MDR XB500s I owned. The sound is all...garbaled and everything feels like its blending into itself. It still sounds ok, but no where near the experience on my old headphones. Anyways, so I though maybe this is a BURN IN problem. I let my headphones run on high volume playing techno/dance/hip hop music on the loudest volume for 2 days (in the living room so I don't have to hear it lol). I just now put them on and while they sound slightly better they are still not even close.
 
I can't remember what my original pair sounded like right out of the box so I can't compare. What is happening here? Do they just need another 2-3 years to get as awesome as my old pair?

Is it possible that sony changed the parts or something? Is it all in my head? Comments appreciated.

 

[TiestoFan]

No one huh?

 

[TiestoFan]

As i keep listening, the difference is remarkable. the sound is so distorted....

 

[TiestoFan]

Does amazon return opened items?

 

[TiestoFan]

Good. God I'm so disappointed.  This almost feels like a girlfriend leaving or soemthing. WHERE AM I GOING TO FIND A HEADPHONE LIKE MY OLD ONES

 

 

[Tsujigiri]

Did you buy it from Amazon or 3rd party through Amazon? What about the first pair? One of them might have been fake.

 

[TiestoFan]

Quote:

Did you buy it from Amazon or 3rd party through Amazon? What about the first pair? One of them might have been fake.

The first pair was from best buy.

This new pair from a company called audio plaza through amazon.

 

[TiestoFan]

Maybe they are fakes but they came in a box that looks exactly the same...and everything looks the same.
 

 

[Tsujigiri]

I ask because the old XB series was discontinued and seems to have become very desirable recently. I sold my XB700's for $70 more than I paid for them new. Other auctions for used ones seem to be ending at similar prices. But there are quite a bit of XB series headphones being sold for far cheaper from Chinese sellers. There's very little doubt in my mind that these are fakes, so it seems like most of the unused old series XB's being sold are fake.

 

[GloryUprising]

Quote:

Maybe they are fakes but they came in a box that looks exactly the same...and everything looks the same.
 

Is the price significantly less then normal??
 
... perhaps break in?  But if you think something's up, send it back ASAP.

 

[TiestoFan]

Hmm, I paid 74$ for them on amazon. I don't know if something is up but the burn in is not the issue (i dont think). The sound is just sooo off. Like everything is muffled. My dad ordered the same pair as me and at first I thought they sounded weird but figured it was because they were so new but....yeah they just don't sound the same as my old headphones.  Not sure about the whole fake or not thing though,  they seem pretty legit.

 

[Ohnoitztotoro]

Do you still have your old ones to compare against? I can't listen in person so just by going off of what you said, I am inclined to think it may be in your head. To me they are incredibly fun headphones but they sure don't produce a clean sound like you described. It is just bass, bass and more bass. The description of the new ones you received sound more in line with what I have come to expect from the XB500 (lots of bass, muddled mids and treble). If you have your originals still I would suggest you compare the two and see if the difference is really there. 
 
It seems like you bought your second pair immediately after your first ones started falling apart so I don't think you outgrew the sound. There are a number of reasons but i think it may be due to 1) fake XB500s or 2) psychological. 

 

[TiestoFan]

Quote:

Do you still have your old ones to compare against? I can't listen in person so just by going off of what you said, I am inclined to think it may be in your head. To me they are incredibly fun headphones but they sure don't produce a clean sound like you described. It is just bass, bass and more bass. The description of the new ones you received sound more in line with what I have come to expect from the XB500 (lots of bass, muddled mids and treble). If you have your originals still I would suggest you compare the two and see if the difference is really there. 
 
It seems like you bought your second pair immediately after your first ones started falling apart so I don't think you outgrew the sound. There are a number of reasons but i think it may be due to 1) fake XB500s or 2) psychological. 

I stupidly threw them out (only one side was working). So I can't compare but I am sure (and now have confirmation from someone who used my headphones frequently) that the sound is different.

 

[kramer5150]

Is it possible you are hearing the difference between worn-out, soggy earpad cushions and brand new ones?  You might want to try and swap them, if there's a way to do so... and revert them back if you do need to return them.  see if that makes any difference.
 
There are a lot of counterfeits too, you can't use packaging materials as a criteria.  There are cosmetic-exact clone portapros, and Sennheiser portables... packaging and all.

 

[TiestoFan]

Quote:

Is it possible you are hearing the difference between worn-out, soggy earpad cushions and brand new ones?  You might want to try and swap them, if there's a way to do so... and revert them back if you do need to return them.  see if that makes any difference.
 
There are a lot of counterfeits too, you can't use packaging materials as a criteria.  There are cosmetic-exact clone portapros, and Sennheiser portables... packaging and all.

Kramer, this is possible. The old headphones the ear pads were swollen up big time and practically bursting. These ones are stiff and..well thin because they have like no air in them it feels like. I cant swap out earpads because I threw away the old headphones already before these ones arrived. I just expected I'd get the same exact thing i had from day one.