Coming from the Xtra Bass range by Sony and the successor to the XB300’s these are very promising headphones, lets take a look.
Here’s the spec:
- Dynamic Type Yes
- Closed Type Yes
- wearing style Supra aural
- Capacity (mW) 1000mW
- Driver unit (mm) 30 -dome type
- Diaphragm PET
- Frequency (Hz) 5Hz-22,000Hz
- Sensitivity (dB/mW)
- Magnet Neodymium
- Impedance (ohm) 24 Ω at 1 kHz
- Cord Type Litz cord (Y- shape)
- Cord Length 1.2m
- Connection 3.5mm Stereo headphone jack
- Weight (grams) 150g
These feature a sleek rubberised right angled connection, while I like this design a lot and think it not only looks but feels nice, I feel that it might not be the strongest of jacks but wont lead to possible issues in the future.
The 1.2m Cable is flat with little ridges which I assume help with something like preventing it from tangling as the feel of them gives me them ‘nails down a chalk board’ shivers. The connection separating the left and right cable feels strong and overall the cable feels very well built and not very like to stretch.
Moving onto the cups we have a closed back design with a small hole in the bottom to allow air into the back behind the drivers.
I am a big fan of closed back headphones because they supply the user with a more versatile headphone making them good for general use which is the case for most people.
 | The cups are full of curves just about everywhere and have a glossy outer side along with the Sony logo. While I like this glossy design it does make them a target for dust and scratches. |
| On the inside of the cups we have some standard foam padding, no memory foam on these but I can say with strict confidence that these take the word comfortable to a new extreme. They feel secure and tight on your head without actually feeling tight, weird I know. They also are so soft you can forget they are even there. |  |
 | Where the cups meet the headband we have a metallic look housing surrounding its swivel connection. These headphones not only feature swivelling cups but once rotated to the position you would have them to wear them the lock in place slightly and needed to be ‘clicked’ out to flatten them for travel. |
A big part of the design with these and every pair of headphones in Sony’s XB series is the sliding mechanism. They design is definitely unique and attractive to look it. The deign is quite firm when having to be changed to fit your head and stays in position once left. I absolutely love this design but it does still worry me how strong the outer part if the mechanism is and how easy it might be to break, I believe this gets less worrying with the bigger versions.
The headband is very basic, almost standard with Sony in the sense that its just a small plastic band that bends extremely well and in this case has the Sony logo on top. Sony somehow accomplishes the comfort level with a strip of plastic that other companies attempt to attain with excessive amounts of padding.
Performance: Sony let me down in this area with the MDR-ZX300’s I reviewed not long ago. If I was expecting anything it was that these would be another average pair of consumer rubbish. These headphones not only look but they perform well above their price range, they have that notorious big bass while somehow managing to not distort one bit of the mids and highs.
The Lows have an almost amped up booming feel to them while the highs are crisp and unaffected. Everything just seems so right, no part of the sound seems to be over emphasised.
I had to get a second opinion on this but I was right to think that these headphones give the music a more 3D/ Deep feel to it that you would normally only experience with a proper set of speakers. This might be due to the ‘Advanced Direct Vibe Structure’ they go on about but I would more likely put it down to them having really good drivers.
Conclusion: For a pair of headphones to affect me in such a way that my interest in music has come back and that I end up buying not 1 but 3 pairs of, these headphones had to be on another level in not only value to their performance rating as well. Anyone who owns a pair will not be disappointed.
The only reason these didn’t get a 10 for value was because I would have liked to see more metal rather than plastic
Verdict:
Rating- 8/10
Value- 9/10
The Lows have an almost amped up booming feel to them while the highs are crisp and unaffected. Everything just seems so right, no part of the sound seems to be over emphasised.
I had to get a second opinion on this but I was right to think that these headphones give the music a more 3D/ Deep feel to it that you would normally only experience with a proper set of speakers. This might be due to the ‘Advanced Direct Vibe Structure’ they go on about but I would more likely put it down to them having really good drivers.
Conclusion: For a pair of headphones to affect me in such a way that my interest in music has come back and that I end up buying not 1 but 3 pairs of, these headphones had to be on another level in not only value to their performance rating as well. Anyone who owns a pair will not be disappointed.
The only reason these didn’t get a 10 for value was because I would have liked to see more metal rather than plastic
Verdict:
Rating- 8/10
Value- 9/10
