Sony MDR XB800 Headphone Review

The Sony X series of headphones are very much flashy, trendy headsets that are endorsed by none other than the X Factor star, Simon Cowell. Sony is also a brand name that has an excellent reputation in the electronics as well as headphone domain. Thus, it is but natural that there would be high expectations from these ultra trendy headphones. Sony claimed that these headphones have real studio quality sound that you actually take you to the original form of sound track. However, these claims as well as the high expectation levels could not be met by the previous Sony X MDR10, as the headphones consisted of over powering bass coupled with very sharp treble. Now let us take a trip through the new Sony XB800 that is also a part of the company’s “heavy bass” series. xb800 This pair of headphones also has the Extra Bass stamped right on the box that gave a good idea of what the XB800 was about even before you would actually listen to them. Some people actually go on the lookout for headphones with a humongous thump and these might just be the answer to their search. Design and features The Sony XB800 is less flamboyant than the X but is still very flashy with a rather futuristic design. The outer part of the ear cups are layered in black enamel, with fine lines of silver running along the circumference and with a small grey Sony logo in the center. The Sony XB800 has oversized ear pads covered with black leatherette material and filled with heavy foam to provide comfort to the ears. The headphone pumps out loud music through its 50mm drivers. The XB800’s has a plastic headband with enough of a thin leatherette-covered pad to cushion the top of the head. The headphone cable is flat that helps to prevent tangling and runs close to 4 feet. The ear cups can swivel 180 degrees along the horizontal axis and also 90 degrees of swivel on the vertical axis that would please the DJs. The ear cups can be also folded for compact storage. Fit and comfort No headphone can be termed as good if it does not provide good fit and comfort, and this fact has been taken very seriously by Sony. The Sony XB800 has an ergonomic design and is relatively light for their size. It provides nice fit as well as comfort. Its foam ear pads encompass the ears snuggly that creates a good seal without undue pressure. Audio performance Unfortunately enough, the Sony XB800 also follows its predecessor when it comes to sonic quality. It consists of big bass and very little of everything else. The bass is very loud and over-powering with very poor handling of the treble and midrange. It creates such a muffled music under the big bass that the entire excitement about listening to music gets highly affected. All the genres, vocals and instruments, whatever you play will give very little of their real essence other than the exaggerated bass. Conclusion The Sony XB800 is just meant for the bass frenzied people.

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