The Sony MDR-XB500 is a solid, albeit not truly hi-fi, performer in the $50 range. The bass is strong and smooth and generally remains quite competent despite being slightly dull in nature.
The direct equivalent would be something like the WH-XB910N (the XB920N might be launching at some point soon), but, there’s a big but.
Sony has changed the overall mission and positioning of the XB series. They no longer make “extra bass” like they used to. If you liked the early XB (up till XB950) for their so-called “rumble” and “drive,” Sony has kinda given up on those parameters in the name of clean audio. So, if you can EQ, every Sony headphone can be made to push out very heavy bass, but none of them have the groove that the earlier XB models used to.
For this reason I have been chasing down older XB models like the XB950 (two generations, wired/BT and N1/B1), XB550 and the XB55 earbuds. Today’s extra bass Sonys just can’t compare.
The direct equivalent would be something like the WH-XB910N (the XB920N might be launching at some point soon), but, there’s a big but.
Sony has changed the overall mission and positioning of the XB series. They no longer make “extra bass” like they used to. If you liked the early XB (up till XB950) for their so-called “rumble” and “drive,” Sony has kinda given up on those parameters in the name of clean audio. So, if you can EQ, every Sony headphone can be made to push out very heavy bass, but none of them have the groove that the earlier XB models used to.
For this reason I have been chasing down older XB models like the XB950 (two generations, wired/BT and N1/B1), XB550 and the XB55 earbuds. Today’s extra bass Sonys just can’t compare.