Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The XB500s are the best pair of headphones I've ever used, and I've owned Bose and even tried the uber-pricey Bowers P5s. I'm considering purchasing a pair of the larger XB700s to see if they are any better in terms of sound and comfort (the specs look a little better on those). The sound quality is outstanding. Deep, rich, undistorted bass and crisp clear mid and high tones. Very surprising for the price. There is a bit of natural bass added based on the construction of the XBs which some people may not care for; meaning if you don't use an EQ the bass will be a bit more powerful than a pair of standard headphones. I haven't found it obtrusive though, and setting your iPod to the Jazz EQ preset adds a bit more treble if that's what you like. In terms of bass, calling these Extra Bass headphones is no a joke; you can really get some serious thumping out of them if that's what your music calls for. The XB500s don't present the most "accurate" sound due to the extra bass; if you're an audio engineer using headphones for your work I would recommend a higher priced, reference quality set. But the 500s actually sound richer than a lot of higher priced headphones and I think they're most suitable for the vast majority of people, especially if you listen to a wide range of music such as pop, rock, metal, techno, and classical. With reference quality headphones even though they're more accurate they don't always have a better "character" of sound than others. The ear cups are (almost comically) enormous but extremely comfortable and do a great job isolating sound. Very, very comfortable. And why not? You're basically attaching a couple of pillows to your head! You could almost fall asleep while sitting up. While others report their ears getting warm or sweaty over time this hasn't happened for me. I wear glasses and many headphones cause my glasses to dig into my temple and get sore after about an hour, but with the 500s this isn't a problem. One downside of the cups is that someone would have to debate taking these out in public just because of how huge they really look in person. iPod earbuds are nearly invisible on the bus but I would think these would attract some attention. The cord is pretty short but long enough for most purposes and I actually like its length. Good for iPods, Nintendo DS, connecting to your computer, etc. If you need them longer like for a living room stereo, you can just buy a cheap extension cable at Target. In general, headphones are a bit of a personal thing in terms of their default (non-EQ) sound, like picture settings on a television. Each person has their own tastes regarding what sounds or looks "the best" to them. With that said I've owned quite a few headphones and I would strongly recommend people check the XBs out (Best Buy has demo units). Hope my review helps anyone on the fence about these.