Sony ships new Extra Bass headphone lineup to the US, delivers that Direct Vibe to your brain

Sony ships new Extra Bass headphone lineup to the US, delivers that Direct Vibe to your brain

If you'd like your Sony headphones to be a little less judgmental, we've got good news. The company's MDR-XB400, MDR-XB600 and MDR-XB800 Extra Bass headphones, along with the MDR-XB60EX in-ears, have arrived in the US for those who want low-end frequencies without the talent show branding. All four carry Sony's newer Advanced Direct Vibe to emphasize the sub-bass notes of "today's music styles" (read: electronic and hip-hop) as well as a serrated cord that keeps the cord tangling to a minimum. Working your way up the range mostly improves the frequency range, which starts at an already bass-heavy 5Hz to 22kHz in the XB400 and scales up to a tooth-rattling 3Hz to 28kHz for the XB800; you'll also see the sensitivity jump from 100dB/mW to 106. Provided you don't mind tweaking software to occasionally recover some treble, the entire collection is ready to wobble your head at prices that range from $60 for the starter XB400 headphones to $150 for the XB800.

Continue reading Sony ships new Extra Bass headphone lineup to the US, delivers that Direct Vibe to your brain

Filed under: ,

Sony ships new Extra Bass headphone lineup to the US, delivers that Direct Vibe to your brain originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony (XB400), (XB600), (XB800), (XB60EX)  | Email this | Comments

Sony and Simon Cowell intro X-Factor-themed MDR-X10, celebrity headphones officially jump the shark for $300

Sony and Simon Cowell intro XFactorthemed MDRX10, celebrity headphones officially jump the shark for $300

We're still wrapping our heads around this, but Sony and Simon Cowell have officially decided to join the celebrity-endorsed headphone bandwagon. Dubbed as the MDR-X10, the X-Factor-themed cans are certainly late to the party, but the vibrant red and silver color theme will ensure they get noticed -- and we're not saying that's a good thing. $300 snags you the extra-sparkly circumaural earmuffs, an even more sparkly case and a duo of flat, tangle-resistant locking cables (one of which features a "made for iDevice" inline remote and mic). Unsurprisingly, the X10 is geared toward pumping out gobs of bass, being essentially a re-badge of the likes of Sony's XB800 from its Extra Bass headphone lineup. We had the opportunity to give Cowell's new headgear a fair amount of listening time, so jump past the break where we'll judge its brief audition.

Continue reading Sony and Simon Cowell intro X-Factor-themed MDR-X10, celebrity headphones officially jump the shark for $300

Filed under: ,

Sony and Simon Cowell intro X-Factor-themed MDR-X10, celebrity headphones officially jump the shark for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony  | Email this | Comments