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OK, so ive been waiting for these things to drop since they were first announced back at CES 2017. And for those who don't know, these are the Sony MDR-XB950N1. And what makes these ear phones stand out is their Extra Bass Feature. These ear phones are made for people who don't just like Bass, they're meant for people who really love base. So are the Sony XB950N1 worth your money or worth an upgrade? Lets Find out.
Alright, lets talk money. The Sony XB950N1 are the new kid on the block and currently retail for around $250. They currently come in 2 color ways. You can get them in black or you can also get them in green. I personally really like that green one but i was only able to get the black ones. If you want to save some cash, you can also get the Sony XB950B1 for about $50 cheaper. You'll just be missing out on features like noise cancelation over all sound quality improvements, and a slightly longer battery life. I’ll have links in the description below so you can pick either one of these up.
Unboxing these actual ear phones is really nothing special. once you lift the lid for the box that came inside the box are the actual ear phones themselves, under the ear phones you’ll find some documentation a soft carrying case, an audio cable, and a usb cable. sadly theres no wall wart included, so you’ll have to use a usb slot on your computer or your own wall wart to charge these head phones up.
For people out there who have never seen the sony XB950N1 or XB950B1 in person just know these ear phones are huge. For the most part Over the ear head phones are big, but personally i think the Sony XB950N1 and B1 just take the cake. They're so big that when you put them on you can actually still see them in your peripheral vision. Concerning materials, the majority of these earphones is made up of plastic. there is some metal on the head band which does limit the flexibility a bit. just as you'd expect the padding on the ear cups is very soft. the padding also dosnt over heat after long listening sessions. the ear cups them selves swivel and pivot very smoothly. These ear phones are also now foldable which is a new feature that isn't found on last years model.
Connectivity wise, these ear phones are using bluetooth 4.1 and they’ll work just fine with almost any device. range on these guys is around 30 feet, 40 feet if you’re really lucky and have direct line of sight to what ever device you're streaming off of. Theres also an NFC contact patchon one of the ear cups so you can make set up a little easier if you have an android device. Personally, i would have really liked to have seen these ear phones come with a W1 chip instead. being able to switch between either of my apple devices so effortlessly has spoiled me. on the bottom of the left ear cup you'll find the power button, the bass effect button, (more on this in just a second) a micro usb slot, an audio jack input, and the noice cancelation button. On the bottom of the other head phone cup you’ll find a volume rocker and a play pause dongle. this little dongle does take some getting used to but i really like this concept. And When it comes to battery life you can expect to get around 22 hours of play back time if you're using them wirelessly and with noise cancellation on. if you listen to them with noise cancelation off and at a lower volume you will get a slightly longer battery life.
Although these ear phones are really big, they are still very light weight and comfortable to wear. The sound quality of these ear phones is vastly improved from the sound quality of the XB950B1. Although these ear phones are meant for people who absolutely love bass, these ear phones still sound good, period. vocals, mids lows and highs all sound very clear and these ear phones also have a very wide sound stage. And obviously, when it comes to bass these things sound like nothing out there on the market right now. the bass on these things is just this clear and clean thump that dosnt take away from the over all sound like other ear phones do. and when the bass really starts going on these ear phones, they're basically just massaging the side of your head. The best thing about these ear phones it that you can actually control the amount of bass from their smart phone app. Personally I like a little more bass so I’ve raised mine to 7. The app also lets you change the surround effect of your ear phones, but after playing with it I’m just going to keep that one off. It just really distorts the sound for me.
I also wore these ear phones on a plane a few days ago and found the noise cancelation to be very good. everything from the air plane cabin noise to traffic, and even just people in terminals was filtered out nicely. I also noticed that the noise cancelation on the XB950N1 didn't give me any kind of head ache after awhile like the Bose QC35 do. I have asked other people if they get head aches from wearing the QC35 and for the most part they said no, so i guess I'm just a special special snowflake. The extra bass feature on these ear phones is not just great for music, but its also just as good for action movies. action scenes and explosions just come to life and its almost like you're there, except not getting shot at.
Like i mentioned earlier these ear phones also came included with a carrying case, an audio cable and a micro usb cable. if you decide to use your ear phones wired, you can still benefit from the bass boost goodness. Also in order to get a full charge on these ear phones its gonna take about 7 hours. concerning the carrying case, I'm a little disappointed. you really just get a bag that dosnt do much of anything.
Over all the Sony XB950N1 is a big imporvment over the XB950B1. They sound better, their noise cancellation is very descent, they have a 22 hour battery life, and being able to control their bass level is a very welcomed feature. A few critiques i need to point out are the buttons on these ear phones. since they're flush with the surface it can be a little hard to know what youre pressing. I would have also liked to see some type of quick charging feature on these ear phones. and like i mentioned ealirer, i would have liked to have seen these ear phones come with a W1 chip instead. But besides that, these ear phones are great for people who really love bass, listen to a lot of hip hop, techno and R&B or like to watch a lot of action movies. These are up there in my top 3 favorite ear phones.
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