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I’m a bass head, plain and simple. thats why the Sony XB950N1 are my go to headphones. And if you watched my last video youll know I like the sony MDR-1000X over the Bose QC35 mainly because they sound better and I really like the ambient sound features. But some people have asked me is if they should get the XB950N1 or the 1000X. So which are right for you? we’re about to find out! Don't forget to like comment and subscribe and you can watch some of my other videos here after you're done watching this video.
Almost everything in Sony’s Line Up is on sale which is just awesome. When they first came out the Sony XB950N1 they retailed for $249.99 and they went on sale for $178 but at the time of the this recording you can get them for as low as $124.99. Thats insane! And you've got two colors to choose from, black or green. The Sony MDR-1000X is also on sale, they used to retail for $399.99 and last week they were on sale for $328 but right now they’re on sale for $298. I don't know how long these prices will last, but if you want to pick either of these headphones up I’ll have links in the description below and I’ll keep them updated so you can get the best deal possible.
For starters lets address the designs of these headphones. They're both mainly made out of plastic, they have the same metal headbands, the material of the faux leather ear cups and headbands feel exactly the same, they can both be laid flat and they both fold up. But you will notice the XB950N1 are much larger and bulkier than the 1000X. The Sony XB950N1 are so large that you can actually see them in your perifial vision. The 1000X on the other hand have a much more subtle design and they are much more low profile. The Sony 1000X basically are much more professional looking. And although these are both very comfortable headphones to wear I would pick the 1000X over the XB950N1 for two very small reasons. The first reason is because the cut out in the ear cup is larger on the 1000X than the 950N1 so they don't press on my earlobes while i wear them. And the second reason is because since the 1000X have much less padding than the 950N1 they don't warm your ears up as much. But like i said, these are both very comfortable to wear but I'm just being nit picky and as objective as possible.
Another main feature of these headphones is the active noise cancelation. And although the active noise cancellation on the Sony XB950N1 is decent, its no where near as good as on the 1000X. If you're going to be commuting or traveling a lot the 1000X is the way to go. they can handle airplane, bus, or city noise much better than the XB950N1. The Noise cancelation on the XB950N1 is only worth using in a quieter environment like coffee shops, the office, or at home.
And not to mention, the 1000X also feature ambient sound settings. Theres ambient sound normal where the head phones will pump in all of the surrounding sound in, this is a good feature to have if you're walking in the city. Then theres ambient sound voice, the headphones will block out the majority of the surrounding sound and will only let in people’s voices. this feature is good to have if you work in an office and your boss is asking you for those useless TPS reports. And then theres your standard noise cancelation setting where they will block out everything. where as with the XB950N1 you can only turn noise cancelation on or off. And with the Sony 1000X if you cover the touchpad on the right ear cup the headphones will lower the volume of what ever you're listening to and let in all of the outside sound so if someone is talking to you can hear them without taking off the headphones. this by far is my favorite feature.
And speaking of the touch pad, you control your music play back on the 1000X by double tapping to play or pause your music, you swipe front or back to skip of go back a track, you swipe up or down to adjust the volume and you can press and hold to active siri. its easy to use and its very accurate. in order to control your music playback on the XB950N1 you just use the rocker found on the right ear cup. its easy to find and very straight forward as well. I just wish the volume rocker on the 950N1 was textured so its easier to find.
concerning tech specs, both of these headphones are using bluetooth 4.1 and they both have a range of around 40 feet with direct line of sight. When it comes to battery life the XB950N1 is good for 22 hours and the 1000X is good for 20 hours. And thats when they're being used wirelessly and with noise cancelation turned on. If you use these headphones at lower volumes, or with noise cancelation turned off or with a wired connection then you'll be able to get longer battery lives out of them. But just know both of these headphones take a while to charge back up. In order to go from zero to one hundred on the XB950N1 its going to take 7 hours while with the 1000X its going to take 4 hours. And neither one of them feature fast charging.
The biggest difference between these two headphones is sound quality. The Sony 1000X is made for easy listening and theres enough bass to will keep the average person happy. compared to the 950N1 the 1000X has a wider sound stage with more depth and much less distortion in the highs. The sound on the XB950N1 is a little more forward and the instrument separation isn't as good but these things are made for bass. They will ratel your head and I love it. they also get much louder, so if you're looking for something to really jam out with then the XB950N1 are the way to go.
And with the Sony XB950N1 you can control the bass though Sony’s headphones. And like i’ve said in the past, sony’s mobile apps aren't the best but the headphones app is pretty stable. through the app you can raise or lower the amount of bass the XB950N1 have and personally I like to keep mine on 7. You can also change the surround sound setting so you can feel like youre in an arena, club, or concert hall… put personally I just keep this feature off. And you can also turn off noise canceling on the headphones but you can also do that from the NC button on the headphones themselves.
And finally the last two main differences on these headphones are the included carrying cases. With the Sony MDR-1000X you get a hard shell carrying case and with the XB950N1 you just get a soft shell carrying case. obviously the hard shell case will offer more protection than the soft shell one. Also you get a plane adaptor with the 1000X and you get a better quality audio cable. where as with the XB950N1 you get a slightly cheaper cable and no plan adaptor.
So which are right for you… well if you want something with a lot of bass and still sound great I would go the XB950N1. and not to mention they’re a steal at $125. But if you're going to be traveling a lot and you need something with better noise isolation and something more low profile then get the 1000X. basically the Sony 1000X have far superior noise isolation and the XB950N1 are made for people who love bass and listen to a lot of hip hop, rap, R&B, and EDM. I just wish both of these headphones had quick charging and I would like to see Sony improve on the ear cups on XB950N1 and make the ear cups on the 1000X more breathable. But at the end of the day the XB950N1 are still my go to headphones.