Headphone News

At Sony's press conference we got some info on some of their headphones, but mainly got to check out their new line of bass-boosting headphones. The Sony Extra Bass Headphones, as they are called, consist of the over-ear MDRXB300s, MDRXB500s, and MDRXB700s, and the in-ear MDRXB20EX and MDRXB40EX headphones.

The headphones have gigantic, pillowy cup padding. Our choice of adjective in the previous sentence was not mere whimsy: the headphones actually feel like a pair of pillows being gently held against your head. The sound is another story though. If you like bass, then these are definitely the headphones for you, but in our 100% subjective opinion, the bass was crazy loud and more than a little boomy. It overshadowed a lot of the mids. The 'Extra Bass Headphones' are named thusly for a reason.

Here's a front view of the headphones on a clear plastic head.
 

A side view of the headphones. Note how the ear cups
look gigantic.
 

Here's a slightly angled shot. Note the puffiness of the padding.
 

Seriously, these things are comfortable.

Here's a close-up of the sides. The cord meets the cup at a solid junction.

The cord is actually flat. We're not 100% sure on why they're bucking hundreds of
thousands of years of round cable traditionalism, but we really see no problem with it.

This is a shot of the headphones off the mannequin head.

This is the fist picture in a two picture series that aims to convey a sense of scale for
the gigantic pads.

This is the second and final picture in a two picture series about the pads being big.
Hopefully this series of pictures have helped to convey a sense of scale.

The other headphones were also part of the Sony Extra Bass Headphone series, but didn't have any units available after the event. The MDRXB20EX and MDRXB40EX headphones will both be available in February for $40 and $60 respectively. The MDRXB20EX heradphones have a 9mm high sensitivity driver, a frequency response from 5-24,000Hz, a sensibility of 103dB/mV, a power handling capacity of 100mV, and a flat cord that's 3 feet, 11 inches long. The MDRXB40EXs will have a 13.5mm driver, run 2-24,00Hz, have a 105dB/mV sensitivity, and can handle up to 100mV.