just saw the xba line up today. frankly speaking, i'm relieved to see their small sizes, especially the xba-4. very interesting design and pricing. too be honest, i think the price is comparable to most ba phones out there. the xba-1 is similarly priced as pl50 while the xba-2 (rm499) is cheaper than the brainwavz b2 (rm540). so, sony has made the pricing very competitive for the market (considering too, the sony hybrid tips that come with the 'phones). a good move for them.

regarding sony 'phones sound quality, well they have always make products for the masses. still, they do produce good quality headphones from time to time. they are no technics, mind but i used to own a v5 and love my time with it. very costly too at that time. silly money, true, but then again, how many have heard of audio technica back in 2001? senn and shure are pro equipment maker, same goes for beyer while the china made oems, well, let's not talk about them. so we have sony, aiwa, panasonic and a few other choices. all from the mass market manufacturers.

exposures (internet especially) made us realised there are tons of options out there, better ones too. but i have to agree with nordingh, without sony (and aiwa), i would not have fell in love with music as much as i am now. heck, those countless walkmans and discmans that i have used and destroyed. all served me well to the end of they life. =)

try sony style klcc. usually they have a test unit for each of the 'phones they sell. in fact, all the staffs are required to listen to each 'phones so they can actually know the difference between them (so they can they can sell them according to customer's need). well, that was how i was trained back when i do part time there.

hmmm. based on cyloh impression, these don't sound that good at all. guess they're meant for the commercial market? still haven't had a chance to personally try them. would like to compare the xb2 to my b2, honestly.

cyloh, where did you go to test them? klcc? i need to go and have them in my ears. soon. ;D

nope, you're not and you might just be the target market that sony are looking for. something bassy but at the same time wanting a bit more clarity than usual.

i did manage to test the xba series yesterday. for me, i had to agree with most of the previous impressions about the series, especially the xba2, which i check slighter closer since i want to compare it with the brainwavz b2.

to put it in a few words, veiled and bassy. perhaps sony might have decided to pumped the woofer to bring out the bass to compensate the usually 'thin sounding' signature of balanced armature. i personally found it to be uncontrolled and bloated. while it might suits modern music such as hiphop or electronica, those who want to listen to guitar licks, tight bass and clear vocal might might be sorely disappointed. damien rice's volcano sounded lost and confused with the xba2. with the b2, i love to hear the guitar pluckings, the violin's crackles and all the small details which were lost with the xba2. they are not truly terrible 'phones, these sonys, but just not my taste, i guess.

This post has been edited by artwork1504: Mar 17 2012, 12:28 PM