Sony MDR-XD300 Stereo Headphones

I was looking to upgrade my headphones from my old JVC. I bought this headphones after reviewing serveral different models. I was little skeptical about purchasing headphones with only 40mm driver unit, however I was immediately blown away by its music reproducing capability after using it shortly. I would list pros and cons style to review this headphones.Pros: 1)Wider Dynamic Range, 8Hz to 25KHz, 2)104dB/mW sensitivity, 3)8.2ft cord length, another 8.2ft of extension cord included (total cord length is 16.4 ft), 4)Stereo mini jack to Stereo mini plug adapter included, 5)Sound Mode select switch allows reproduction of the sound to give appropriate sound effect (music or movie). 6)High power neodymium magnetCons: 1)Bulky, 2)Only 16.4ft cord length (including extension cord), 3)No storage case,Overall, at the price Amazon.com is selling it, it is a very nice bargain. I have found few websites, selling this model for $60 while at Amazon, I found it for $38.

- The movie/music switch does nothing.- Sound quality is inferior to Sennheisers in the same price range.- Sony's customer service is horrible so expect to be disrespected when your phones break.- Casing is humongous and basically hollow. I'm assuming the casing is so big because it gives off a "cool" look, and that's exactly what Sony's good at. It ticks me off when Sony adds unnecessary plastic when the drivers inside the headphones can probably be packed into some regular street-style headphones. Take a look inside the cushion and see how small the actual drivers are.Thanks Amazon for letting me return these.Update: I love the haters. Keep spending your money on well-marketed, low-quality trash. It's very, very good for the economy. Think about it! Your idiocy is creating jobs!! =]=]

Sony continues their long-standing tradition of mixed-bag headphone design with the new MDR-XD300's.It's hard to miss the fact that these headphones offer 40mm drivers for less than $40. That's a first for any headphone manufacturer, and Sony's greatest successes in the headphone arena have been with 40mm units (the now-legendary 7506 and V6 'phones, both of which list for $100), so on paper this looks like a huge bang-for-the-buck deal.And harder to miss is size - these headphones are large on a 70's-era helicopter pilot scale. The chrome accent earcups with large vinyl pads could easily swallow a toddler's head. But a closer inspection reveals a well thought out design engineered with all the complex detail of a suspended-deck bridge. The headband hinges on the earcups by means of sprung double suspension arms. The drivers are angled inwards to better face the ear. Even the cloth-weave cord is a thoughtful and retro touch.The next surprise comes when you actually pick the XD300's up. Despite the intimidating dimensions, weight-wise they give the impression of hollow paper. Weighing in at just nine ounces, it's clear from the outset that these are long term listening headphones. The soft rubber headband rests gently atop your head, and the overstuffed earcup pads are comfortable pretty much however you place them. It's easy to forget you have these on after a few minutes, with even the possibility of falling asleep with them on.But the first listening impression brings the last surprise, and it's not a good one. The sound is somewhat muffled and "distant"; Yo Yo Ma is sitting with his back facing the audience. The lead singer of The Killers has placed the mic in the corner of the room and is singing from the opposite corner. Symphony recordings have been made with the mic laying on the floor many rows back. The problem is equalization - the low end is fine, bass notes come through with chest-thumping authority, but there's a sudden sharp rise at the low midrange, with a slow decline thereafter, the rest of the highs dulled. The end result is the illusion of muffled distance, making any source sound as though it's not properly produced/engineered.This is nothing a modest-sized EQ can't fix. A slightly less-bassy, more-high "rock" scooped EQ curve (For the technical: Leaving everything alone below 200hz, compensating with a -5db drop around 600Hz and rising slowly thereafter to about +5db at 16k) will reward the patient knob-turner with a fantastic listening experience. Gone is the dull distance, replaced with dead-on accurate bass and highs, a giant sound stage, and overall the kind of sound deserving of the "Studio Monitor" name.Therein lies the rub with the XD300's; despite their lightweight comfort and how easily they can be driven by an iPod or portable, any source without a decent EQ is not an option. You can't simply plug and play these headphones into any random device you want to hear. There's only a small percentage of people who use and know EQs who will be able to get the most out of the XD300's, hence the two-star rating.

The sound was just okay. It felt pretty cheaply made but it was comfortable enough. Would I buy this again, no.

I'm not an audiophile, so I don't know the difference between the different specs of this model vs. others. But here is what I can tell you:-They sound good. They are exactly what I expected for this price range. Very clear sound and good bass. Good for gaming. Now I can turn the volume up a bit and not worry about waking my family. As soon I did so, I heard all kinds of subtle background noises in the game. Actually, to be technically accurate, I didn't have to turn the dial up, I actually turned it down, because the audio through the headphones was much more efficient than through the speakers. I don't know why this happens, but you get what I'm trying to say. I heard more at a lower volume.-They are very comfortable. This is important for those of you out there with big heads. As you can see from all the reviews posted here, nobody has complained about a tight fit, which is a very common problem with headphones. These fit nicely over the ear and don't press too hard.-The only down side to this model is the goofy design. You will look like a total nerd, so I use these at home for my gaming computer, not at work, where I would be hounded mercilessly by my co-workers. If you don't care about that, then I would be tempted to give them 5 stars.