PROS
- Comfortable
- Tangle-free wire
- Superb bass
- Great build quality
- Loud
CONS
- Limited sound detail
VERDICT
The ideal owner of the MDR-XB50AP is someone who has his or her fair share of experience with cheaper bass headphones and is ready to move up in quality. The higher price of these earbuds is completely justified, given how immensely enjoyable their bass reproduction is. What’s more, Sony is known for their great build quality, so you don’t have to worry about the headphones surviving at the bottom of your gym bag.
Lightweight bass headphones are often sought after by fitness enthusiasts who are looking for a way how to make their workouts more enjoyable. The MDR-XB50AP from Sony are one of the most popular earbuds with powerful bass.
Design and Build Quality
The design of the MDR-XB50AP is very typical for Sony. The company likes to combine metal design with stylish plastic accents to create something that is both durable and good looking. Comfort is provided by hybrid silicone earbuds of four different sizes.
The durable, 1.2-meter flat cord is designed to reduce tangles. It has a built-in microphone for hands-free phone conversations. We were really pleased with the performance of the microphone. The microphone allowed us to communicate even while wearing the earbuds inside a loud gym.
Another neat addition is the inclusion of a small button for music playback control. By pushing the button, you can answer a phone call or play/pause your music.
Sound Quality
Bass headphones from Sony have quite a bit of reputation for being relatively well-mannered but equally capable of accurately reproducing sub-bass sounds. We can confirm that the same is true for the MDR-XB50AP. The bass is there when it should be, but it doesn’t creep into mids, as is the case with so many other bass headphones.
The only negative about the sound quality is the lack of detail in higher part of the frequency spectrum. It’s not something that you would notice during regular listening, but if you really pay a close attention to the sound, it becomes obvious that the headphones lack a certain spark.
Thanks to the relatively deep insertion, the passive noise isolation is quite high and sound leakage is non-existent. Taking the headphones with you on a bus makes for a very relaxing ride and keeps the people around you happy even if you take advantage of the high volume the MDR-XB50AP are capable of.
We have stumbled upon online reviewers who were complaining about microphonics, but our own testing denies such claims. No matter how hard we tried, we were simply unable to reproduce the issue.
What’s in the Box
The packaging of the Sony MDR-XB50AP Extra Bass Earbuds includes 4 different sizes of replaceable eartips, cord adjuster, carry pouch, instruction, and warranty card.
