Sony shows bass-heavy earphones, PC speakers
updated 02:35 pm EST, Sat January 10, 2009
Sony MDR-XB and Speakers
One of the final components of Sony's CES 2009 launches includes sweeping changes to its digital audio offerings, starting with its headphones. The MDR-XB series is the company's first to stress bass and contain drivers skewed towards dance and urban music. Three earcup models, the XB300, XB500 and XB700, have drivers between 30mm and 50mm in size and are cushioned for long listening sessions. The XB20EX and XB40EX are in-ear models and contain drivers between 9mm and 13.5mm.
All of the MDR-XB devices ship in February and come at prices of $50, $80 and $130 for the over-ear models while the in-ear examples sell for $40 and $60.
A handful of PC speakers has been unveiled at the same time. The SRS-Z50 at $50 is the starter model and offers basic two-channel sound; the SRS-Z100 adds three discrete speakers per channel for $100; the SRS-D25 moves to a stylized 2.1-channel setup for $70; and the SRS-DF30 ($200) adds a built-in FM radio. All of the computer speakers arrive in March.
MDR-XB40EX
SRS-Z100
SRS-D25
SRS-DF30
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2001
FI-DEL-I-TY
I really f-ing object to the idea that speakers/headphones should be tailored to "suit" specific music types. Sound reproduction should be about accurate reproduction of the recording, as the sound engineer intended. The sound engineer has decided how much bass the music should have. Good headphones or speakers can reproduce that accurately. There is no need to "improve" on the recording.
For the same reason I disapprove of equalization for music type. An EQ should only be used to correct flaws in the speaker and listening environment.
A good pair of headphones should reproduce classical 100% as accurately as rap or heavy metal.
The emphasis on "bass boosting" will result in engineers adjusting for that effect, which will further degrade accurate reproduction.