Summary – Sony XB950N1 Review
The Sony XB950N1 Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones have a reputation for solid bass performance. These headphones allow you to stream music wirelessly from your mobile device and also have pretty good active noise cancellation for a relaxing listening experience. The XB950N1s are geared towards extra bass production – if you love bass heavy music genres including electronic dance music, pop and hip-hop, these headphones are definitely for you. It comes with NFC Bluetooth streaming for automatic connection to your mobile device and LDAC. We liked the fact that you can also adjust your sound settings with the Sony Connect app. The headphones are designed to produce full-range frequency response and also come equipped with enough battery life for you to listen to music for hours on end. The XB950N1s also support both wired and wireless music modes and you can switch between them if the battery power has run low. Overall, the Sony XB950N1s are a really solid set of Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones with really powerful bass response and are ideal for music lovers that want more bass with their music.
The Pros & Cons
The Pros. The Sony XB950N1s excel in terms of bass performance and deliver tight low end bass that can rattle your head. It is the perfect noise cancellation headphone for bass-lovers and it also supports both wired and wireless connections.
The Cons. The price of the Sony XB950N1s is on the slightly steeper range.
Sound Performance
The sound performance on the Sony XB950N1s is really good – it produces deep immersive sound that you can hear and feel. They can get really loud and produce no distortion at maximum volume levels. While the bass response and low-end frequencies are clearly enhanced, the SX950N1s do not sacrifice on the midrange clarity. The treble ranges are also well-defined and smooth. When we streamed music from our mobile device to the XB950Ns, it sounded well-balanced with great depth with no audible loss in sound quality. Instrumental music sounded really crisp – and with the noise cancellation switched on – it produces a really good soundstage that makes you feel as though you are sitting in a real life concert hall. Electronic dance music was outright punchy and very fun to listen to – the bass stays where it should be as bass and does not flood into the midrange frequencies. Classical jazz music sounded smooth in the upper midrange frequencies. We did not experience any harshness while listening to the XB950N1s. That being said, we felt that the sound performance on these headphones sounded much better with the active noise cancellation turned on in wireless mode.
Design
The Sony XB950N1s have a really solid and sturdy design – it is made of high quality plastic construction that feels durable. It has a fully folding headphone design with rotating ear cans and soft ear padding that goes around the ear. While these headphones are comfortable to wear, they may exert some degree of clamping force on your head which make take some time to get used to. The N1 headphones have pretty good noise cancellation and can block out ambient background noise and reduce conversational noises, which is great if you need a pair of headphones to focus on your work. The XB950N1s have really good battery life that can last for hours on end on a single charge; the active noise cancellation can be switched on or off depending on your preferences. It also allows you to connect a 3.5mm auxiliary cable for wired connection when the battery power is low. We liked the fact that you can also optimize your sound settings with the Sony Connect app depending on your musical preferences. If you like deeper bass response for your music, the Sony XB950N1s are definitely the ones to get.
The Verdict?
The Sony XB950N1s are built for solid bass performance and deliver really good noise cancellation. It comes with Bluetooth 4.0 for you to stream music wirelessly to the headphones directly from your mobile device, and supports NFC connectivity for automatic connectivity. The active noise cancellation works like a charm and can block out most ambient background noises and reduce conversational sounds – this makes them really good if you need a set of headphones to focus on your work. The headphones are very comfortable to wear with soft, thick padding that goes around the ear. It also comes with nice buttons on the side for you to pause, play or change soundtracks which makes it convenient to adjust the sound settings. The sound quality that you get with these headphones is crisp and detailed – music performances sounded crystal clear, with great attention to detail. It also emphasizes the bass and lower-midrange frequencies which makes listening to bass-heavy music genres an enjoyable experience. Overall, it’s a solid set of Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones that delivers really good sound performance for bass lovers and we highly recommend them.
Be sure to check out our top picks for the best noise cancelling earbuds that deliver really crisp sound performance with active noise cancellation on the go.