Looking at the sales of JBL headphones and the success of Sony Extra Bass models in Sony, we thought and decided to make a separate line of headphones for basheads. A feature of the series are powerful, rolling basses that make their way even through the street noise and the clatter of wheels in the subway. This is the main selection criterion, and everything else is secondary. Therefore, in the ranks of Extra Bass, you can find headphones of all the most popular formats — from full-format overhead models of open and closed type to traditional vacuum headphones and wireless models for sports. This wealth of choice is best illustrated by the two most prominent and beloved members of this family ― MDR XB50AP and MDR-XB550AP.


The Sony MDR XB50AP model belongs to the class of in-channel vacuum headphones with a classic 3.5mm audio cable. They use unusual 12-mm neodymium speakers with increased sensitivity and the ability to reproduce a low-frequency register from 4 Hz. Actually, the marking XB ("extra-bass") directly tells us about this. The basses in them are really powerful, "juicy" and rolling, fans of hip-hop and electronics appreciated them. But for connoisseurs of jazz and orchestrations, they are categorically prohibited due to the fact that the bass protruding to the foreground reduces the readability of medium frequencies.

The second place in the audience choice contest is taken by the Sony MDR-XB550AP model. These are unusually cheap closed-type overhead headphones with a massive arch-headband. By the standards of the class "up to $60" XB550AP are made very, very soundly: the base of the headband is made of metal, the plastic on the cups is pleasant to the touch and not too branded, and the ear pads remember the shape of the owner's head. And they look great, if you don't know the exact price, you can easily confuse them with more expensive models of the company. Well, they sound the same as other members of the Extra Bass family — there is a lot of bass, it is thick and powerful, but sometimes it overshadows the rest of the picture.