Sony is continuing to wow its customers with its audio gadgets aimed at delivering top quality sounds. The latest is the Bluetooth enabled wireless headphones MDR – XB950B1. These headphones were already showcased by Sony at the CES 2017 event.
Many adjustments and personalisation with a Bass-led audio delivery are the highlights of these headphones. A closer look at the different functionalities of this latest offering from Sony is as follows.
To start with, the company recommends that the MDR – XB950B1 headsets should be paired with smartphones for the best experience. The review, highlights of which are presented here, was done by connecting the headphone to a smartphone only.
Though the headphone appears a little oversized for its function, it does feel comfortable to wear and use. The padding is thick and the overall design features appear top draw.
In terms of the control buttons and provisions, most of them follow Sony’s standard practice.
Thus the left hand side receiver has:
- Power button
- Bass –effect adjustments
- Micro-USB Charging port
- 3.5mm Audio input jack and the
- Mic for making and receiving calls
The right cup has the volume adjustment and play back/fast forward controls.
The device can be charged to the full in about four hours and a single charge can up to 18 hours of use. Even if you run out of charge while on the go, the MDR – XB950B1 headset is supplied with an audio cable so that you are never inconvenienced.
Bass dominated sound delivery
As mentioned, Sony appears to have deliberately designed this MDR – XB950B1 headset with bass as the main controlling factor while synthesising and delivering the sounds through the ear cups. Therefore certain types of music may not come through as clearly as you would have desired. Where the original music score itself has more bass emphasis, it will sound excellent on this headset. Hip-hop music is a case in point.
A lot of improvements in the quality of the music you listen to using these headphones can be made by using the compatible app that you can download on your smartphone and then do the fine-tuning from there to enjoy the real quality of the Sony MDR – XB950B1 headphone. The app has the equaliser function as well.
Even while using the phone to attend to call on the wireless headset it seemed to deliver good voice quality even at some distance, establishing that the Bluetooth connection is quite reliable. However there is only one hitch here. If the battery is down, then the mic attached to the headset fails to function and the headset becomes useless to receive calls.
The overall expert opinion arising out of this review is that the Sony MDR – XB950B1 wireless Bluetooth headphone for smartphones is quite acceptable in terms of its overall performance. However in terms of its utility across the board, the suggestion is it is not one of those devices that everybody can buy and use, particularly at the price levels it is being sold at.
As indicated, the price of the MDR – XB950B1 headset is Rs 13, 990. Probably there are some offers going around and you can pick up one for a little less.