MDR-XB950BT/B Extra Bass Boost Bluetooth Headset

The MDR-XB950BT/B is a wide, adjustable closed-back type of headband headset that completely covers your ears to minimize background noise and give you a studio like sound environment. You can operate it as a  wireless headband headset via Bluetooth or using the supplied cord as a fixed headset. The MDR-XB950BT/B features large dome driver (speaker) units with electronic bass boot and active noise cancellation. With the XB950BT you have the convenience of answering calls and managing your playlists wirelessly through its Bluetooth feature.

 

 

 

 

 

Full tech Specs of the MDR-XB950BT/B Bluetooth Headset

40 mm, dome Driver unit

The dome drivers adopted by Sony particularly for this MDR-XB950BT/B headset respond virtually flawlessly across the entire audio signal range of 20-20kHz. Their size allows them to reproduce perfect and high quality low frequency notes giving you a studio sound experience. 

MDR-XB950BT/B Sensitivity

Sensitivity of a headphone is a measure of how loud a headphone is if a given level of an audio source is impressed at its input terminals. It shows how effectively a given headphone converts an input audio voltage into an acoustic or sound signal. Sensitivity is normally stated as Sound Pressure Level (SPL) in dB (decibels) per mW(milli watt) or SPL dB/mW.
The MDR-XB950BT/B is rated at 102dB/mW sensitivity using the supplied cord. This means it produces an acoustic signal of 102dB of Sound Pressure Level if 1 mW of an audio signal is impressed at its terminals. Please note that, sensitivity is not linear! For instance doubling the power of the input audio signal to 2 mW does not double the SPL to say 204dB. The engineering and mathematics involved is beyond the scope of this article. 
Typical headphone sensitivity ranges between 80dB/mW to 125dB/mW. The higher this value is, the louder a given headset will be for a given input and the converse is true.

 

Extended Comfort

The lush, wrap around ear cushions provide a seal out for background noise while allowing for a comfortable listening experience for extended periods.

Frequency Response a.k.a Bandwidth 

The MDR-XB950BT/B gives an almost linear response for frequencies between 3Hz and 28kHz using the supplied cord while the effective frequency range in Bluetooth mode is 20-20kHz. All frequencies outside this range are severely attenuated or marginally reproduced. The large frequency response range is attributable to the large (40mm) dome drivers adopted for this headset. However, this choice sacrifices the higher tweeter-like and woofer-like amplification gains you would experience if different drivers were adopted for this purpose. Sony cleverly 'outwits' this drawback using a specially designed Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to electronically boost the low frequency response (Electronic Bass Boost).

Electronic Bass Boost 

This is a feature built into the MDR-XB950BT/B in which a DSP designed with special audio codecs remarkably improves the low-end bass response of headphones. The DSP produces club-like music with enhanced bass by a mere press of a Bass Boost Button.

Supported Audio File Formats

• SBC codec support

 All Bluetooth devices are designed to support SBC codec by default. SBC is a low complexity and medium bit rate sub-band codec for the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) which was specified by the Special Interest Group (SIG) for data transfer between Bluetooth devices. It was specified to optimally utilize the limited Bluetooth bandwidth and additionally, conform to the low power data transmission constraints.

• AAC codec support

• aptX codec support

General

• Can be used as a wireless headband headset with Bluetooth on or as a fixed headset using the supplied detachable cord.
• The MDR-XB950BT/B has an Active Noise Control switch on the on ear-cup
• Gold-plated stereo mini plug

Hardware

• Omni directional, electret condenser microphone. An electret is a stable dielectric with a permanent electrostatic charge. The effective operational frequency range of the microphone is from 100 Hz - 4,000 Hz.
• Detachable stereo connecting cord
• Micro-USB charging cable
• Remote Control : Via Bluetooth AVRCP: Play, Pause, FF, FR, Volume +/-, Bass Boost on/off

Power

• Built-in Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
• Battery Life (Approx) : Continuous music playback: up to 20 hours; Continuous communications: up to 20 hours; Standby time: up to 200 hours
• Battery Charging (Approx) : Appox. 4 hours for full charge
• Power Handling Capacity : 1000 mW using supplied stereo cord
• Power Consumption in Operation : 1.5 W

Speaker (Driver unit)

Sony adopted the 40mm dome type dynamic closed speakers for the MDR-XB950BT/B with measured impedance of  24 ohms at 1 kHz using supplied cable. When we speak of impedance of a headset we mean the measure of opposition to the flow of an audio signal current through the speaker circuit.

Weights and Measurements

• Cord Length (Approx.) : 1.2m Headphone cable,  0.5m micro-USB cable for battery charging
• Weight (Approx.) : 10 oz. (280 g) without cord

Wireless features

• The Bluetooth version adopted for MDR-XB950BT/B is version 3.0 and operates in the 2.4 GHz band (2.4000 GHz-2.4835 GHz). It uses Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) techniques to data transmission.
• It uses the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) for audio streaming with a transmission range of 20-20kHz and line of sight of 30 ft or 10 m.
• The MDR-XB950BT/B has the NFC capability for Bluetooth pairing.

Buying guide

• This headband headset is relatively priced; going for $199.9 as compared to similar premium sound headsets that can very easily go for as much as $600. The MDR-XB950BT is a compromise between professional studio application and an ordinary usage.