Design and features:The MDR-XB650BT has an integrated microphone and volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls for use with paired Bluetooth devices, optional NFC Bluetooth pairing, and earcups that swivel to flat for ease of carrying and storage. This model comes with a USB charging cable.
Sound quality: We found the MDR-XB650BT delivers sound quality that falls in the fair range, meaning that it has sonic shortcomings that leave a lot to be desired when listening to music but don't rule it out for dialog and communication. The overall sound can best be summarized as overwhelmingly bassy. Bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) goes deep, but has exaggerated impact, is extremely prominent and boomy, and overwhelms the midrange and treble. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is fairly even, but is somewhat soft, congested (think sonic traffic jam), and dark (there is an opaqueness that covers up fine detail). The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is dull overall and the upper treble is muted. While the sound has a good sense of liveliness in the bass region, the midrange and treble are a bit dead, it is closed-in -- sound-wise it is obvious that you have something covering your ears.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a moderately light sense of pressure on the ears. The ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. When wearing this model while walking the vibrations from each foot step can be heard through the headphones.
