8 Best Bass Earbuds in 2023 (with deep powerful bass)

34 Comments

1. iem-ologic

   7:51 PM - Aug 19, 2015

   Has to be XB90EX..
   i have owned a good bunch of flagship killer budget iems..from soundmagic to Vsonic to brainwavz.
   but when it comes to bass..it was always XB90EX. Its the cleanest of em all with nice scoop of sub bass to lick for and a bigger soundstage 😉
   PS: except SE535s

   Reply

2. McKlimm

   2:59 AM - Sep 1, 2015

   Hey guys,
   I’ve purchased the Sony #1 earbuds from Amazon and got them delivered today.
   Because of your review.
   Huuge disappointment.
   Same model #, import from Japan – and almost NO bass ?
   Mids and Highs squeezed ’till kingdom comes.
   Ever heard of Sure 535 or JBL200i ?
   I own both of them.
   Comparing the Sonys to my JBLs right now – and they are worlds apart.
   Galaxies.
   Bass-wise it’s JBL (1), Sure (2) ……and Sony (faar away).
   Regards.

   Reply

   1. Kennyball

      6:12 AM - Dec 1, 2015

      Are you kidding me? SE535? Its bass is shallow and farty. I did have a pair of SE535 but then ditched it for good. I now have the SE846, the JH Audio Layla and the Noble Audio Kaiser K-10, but none of these $1,000 flagships has bass that comes close to that of the XB90EX. ‘Nuff said.

      Reply

   2. Rich

      7:45 PM - Jan 9, 2016

      Check your fit. I’ve had plenty of TOTL IEMS, and these are up there with the best of them. Also, adding an amp helps tremendously with the Sony Xb90ex.

      Reply

      1. Bungeecord

         2:51 AM - May 31, 2023

         What is TOTL IEMS?

         Reply

         1. Matija Ferjan

            11:58 AM - May 31, 2023

            ToTL IEMs stands for “Top of The Line In-Ear Monitors”.
            These are flagship models, the best you can get from a certain brand.

            Reply

   3. Thomas Quinn

      6:08 AM - Apr 25, 2016

      I had the same expierence. My xb50 made me want to purchase the xb90 and was so very disappointed the xb90’s arrived. I wonder if I am victim of fraud an received a knock off. My xb90 cannot sony the xb50’s. no warranty use?

      Reply

3. SerialAud

   9:34 AM - Sep 1, 2015

   Dude you don’t know what you’re talking about.
   Sony xb90ex have great bass… maybe you have bad fit.

   Besides, both your recommendations are more expensive, in fact Shure 535 are almost 500 bucks. btw, they are actually on this list if you cared to read it.

   Reply

4. canali

   8:53 PM - Jan 17, 2016

   great to hear these comments on this iem.

   question i must ask those who have the pricier iems ie noble, jh and others:
   we’re in an age when there are so many good sounding and bass adjustable iems
   out there: the trinity delta (and upcoming phantom) series…the flc 8s…etc.
   do those $1k plus iems warrant their prices? i’m interested, for example, in the newly
   released jh ‘liquid metal’ rosie, with adjustable bass…supposed to be similar in sound to their flagship jh13…but when there are the other cheaper iems as listed (and i guess we can expect even more this yr), i wonder if going that much $$$ is truly worth it…but to others it is….so i’d love to hear your feedback…thanks

   Reply

5. LolitaHolic

   10:00 PM - Jan 24, 2016

   No audio technica? seriously?
   I find ATH CKS77X as one of the best bass earbud with great detail that is rarely seen in most bass earbud
   I do think that XB90EX and most earbud on the list is great ,but looking at the price and quality cks77x is definitely best bang for your buck,worth to be in the top 5

   Reply

   1. Headphones Addict

      3:33 PM - Feb 3, 2016

      ATH CKS77X look promising, we are actually planning on reviewing them, it just takes some time to be sent to us since they are rather a new model.

      Reply

6. Charles

   4:01 PM - Feb 29, 2016

   Have you guys tried the Sony mdr-xb70ap? They are supposed to be better than the 50’s and from what I’ve been reading they are possibly better (stronger bass) than the xb90ex. I have a pair of the 70’s and I use poweramp app on my Samsung Galaxy 6 and I can say that they are pretty good bass wise. Poweramp makes a huge difference compared to using the standard built in equalizer, it feels like it actually is an amp especially when compared to a lot of the other equalizers. I consider myself a bass head and I’m not interested in super crisp highs, that actually hurts my ears. Did you guys use an amp or poweramp when testing the xb90ex (or any of the IEM’s mentioned for that matter). I’ve heard that they require that extra push to really get the bass pumping.

   Reply

   1. Headphones Addict

      1:36 PM - Mar 4, 2016

      Yes we try all models with amps, but mostly review the sound without since most people don’t use them and it wouldn’t be as useful to them.

      Generally any amplifier will always power up frequencies, especially with an equalizer. The recently released XB70AP look interesting, will probably test them soon.

      Reply

7. Coby L

   3:54 AM - Mar 25, 2016

   I haven’t tried most of the earbuds on your list, but I have tested ALOT of different inexpensive buds looking for decent audio under $25. So far, I have ended up with countless pairs of horrible sounding earbuds that end up in the trash or the huge pile of random wires, adapters and plugs that I hide away under the garage.
   I read an article online recommending Monoprice earphones and decided to give them a try, and at roughly $10 I wasn’t expecting much at all. I was blown away when I turned them up with some good drum & bass tracks. They dont look like much and are made of plastic but easily sound like $75 earphones quality-wise. They have 14mm drivers and are ported, and are nothing short of amazing for the price. I have used mine DAILY at work, and they haven’t broken yet, although I will stress that they are only made of plastic. They have different colors but get the silver ones, as they have fabric-wrapped cords.

   Reply

   1. Headphones Addict

      3:14 AM - Apr 4, 2016

      You probably tried the Monoprice IEMs we have reviewed in the budget earbuds article, they really are great value for the price.

      Reply

8. CPST1203

   9:20 PM - Apr 4, 2016

   Amazing review! I’m currently doing a report on earbuds and your reviews give the perfect information and descriptions needed.

   Reply

9. Ronald

   4:43 PM - May 19, 2016

   Good review, although I would probably recommend reviewing the Sennheiser IE800s or Westone W40s. They have much better and tougher bass than most earphones in this category.

   Reply

10. Hunter

    2:48 PM - Nov 17, 2016

    I have the xb50s, they have served me greatly and have really taken a beating(washed, chewed by dog, slammed constantly) and still sound just as good as when I got them 2 years ago… only issue is that my rubber earpiece has kept falling out (probably because they were mangled my a puppy) other than that the mic is good, control buttons a lil finicky but works, and sound is great-also amazing price- I bought them at hhgregg and I have to say they were well worth it

    Reply

11. Morgan Giovaninni

    9:13 AM - Mar 5, 2017

    First let me thank you for the wonderful presentation, The one page scrolling site is easy to navigate fast informative and straight forward. On a scale of 1 to 10 i give it a solid 8. Why and 8 and not a 9 or 10? Almost immediately it became evident that the presentation was not going to offer any comparisons regarding the product specifications. This is particularly important to me especially when shopping for something as specific as quality bass in an audio product. Specifically the products dynamic range, THD, Dbl, Ohm and number and size of drivers. When i first scrolled to the Pro heading i thought I had found what i was looking for. Next time. Thanks for all the great work. I read through all of them.

    Reply

    1. Headphonersaddict

       1:43 PM - Mar 7, 2017

       Thank you for your review.

       What kind of product specifications would you like to compare?

       Reply

12. Luca Vella

    6:58 AM - Sep 19, 2017

    First of all, thanks for the wonderful article which i
    really enjoyed to read, but the end, i’m still stuck chosing some new earbuds, not for not enough details, but for some “doubts” i hope you can help me to resolve.
    I’m coming from a really fantastic experience with a pair of Sennheiser CX 275s, which after about 2 years broke up.
    Firstly i wanted to remain on Sennheiser because of the amazing experience, but then i decided to give a try to Sony, so i ordered 2 pairs of Sony which I’m trying these days: XB50AP and EX650AP. Amazing fit and materials for the second ones, which is more “stable”, unlike first ones which are more “basshead” oriented. But anyway, something is not convincing me. I’m still wondering about Sennheiser that i want to try, and after so I’m even more stuck to one point, so here it is the question i’ll be glad to know a response by you: did you try the CX 3.00 and also compared it with the CX 300 ii? If you tried them, can you kindly tell me some opinions on those pairs? I’m asking so because i already looked around but finding no answers, if not just some “generics”.
    Thanks 🙂

    Reply

    1. Headphonersaddict

       11:14 AM - Sep 19, 2017

       Hi Luca,

       I think you got the bug so many of us have. 🙂 Once you start appreciating good earbuds you’ll want to keep getting new ones.

       But yeah back to your question. The CX 3.0 are basically a replacement for CX 300 II. They’re also bass emphasized, no inline control even though there looks like to be one, solid design and comfort. They’re not much different while CX 300 II are cheaper.

       Now if you’re looking for more in-ear earbuds around $50 we recommend a couple of them at: https://headphonesaddict.com/best-earbuds-for-the-money/
       But to give you a recommendation you’d need to tell me what kind of earbuds you’re looking for, what is important to you?

       Reply

       1. Luca Vella

          1:29 PM - Sep 19, 2017

          Thanks for the quick answer! I’ll try to be more “precise” as i can, hoping that those details could help to give an idea.
          What i use to enjoy is the “classic” electro music, from EDM, to house, or something like “Savant” (if you know him). Anyway i like the “punchy basses”. But i also really like mid highs while listening to something like the fantastic Blues Brothers, with the fantastic sound of the Piano, clarinet and stuffs.Or also listening something Queen, or Michael Jackson, so it’s also important “feel” the voice of those voices. As last i also love to listen some “old rock” like classical AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple or also Ozzy Osburne. Also some metal, like Slipknot (just to say some names).
          Long story short, i could say:
          -“punchy/clean basses” (not just a “strange noise breaking my head”). More powerful as possible WITHOUT taking “all the scene”. I like the “super punch” from the Bass Drum, but without losing the “goosebumps” given by the guitar solo!
          -as clean as possible clean mid-highs, in order to enjoy mainly stuffs like voices and guitars.
          Would be good the CX 300 ii / CX 3.00 or maybe the Soundmagic E10?
          MAYBE i want too much for this “range”, but that is what i’m looking for; my “meta”.
          Hope to have given enough “factors” to give you an idea, and anyway, suggestions for also higher ranges would be appreciated 🙂

          Reply

          1. Headphonersaddict

             12:03 PM - Sep 20, 2017

             Hi Luca,

             From what you’re telling me a balanced sound signature is what you’re looking for.
             It’s still very hard to give recommendations based on verbal description but I can give you some modesl to check out.

             These come to mind:
             Brainwavz M2
             Shure SE215
             Sennheiser Momentum In Ear
             Etymotic Research MC5

             These are slightly more expensive than in the cheap earbuds guide.

             Personally I really like Zero Audio Carbo Tenore, a bit fragile but great balanced sound for the price. You should check them out too.

             Reply

13. leoarriagada

    8:34 PM - Oct 19, 2017

    Thanks man, I live in Chile, so I’ve imported the Sony MDR-XB50AP/R Extra Bass Earbud Headset thanks to your review.
    Awesome post here.
    Thanks a lot.

    Reply

    1. niko jonan

       6:58 AM - Mar 21, 2018

       hi boss,how good are those?

       Reply

       1. leoleodondeestasleo

          11:49 PM - Mar 21, 2018

          Marvelous, only beaten by the big brother SONY MDR-XB90EX

          Reply

14. glennsmooth

    10:15 PM - Nov 19, 2017

    $422 on amazon for the Sony XB90EX WTF?!?!

    Reply

    1. Headphonersaddict

       12:31 PM - Nov 20, 2017

       That’s just temporary probably because of high demand and lower supply. That’s not the price you should pay though wait a bit and it will go down.

       Reply

15. niko jonan

    6:56 AM - Mar 21, 2018

    i want the best bass,which one are the best?

    Reply

    1. Headphonersaddict

       10:21 AM - Mar 26, 2018

       We recommend the Sony XB90EX as your first choice.

       Reply

       1. niko jonan

          6:15 AM - Jun 26, 2018

          how are you boss?havind advised me on the type of earbuds to buy for base,i appreciate so much coz i ordered for a sony mdrxb 50Ap and its amazing but here goes my question again,iphone and samsung which phone do u recommend to me me for my earbuds?ofcourse i love base and clear music but loud,thanks

          Reply

          1. Headphonersaddict

             8:04 PM - Jun 29, 2018

             iPhone and Samsung or other Android phones are pretty much the same for sound. For more power you need an amplifier but that’s an additional cost and another device to carry around which can be annoying.

             Reply

16. Lalo Marquez

    5:38 PM - Dec 15, 2018

    The first time I read your review, the Sony MDR-XB90EX where #1 and I bought them for $82 on December 2015 on Amazon, they were really awesome for two years until the right earphone stopped working at all. One day it was working perfectly and the next time I tried to use them the earphone was just dead.

    Reply