The M50 seem to have carved a nice portion in this market segment.  I think its quite popular for studio applications as well.

Bassheads tend to find headphones lacking in bass until they get something like the Fiio E5 and turn on Bass Boost. This would save soooo many people money just looking for thunderous bass. Seriously. Get an M50/ or XB700 + E5. If that's not enough bass, then you're deaf.

Bass boost on anything sound bad imo (including the E5).  Just get bassy phones to begin with.

Typical head-fi response. Bass Boost can be a godsend to bassheads. The E5 works well with some headphones, and bad on others. If you want balance, bass boosting isn't for you. If you want basshead bass, save money and bass boost.

I don't see why EQ-ing gets all the hate it does. I almost NEVER like a flat curve, and prefer emphasis on bass and treble. A V-shaped curve is a basshead's best friend. If you want balance, you're gonna give up monstrous bass. No real way around it without sacrificing some balance.

That being said, the Fiio E7's bass boost level 3 seems to bring up the entire frequency, so mids don't get lost. Something most bass boosting amps don't do.

I'm fairly certain that the majority of bassheads will be happy to sacrifice balance for some monster bass.

I was a basshead fiend at first, and no matter what bassy headphones I was told to try, I found the bass lacking until I used something like the E5. All the bass I could ever want from those bassy cans was suddenly found.

Now that I like balance, i don't like that huge a bass boost, so the E7 is a godsend, as the Bass Boost Level 1 just brings out enough bass to make me happy without it intruding on the rest of the sound.

I think bass boost really depends on the tech and individual headphones.  I've had bass boost on my portable player with the Sennheiser PX-100 and all it did was distort everything.  Same with some other cans plugged into there.

That said, an increase of bass on my receiver does wonders for my Fostex T50 and DT480.  Accidentally left that on with my DT150s once, and they just kept giving without distortion.  It got a bit silly for me, but it did work.

Either way, EQ may be a better choice than a one-click bass boost.

A straight EQ can work, but like a bass boosting amp, can easily distort. Boosting bass is VERY headphone reliant. If your headphones aren't capable of a juicy low end, it will just distort. But on headphones like the M50, EQ or bass boost = basshead bliss.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

Typical head-fi response. Bass Boost can be a godsend to bassheads. The E5 works well with some headphones, and bad on others. If you want balance, bass boosting isn't for you. If you want basshead bass, save money and bass boost.

 

I don't see why EQ-ing gets all the hate it does. I almost NEVER like a flat curve, and prefer emphasis on bass and treble. A V-shaped curve is a basshead's best friend. If you want balance, you're gonna give up monstrous bass. No real way around it without sacrificing some balance.

 

That being said, the Fiio E7's bass boost level 3 seems to bring up the entire frequency, so mids don't get lost. Something most bass boosting amps don't do.

 

I'm fairly certain that the majority of bassheads will be happy to sacrifice balance for some monster bass.

 

I was a basshead fiend at first, and no matter what bassy headphones I was told to try, I found the bass lacking until I used something like the E5. All the bass I could ever want from those bassy cans was suddenly found.

 

Now that I like balance, i don't like that huge a bass boost, so the E7 is a godsend, as the Bass Boost Level 1 just brings out enough bass to make me happy without it intruding on the rest of the sound.

Typical head-fi response? All the E5 did for everything I tried it on AD700, MS-1, HD238, SRH440 was made the sound quality worse than just using the phones straight out of my Sansa clip. Its still a nice cheap way to add a headphone out to sources without one though :)  Using it with from a headphone out instead of a line out never seemed to work well for me (though that may be true with any amp). Equalizing always seemed to give better results than any bass boost has since you have control over what your doing, though like you said I guess it depends on the phone how well it works

Post one thread next time.

i really like the e5. it will give you more loudness and/or boost the bass quite a bit.

as for headphones I think the sony xb700 are very bassy and have good sq. + comfort is awesome with these.