Hey guys,
 
I'm a noob to head-fi but I'm trying to find me a good pair of headphones.
 
Flame suit on.
 
So i want something with a lot of bass. and under 100 dollars. However, I'm not looking for something that muddys everything up with bass.
 
So far, i have tried the sony xb500 which didn't really wow me in any way. Bass was good but kind of muddy.
 
right now, i am trying to burn in a set of shure 440s. I hear that the bass improves after a good 20 hrs of burn in?
 
What other on/around ears should i look at?
 
Please don't recommend ebay or amazon... I would like to purchase from a local shop, best buy/guitar center so returning can be easy if I dont like them.
 
So essentially... im looking for beats by dre dre bass intensity, but with much better clarity in the mids/highs and a much lower price tag.
 
Thanks in advance!!!

Quote:

jetblk328i said:

Hey guys,
 
I'm a noob to head-fi but I'm trying to find me a good pair of headphones.
 
Flame suit on.
 
So i want something with a lot of bass. and under 100 dollars. However, I'm not looking for something that muddys everything up with bass.
 
So far, i have tried the sony xb500 which didn't really wow me in any way. Bass was good but kind of muddy.
 
right now, i am trying to burn in a set of shure 440s. I hear that the bass improves after a good 20 hrs of burn in?
 
What other on/around ears should i look at?
 
Please don't recommend ebay or amazon... I would like to purchase from a local shop, best buy/guitar center so returning can be easy if I dont like them.
 
So essentially... im looking for beats by dre dre bass intensity, but with much better clarity in the mids/highs and a much lower price tag.
 
Thanks in advance!!!

Click to expand...

Try burning them in 100-150 hrs just to be safe. Theres a lot of speculation on burn in but that should be good amount of time. On topic, why don't you look at the ath m50s..they've been getting a lot of attention so there are plenty of threads with info on them. They are cheaper online but I remember seeing them somewhere. Maybe Guitar Center. Also if you buy them from local dealers most have a 30day return policy so if you like the sound you can always get it online from a legit dealer. Btw, Beats are not really respected around here..not that they sound as bad as people say, but they are definitely not worth their price tag. Welcome to Headfi and sorry about your wallet. 
 

If you go local, I think you have to go up to $150 to get the M50 or the 750DJ. Check out this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-57-portable-headphones-compared-audio-technica-ath-m50-added-11-12

yea I am aware that the m50s are very good but they are a little out of my price range. I also know that beats are not really respected here but i really like how they "beat" and have good bass. However, i have to agree that they could sound better in other aspects. But i am looking for similar beat/bass found in the beats....

get the M50!  Find a good deal on them or get them used.  Go on ebay.  Whatever

Quote:

jetblk328i said:

yea I am aware that the m50s are very good but they are a little out of my price range. I also know that beats are not really respected here but i really like how they "beat" and have good bass. However, i have to agree that they could sound better in other aspects. But i am looking for similar beat/bass found in the beats..

Click to expand...

Hmmm.Considering your situation, if you can save up a bit more, try to get the m50 and if you like the sound you can get it off amazon for around $100. Also some low end grados might interest you because people have said they have a good bass and they have a certain signature that you either like or don't. What are your main preferences? Rock? Pop?..etc

I generally listen to rap, hip hop, pop, some nice bassy tracks found in club.

I almost forgot, I need something that is comfortable. The upper part of my ear sort of angles out a bit so right now, a part of my ear is touching the inside of the shure 440s. Maybe I need something on ear/ with big cushions so that the are between my ear and the speaker can be minimized.

My experience with returns on Amazon has been great. You should really take advantage on cheaper M50 online. I also heard they're more comfortable than Shures.

Yes I can also vouch that returning with Amazon is extremely easy. Just don't throw away the box it arrives in until you're sure you're keeping them. Anyways I also recommend the M50, or for cheaper, it's little portable brother the ES7. Handles bass surprisingly well for a portable can, and doesn't get much attention around here for some reason.

Hmm I'll look into both the m50s and the es7s any other good options?

M50 would be a good pick to try next, but did u ever EQ the XB500? I can get it sound just as clear as M50 with some EQing.

Yea I messed around with the eq but still wasn't happy with the sound. How are the k81dj s?

They have somewhat similar characteristics as XB500, although the bass is less boomy/more punchy or speedier however you want to put it and I think that's what you're after I think headphones with punchy upper bass focus and not so much deep bass. Deep bass is supposed to be boomy, just go listen to a 30 - 70Hz sinewave sample file... So XB500's bass doesn't really sound muddy but it's the deep bass that is probably too much emphasized for your liking. Anyway 81 DJs or 518 DJs aren't that much emphasized in the 0 - 80Hz region but significantly emphasized in the 80 - 250Hz region so these have like really punchy bass, for my taste too much upper bass and too little deep bass but for you it might be just about right. If I'd rate XB500 deep bass vs upper deep emphasize ratio 45/55 then the 518/81 DJs I'd rate like 30/70. The highs are also pretty similar to XB500, smooth/dark sounding and the mids are quite decent (I think XB500/700 has better mids though, they sound more refined/detailed). But the worst thing about the AKGs are the comfort and soundstage though. They need to be overnight stretched or else you'll get sore ears after like 15 - 30 mins of use, the pads are really thin & hard and the intense clamping force out of box doesn't really make it better. They sound typically "closed" with quite narrow soundstage (like being stuck in a cave) too but this will vary quite a bit depending on source you use with them. Strangely enough soundstage becomes a lot better if I plug it in into my old Philips CRT TV that has the best built-in sound I've heard in a TV and then the soundstage is really good but from the comp with a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS using kX Audio drivers the soundstage is really poor and the XB series has noticeably better soundstage.

Hmm I like deep bass but I also want punch stuff that I can feel... Comfort is a biggie for me. Will be spending hours with them on. I have been doing some reading on here ad I read some interesting stuff about the bass found in the Sony v6s

Well if the XB500 didn't provide that I don't know would. XB500 provided both deep bass and punch that I've never felt this well like with them. What's your source? M50 fits best with your description though, they won't be nearly as bassy as XB500 but if you think XB500 muddens up the rest of the sound you'll need less bass, simple as that and M50 would be that, the mids and highs are fine on it too, highs were slightly too harsh for my liking but there are even more so a lot expensier headphones in that regard as well so it's all down to personal taste, for most people the highs seems to be just about right sounding on M50 in brightness/emphasize. You won't feel the bass that much on M50 though but you can't get bass that you can feel without at least slightly sacrifising mids/highs cuz the bass needs to be boosted a fairly good amount around 80~150Hz region for that to happen.