Pro 900. Enough said.

 

The sound you keep mentioning is probably sibilance. I'll say this straight away, the Pro 900's have very metallic highs at first. After burning them in for a few hundred hours gets rid of them substantially. Even if it's still too much, the Kees Mod is always an option and can tame down the brightness to an extent of having nearly none at all -- just depends on how heavily you apply the mod. But who knows, you may find the even the slightly hot treble on the Pro 900's likable, especially coming from the something like the M50.

When you become a member here you're more prone to developing upgraditis.  Now for a few additional suggestions for ya:

 

Denon AH-D5000, D7000

 

Ultrasone HFi-780, PRO900

 

These options are pretty much the ultimate(with some exceptions and in my opinion of course) for dynamic, powerful bass along with outstanding overall sound quality.

One thing to note: XB1000 isnt bassy compared to the lower end models

 

Looks like the ATH Pro700mk2 would be your best bet for this goal imo.

 

M50s are bassy but they arent basshead bassy. They are studio monitors after all

Now that we've isolated the cause, you better leave if want a chance at a full recovery or else your wallet might never be the same!

Nothing. Oops, did I just say that?

 

For me, the Sennheiser HD580/HD600 can deliver amazing club-atmosphere because they respond very well to EQ. You can tune them any way you want and I keep choosing them for electronic music over my other headphones. I have some pretty decent closed headphones that can pump out enormous amounts of bass (XB700, HD25II) but for a genuine club experience I keep missing the breath and width of an open headphone. A club is mostly a pretty open space, not a tiny room.  I must admit though that I really need my Arrow 12HE's bass boost to get the HD580 to sound just right. Straight out of an iPod wouldn't be something I'd prefer. 

I think the pro 900 would be perfect for you, and they really don't need an amp, but will "scale" (become better) with one should you decide to get one down the line.

I'd say Fiio's E9 and the Matrix M-stage are good places to start.

 

Ok here is my opinion

First of all... If u having this feeling about want more. Trust me!! Ur next headphone will never be the last headphone u bought! So I suggest! Get a really decent one! Otherwise u will again think there is better cans out there

So suggestions and mainly for iPod or laptop without amp, I hv to say denon d7000. If u think too expansive then d 5000 is also fantastic even d2000. Really suitable for iPhone stuff

Good luck:)

HD25-1 ii. I upgraded to these myself from M50s, and can say I'm very well satisfied. Only thing is no sound stage :). Bass is more prominent (but there's not as much rumble, unless you amp it up with an E5, then you can feel it more). Treble is great (for me at least. I notice no sibilance, but then again, I can't even HEAR the higher frequencies (12khz+) cause of my damaged hearing).

 

If you want more bass mainly out of your M50s (and I, myself did as they aren't bass heavy at all in my opinion), then just buy an E5 for $20 and get a LoD then bassboost the M50s. Much more noticeable after that (even though it's only like a 3.5dB boost I believe). For me, the M50s bass was literally nothing. Could hardly hear it through everything else. Even the rumbly parts until I amp'd it up.

 

Upgrading to the top tier range is kind of stupid IMO, because there's diminishing returns beyond a certain price range (though people's opinions differ), unless you just wanna burn some money.

 

I'm very well satisfied with my HD25s, and I don't even bother to hook up my E5 to my phone anymore as the bass is very noticeable (though I am a basshead, so I do like to amp it up usually, just a little inconvenient to me because I take my phone out all the time).

 

If you can easily hear treble, then I suppose you have to break-in the HD25s though because people say there's a lot of sibilance at first and the trebles are harsh. Maybe "upgrade the cord," though I honestly have no idea if that does anything, and I honestly think that it's only a perception of ones mind. I've yet to try it out, but that's how it is for other cables like HDMI.

Edited by AyeVeeN - 6/5/11 at 4:24am

you can start your next journey by reading about ATH Pro700 MK II :)

 

I've tried them, and I think, it will suit to you.

 

and just a side note, low bit rate mp3 can produce sibilance/harsh, so will be better if you're using at least 320kbps, will be great if ALAC or WAV though.

Well, it could be "it" but more likely you are suffering from a obsessive compulsive disorder due to a post traumatic shock from being exposes to bad experience with bad headphones such as Bose, DR. Dre, Skullbroken ....  Now you are exposed to the tremendous amount of information and as a result, your OCD has re-surface.

 

The only remedy is run like hell away from here with your M50s.  I came here less than six months and now I am an headphone audio junkies. I cannot stop collect good headphones. I ram away from this place but I came back for mooooooore like you,  Run, run for your wallet.