Confessions of a Basshead

I have been addicted to the audio quality phenomenon for about a year and a half now, and I have finally discovered one thing that is beginning to sink in and I hope will provide me greater insight into my enjoyment of music:

Moar bass will never be enough bass.

I am currently listening to my new Klipsch Image Ones out of my rooted HTC inspire and FiiO E5 and, having eq'd the bass to the max level below distortion at my preferred listening level using the DSP manager (which is obviously superior to the EQing in programs like PowerAMP and iTunes in my listening experience) and the FiiO's bass boost, I think I can finally hear that the bass from headphones just won't ever satisfy me. I hope some day I can experience the delicious texture of the LCD-2 or -3's bass, but until that becomes a financial possibility, I am going to begin exploring music in other ways.

I've recently had the pleasure of listening to my friend's AKG K240 MkIIs, and I think my next purchase after the HD25s will be something akin to the AKGs, but higher up the line, hopefully something with a bit more bass impact but definitely not overpowering; I found the AKGs to sound not under-emphasized so much as just distant. I love the soundstage and the more balanced presentation, the music definitely sounded more "real" than my MS400 or any IEMs I've ever owned. Maybe something a bit more forward in presentation in general than the AKGs, but hopefully with even better soundstage. Something like that would be worth saving for, worth waiting for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikp 

Going for balanced iems now? :)

Actually I think I want my next major expenditure to be a full-sized can; the SE215s really fill my IEM needs perfectly, as my commute is REALLY noisy and I think it would be really tough to beat the isolation on the Shures. Maybe Etymotics or customs could do it, but I don't really think I'm interested in going to BAs yet, and I don't see myself having the resources to customs really worth keeping in the near future. My first BA will probably be the TF-10 Pro, I really like what I've heard about them. Or maybe the Sony XBA-04. I'd LOVE to try the UM Merlin, it sounds like the IEM of my dreams...

If money descends from nowhere by Black Friday, I will try to go for the rumored Amazon $99 deal on the TF10s.