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Looking for Bass Headphones, Better than Crappy Beats, that "vibrate or rattle" the skull?

post #1 of 58
6/5/12 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 

I'm no audiophile by any means, just a Teenager who loves the melodic lines of rock guitar, (70 % of the time). Also Love the modern club/dubstep/thumpy bass type (about 30 % of the time). I would like a headphone that will have deep, punchy, melodic bass  that will "rumble" or "Shake" your ears like the beats studio does. I have researched for the last few days, and I've considered the following: the sony xb-500's, Any type of Dj headphone, like the Pioneer brand Hdj 500's (I've heard these are small cans, would they cover over the ears? I am 17 and have a pretty small head compared to the average person, which means small ears lol) Or some Numark red waves. Also have looked at the Pioneer Steez brand in America, and also the Pioneer "Bass Head" Headphones. What out of this list or others that you have in mind would suit my need? I'm replacing those stupid skullcandy hesh 2011 phones, wow they are made of some cheap plastic. I am leaning heavily toward the sony xb-500's a lot. I have read a lot of reviews but i want to be sure, So i came to the experts :) Price range: up to 150 ish $.(US)

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post #2 of 58
6/5/12 at 6:56pm

The Sony XB500 is my go-to headphone suggestion if someone is looking for the most bass for their money.

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post #3 of 58
6/5/12 at 7:13pm

Check out the Sony XB500, Panasonic HTF600, and M-Audio Q40.
 

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post #4 of 58
6/5/12 at 7:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SanjiWatsuki View Post

The Sony XB500 is my go-to headphone suggestion if someone is looking for the most bass for their money.

 

The XB500 is the most bass for any money.

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post #5 of 58
6/5/12 at 7:40pm

V moda crossfade LP2

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post #6 of 58
6/5/12 at 7:41pm
ESW9 with or without Germania mod has a lot of boom-boom.

If you want some fidelity in there, HFI-2400.
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post #7 of 58
6/5/12 at 7:41pm

A bit cleaner and more refined, but it still kicks your head, but I would suggest the Ultrasone 580

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post #8 of 58
6/5/12 at 7:44pm

Another vote for the Sony XB500... I've had Ultrasones and the popular bass-heavy Denon D2000 and prefer the Sony over them.

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post #9 of 58
6/5/12 at 9:14pm

I would seriously consider the new Pioneer Steez 808s as you mentioned previously.  They're fairly new so there isn't that much info on them, but both tinyman392 and HiFiGuy528 have had a chance to try these out and write up their thoughts on these in this thread:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/610966/new-pioneer-se-mj751-bass-head-headphones

 

I've got a pair of these myself.  And while I'm still burning mine in, I pretty much agree with what they've said so far.  They definitely bring the bass - sometimes too much of it for my tastes - but they also remain fairly tight.  As a result, they don't suffer from the Beats "bass bloat" that irritates me so.  And let's not forget the best part, you can turn the bass dial up/down to engage/disengage the second bass driver inside.

 

I haven't auditioned them myself, but I've read that the XB500's bass response can be a bit loose.  It may or may not be as punchy as you like.  Can anyone here confirm or deny this?  I wouldn't mind picking up a pair myself if the bass were tight and punchy and not so loose in the caboose.

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post #10 of 58
6/5/12 at 9:25pm

XB500's bass is somewhat in-between, I wouldn't call it tight but I've also heard bass that's been looser but versus high quality headphones it's a bit on the loosened side but we have to remember that there's as much as 15dB boost where it gets very hard to remain with a tight bass. :P LP2's and PRO700MK2 have a bit more tight bass with quite similar or close quantity but I can't speak for MK2 myself, it's just what several others have mentioned. LP2 however was barely and better to me, while it had slightly better bass response and possibly slightly better soundstage, the mids were a bit unbalanced and highs too recessed (more so than XB500).

 

My go-to setup for bass can can vibrate my head when asked for it is Q40 + ZO2.1 but digiZoid sells ZO2.3 these days which is using a bit lower gain than 2.1 and I feel Q40 sounds much more engaging and fun with 2.1 as the whole range sounds more forward.


Edited by RPGWiZaRD - 6/5/12 at 9:30pm
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post #11 of 58
6/5/12 at 10:23pm

Sony XB500 are nice though it does get a bit jarring at times when the bass just comes booming out of nowhere like a baseball bat to the back of ones ear. The VMODA CROSSFADE LP are my favorite for solid consistent thick bass atmosphere. Even when the bass isnt booming away theres a thickness to the ambience while still having detailed treble. Some think VMODA are muddy but i've never had that problem and with equalizer tweaking the treble will easily shine amongst the exploding bass tones. 

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post #12 of 58
6/5/12 at 10:28pm

The XB500 isn't better than the Beats, believe it or not (Beats Studios that is). But the price difference is huge so obviously the XB500s are a way better buy. They'll give you 'one-note' bass that rattles your brain, and that's about it. Mids and treble are abysmal on the XB500.


Edited by ProjectDenz - 6/5/12 at 10:29pm
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post #13 of 58
6/5/12 at 11:46pm

I was in a similar position to you, I havent heard my headphones yet and am nowhere near as qualified as these guys but I've just purchased the XB500's and they should be arriving tomorrow. But i'll share the list of headphones that I was suggested and researched

 

XB500 - biggest bass, fairly cheap and probably  better sound quality than Beats Solo if you have any friends who have them (and for a LOT less money)

 

XB700 - big bass but some seem to think the 500 is a bit better for mids and trebles, but these things are HUGE, if your staying indoors they would be fine but they aren't portable

 

V-Moda Crossfade LP- These look great, better than Beats imo, big bass, the cable is removable so if it breaks you can change it, comes with a hardcase about 2x price of XB500 (in UK)

 

Sennheiser HD25-ii - Good bass but may be uncomfortable. I have large ears and can never wear these smaller headphones but may be okay for you

 

Denon ADH-1100 - great sound apparently but I was a bit put off by quite a lot of reviews of poor build quality, they look flimsy but it will depend how much care you take with them

 

Audio Technica ATH-M50 - Big bass again, I found these around the same price as the V-Moda's these look good too and a lot of people suggested them too me, smaller than the XB500's if the 'look' of them is going to be important to you and they can fold up so quite good for portability

 

I was also recommended the Denon DJHP700, Audio-Technica WS55 (and WS55i - comes with a built in mic) and the AKG 518 DJ but these all looked a bit too small for my ears but if you have small ears these may also be worth a look. I must have looked at around 60 pairs of headphones in the last 72 hours and eventually pulled the trigger on the XB500's considering the price of some of the other headphones people were suggesting along side the XB500 it seemed silly for me to go for the others as I (like you) am not an audiophile these are my first pair of proper headphones, they have a big bass, they look quite unique but good in my opinion. I picked the XB500's up brand new for £44, which is about $70 considering the V-Moda is 3 times that (in the UK) and most of the others are double that it just made sense to go for the XB500's.

 

But i'll be honest, Im not an audiophile and I haven't even heard these headphones the above is just what I gathered (and remember) from researching online.

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post #14 of 58
6/6/12 at 12:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by worx View Post

Check out the Sony XB500, Panasonic HTF600, and M-Audio Q40.
 

 

 

the htf600 is nowhere near as bassy as the xb500 and i think the op will prefer the xb500 more just because of the sheer bass quantity, espeically if the op is expecting beats kind of bass quantity. other aspects im not too sure about them, my mom owns the htf600 and i only listened to it once. the xb500, i have tried it in best buy once, and ordered it last week and should be at my house tomorrow.

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post #15 of 58
6/6/12 at 1:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD View Post

XB500's bass is somewhat in-between, I wouldn't call it tight but I've also heard bass that's been looser but versus high quality headphones it's a bit on the loosened side but we have to remember that there's as much as 15dB boost where it gets very hard to remain with a tight bass.

 

Yeah I see your point.  I've just always been a believer that bass is good so long as it's kept nice and tight.  I dabble in culinary exploits, and the equivalent component there is hot sauce.  There has to be a balance between heat (bass) and flavor (tightness).  If you ever get too much heat and not enough flavor, you're just begging to have an orifice (in this case your ears) abused in an unholy manner.

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