Bass-Basshead Headphones with detail, ear massage, midbass/subbass?

sorry

It seems like you've heard most of the popular "bassy" cans on Head-fi. So the reason why you returned the D2000/D5000, Pro900 and the M100 was because they didn't have enough bass?

I'd recommend the ES10. It's been the bassiest can I've owned to date, handily besting the Amperior, D5000, K167, HFI-2400 and so on (note I don't have any "bassy" cans to begin with, so might not be the most useful comparison).

I've heard the HE-400 is on the bassy side but if you weren't satisfied with the above cans then I can't imagine the HE400 being any better.

That slam and punch is mostly midbass, the pro 900's are known for having lots of midbass slam, and the d2000 have alot of sub bass, so the only thing i can think of is eq for sub bass and midbass, but since ur going to be using the heaphones to dj mostly wouldnt u want something close to neutral? Anyways try the audio technica m50 or the dt770  pro.

For bass slam I love Q40 + ZO2.1. Too bad it specificly works best with that v2.1 of ZO as it was a version with slightly different amp config and higher gain (but had to be withdrawn due to some issues, none of which is a concern when used with Q40 though). This is what I call club sound, I listen mostly to hardstyle and it reminds me of the typically used monitor speaker setup (forgot the name of the speakers, hardstyle producers often start out with). I get both big slamming bass (I mean feel-every-bass-beat punching my ears) and slightly forward / neutral mids and neutral highs. But it specificly works so well with this particular amp, sounds "OK" ampless but not nearly enough bass for my bassy needs.

If you want maximum bass slam you should look for headphones with peaked bass shape curve centered around 80Hz or so (you want it to be more like a round-hill shape rather than ruler flat through the entire bass range as that makes the bass sound more bloated, slow, rumbly and less punchy), I'm suprised you didn't find PRO900 to be that bassy though as it's known for punchy bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eugguy 

Hello Head-Fi community,

I'm interested in a pair of headphones that can offer a full heavy sound, ear massage, good levels of bass. I would say as much as bass as possible without sounding like mudd. Not like the Sony Xb series. I've recently tried a number of flagships but have returned them all. Some of these include denon d2000, d5000, d600, pro900, vmoda m100s, akg167. One of my favorite pairs of headphones are the akg181. These are the only headphones that create bass for me. I've also used sennheiser hd25s, nice but a bit shrill and not enough bass. I'm considering MadDogs? He400? For iems I own sennheiser ie8, ie80s, denon c300. I like a big soundstage with full sound. Would like a headphone that offers a similar sound.

I will most likely be using these to DJ with 90% and listen 10%. I listen primarily to house music. I like a clean thumping club type sound, but with detail. I like to feel the music as much as possible. Loud and clear. Good impact and slam!

If anyone can give me any recommendations I would be thankful. Someone please give it to me!
Thank you! Peace, love and all of the above!

Heya,

First, none of those are flagships. Not even close. They are entry and mid-level headphones. As you get into higher end and flagship level headphones, you will have less of what you're looking for, and definitely not what you're looking for, for `Djing'. Ripping the cord out of an actual flagship level headphone would pretty much put you in tears. I would suggest you stay in the $200ish range headphones.

Second, if the D5000 and PRO900 didn't have enough slam and not enough overall bass, then you're simply out of luck. What you seek doesn't exist in stock form.

At this point you need to start exploring tweaking any headphone to meet what you're looking for. This is going to involve heavily using equalizers and bass enhancing devices/amplifiers. So an equalizer and/or cmoy/zo2/fiio basically. For you, the ZO2 is probably the direction to begin. And get ready to heavily equalize. To properly equalize you do not raise bass, you lower every other frequency except bass. This way you do not distort. Do this first, then apply the Zo2 and find a bass profile that works for you. Then you will have as much bass as is possible. No stock headphone will get super bassy like you're looking for.

Suggestions:

Beyer DT770 PRO

Beyer Custom One Pro

AKG K167 and AKG K267

Shure SRH750 DJ

Ultrasone DJ1 or HFI 580

M-Audio Q40

Equalize them for maximum bass without distortion. And use a Digizoid ZO2.

Example of using an EQ to bring out bass by lowering other frequencies (notice sub-bass and mid-bass are kept normal or slightly reduced, everything else is dropped by like -18 db):

For your needs, I would probably go with the M-Audio Q40 with a pad swap (DT770 pads, or possibly some other faux leathers). Detachable cable. Durable. Has all the bass any headphone could ever want. Equalizes for maximum bass very nicely:

Very best,

Careful with your quotation marks Mal. You are a great asset to head-fi; I respect you and often agree with you. But here it sounds like you are belittling the OP's DJ'ing skills, or mocking him for DJ'ing as a hobby. Unless you intended to do this, in which case... huehuehue.

And OP, look into Phiaton MS 400's as well, I hear those have a lot of bass. Good luck in your search!

Quote:

Originally Posted by seekadds 

 

Careful with your quotation marks Mal. You are a great asset to head-fi; I respect you and often agree with you. But here it sounds like you are belittling the OP's DJ'ing skills, or mocking him for DJ'ing as a hobby. Unless you intended to do this, in which case... huehuehue.

 

And OP, look into Phiaton MS 400's as well, I hear those have a lot of bass. Good luck in your search!

I'm not contending DJing skills here or mocking anyone. I'm contending equipment for use with DJing and terms as they do actually have meaning. We're throwing terms like `flagship' around here with entry/mid-level headphones and that's not right. If someone wants to DJ with some Ultrasone Signature Pro's or some Fostex TH900's, by all means, do what you wish with that. But pulling a cable or damaging it when it drops or gets yanked, and you're going to be a sad panda with a flagship level $1k+ headphone. The OP was quoting using headphones in the $100~400 range. Not flagships. Also, flagships do not have the bass the OP is looking for at all; they are typically more and more neutral as you go up, and the OP is looking for monstrous slam and loud bass. That's not what flagships do or are for.

And for the record, DJ's are my friend. I buy their CD's and listen to their music and deal a lot with them. Djing is very hard on headphones' lifespan.

Very best,

Quote:

Originally Posted by MalVeauX 

 

I'm not contending DJing skills here or mocking anyone. I'm contending equipment for use with DJing and terms as they do actually have meaning. We're throwing terms like `flagship' around here with entry/mid-level headphones and that's not right. If someone wants to DJ with some Ultrasone Signature Pro's or some Fostex TH900's, by all means, do what you wish with that. But pulling a cable or damaging it when it drops or gets yanked, and you're going to be a sad panda with a flagship level $1k+ headphone. The OP was quoting using headphones in the $100~400 range. Not flagships. Also, flagships do not have the bass the OP is looking for at all; they are typically more and more neutral as you go up, and the OP is looking for monstrous slam and loud bass. That's not what flagships do or are for.

 

And for the record, DJ's are my friend. I buy their CD's and listen to their music and deal a lot with them. Djing is very hard on headphones' lifespan.

 

Very best,

Yes, my point is: I understood from your original post that you are contesting the use of flagship headphones for DJ'ing. You didn't need the quotes around "DJ'ing." Crap, irony strikes again. The particular sentence could come off as condescending to people who are less familiar with your online personality. Semantics, that's all. =/  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eugguy 

Hello Head-Fi community,

I'm interested in a pair of headphones that can offer a full heavy sound, ear massage, good levels of bass. I would say as much as bass as possible without sounding like mudd. Not like the Sony Xb series. I've recently tried a number of flagships but have returned them all. Some of these include denon d2000, d5000, d600, pro900, vmoda m100s, akg167. One of my favorite pairs of headphones are the akg181. These are the only headphones that create bass for me. I've also used sennheiser hd25s, nice but a bit shrill and not enough bass. I'm considering MadDogs? He400? For iems I own sennheiser ie8, ie80s, denon c300. I like a big soundstage with full sound. Would like a headphone that offers a similar sound.

I will most likely be using these to DJ with 90% and listen 10%. I listen primarily to house music. I like a clean thumping club type sound, but with detail. I like to feel the music as much as possible. Loud and clear. Good impact and slam!

If anyone can give me any recommendations I would be thankful. Someone please give it to me!
Thank you! Peace, love and all of the above!

Sennheiser HD419 would fit that category. Most Sennheisers have a 'veiled' upper end and these are no exception but they are not muddy. My only real gripe with their sound is that they accentuate the upper bass more than I would like and I find myself enjoying them more with a 3-4db cut from 80-200, it really lets the highs sparkle without affecting the deep bass they are capable of. It sounds like you enjoy your upper bass though so you might find them perfect.

My favorite thing aside from the bass is their cost, $32 shipped, and the fact that they can tame the shrillest guitar solos, metal music, and hard rock and make them sound silky smooth. These really shine in their ability to be un-fatiguing at any level.

Just look at that sound signature. They are almost +12db from 10hz to 110hz O.O

I don't think it's a matter of being sensitive, just correcting a misuage of the word. It has a definition you know.

flag·ship

Lets not all get our panties bunched up.   I've read a few responses from Mal that sounded a bit harsh.  I even called him out on it once,  then I've come to realize that is just how he speaks, he doesn't sugar coat a damn thing.   Overall every response seems to be pertaining to the thread at hand, and is genuinely trying to help the OP.

I think his recommendation is pretty spot on.   If you can't get the sound you like in stock from, he has good suggestions for tailoring something to the OP's taste.   

Mal, I will have a beer tonight in your honor!   cheers!

Well forget any of the open sets for DJing, your HE400, maddogs etc. It just wouldnt work or make any sense in a club environment. In fact not anywhere with ambiant noise louder than soft talking.

For what your going for i would try Beyerdynamic DT770 pro. If you didnt add the DJ bit, i would have said DT990, but you did so 770 it is.