[KG Jag]

The Grado SR 325e or RS-2e will rock your world.  Keep on eye here to watch when they go on sale:
 
https://www.buysonic.com/deal-categories/grado/
 
The 325e is less bright than the older 325is.  Most will find this to be a +.

 

[techofthe9]

  OK,
 
let me ask you something....
 
When you play your stereo at home and in the car...do you turn up the treble and/or bass or do listen to it flat?
 
I'm also thinking the Senn HD600 might be your best bet unless you want powerful bass thumping your ears (bass head)
 
The HD600 is used by a lot of musicians to hear exactly what was recorded (reference headphones)
People who think the HD600 lacks bass prefer the HD650.

turn the bass up but i dont think im a bass head

 

[Byrnie]

HD600 but if you prefer a warmer sound then get the HD650.

 

[Koukol]

 

  OK,
 
let me ask you something....
 
When you play your stereo at home and in the car...do you turn up the treble and/or bass or do listen to it flat?
 
I'm also thinking the Senn HD600 might be your best bet unless you want powerful bass thumping your ears (bass head)
 
The HD600 is used by a lot of musicians to hear exactly what was recorded (reference headphones)
People who think the HD600 lacks bass prefer the HD650.

turn the bass up but i dont think im a bass head

I agree that turning up the bass doesn't make you a bass head...I do it too.
 
But it tells me that some headphones may be too bass light for you unless you can EQ it like your home stereo..
 
There's so many factors,,, like what are you going to plug them into?
Will it have an EQ where you can adjust if you're not satisfied with the bass output?
 
I forgot to ask you if you have a subwoofer on your home/car system...if you do I would say you qualify as a  bass head.
(nothing wrong with that...just look for a bass boosted HP)
 
Definitely read about the Grado's listed above  as their aggressive mids do rock but I've never heard a musician using a Grado for monitoring their tracks for accuracy. (I could be wrong)

 

[techofthe9]

Well I'm probely going to plug them into a schitt stack connected to my laptop and no I don't have a subwoofer

 

[Kozic]

The HE400 are very good for rock but if you can go to $400 Razordog has open box HE400i just under that and they are a good set up from the HE400.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I forgot to ask you if you have a subwoofer on your home/car system...if you do I would say you qualify as a  bass head.
(nothing wrong with that...just look for a bass boosted HP)

 

Using a sub to play everything below 55hz to 70hz where most 7in to 6in drivers taper off makes you a "basshead"?

 

These speakers have 13in passive subwoofers built into their cabinets and integrated into their crossover circuits and these are about as flat a response as I've ever heard, and yet go down real deep, without the crossover tuning that you'd have to do when adding a separate sub since these were already designed by the factory with this fixed location and crossover points.

 
This one has two 11in subwoofer drivers in each cabinet, so that makes for four passive subs.

 

The thing is that headphones and speakers can't really be compared for one very important problem: the effects of sending out soundwaves to vibrate a lot of air en route to the listener. A speaker system that measures flat gets a lot of dB's all over the room, and enough pressure to push air and produce that sensation on the chest when for example you have for example a classic rock or Deftones track where the bass drum is forcefully hit.

 

By contrast a headphone produces all those dB's within a much, much, much smaller surface area, so even if the ears are effectively getting the same dB's, it's not pressurizing a lot of air through the room and thus not getting that kick to the chest. They can measure the same at the mic, but the perception of the listener will be different. Add to that how they're usually fullrange drivers, and you can always find some kind of problem in the upper midrange and treeble that isn't something that can be easily smoothed over naturally with EQ, and the bass seems weak relative to the spikes. Headphones even more than monitors with a single 6in or 7in driver then tend to be more reliant on boosting the upper bass region to keep some semblance of the rhythm that the bass instruments provide. As such many headphones actually do rely on that boost in the same region, and often have similar issues in the higher frequencies (similar to FR driver speaker designs actually - a good cabinet can get you a lot of bass but there's usually a sharp peak in the treble regardless of where it drops off, so most of them use a notch filter).

 

[Koukol]

 

  I forgot to ask you if you have a subwoofer on your home/car system...if you do I would say you qualify as a  bass head.
(nothing wrong with that...just look for a bass boosted HP)

 
Using a sub to play everything below 55hz to 70hz where most 7in to 6in drivers taper off makes you a basshead?

 
I don't use a sub in my car either but that's because I cut out the second amplifier and the sub for storage space, and rely more on auditory masking - boosted response at 80hz to 120hz on my Focal Polyglass V2 midwoofers makes bass drums sound solid enough that on a daily basis feels like there's no need for a sub. Similar thing with my home speakers before I did headphones - my Wharfedale Pacific Pi10 standmounts had a slight boost in the same region but thanks to the cabinet (I suppose) actually reached down to 58hz in-room (at least according to the same USB mic) before it drops off sharply, at which point the added cost of a sub plus the issues of integrating its output in my room gave me more headaches than benefits (which were mostly for classical music anyway - the rest of the response was balanced enough that I can still hear the bass guitar and bass drum anyway, and without distortion or boominess either).

OK...it was just my opinion as I find most people with subs like to rattle their teeth.
However, my point was if one turns up the bass or uses a subwoofer with other systems...one should stay away from headphones where people complain about a lack of bass.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  OK...it was just my opinion as I find most people with subs like to rattle their teeth.

 
Not everyone heading to an IASCA or EMMA even is going on an Escalade trying to blow their windshields off with Audiobahns.

 

Some like Scot Buwalda will use several subs, but apart from achieving a flat response, personally using three was more along the lines of making his install symmetrical - he uses three dual mono amplifiers for the front speakers, so using three more - one on each sub - would make his amp rack symmetrical. For a non-competitor this doesn't get anything but for someone who does compete it could get a little bit of subjective install points (for not a lot of money either if your gear is even at least partially sponsored). I envy how "daily driver" his install looks though - just a cargo net and maybe some kind of basket-type floor liner and he can put groceries in there without scratching the amps or any fabricate fiberglass.

 
 
 

  However, my point was if one turns up the bass or uses a subwoofer with other systems...one should stay away from headphones where people complain about a lack of bass.

 
 

That bit I elaborated on above - people just need to manage their expectations. Even with the boost on the HD600 I actually skim a bit off the bass, not to mention it's easy since it's a wide plateau centered at roughly 150hz or so. I'd have gone for the HE400i when I saw its bass graph, but the midrange and treble have spikes and valleys that are deeper+taller and much closer to each other than in the HD600, hence I'd end up with a bigger problem for EQ-ing. The HD600 has similar issues in the same region but more easily dealt with using EQ, and its bass plateau is easy enough to flatten with a wide-Q setting.

 

 

[Koukol]

Anyways, Tech,
 
My best advice to you is if you can't find a store to audition the HPs recommended be sure to buy from an online store that will let you exchange them if unhappy..
Some here have raved about HPs that I've found muddy and dull.
 
 
Also, you sound like me where you want a good bass for R&R so stay away from anything where people report a lack of bass.

 

[Jackson 6]

Senn 600/650's are at the opposite end of the graph to Grado's, which are purpose made for rock. They are 'in your face' as opposed to laid back Senny's. Which is no bad thing by the way.

 

[techofthe9]

That's alot guys!

 

[ebe2000]

Go the safe and cheap route - try a Koss Porta Pro. They do sound very nice and at least then you have a reference from where you can progress up the ladder. They only cost you 30$, but I can assure you will be listening more often to them then you possibly imagined.

 

[metal571]

I just bought a pair for 25 from Amazon, should be here early this coming week. Can't wait to really hear what all the fuss is about in these. I already own 2 $100 cans and two $200 cans.

 

[ebe2000]

Well done. You won't be disappointed, I sometimes listen for 7-8 hours a day while doing my work on the computer. They are very light, quite comfy and their SQ is pleasant - at least to my ears (and many others). Enjoy them.