[RobQuads]

I've got some Sennheiser 212 Pros which I enjoy. I really like bass aspect of the headphones and this is something I am looking for in my next set. Unfortunately due to wearing glasses and uses them lots at work they are quite worn. I was going to replace the 212s with another set as I have been so pleased with them but have been told (its a present) that I can go up a bit in price.
 
A number of reviews I have read mention the 212s as being refered to as a model people use for referance. What would the next step up headphone be?
 
I'm looking for similar style (full ear etc) and with nice deep bass.
 
Any suggestions
 
Thanks

 

[SoSpecial]

The next step up would probably be the XB500's or if your looking for a bit higher price then the Shure SRH750DJ's.

 

[disastermouse]

It's hard to say.  Do you like the Senn sound?  I'm not sure just how far down the pole the 212 Pros are.  I looked them up on Amazon and they're no longer sold (much like my old HD497s).
 
You want a closed over-ear?  Grados in your price range are likely out due to being open-style (I'm guessing no more than $100).  The sound is great, but they leak sound in and out.  I'm guessing that you want closed because you wear them at work and don't want others to hear you.  Do you need to be able to hear others?  I ask this because at your price range, it may be hard to find anything *too* nice - and there are some pretty good IEMs in your price range (going by rep, not necessarily experience on my part.  I've had Ety Er6i and currently have Shure e2c.  Neither is as good as the Grado SR80i I'm using at home.)
 
 
Bassheads here seem to like ATH-m50 - but I think those are out of your price range.  Hopefully other, more experienced head-fi'ers can guide you better....but some more details on EXACTLY what you need/want would be groovy.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Sennheiser HD 212 Pro's are Sennheiser's strongest basscan but it doesn't really sound that great for the price until I tried other headphones, I used to use those headphones before and thought they were amazing back then but nowadays they are like barely listenable. I don't know what you are looking for or what kind of improvements or how you'd like it to sound different than what you have but I can tell HD 212 Pro's are on the laid-back side like Sennheisers usually are and bass is slightly on the deep/boomier side but still packs a decent punch, I'd say about 60/40% deep/upper bass ratio on this headphone. They have SEVERELY recessed mids and the highs are very bright/thin sounding with lack of detail, so the frequency response curve is like very V-shaped like on this headphone. M50 Doesn't have as much bass quantity as the 212 Pros at least but mids are far more better and highs are much more detailed and perhaps just tiny bit less bright but can be on the border to harsh still on a few select tracks.
 
I see there's 2 paths to take from here, if you want similiar sound but better quality then BeyerDynamic DT770 Pro/80 would do the job, if you want a warmer/fun/aggressive sound then XB500, or Denon D1100 would do the job. DT770 could be slightly uncomfortable with glasses though I could imagine and would require stretching as the clamping is quite strong (I'm not using glasses and thought it was uncomfortable due to the strong clamp so), the other two would probably work well, at least XB500, Denon D1100's clamp is a bit stronger though but not overdone but with glasses it could become a problem. XB500 leaks a bit sound though, so Denon D1100 would be probably a better choice among the two if you'd intend to use them in at work and look more "sophisticated" too. ^^ Shure 750DJ and Ultrasone HFI-580 is a good sounding alternative with bass too but they don't look very glasses friendly to me at least.