[Beagle]

I need a change of pace from the usual soups de jour. What are my best bets?

 

[obobskivich]

What do you mean by bloated treble? Bright? 
 
Looking through your profile eliminates a few suggestions I would've made (like Grado), but I might consider looking at the Sony MDR-SA5000 or Beyerdynamic T70 - both have a treble spike and very well textured (but not overpowering) bass. They're distinct from the currently popular "bass boost" genre of headphones (and one another).
 
I personally feel that the SA5000 does everything the T70 can do, better, but the T70 provides a substantial amount of isolation and may be easier to find (I think the Sony are discontinued). Relative to the K701 (I saw it listed in your profile), both will be "bright" and potentially "top heavy" while providing a very detailed and quick presentation (the T70 is more likely to approach "harsh"). 
 

 

[Thommohawk]

If you mean a headphone with more bass as well as treble emphasis then look no further than the DT 990 Pro. Or the Premium version. 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Beats, Bose or Skullcandy! 
 
or Orpheus. 

 

[Nightowl217]

Quote:

Beats, Bose or Skullcandy! 
 
or Orpheus. 

You sure you read OP right? He said crisp bass.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I'd be interested in hearing a definition of "crisp" bass.
 
Anyway Ultrasone PRO900 would probably fit your bill.

 

[planx]

Quote:

Beats, Bose or Skullcandy! 
 
or Orpheus. 

 
Quote:

You sure you read OP right? He said crisp bass.

Sarcasm *cough cough*
 
 

 

[ZARIM]

The Grado, Audio Technica, Ultrasone headphones offers extended highs and punchy bass like RS1i, SR325i, AD900, Pro 2900, Pro900.

 

[Beagle]

No No NO and NO!
 
I want bloated treble. I don't want spikes. I want the treble to rise a bit starting around 8kHz, gently above that smooth past 14kHz and gradual slope down about 2db less past 20kHz. The bass should be crisp like a crisp wafer. Not a soggy fat marshmallow chocolate soaked pile of crap (Hi Denon!) that most headphones have for bass. It should be flat from about 500hZ down to about 35 then roll off fast so not to become a muddy foggy vast quagmire that just becomes Alfred Hitchcock bass response. Midrange should be flat and rise above all of the above about 4db during it's contribution. I ordered the Ultrasone HFI-780 just to tide me over until we get an answer.
 
I was hoping the Focal Spirit One or the Philips Fidelio L1 would fit but they are ellusive with regards to what is really up with them, very mysterious the limited information and understanding of these cans, I do hope that one day we once again will be able to have audio shops where you can try things out. I wonder if they actually exist. There is a shop in town that carries the Sennheiser line up to the HD598 which is cool and another that has the Beyer line but the new stuff? Its all over baby blue

 

[ThomasLi]

Quote:

No No NO and NO!
 
I want bloated treble. I don't want spikes. I want the treble to rise a bit starting around 8kHz, gently above that smooth past 14kHz and gradual slope down about 2db less past 20kHz. The bass should be crisp like a crisp wafer. Not a soggy fat marshmallow chocolate soaked pile of crap (Hi Denon!) that most headphones have for bass. It should be flat from about 500hZ down to about 35 then roll off fast so not to become a muddy foggy vast quagmire that just becomes Alfred Hitchcock bass response. Midrange should be flat and rise above all of the above about 4db during it's contribution. I ordered the Ultrasone HFI-780 just to tide me over until we get an answer.
 
I was hoping the Focal Spirit One or the Philips Fidelio L1 would fit but they are ellusive with regards to what is really up with them, very mysterious the limited information and understanding of these cans, I do hope that one day we once again will be able to have audio shops where you can try things out. I wonder if they actually exist. There is a shop in town that carries the Sennheiser line up to the HD598 which is cool and another that has the Beyer line but the new stuff? Its all over baby blue

Seeing as you seem to know exactly what you want from your FR, why don't you just EQ (to the extreme) something with a relatively flat response.

Also, nice to see some humour on head-fi.
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Seeing as you seem to know exactly what you want from your FR, why don't you just EQ (to the extreme) something with a relatively flat response.

Also, nice to see some humour on head-fi.

But but, true audiophiles don't EQ! Sorry I couldn't resist. No but that's actually a good suggestion, pick up a hardware 31-band EQ like the Behringer whatever model it was and try get as good starter candidate as possible and fix the rest yourself. EQing works good when you know what sound exactly you prefer/looking for. You just have to find a headphone with the right attributes which EQing won't fix, soundstage, bass quality (mainly how the cup is designed and such).
 

 

[poikkeus]

Being "called out" for having bloated treble and crisp bass
 
I was really satisfied with my sound. But then - my mistake - an "audiophile" wanted to listen to my phones. 
 
"Man," he said, "It sounds good, and all, but you have way too much detail. I mean, they're your own phones, so you can listen whatever way you want, but damn..."
 
It seems that people these days don't realize that tinnitus isn't necessarily just a condition; it's also a choice. 

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Seeing as you seem to know exactly what you want from your FR, why don't you just EQ (to the extreme) something with a relatively flat response.

Also, nice to see some humour on head-fi.
 

 
Quite logical Captain but why should I do the work? Why should I pay good money for headphones that aren't up to the task? Why can't headphone manufacturers make headphones that are free from nasty treble spikes and bass humps? I mean, don't these people listen to their new products and measure them before they foist them on us unsuspecting, early-adopting Head-Fires? Take the Beyer T1 (please!). A droopy upper-midrange followed immediately by a nasty spike around 10k then drops off a cliff into the pits of hell after that and for only what, $1200? Barfo. Sennheiser almost had it with the HD600 fifteen years ago then decided to go to the dark side on us then totally lost the plot. Yamaha HP-1 from 1977, original Grado HP-1 and RS-1 (both using flats) gave lovely music until music was abandoned for the request for detail and you want detail, here's detail. Young kids are overweight, addicted to sugar and sodium, ADD now a standard feature not an option, can't tie their shoes but can operate an iPhone and headphones are about on par with that disgusting bit of reality. Mull that over for a while, Martin.
 
 

 

[obobskivich]

What about stats or planars? They'll give you "crisp" bass (and everything else). 
 
 

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

 
Quite logical Captain but why should I do the work? Why should I pay good money for headphones that aren't up to the task? Why can't headphone manufacturers make headphones that are free from nasty treble spikes and bass humps? I mean, don't these people listen to their new products and measure them before they foist them on us unsuspecting, early-adopting Head-Fires? Take the Beyer T1 (please!). A droopy upper-midrange followed immediately by a nasty spike around 10k then drops off a cliff into the pits of hell after that and for only what, $1200? Barfo. Sennheiser almost had it with the HD600 fifteen years ago then decided to go to the dark side on us then totally lost the plot. Yamaha HP-1 from 1977, original Grado HP-1 and RS-1 (both using flats) gave lovely music until music was abandoned for the request for detail and you want detail, here's detail. Young kids are overweight, addicted to sugar and sodium, ADD now a standard feature not an option, can't tie their shoes but can operate an iPhone and headphones are about on par with that disgusting bit of reality. Mull that over for a while, Martin.
 
 

 
Because real music isn't played in the vacuum of a triode transistor.  It's played in a room or outdoor location.  And no room or outdoor location allows for perfectly flat sound.  The sound bounces and reflects and deflects and attenuates before it gets to the listening position.   The headphone manufacturers are each providing their rendition of what "music in the perfect location" sounds like (and thank goodness each has their own rendition or this hobby would be so very boring!) True flat would be awfully boring unless you wanted flat purely to EQ it to YOUR desired perfect location which would, in retrospect, be ideal.
 
Of course if you want to simulate the "true flat" of shoving your head inside the piano, maybe Etymotic IEMs would be ideal?

  Otherwise the spikes and dips try to simulate common effects of sound passing through air and reflecting on objects before it gets to you.  The most neutral ones simulate only what the barest of environments (air) would do.  Air itself attenuates treble most of all, thus the dips. 
 
And with Beyer, remember MOST of these "reference" class cans are really meant for recording studio use.  Beyer's spikes (along with some Sony models) may be the most shiny in that rage because they're trying to highlight certain problem areas in recording.  They're built as tools, not playback devices.  We're just nerdy enough (and cheap enough) to not buy expensive 2ch loudspeaker systems like the engineers intended