[katulu]

After a few days with my set of SZ2k, I've made some changes that really improve the sound and comfort level for me. I did some pad rolling with about 15 different pairs and ended up with the same pads I used on my last set of the SZ2000's years ago, the MrSpeakers/Dan Clark Audio Alpha pads. They are super comfortable and thick. They give a good bit of distance between my ears and the drivers allowing for a much better mid and treble presentation without losing any of the low end slam. I then tightened up all the screws around the hinge area to quiet a good bit of the creaking and groaning noises the SZ1k and SZ2k are well known for. My set came without any material on the headband itself, it was all peeling off so the previous owner pulled it off. I ordered up THIS zip-on headband cover which turned out to be the perfect size for the JVC. And finally I opened up the cups themselves and lined the back of the driver with some felt to absorb some rattle I was hearing, it made a noticeable difference. Now, I'm just working on getting the most out of the set with some EQ. They really are coming around to a good pair of headphones that happen to hit like car audio subs, instead of just being the bass king with sounding mids and treble.



Alpha Pads:




These are the 8 screws per side I tightened up to quiet the creaking. For some reason the collars around the headband had the screws on the wrong side so I spun them back around to the inside:



The new headband cover:





Here is the adhesive felt I placed on the back of the driver assembly:

Thanks for the headband idea, my SZ2k, even though I hardly ever use them, are finally peeling off.

 

[monkey4054]

Yeah ok, but they punch? I bet the drums don't go hard as others like the dxp, I ment the impact in the upper bass.

Can you stop being annoying?

 

[eobet]

You must try Final D8000. The sub bass depth is i suspose maximum what headphone can go right now. Its like listening pair of speakers with subwoofer added. One of few pairs on the planet right now can do that. Of course headphones never be speakers. Sony propably can hit harder and tighter but Finals are planar bass in best form. If they dont do the trick, propably non other cannot neither.

I have. They're in the center of this photo. I've said this elsewhere, but they could sound like angels whispering in my ear for all I care, because they were so laughably heavy that it disqualified them from any consideration! My Ether 2 are planars and at 290g I have no issue wearing them for 8 hours a day while I work.

Good luck with your bass journy. My bass journey for now its end, but who know what waiting for us.

I'm done.

 

[Brown909]

You must try Final D8000. The sub bass depth is i suspose maximum what headphone can go right now. Its like listening pair of speakers with subwoofer added. One of few pairs on the planet right now can do that. Of course headphones never be speakers. Sony propably can hit harder and tighter but Finals are planar bass in best form. If they dont do the trick, propably non other cannot neither. Good luck with your bass journy. My bass journey for now its end, but who know what waiting for us.

But the Abyss 1266 is still king when it comes to planars

 

[Alucard1]

You are 100% sure?

 

[Brown909]

You are 100% sure?

Yes have heard most flagship planars and this one is just insane compared to the rest. Needs some adjustments though to get the right fit. And if you place the pads correctly it's bass heaven! Best speaker/subwoofer like sound there is...

 

[OnlySoMany]

So many replies. Just go to the shows and sample some.

Also just lots of slam is not the same as quality bass. I have headphones that hit hard but its not good bass.

Again, Caldera, Atrium Closed, and Focal Utopia are probably the best 3 for quality bass with lots of slam. My personal favorite is the Caldera on the WA33. Sounds amazing. Rosson Rad0 is also good, but open back so a bit less bass. Idk how the Utopia has that much bass being an open back, but it does.

Fostex TH900 are good slam, but far behind in almost every other area compared to those.

 

[Chronos]

Caldera
Atrium closed

And the most bass ever?

Those weird skullcandy crusher headphones. Rediculous bass

Sorry but no, not Caldera, I’ve owned and sold them. Even Zach himself has clearly stated they’re tuned to have perfectly flat bass.

 

[Chronos]

Ahhh Caldera. I must hear that but i dont know its really gonna be upgrade from G padded D8000. Maybe

Don’t waste your time, they’re not it for bass and were never meant to be.

 

[OnlySoMany]

Sorry but no, not Caldera, I’ve owned and sold them. Even Zach himself has clearly stated they’re tuned to have perfectly flat bass.

Poor amplification? They slam. Not sure what you mean.

 

[Chronos]

Poor amplification? They slam. Not sure what you mean.

Look in the Caldera thread, Zach himself said he didn’t tune the Caldera to slam at all and is tuned to have a completely flat bass.

We’re talking about headphones that slam in this thread, not quality of bass. I think your suggestions of quality bass can be misleading. Caldera has a refined bass, and definitely doesn’t slam. They aren’t that hard to drive so don’t blame the amplification. You are using a WA33 that thing will pretty much make anything seem like it slams, maybe that’s why you think that way?

 

[addyaustin]

Hey guys, first of all this thread is extremely helpful and interesting! Thank you for this! I was looking for some good bass cannons and went through a couple of pages of this thread. Below is the list that I've shortlisted. I'd appreciate any feedback regarding what would be most value for money for me:

1) Meze 99 neos
2) Campfire audio cascade
3) JVC HA-SW01
4) V-Moda Crossfade M-100 master

I'm looking for decent separation and punchy bass that slaps...quite literally moves air around my ears. I don't mind EQing a bit to get the desired results.

Also, fostex is unavailable in my country and I don't want to deal with import duties (wish I could get my hands on the TH-600 or the THX-00 mahagony). ZMF and Denon are also not feasible options.

If there are other better options in similar budget range, please advise.

I presently own a bunch of different headphones and the bassiest of them are the LCD2Cs. I love the quality of bass and the extention into sub bass of the planar headphones but they cannot move air like a dynamic driver does!

Appreciate any advise!

PS: The stack that I currently use is L30/E30. Would it make any sense for me to get another dac/amp to get maximum out of my bass cannons?

Thank you!

 

[StarTreker]

Hey guys, first of all this thread is extremely helpful and interesting!

I agree, very informative thread indeed!

4) V-Moda Crossfade M-100 master

I can't speak to the other can's on your list, but in regards to these, they are a flat profile, basically a studio reference can, and if thats what your looking for, by all means, enjoy those can's. I have the LP2's, which are more of a bass heavy can, which makes them more fun then reference IMO. Having said that, I didn't feel that these can's were very punchy, they have some good low end bass though. But the M-100's are known to be flat in their profile, so don't expect real low end bass, and don't expect the bass to be very punchy.

I'm looking for decent separation and punchy bass that slaps...quite literally moves air around my ears. I don't mind EQing a bit to get the desired results.

Well, then your most certainly going to be looking at the new can's I just got, the Drop Ultrasone Signature X's. These can's not only have deep level's of bass, but these can's slam hard, especially with EQ increases! So if your looking for bass that slams your skull when the volume is cranked up, and some EQ boost added, these are the can's for you. Also, despite the can's being closed back, they actually have a surprising amount of separation, and some decent soundstage as well.

PS: The stack that I currently use is L30/E30. Would it make any sense for me to get another dac/amp to get maximum out of my bass cannons?

Actually, you have decent setup for can's that are easy to drive. Your Topping L-30 produces 2.3-watts per channel into 32-OHMS. If you bought the Ultrasone Signature X's that I have, and you throw your L-30 into HIGH gain, you should be able to get these can's to a very loud volume, when you have moved the volume pot to 60%. I personally have the S.M.S.L SP200 AMP, which produces 3-watts per channel into 32-OHMS, and I am able to get my can's to a very loud volume in HIGH-gain when I put the volume to 50%.

And yes, I modified it with a gold aluminum volume knob.

And I am using the matching S.M.S.L M200 DAC for my stack, works excellent!

And this is the hardware EQ unit that I use, a Vintage Realistic 12-band EQ box!

I got 22-gauge Monoprice cables linking the chain, so as not to lose sound dynamics from low quality tiny gauge cables. I got a fiber optic cable sending the source signal to the DAC. And the coiled cable that came with my Ultrasone can's, is plenty thick enough in gauge to not harm dynamics, so I just stuck with that. When I used to use my JVC SZ can's, and my V-Moda can's, I had to use a higher quality cable with them, because they came with garbage cables out the box. But not so with Ultrasone. I guess its like the expression, you really do get what you pay for.

In my experience, sometimes its a good idea to raise your budget, in order to get the quality you deserve. I hope this information helps, good luck!

 

[addyaustin]

I agree, very informative thread indeed!



I can't speak to the other can's on your list, but in regards to these, they are a flat profile, basically a studio reference can, and if thats what your looking for, by all means, enjoy those can's. I have the LP2's, which are more of a bass heavy can, which makes them more fun then reference IMO. Having said that, I didn't feel that these can's were very punchy, they have some good low end bass though. But the M-100's are known to be flat in their profile, so don't expect real low end bass, and don't expect the bass to be very punchy.



Well, then your most certainly going to be looking at the new can's I just got, the Drop Ultrasone Signature X's. These can's not only have deep level's of bass, but these can's slam hard, especially with EQ increases! So if your looking for bass that slams your skull when the volume is cranked up, and some EQ boost added, these are the can's for you. Also, despite the can's being closed back, they actually have a surprising amount of separation, and some decent soundstage as well.

Actually, you have decent setup for can's that are easy to drive. Your Topping L-30 produces 2.3-watts per channel into 32-OHMS. If you bought the Ultrasone Signature X's that I have, and you throw your L-30 into HIGH gain, you should be able to get these can's to a very loud volume, when you have moved the volume pot to 60%. I personally have the S.M.S.L SP200 AMP, which produces 3-watts per channel into 32-OHMS, and I am able to get my can's to a very loud volume in HIGH-gain when I put the volume to 50%.

And yes, I modified it with a gold aluminum volume knob.

And I am using the matching S.M.S.L M200 DAC for my stack, works excellent!

And this is the hardware EQ unit that I use, a Vintage Realistic 12-band EQ box!

I got 22-gauge Monoprice cables linking the chain, so as not to lose sound dynamics from low quality tiny gauge cables. I got a fiber optic cable sending the source signal to the DAC. And the coiled cable that came with my Ultrasone can's, is plenty thick enough in gauge to not harm dynamics, so I just stuck with that. When I used to use my JVC SZ can's, and my V-Moda can's, I had to use a higher quality cable with them, because they came with garbage cables out the box. But not so with Ultrasone. I guess its like the expression, you really do get what you pay for.

In my experience, sometimes its a good idea to raise your budget, in order to get the quality you deserve. I hope this information helps, good luck!

Wow. Thank you so much! I'll see if I can get them shipped but I don't think I'll be able to deal with shipping duties (they are almost 60% of the price...)

In the event that I'm not able to get these, are there any other cans that come a bit close?

 

[Chronos]

Hey guys, first of all this thread is extremely helpful and interesting! Thank you for this! I was looking for some good bass cannons and went through a couple of pages of this thread. Below is the list that I've shortlisted. I'd appreciate any feedback regarding what would be most value for money for me:

1) Meze 99 neos
2) Campfire audio cascade
3) JVC HA-SW01
4) V-Moda Crossfade M-100 master

I'm looking for decent separation and punchy bass that slaps...quite literally moves air around my ears. I don't mind EQing a bit to get the desired results.

Also, fostex is unavailable in my country and I don't want to deal with import duties (wish I could get my hands on the TH-600 or the THX-00 mahagony). ZMF and Denon are also not feasible options.

If there are other better options in similar budget range, please advise.

I presently own a bunch of different headphones and the bassiest of them are the LCD2Cs. I love the quality of bass and the extention into sub bass of the planar headphones but they cannot move air like a dynamic driver does!

Appreciate any advise!

PS: The stack that I currently use is L30/E30. Would it make any sense for me to get another dac/amp to get maximum out of my bass cannons?

Thank you!

Nothing moves air like the Abyss 1266 TC. You can literally feel it. It’s the closest to a speaker subwoofer experience in a headphone. No EQ necessary, it’s not just about the bass with these.