[Borky]

I just did a side by side comparison of my new HD 280s and some A900s I've had for over a year (they were my first headphones). I noticed that while the A900s are more neutral and clear sounding, they lack a lot of bass when compared to the HD 280s. Is this normal, I thought the consensus around here was that the HD 280s had little bass impact while a900s were renowned for some good, solid bass impact and extension.

By the way, I'm plugging directly into my high res output on my Chaintech card for this.

 

[jagorev]

That is an odd result. It might have something to do with the Chaintech not being meant to drive headphones directly.

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borky I just did a side by side comparison of my new HD 280s and some A900s I've had for over a year (they were my first headphones). I noticed that while the A900s are more neutral and clear sounding, they lack a lot of bass when compared to the HD 280s. Is this normal, I thought the consensus around here was that the HD 280s had little bass impact while a900s were renowned for some good, solid bass impact and extension.

I have only owned the 900LTD's which supposedly have more bass than the original 900, but it's well below the neutral mark (referenceing a midpoint between the DT880 and HD-650 as absolutely neutral). Though, it may be that the midrange (upper) is particularly prominent, making the bass seem very lacking in comparison though it could be flat.

 

[003]

I also found that. The A900 bass goes down deep, but lacks the needed impact. My tests were done out of a PA2V2.

 

[Esidarap]

I find my A900s bass to be very finnicky with sources. Out of my iBook the bass is almost non-existant, iPod Nano it's very boomy, my PCDP is very neutral sounding, and through the AV-710 it's impact is monsterous.. but there isn't much after the initial impact... it's punchy as hell.

 

[darkninja67]

My A900s have decent impact with most metal.

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esidarap but there isn't much after the initial impact... it's punchy as hell.

Which is a way of saying that it doesn't extend very low. Punch does not come from low bass, and is actually more of a upper bass, lower midrange phenomenon. The lower the frequency, by it's very nature the 'slower' the sound is, in both propogation and decay. Punch comes from either a lack of the lowest bass frequencies (look at the 'bass boost' on cheapo equalisers which is actually a bass boost down to around 64hz, at which point there is a severe bass cut down to 32hz to make it 'sound' bassier'), or an accentuation of the higher bass frequencies, and upper midrange to give definition. I think in the case of the 900, it's a lack of the lowest bass combined with extra in the upper midrange department.

To cut that short, 'punchy' bass is an oxymoron, and an aural illusion created by other frequencies.

Edit: that last sentence could cause some confusion. There are of course differences even when the bass is completely neutral created by head positioning, type and size of ear cups, etc. etc. but I don't think that's the issue here.

 

[Borky]

I definetely need to get an amp I think.
This is surprising as I got the 280s mainly for DJing and just burned them in this past week, while the A900s were supposed to be my main listening headphones. I know A900s are suggested for rock a lot around here, but I don't see it, when compared to these things which are half their price.

 

[jagorev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSloth Which is a way of saying that it doesn't extend very low. Punch does not come from low bass, and is actually more of a upper bass, lower midrange phenomenon.

Well, that makes some sense. This would explain the finding about the HD280, which goes down real low.

 

[Esidarap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSloth Which is a way of saying that it doesn't extend very low. Punch does not come from low bass, and is actually more of a upper bass, lower midrange phenomenon. The lower the frequency, by it's very nature the 'slower' the sound is, in both propogation and decay. Punch comes from either a lack of the lowest bass frequencies (look at the 'bass boost' on cheapo equalisers which is actually a bass boost down to around 64hz, at which point there is a severe bass cut down to 32hz to make it 'sound' bassier'), or an accentuation of the higher bass frequencies, and upper midrange to give definition. I think in the case of the 900, it's a lack of the lowest bass combined with extra in the upper midrange department. To cut that short, 'punchy' bass is an oxymoron, and an aural illusion created by other frequencies.

I guess that explains why the A900 feels so much faster through the chaintech. There must be some bass roll off going on that doesn't happen through my other sources.

 

[rodbac]

I've owned both and the bass from the A900s is WAY more balanced and strong than the 280s.

The 280s don't go even remotely as low.

[edit]

Here:

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodbac I've owned both and the bass from the A900s is, to my ears, WAY more balanced and strong than the 280s. The 280s don't go even remotely as low, but have a big mid-bass hump that makes them more striking. Here:

400hz isn't mid bass. That's between a G and G sharp above middle C on a piano...

People tend to get muddled up with the rather useless terms bass mids and treble. Someone should decide on a definition...

 

[rodbac]

Yeah, I edited that out, sloth. I haven't owned them in a while and was basing the "mid bass hump" comment off of distant memory.

I do remember clearly that they didn't come close to the bass I get from the A900s, though...

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodbac Yeah, I edited that out, sloth. I haven't owned them in a while and was basing the "mid bass hump" comment off of distant memory. I do remember clearly that they didn't come close to the bass I get from the A900s, though...

Maybe true. To be honest I wasn't actually commenting on a comparison between the 280's and 900's as I've only heard the 900's. I was just commenting in general about perceptions of bass.

 

[Borky]

I just ran my bass test cd and I could here it very well down to 40hz or so on my 280s. Either my hearing is wacky or I've had a bad pair of A900s, I really don't think they have more of a bass impact than the 280s.