[SyntheticMorphi]

Hey guys, I read plenty of posts on this forum before but decided to join as I finally got my first pair of ATH-M50's a big step up from my ol' reliable MDR V150's. But I noticed the bass is really lacking. I've been running them for about 3 hours. Great spacial highs and solid mids. But I feel even when I turn up the equalizer to max bass but its really pathetic. Would getting an amplifier give more powerful sound and bass?

I've been looking into the Fiio E7 or maybe a desktop one. 

 

[soundstige]

If you feel the M50 doesn't fulfill your bass needs even with an equalizer boosting it, at least in volume if not quality, an amplifier wouldn't help the situation at all. Try looking into something like the Sony XB500 or XB700.

 

[SyntheticMorphi]

I'm not a bass head at all. But it just feels like the bass isn't living up to the high's. I actually have been looking into the XB1000's. But those insane 70mm drivers probably need a their own power supply. @_@

Would this improve with burn in?

 

[Wicked world]

 
 

Would this improve with burn in?

 
I haven't noticed very much changes after burn in with my M50's as opposed to my Beyers which really improved after a hundred hours or so. If you don't think the M50's have any bass you might be somewhat of a bass head after all. I actually find they have quite a lot of bass, more than absolutely neutral. 

 

[SyntheticMorphi]

Even my V150's had pretty insane bass. But those were 30 mm rather cheap drivers. While the M50's drivers are pretty heavy duty by any standard. I typically lean towards bass because of the high sound leakage that the high's cause. While bass is pretty much silent at high volume. I really wanna see why these headphones could do with desktop amplifier. I'm at a computer most of the day anyways.

 

[Seamless Sounds]

What do you mean by bass is lacking? I listen to Jpop/Jrock. To me the K701 has no bass punch/impact at all so bass drums are the most difficult for me to hear (this is where my complimentary Denon D2000 comes in). This is what I would call lacking bass. To others it might be that the bass guitar can't be heard clearly, therefore it must be lacking bass (I don't have any problems with K701 in this regard).
 
M^3 amp has a bass boost feature (controlled via a knob). It is a DIY amp, but you can buy it used on these forums from someone. How much bass you want is your own preference, meaning if the bass gain doesn't extend far enough to the right for your taste, then most likely you'll need to modify it.
 
http://www.amb.org/audio/mmm/ See Bass Boost calculator. You can change the value by changing Cbb (lower is more). The bass punch is around 125hz-ish.
 
Ultimately it depends on the music you listen to.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I found the M50 not being very EQ friendly, didn't respond well to boosting bass despite doing large amounts, amounts that had definitely done a huge difference with another pair of headphone. I also found the bass to be lacking but I'm a basshead though so I'm looking for a bit more. I didn't amp them back then so could possibly be lack of amping (people tend to say they are easily driven though).

 

[SyntheticMorphi]

Yea, RPGWiZaRD I totally agree with you. I feel that these headphones are mean't to be used with a high powered stereo system especially since it has a screw on 1'4" adapter. I'll probably look up a E9 or A1. 

 

[ViralRazor]

No bass? Strannnnge....
 
Especially at high volumes! I find the bass on the M50s comes out much more at higher volumes. They definitely aren't basshead phones, but they certainly do have a nice amount of bass.
 

 
Listen to this at high volumes. If you still think little/no bass something might be wrong with your pair and/or amp output impedence. If your source's output impedence is too high it can ruin the bass response of low impedence headphones (such as the M50s, which have an impedence of only 38 ohms)

 

[SyntheticMorphi]

Yea, little bass. But the highs and mids are orgasmic to say the least. Then again it could be my computers sound card possibly not enough power being supplied. The bass is there but it feels very unpowered. Possibly getting a desk amp would really improve things. 


Great song by the way 

 

[JackeShan]

Any bass here? M50 should definitely be able to provide great bass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ePP1y1FtEk

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Having owned the blue box M50s (bassy), and my brother's new white box M50 (with supposedly lesser bass), I would never consider either to be lacking in bass. Are they basshead cans on their own? No. They are bass EMPHASIZED, not bass heavy. They however have just the right amount of bass for me. The thing about the M50 for me personally, is that they can handle a good amount of bass boost. At least in terms of sub bass.

Tried the old M50 with various sources and amps, including the E9 and Lyr. The new one just off the E9.

I find both the blue box and white box to sound pretty much exactly the same, with the newer one having just a hint less bass, making them even more balanced and less mid recessed than before. A hint, not a significant drop.

 

[SyntheticMorphi]

I know in ear buds provide the best bass. But I was looking for an over the ear pair that would have nice highs, mids and jaw rocking bass. Not that blurred muddled crap. But nice deep bass. The bass is pretty good at higher volumes but the sound leakage is what stops me from using these headphones in a library setting since I'm in college. 

 

[B-Dawk20]

I found the M50 not being very EQ friendly, didn't respond well to boosting bass despite doing large amounts, amounts that had definitely done a huge difference with another pair of headphone. I also found the bass to be lacking but I'm a basshead though so I'm looking for a bit more. I didn't amp them back then so could possibly be lack of amping (people tend to say they are easily driven though).

I found the only region they responded well to WAS bass. The amp I have helped but I got the bass I wanted. I just lowered the upper frequencies at a slow scale until I reached 500hz then the rest put down by a good amount. From that point on, I just turned the volume up and got all the bass I could want. But like I said, I have an amp so it could provide me the volume needed to "boost" the bass efficiently via increased volume. I can post my settings if you want and you can see if it works for you.

 

[atomikn00b]

maybe its a bass vs subbass thing?