[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Though it may seem weird considering Grado is usually considered to have a bass-light sound signature, the Grado PS1000 and GS1000 have LOTS of bass. The PS500 is also amongst the bassiest open headphones

 I can second that, they're not bass light with either the mid bass or sub bass - the sub bass is just about
 perfect for me across all recordings but occasionally the mid bass for a beat line throughout a track can be quite
 forward - it's of exquisite quality though - I'd rank the PS1000 up there with the Pro 2900 as one of the best.
 
 DT990-600ohm is no slouch either, but it tends to love the sub bass area of the sound spectrum. 

 

[DVDRey]

 
Quote:

do the pro 2900s share the same drivers as the pro900s just open back?
 
I can't find a freq response graph for them at all.

 
Yes but they are tuned differently.
 
There are graphs somewhere but i don't remember the site.(if someone has the url). I remember that the pro900 and pro2900 frequency response are completely different.

 

[Riku540]

Quote:

The PRO2900 is not in the slighest an all rounder headphone. You need mint condition recordings because it amplifies any flaw in the music x100. The bass is more impactful than detailed, almost to a flaw. I really only liked them for electronica music. It really needs computer made music to shine.

I personally get annoyed when people count the unforgiving-ness of a headphone as a flaw.
 
Do you opt for a lower resolution, standard-definition television or monitor to mask low bitrate and compression artifacts from streaming video/YouTube? Do you blame your TV/monitor for the quality?
 
If not, why in the world would you blame headphones for bad recordings and low quality rips?
 

 

[obobskivich]

It's not just low quality rips - if you have poorly mastered music, that's a problem. Some material is only available in such a way. Should we change our tastes as a result? That said, revealing-ness [sic] is not a bad quality in a headphone, but being overly aggressive/sibilant is another story. You can have your cake and eat it too. A good headphone should make bad recordings sound passable, and good recordings sound great. To the original question, the Ultrasone HFI-2400 is the most bass impact I've heard from an open-backed headphone; hands down. It had more boom than my KH-K1000s. It was not a pleasant experience. Otherwise it was a great headphone. Haven't heard the Pro2900. If you want a more neutral/clean sound, the Sennheiser 580/600/650 is a good place to start - they're fairly close to neutral, they have good extension, and they have decent impact (over AKG, Sony, Grado, etc). Might also look at Beyerdynamic, if you can deal with the treble peaks.
Quote:

I personally get annoyed when people count the unforgiving-ness of a headphone as a flaw.
 
 

 

 

[drtturnip]

Some of the brilliant Elvis Costello stuff sounds like crap. A crying shame.

 

[MohawkUS]

I personally get annoyed when people count the unforgiving-ness of a headphone as a flaw.
 
Do you opt for a lower resolution, standard-definition television or monitor to mask low bitrate and compression artifacts from streaming video/YouTube? Do you blame your TV/monitor for the quality?
 
If not, why in the world would you blame headphones for bad recordings and low quality rips?
 

I'd have to sort of agree that it shouldn't be considered a flaw per say, but it is something to note in reviews I'm thinking.
If all I did with a monitor was watching low bitrate/SD quality videos, then yes I would buy a lower quality monitor as you tend to get the best result with a monitor thats resolution matches that of the video being played, same could be said for headphones. I made the mistake of buying something too high definition for the content I was playing.

Like I said, its not a flaw of the headphones, but it would be nice if it were noted a bit more in the reviews. Not all of us want to be limited to audiophile grade music.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

What irks me about revealing cans with bad recordings is that it can make you paranoid abut certain distortions. Like making you believe that something is wrong with your source or headphones.

Like for example, Linkin Park's Wretches and Kings. At 1:13 when the bass drops, the right side ALWAYS crackles. No matter where I hear it, or what headphones/source (as long as they are revealing).

Drove me crazy, thinking my headphones messed up.

Portishead - Machine Gun...pretty bad distortion the whole song.

 

[jerg]

LCD2.
 
Paraphrasing from a review I can't remember, its bass is visceral, as though it's emanating from a solid marble wall, but it's also the most textured and the most extended bass the reviewer had ever heard of from headphones. Overall I'd say that would mark it as the bassiest if you want REAL bass, not just imbalanced frequency response.

 

[Riku540]

Quote:

What irks me about revealing cans with bad recordings is that it can make you paranoid abut certain distortions. Like making you believe that something is wrong with your source or headphones.
Like for example, Linkin Park's Wretches and Kings. At 1:13 when the bass drops, the right side ALWAYS crackles. No matter where I hear it, or what headphones/source (as long as they are revealing).
Drove me crazy, thinking my headphones messed up.
Portishead - Machine Gun...pretty bad distortion the whole song.

 
True, but once you hear it on a "revealing" headphone, does it suddenly disappear when you switch to a more forgiving headphone?
 
Chances are, once you've noticed it, it's always there from that point on, no matter what you listen with. Your old headphones just simply weren't detailed enough to point it out. However, the potential gain in overall detail and clarity in noticing nuances you've never heard before is also far greater, and greatly outweighs the revealing of recording/mastering flaws.
 
One song it kills me on is the classic DJ Sammy & Yanou "Heaven (Candlelight Mix)" which is the piano version of the song. Such a timeless hit, yet it forever has that appalling crackle that lasts from 2:55 all the way to 3:05.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Thanks for this. I knew I wasn't crazy when I said this. It packs a pretty massive wallop, compared to the considerably less slamming DT990/600.
I honestly don't see how the DT990 Pro could disappoint bass-wise. I wish you'd test them yourself, but I know that the treble would seriously put you off personally. Though I know you're very pro-EQ, and I think subtractive EQ on the DT990 would probably be a massive improvement for you.

Yea it's on my list of headphones I may need to try sometimes, specially after seeing that graph as the problem is only at 8~10kHz so I could simply subtract 8kHz a whole lot and it would probably be extremely even in the whole mid and high range. But I'm worried about Beyer's often more "laid-back" sound which doesn't fit me, I like a more engaging, fun, forward (without being overly bright) sound. But yea I'm also interested in the soundstage how much of an advantage it has against M-Audio Q40 as that's something I could use an improvement in especially for gaming, could be a very interesting comparision between these two headphones.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I certainly don't find anything laid back with the Beyers. You talking about mids? I'm pretty certain the super prominent treble is what's pushing the midsback. They are very clear and detailed, just the treble really is quite aggressive. The DT990s are very punchy and quick, so I dunno where 'laid back' is coming from.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

I certainly don't find anything laid back with the Beyers. You talking about mids? I'm pretty certain the super prominent treble is what's pushing the midsback. They are very clear and detailed, just the treble really is quite aggressive. The DT990s are very punchy and quick, so I dunno where 'laid back' is coming from.

Well I'm not sure if you know what I'm referring to but let's put it this way I don't like the sound of AKG K70x, Sennheiser HD 800, these are what I'd call "disengaging" headphones that have a more relaxed sound targeted towards classical listening. I want a little more "in-your-face" so it doesn't sound like every instrument or vocals comes from likes miles apart. I prefer a quite up-close soundstage but still with decent size, one that feels you have to tap your foot to some smooth jazz or dance to some catchy techno etc. Ultrazino put it well in words in his L1 review of the kind of sound I personally like:
 

Voices are definitely in front of the instruments. Soundstage wise, they are up front and personal. The other instruments spread out nicely in a half-circle around the head. Depth is great. Thanks to the angled drivers, the music plays closely but outside the head.
There is really not much to dislike about the tuning. It’s engaging, lively, quick and energetic, without being aggressive or fatiguing. It’s not as flat as my W4, but considering the size I wouldn’t want it to be. Timbre is very fine – I have never thought that any instrument or voice sounded dark or bright. Due to the surrounding and immersive soundstage, the music just sucks me in. With a good recording, like Diana Krall’s Live in Paris, Philips can really show what they are capable of.

 
I thought BeyerDynamic DT770 didn't quite fit under this category for example but that may have been because the mids were so helplessly pushed back. It felt I was left slightly outside and didn't really suck me in.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The DT990 isn't anywhere in the ballpark of the AKG's presentation in soundstage. While it is large, it's not unnaturally so. The DT990 Pros have an even tighter/smaller soundstage, and it all sounds very much in your face. The issue with DT990's mids are actually less problematic on the Pros because the bass subdues the edge on the treble, bringing out the mids (tested the pros and DT990 side by side, the Pro's mids were more upfront, and treble less edgy). The bass is especially up front.