[alecenriquez]

Hey what's up guys.
 
So I've been researching for a while which might be the best headphones for my preferences. Let me give you some background first. I currently own the M50's and am looking to upgrade in terms of bass. I listen to EDM almost religiously: Trance, Progressive House, Dubstep, Trap, DnB, Electro House, etc., so you can see that bass is a very important factor. Now I'm not looking purely for bass per se, but it is by far the most important to me since I'm looking for a less neutral headphone than the M50. In particular, I want very good Punch AND very good sub bass (Basically, what will allow me to both enjoy Trance's melodies and thumpy basslines as well as Trap's 808 emphasis on rumbly bass). My research has really led me to a few things I'm very strongly considering, with respect to my budget (Trying to stay around 300 dollars but can push a little further. Definitely no more than 400).

Ultrasone Pro 900
M-audio Q40
The XB series.
 
I've also been looking to upgrade my amp
E11 or Digizoid zo2
 
My main question here is, can any of you give me a definitive answer on which is the BEST choice. Remember, I'm trying to upgrade from my M50 in terms of Bass quality AND quantity, so if a sacrifice must be made with respect to any other sound elements, so be it.
 
BTW this is my first post and I'm glad I finally decided to join. I have been pretty much visiting daily for the past 3 months lol.

 

[Tangster]

Try and find a second hand Denon D2000 around $250.

 

[alecenriquez]

Quote:

Try and find a second hand Denon D2000 around $250.

 
 
I looked into those as well, but I couldn't find any less than 400, plus do they really have bass comparable to the mentioned?

 

[Tsujigiri]

I know the Pro 900's will give you bass quantity and quality. I had one of the old XB series and didn't like it; I hear the new ones are worse.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

I looked into those as well, but I couldn't find any less than 400, plus do they really have bass comparable to the mentioned?

Best sub-bass I've heard short of the XB1000. But not worth $400.

 

[alecenriquez]

So I'm really leaning towards the Ultrasone Pro 900 and the Digizoid. Worth the 400 dollars total? Skip the amp?

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

So I'm really leaning towards the Ultrasone Pro 900 and the Digizoid. Worth the 400 dollars total? Skip the amp?

Get the Pro 900 then decide if you still want the amp?

 

[336881]

if u get the pro 900's get ready for a long burn in, mine sounded like crap for quite a while and I don't think it was my ears acclimating. good things come to those that wait though.

 

[Ohnoitztotoro]

I have the XB500 and they have punchy bass in large, gracious quantity but sacrifices everything else for it. If you're coming from the M50 I am not sure how good the XB line will sound to you. They are fun headphones but sound quality wise may not please you unless you go for something like the XB1000 which I have not heard so I can't provide you any opinion there. I have heard some of the newer ones and they aren't as impressive as the old line-up. If you're coming from an $150+ pair of headphones though, an $50-$70 pair of XB500 will not compete I think. If you have a spending cap of $300-$400 then there are much better options than the XB line too. 
 
If you want to go closer to your max price range, the HE-400 are very nice ($400). Crisp, punchy and clean bass that will do pretty much all those genre's very good justice. In my opinion though, you may not be completely happy with trance on these since to me the mids sound a slight bit further away and less up front (they still handle trance great though). On genres like dubstep, progressive house, electro house etc. you will not be disappointed. Also since you said you were willing to sacrifice certain areas for quality bass, the drawback of the less forward mids might be okay. 
 
I haven't had the chance to try other people's suggestions like the Ultrasone Pro 900 so definitely look into that too. I hear many people recommending that quite often so that should be a rather good candidate to research as well.  

 

[risenfallen]

You might want to look into the Ultrasone HFI-2400 and Pro 750 as well, besides the Pro 900.
 
From my limited experience, the Denon D2000 is not fast enough for EDM though may still be enjoyable due to their great sub-bass performance. I would not choose HE-400 either (though they can do excellently with EDM) in this case because those are sort of picky in amplification (in terms of synergy and power) despite the claim that they can be driven by virtually anything, so the E11 or Digizoid won't be sufficient for them.

 

[alecenriquez]

Quote:

I have the XB500 and they have punchy bass in large, gracious quantity but sacrifices everything else for it. If you're coming from the M50 I am not sure how good the XB line will sound to you. They are fun headphones but sound quality wise may not please you unless you go for something like the XB1000 which I have not heard so I can't provide you any opinion there. I have heard some of the newer ones and they aren't as impressive as the old line-up. If you're coming from an $150+ pair of headphones though, an $50-$70 pair of XB500 will not compete I think. If you have a spending cap of $300-$400 then there are much better options than the XB line too. 
 
If you want to go closer to your max price range, the HE-400 are very nice ($400). Crisp, punchy and clean bass that will do pretty much all those genre's very good justice. In my opinion though, you may not be completely happy with trance on these since to me the mids sound a slight bit further away and less up front (they still handle trance great though). On genres like dubstep, progressive house, electro house etc. you will not be disappointed. Also since you said you were willing to sacrifice certain areas for quality bass, the drawback of the less forward mids might be okay. 
 
I haven't had the chance to try other people's suggestions like the Ultrasone Pro 900 so definitely look into that too. I hear many people recommending that quite often so that should be a rather good candidate to research as well.  

 
 
The HE-400 do seem very appealing. I hadn't even considered something like that, but I'm seeing here that they would probably require some serious ampage, meaning the price would go even higher. If I'm wrong, tell me and I will seriously consider those because I'm pretty sure the overall sound quality will be better on those than the 900's. At this point, I'm leaning towards the 900's unless anyone else can convince me otherwise (they are probably at the cheapest that they're going to get on Amazon). Ohnoitztotoro, you do make a really solid point about the xb's, so I think I'm going to stray away from those now. 

 

[alecenriquez]

Quote:

You might want to look into the Ultrasone HFI-2400 and Pro 750 as well, besides the Pro 900.
 
From my limited experience, the Denon D2000 is not fast enough for EDM though may still be enjoyable due to their great sub-bass performance. I would not choose HE-400 either (though they can do excellently with EDM) in this case because those are sort of picky in amplification (in terms of synergy and power) despite the claim that they can be driven by virtually anything, so the E11 or Digizoid won't be sufficient for them.

 
 
The 750's are actually an option I am sort of considering now that you point it out. Do you think the 900 isn't worth the extra 75?

 

[bareyb]

Quote:

 
 
The HE-400 do seem very appealing. I hadn't even considered something like that, but I'm seeing here that they would probably require some serious ampage, meaning the price would go even higher. If I'm wrong, tell me and I will seriously consider those because I'm pretty sure the overall sound quality will be better on those than the 900's. At this point, I'm leaning towards the 900's unless anyone else can convince me otherwise (they are probably at the cheapest that they're going to get on Amazon). Ohnoitztotoro, you do make a really solid point about the xb's, so I think I'm going to stray away from those now. 

I'd be cautious buying a Planar for Bass. Even the HE400. While they have very nice detailed Bass, they will have less Bass impact (that which you can feel) than even the M50s you are upgrading from (see the chart). HE400s have a fairly flat Bass response. Of the three you mentioned up top. the one with the MOST Bass is the Q-40 and the best overall (mids and highs) would be the Pro 900s. At least in my opinion. If you listen to very loud volume levels the Pro 900s can get a little harsh though. The Q-40 on the other hand was a bit dark for my taste. It's a toss up and depends on your priorities.  I have heard the Vmoda M-100s are supposed to compete with the Pro 900s fairly well, but that's just hearsay from the "Basshead Club Thread". Whatever you buy, be sure they have a 30 day return window, cuz you never really know until you hear them for yourself. 
 

 

[Ohnoitztotoro]

Quote:

You might want to look into the Ultrasone HFI-2400 and Pro 750 as well, besides the Pro 900.
 
From my limited experience, the Denon D2000 is not fast enough for EDM though may still be enjoyable due to their great sub-bass performance. I would not choose HE-400 either (though they can do excellently with EDM) in this case because those are sort of picky in amplification (in terms of synergy and power) despite the claim that they can be driven by virtually anything, so the E11 or Digizoid won't be sufficient for them.
Quote:

 
 
The HE-400 do seem very appealing. I hadn't even considered something like that, but I'm seeing here that they would probably require some serious ampage, meaning the price would go even higher. If I'm wrong, tell me and I will seriously consider those because I'm pretty sure the overall sound quality will be better on those than the 900's. At this point, I'm leaning towards the 900's unless anyone else can convince me otherwise (they are probably at the cheapest that they're going to get on Amazon). Ohnoitztotoro, you do make a really solid point about the xb's, so I think I'm going to stray away from those now. 
 

Yes sorry I forgot about the amp aspect. I will 100% agree that while everyone says these are easily driven, it sounds quite underwhelming without some good power behind it. In that sense, I do recommend against the HE-400. The amps you have will probably not provide enough power to give  that great bass. 
 
Speaking of bass, I agree with bareyb in being cautious before jumping onto planar magnetics (should you ever do so in the future). Planar Magnetic headphones give a very different touch to bass. Its very fast, detailed, clean and crisp with a style that is quite unique. However if you're use to headphones like the M50 which has significantly more coloration (imo) you may initially feel that the bass from planar magnetics (like the HE-400) to be less full and thinner sounding (can't think of a better description). So for future reference, if that is not quite the bass characteristics you're after then disregard those until  you try them out in a store. 

 

[alecenriquez]

Quote:

I'd be cautious buying a Planar for Bass. Even the HE400. While they have very nice detailed Bass, they will have less Bass impact (that which you can feel) than even the M50s you are upgrading from (see the chart). HE400s have a fairly flat Bass response. Of the three you mentioned up top. the one with the MOST Bass is the Q-40 and the best overall (mids and highs) would be the Pro 900s. At least in my opinion. If you listen to very loud volume levels the Pro 900s can get a little harsh though. The Q-40 on the other hand was a bit dark for my taste. It's a toss up and depends on your priorities.  I have heard the Vmoda M-100s are supposed to compete with the Pro 900s fairly well, but that's just hearsay from the "Basshead Club Thread". Whatever you buy, be sure they have a 30 day return window, cuz you never really know until you hear them for yourself. 
 

 
Ok so my new question. Judging from those frequency charts, the ultrasone and the m50 have pretty much the same bass until mid bass and higher. Is it worth me spending 300 dollars or more to upgrade from my current pair? Is there enough difference in sound that I will immediately notice the difference between the two in terms of bass? I was thinking that maybe buying the digizoid and the q40 would satisfy my needs for 75-100 dollars less, I'm just scared that the q40 won't really be a great upgrade choice since that's also what I'm looking for, an upgrade...what do you guys think?