[caliskimmer]

I'm looking for headphones that have a good soundstage and decent bass for all sorts of electronic dance music; however, I'm not looking to use an amp, nor am I willing to spend more than 100 (MAYBE just a bit more) because I have a near perfect collection of IEMs at home and really don't need anything else.
 
Right now, I'm using my cousin's Sennheiser hd 238s and those blew me away in terms of soundstage and bass (believe it or not, this is coming from a guy who used to own the Sennheiser hd 800s) and they actually made me feel like I was in a danceable atmosphere, so I'm looking for a slight upgrade to those.
 
I looked at these already:
 
-Sennheiser HD 555 - good clarity, but not enough bass
-Audio-Technica ATH-AD700s - massive sound stage, clear sound, but bass is too light
-Sennheiser HD 485- THIS is what I want! So what's the problem? Discontinued
 
 
Clarity is not the most important thing for me (after all, I have CK10s, the ER4Ps, and the UM3xs), but a simulated feel, great bass, and soundstage are.
 
Thanks!
 
 

 

[legcramp]

Sony MDR-XB700 is something you should look at. Better clarity than my XB500, deeper bass, and just an overall better sound according to the majority of the users that has compared both side by side. (Look at joker's thread for the comparison)

 

[Ra97oR]

When you meant looked into, have you actually heard them yourself or not? Where I have heard the AD700 with electronics music, although amped with my portable rig, (haven't tired it unamped) the bass is actually not too light, its the fast slams that are there, not much bass decay. The bass slam is pretty powerful, its not a headphone with no bass for sure.

A700 sounded terrible and tinny to me, A900 is a far better match vs the AD700.

If you have a higher budget, try out SA5000, A2000X and AD2000. They are great for electronics.

 

[caliskimmer]

Unfortunately, I don't really live near a place where I can try out headphones. Our Guitar Center has good headphones for sale, but there were no demo phones to try the last time I went. If I could, I probably wouldn't have asked this question here. The good news is that I really have not made a bad purchase in terms of headphones without trying them out. The bad news is that I can't rely on certain reviews because many of them just contradict each other. If I had the cash right now, I would have bought the SA5000s, but I don't atm.

 

[ssavage]

try the xb700s. I've tried the xb500s and they had great deep bass so you should like them also

 

[VanCitySound]

I see some recommendations for the xb700s and xb500s so I though I'd throw in my 2cents. I owned the 500s for awhile and gotta say that although there is indeed big artificial bass, they sounded way too muddy like somene had stuffed cotton in my ears.  Maybe you will like them but that bass drowns out way too much detail for me.  Gotta say that for my preferences they were really pretty terrible. 

 

[caliskimmer]

I heard the same from many sources, but I also read some reviews saying that the xb700s were a great improvement over the xb500s.

 

[caliskimmer]

Remember, large soundstage, great bass. If there are highs, that's nice, but I'm really just looking for something that would 1-UP the Sennheiser HD 238s. My budget calls for under 100. My main purpose is to try to replicate somewhat of a club atmosphere, which the HD 238s do well.
 
The xb700s have really contradicting reviews, which makes this a bit more difficult for me. 
 
Anyways, thanks for the help so far!

 

[winma]

Some Jvc's like the RX700's? 

 

[caliskimmer]

I see that the Beyerdynamic dt440s could be an option. Does anyone know if it has good bass and soundstage? I heard the bass is punchy, but I did not find much on the soundstage except for two reviews, which contradicted each other.

 

[caliskimmer]

bump! Changed title and purpose. I want open headphones

 

[rianchaos]

AD700 or AD300 may get under your skin for this category

 

[caliskimmer]

I decided with the Sennheiser HD 485. I may not get as good of a soundstage as the AD700, but I've heard it is pretty good. Bass = Check, Soundstage = Check, Open headphones = Check, Under 100 = Check!
 
One day, I'll upgrade way up there, but this is good enough for now.

 

[Assimilator702]

 
Quote:

Remember, large soundstage, great bass. If there are highs, that's nice, but I'm really just looking for something that would 1-UP the Sennheiser HD 238s. My budget calls for under 100. My main purpose is to try to replicate somewhat of a club atmosphere, which the HD 238s do well.
 
The xb700s have really contradicting reviews, which makes this a bit more difficult for me. 
 
Anyways, thanks for the help so far!
 
Do you have a pair of bass heavy ear buds?
 
I have a pair of cheapo Sentry Metallix....and let me tell you while I will not listen to MOST music on them DUBSTEP sounds AMAZING!
 
13 OHM impendance so the computer drives them well beyond loud with Foobar2000 volume control set at -20 db.
 
Not bad for a pair of $6 phones that can be obtained for $2 if they're priced incorrectly.

 

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

I heard the same from many sources, but I also read some reviews saying that the xb700s were a great improvement over the xb500s.

No they're not... I heard both and found the 500s to have a more forward presentation which helped the mids somewhat, the 700s were more laid back and seemingly boomier.