[ubs28]

  Further comment...
After looking into it further, I'm surprised you find them to be bass shy.  Thats certainly not what Tyll and the headroom dummy measured.  Heres a comparison against the HD650, my most bass-heavy headphone.  The Apple iphone models are on the warmer side of the spectrum IMHO, they are definitely not what I would call bright or harsh sounding.
 

 
The iPhone is very flat, it's not warm. 

 

[kramer5150]

   
The iPhone is very flat, it's not warm. 

Compared to what though?  I have a technics CD deck and a vintage magnavox PCDP that are very bright and almost harsh sounding.  Compared to many sources the iPhone can be perceived as a warmer signature.

 

[xtroria]

Consider HD8 DJ, they're more of the basshead headphone from sennheiser and much more portable then momentum

 

[rjruiz]

I'm going to give them a few days or so and see what happens. I think the seal is the issue here.  I apply a bit of pressure behind my ear lobes with the phones on and makes the world of difference.  Perhaps I have a small head?  Bass Boost EQ on the iPhone works better but I loose some of that detail on the high end.

 

[ubs28]

  Compared to what though?  I have a technics CD deck and a vintage magnavox PCDP that are very bright and almost harsh sounding.  Compared to many sources the iPhone can be perceived as a warmer signature.

 
Then your other sources are not neutral then. Below is how the iPhone 5 measures, it's flat. 
 

 

[cel4145]

I just received the headphones today and tired them out for a little bit.  I have to stay I’m a bit disappointed with the sound quality.  There is absolutely no mid-bass and bass at all. I’ve tried both cables and made sure they were inserted properly on both sides.  I also tried 2 different sources with the same results. I will try burning them in overnight, but I am not quite sure this will solve the issue.

1) definitely give them 24-48 hours of burn-in
2) I have not heard them, and I don't know your headphone and speaker/subwoofer experience. But sometimes people without experience with excellent bass SQ miss boom and portable transient response bass. I have seen people complain that high output, high SQ expensive subwoofer didn't have good bass until they psychologically adjusted to it. Then they loved it. So give them a little listening adjustment time, too

 

[rjruiz]

1) definitely give them 24-48 hours of burn-in
2) I have not heard them, and I don't know your headphone and speaker/subwoofer experience. But sometimes people without experience with excellent bass SQ miss boom and portable transient response bass. I have seen people complain that high output, high SQ expensive subwoofer didn't have good bass until they psychologically adjusted to it. Then they loved it. So give them a little listening adjustment time, too

Thanks! I definitely will.  I have them burning in right now connected to an iPod with some heavy metal.  I compared to some old Senn's I had and I can definitely tell a difference with SQ, the hp50's sound better and different.  I am no audiophile by any means, but I guess I've unfortunately become used to my IE8's with bass boost on them at least halfway.  It still bugs me though that when I apply some pressure on the headphones the quality of the sound increases, sounds more full.  Maybe I just have a small weird head lol.  However, I think with some EQing I'll be a happy camper. 

 

[cel4145]

Oh, and definitely experiment with placement. If you don't get a good seal, you definitely will not get good bass. Closed headphones depend on that good seal. In addition to moving them around a little, try different tightness settings for the headband and shifting headband placement backwards and forwards some.

 

[rjruiz]

Oh, and definitely experiment with placement. If you don't get a good seal, you definitely will not get good bass. Closed headphones depend on that good seal. In addition to moving them around a little, try different tightness settings for the headband and shifting headband placement backwards and forwards some.

Thanks, I think I've exhausted messing with the placement and adjust headbands but still can't get that good seal.  Perhaps there's a mod I can do with the ear cups themselves?  Add more stuffing? It looks like they are all stitched up though.

 

[cel4145]

Sorry. I don't know about any mods. What I do for a particular headphone for something like that is that I google the make/model along with head-fi and read the discussion threads: https://www.google.com/search?q=nad+hp50+head-fi

 

[rjruiz]

Sorry. I don't know about any mods. What I do for a particular headphone for something like that is that I google the make/model along with head-fi and read the discussion threads: https://www.google.com/search?q=nad+hp50+head-fi

No need to be sorry...

 

[rjruiz]

Finished about 26 hours total of burn in last night.  Downloaded an EQ program for my iPhone 5 and I think I've tweaked it the way I like it.  I am no audiophile but this setting sounds pretty good to me.  Just curious if there are certain things I should watch out for; gain settings, clipping, etc..
 
 

 

[cel4145]

Nice PEQ app.

Normally it's best if you boost frequencies, then you might need to turn the pre-amp gain down the same amount as the biggest boost so that the amp in a DAP/phone doesn't clip those highly boosted frequencies.

But is that a +13.4 db boost? If so, that's a heck of a lot. You'll be distorting the bass with your iPhone when you crank it up because the phone amp is having to compensate too much. Especially if you listen to bass heavy music which tends to have boosted bass anyway. Try adjusting the overall gain down 13.4. If now your iPhone doesn't reach the volume you like to listen to, then that could definitely be a problem.

If you press on on the sides of the headphone cups, can you get to seal and hear the difference on bass? If so, then you should get a pair of headphones that seals well for you.

 

[rjruiz]

Nice PEQ app.

Normally it's best if you boost frequencies, then you might need to turn the pre-amp gain down the same amount as the biggest boost so that the amp in a DAP/phone doesn't clip those highly boosted frequencies.

But is that a +13.4 db boost? If so, that's a heck of a lot. You'll be distorting the bass with your iPhone when you crank it up because the phone amp is having to compensate too much. Especially if you listen to bass heavy music which tends to have boosted bass anyway. Try adjusting the overall gain down 13.4. If now your iPhone doesn't reach the volume you like to listen to, then that could definitely be a problem.

If you press on on the sides of the headphone cups, can you get to seal and hear the difference on bass? If so, then you should get a pair of headphones that seals well for you.

Well there in lies the problem I figured. Yes, huge difference when I press against the headphone cups, especially on the lower part close to below/behind my earlobes near my neck.  So try the gain to around -13.4db? And yes that's a 13dB boost at the lower end "1" curve.  I figured that was a lot and I was really trying to hear for clipping.  The place I bought it from wanted me to give it a try for a few days and check up tomorrow. But even with my old Sens over ears the same issue I have to press down on the ear cups to get a good seal.  Perhaps I have a small or weird shapen head lol.

 

[cel4145]

I have a big head, so some headphones don't seal well for me either

But yes. +13 db is a lot. +3db more output requires double the wattage. +10db, which is a perceived doubling in volume to the listener, requires 10 times the wattage. So see how you would need to use a lot of phone amp power to easily achieve +13b boost?

Since they don't fit well, I would try some of their other headphones if you can. Even if you don't like the sound and can't find one for you there. Focus on fit. Then you could start a new thread here about help me find headphones that fit that have good bass, and list the headphones that don't seal for you and the ones that do