[jdpark]

I think you hit the nail on the head. The sub-bass is there. I've even tested it and you can feel a vibration below 50hz. But that slightly slow and boosted mid-bass can jar you every so often, though not all the time. And I also think it has a lot to do with the particular recording. The main thing is that it doesn't affect the mids, and Beyer didn't try to compensate for bass bloat with exaggerated highs in this case.

 

[Arttt]

@jdpark 
 
dt150 will sound slow no matter what, i tried dt150 on Naim V1 , Naim is famous for its PRAT ( phase rhythm and timing)
I heard lots of sound signatures from several high end names , Naim has the most fast sound out there , so fast dynamics and timing that music come alive, even thou theres some sacrifices on detail...
 
anyway t150 still sound slow. Bass is one dimension, on one note all the time , it simply can't hold the rhythm and with fast phase music or with low bass drops driver seem to give up and loose itself.
 
I came to conclusion , instead of trying to focus on whats bad with dt150 and compensate for it , i focus on whats good with dt150 and use it only where it truly shines - Vocals.  Sometimes on a complex piece like flamenco , or jazz rock fusion , i can hear how dt150 can't handle it but all my focus is drawn to vocals anyway, and i forgive the shortcomings. Because for me "music" lays in voice of a singer , in the emotions of the voice that dt150 reproduce so majestic , and so what if some instrument sounds a bit off , or baseline loses its grip , its not where the "juice" or better say music mood is coming from , its the vocals...
 
I use dt150 only with music that is build around the singer, sort of speak, and forgive its shortcomings.
 
i think expect dt150 to sound "faster" is like expect  american muscle car like Dodge Challenger to drift as a racer car like costume made Mitsubishi or something.
 
You simply don't drive american muscle car that way , instead you put on a pair of RayBans , and drive your Dodge Challenger on a highway with windows rolled down , and let the air mess up your hair. Thats how i see dt150, as an classic american muscle car

 

[god-bluff]

I haven't any idea what you're talking about or listening to. I really don't. Slow, one dimensional bass ? Only shines with vocals ? Not what I hear

they're spot on at pretty much any frequency, any genre with little difference to me from any decent source, just natural large scale musical enjoyment. That's the 150. Too much analysing not what it's about.

 

[Tiemen]

I haven't any idea what you're talking about or listening to. I really don't. Slow, one dimensional bass ? Only shines with vocals ? Not what I hear

they're spot on at pretty much any frequency, any genre with little difference to me from any decent source, just natural large scale musical enjoyment. That's the 150. Too much analysing not what it's about.

 
Me neither. For me they sound as fine with fast paced and complex rock as with acoustic music. They even hold up with breakneck bluegrass.
The DT 150 are quick when needed, there's no holding back at all.

 

[DecentLevi]

Mostly what Arttt and others who've noticed this fluke about the DT 150 speed are talking about, is with the impact 'slam' when the drums hit. Especially if you're used to listening to rhythmic electronic music, you may find the DT 150's sound too dull / muddy, as a result of those drums not hitting with as hard of a slam as do other headphones convey them. They're still my go-to 'cans for vocals / movies though.

 

[cs098]

I actually think the dt 150's vocals are almost on par if not on par with my he 560's and it bit more forward. ANf hte forwardness just makes it all the more better
 
I think it has to do with amp pairing, sounds very slow on congested on my wa6. But my light and airy hp-a4 headphone out is just what it needs to sound quick on it's feet, though the bass is not as extended as I would've liked.
 
For a while I actually wanted to sell the 150  for a closed isolating headphone that was actually portable. But having listened to many other closed headphone especially one that are more portable and isolationing, I realized the 150's sound too good for the price to sell them, especially in terms of soundstage and imaging. I eventually bought the hd 26 pro and sold just my iems, and let me tell you while it sounds a bit cleaner and faster than the 150s. Overall the 150's had a better sound at a lower price.  It's one of the few closed headphones at and even a few tiers highers that can offer a holographic sound.

 

[Lorspeaker]

Listening to some Maroon5 songs....on my dt100velor, via Audigd dac/amp on highgain :
 
no problem with the attack, realistic enuf, but i wont say it has a sharpbite
the notes, the "sustain" hang in the air longer ( than say a MT220) 
which makes the DT150 sounds "slower". ..a sequence of notes floating in the air.
 
For those who crave the zingggs n twannnggs, a more lifelike n less polite can to listen to is the MT220.
 
Cranking up the volume way up on "A View to a KILL" by DuranDuran,
i find the DT150 a safe can to listen to, without fear of sharpbites at my ears.
Love the huge deep soundstage. 
At certain parts of the song, there can be alot of bassnotes soaring around,
i had to tunedown the vol.
 
Vocals is still a safe bet on the dt150...playing to its strength.

 

[jdpark]

Exactly, I think it's about strengths and relative weaknesses, not that the 150s are 'faulty' or horrible at any particular genres in my opinion. But there is a sort of slow decay with them that plays to slower music's strengths and may, with highly complex and faster music be less than ideal. I notice it with some Bach choral music, too, where there are a ton of things going on at the same time. But to be fair, not many speakers or headphones can properly handle that stuff. If you do find cans that can do that well, you have to be in the right mood to actually pay attention to all the information coming at you. 
 
It's not really a bad thing that these cans excel with simpler acoustic music in my opinion. 
 
Also, a note about bluegrass, which I also love... I think that well-recorded bluegrass is going to sound good, because these cans can do acoustic bass very well. The anomalies I've noticed are with electric bass or electronic bass tones sometimes, which are a result of the computer or effect generated bass that can sort of confuse the acoustics of these cans. The DT990s, which seem to have been designed specifically with electric bass in mind, are faster and slightly better from my memory.
 
It certainly is something that one can overthink, but then again, 95% of head-fi is about overthinking the art of headphone listening. Most of us before we were inflicted with the audio bug enjoyed our un-amped grado 80s, or (gasp!) even had moments of enjoyment with stock earbuds at some point in our lives. 

 

[Arttt]

i disagree with Lor and jdpark , its not about decay with dt150. Its about lowend.  Bass of dt150 is not articulated , its not agile , and can not hit low and fast. Its not a matter of discussion or taste preference, its a simple fact.  Just as people who prefer tube amps over solid state would agree that tube amps don't have the punch or dynamics of a solid state amp, no matter how "beautiful" it may sound overall...
 
same with dt150, it remind me of a great tube amp i had for a demo for few  weeks at my home, AudioValve mark rkv2, majestic mids ,lush and natural , huge sound, slow and dull lowend.
i think DecentLevi got what i mean...

 

[Arttt]

just to be clear , dt150 is in my Hole of Fame, and probably won't leave my lounge chair, along with hd800 and t5p

 

[kman1211]

  i disagree with Lor and jdpark , its not about decay with dt150. Its about lowend.  Bass of dt150 is not articulated , its not agile , and can not hit low and fast. Its not a matter of discussion or taste preference, its a simple fact.  Just as people who prefer tube amps over solid state would agree that tube amps don't have the punch or dynamics of a solid state amp, no matter how "beautiful" it may sound overall...
 
same with dt150, it remind me of a great tube amp i had for a demo for few  weeks at my home, AudioValve mark rkv2, majestic mids ,lush and natural , huge sound, slow and dull lowend.
i think DecentLevi got what i mean...

I don't agree personally as that is different from what I'm experiencing, I find the DT 150 I have is plenty agile and articulate in the bass, definitely faster and more articulate than the HD 600 and HD 650 in the bass. The DT 440 I got is actually a bit slower. I only find the K712 a bit faster. Can't agree with you on tubes vs SS either, I've heard a lot of amps, it really comes down to the amp and tubes.

 

[Arttt]

Hmm, you don't agree that tube amps all about warmth and depth, romanticized sound, sacrificing dynamics, pace , punch, and clarity, while solid state is all about control , clarity and dynamics ?
Well, i remember I had a discussion with a music producer about what pair of headphones are true to the the sound. He was curious about high end headphones but always went on about how it's made for pleasure and sound very untrue to the sound. He was saying on and on how he prefers flat sound response with no emphasis on sound frequencies, that's what matters when he create or monitoring music.

He cretisese hd800 for being " colored" ...

Then he bought audiotechnica mth m50x and couldn't be more happy, was telling me what a flat natural sound it is he hears from m50x and how true it ...

I felt from my soffa laughing ))))))

I guess what a man hears is what a man hears, no point of arguing )

So now I know what he means when he says natural and flat sound that is true, without coloring...m50x is his reference for that
And now I know what's fast and agile bass for you once you refer to 150 as reference ...

 

[cs098]

not all tube amps sound tubey, in fact I heard some tubes amps with certain tubes that sound more like ss than "real" tube amps. On the other hand, while they won't quite get the same "magical" tubey distortion you get with tube amps, some ss's are warm, smooth and polite. 
 
My hp-a4 is like that (though it's bright sounding rather warm).
 
 
The dt-150 bass speed is good for the average price you can get it especially if you pair with a leaner sounding setup, but ain't gonna touch a good planar or static in bass speed.

 

[Tiemen]

Hmm, you don't agree that tube amps all about warmth and depth, romanticized sound, sacrificing dynamics, pace , punch, and clarity, while solid state is all about control , clarity and dynamics ?

 
No, I don't. It's plain nonsense.

It's so depending on which SS amp en tube amp you hear. Mostly the only warmth of a tube amp is coming from the tube itself.

 

[kman1211]

Hmm, you don't agree that tube amps all about warmth and depth, romanticized sound, sacrificing dynamics, pace , punch, and clarity, while solid state is all about control , clarity and dynamics ?
Well, i remember I had a discussion with a music producer about what pair of headphones are true to the the sound. He was curious about high end headphones but always went on about how it's made for pleasure and sound very untrue to the sound. He was saying on and on how he prefers flat sound response with no emphasis on sound frequencies, that's what matters when he create or monitoring music.

He cretisese hd800 for being " colored" ...

Then he bought audiotechnica mth m50x and couldn't be more happy, was telling me what a flat natural sound it is he hears from m50x and how true it ...

I felt from my soffa laughing ))))))

I guess what a man hears is what a man hears, no point of arguing )

So now I know what he means when he says natural and flat sound that is true, without coloring...m50x is his reference for that
And now I know what's fast and agile bass for you once you refer to 150 as reference ...

That's just a generalization of tubes vs ss amps. Many tube amps are tuned in a way to sound like that. The clearest and tightest amps I've ever heard were tube amps. 
 
The HD 800 is actually a bit colored, mainly it's treble, it has a bit too much energy, thus where the anax mod comes in. I've listened to the HD 800 extensively numerous times. If you ever find an Sennheiser HE-60 at a good price, grab a pair, it's a league above the HD 800 but doesn't have the HE-90s crazy price tag. Never like the HD 800 much, it's main issue for me is that it just fails to engage me musically even when I know it should on the particular piece I'm listening to. Anyways you are not going to get truly neutral and flat unless you go with speakers. The M50 kinda sucks, never liked the headphone, no clue why he thought it was so good.
 
I know what fast and agile bass is, the DT 150's speed is good for it's price range and comparable or better than others in it's league, I've listened to a lot of headphones extensively, including many electrostats and orthos.