[LithoJazoSphere]

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I don't know how you could so easily write off the Sonys, ESPECIALLY if you listen to mainly dubstep. The bass on those are probably the most visceral, head thumping type that I've listened to on a pair of headphones. If you listen to dubstep and hip hop, you want bass, and the XB series delivers them in spades. Its not fart can kind bass either. It's pure, unadulterated "Holy ****" bass. They're like bass chambers on your ears.
 

Not writing them off at all.  It's just that in addition to the lower SQ, my basshead frequency preference is a V-shaped graph, and XB-500s have recessed treble.  And between my Pro 900s, D5000s, and DT-770s, Cowon X7, and E11, I can already get way more bass than the average basshead who doesn't have something similar like a Zo. 

 

[atomikn00b]

xb500s vs denons??? not worth it.
here's why.
i had the brainwavz hm5. but i wasn't happy with the quantity of bass/subbass it was producing despite the fact that if i listened, i knew it was present in the music.
so i went to best buy with my hm5's and an audio splitter cable to do side by side comparisons with other headphones.
when i put on the xb500s, first thing that struck me was the significant shrinkage of soundstage.
next came the bass/subbass. it was soooooo pleasant. made the hm5's sound anemic.
but then i put my hm5's back on, listened to a segment of a song.
swapped back to the sony's and listened to the same segment.
my response was, where's this, and this, and this, and that.
i couldn't hear ANY of the details i heard on the brainwavz, plus the vocals took a back seat and all i heard was bass/subbasss. 
 
after comparing other songs (including hip/hop and rap and dubstep) which i can't remember, i concluded that the xb500s were a guilty pleasure sort of headphones. the bass/subbass makes you want to smile, but at the cost of the rest of the music. 
if you're in a mood where you've checked your pockets and found you gave your last screwk/s**t to the homeless guy down the street and have none to give about the sound quality coming from your headphones, xb500s are gooooooood.
otherwise, don't do it.
 
but listening to the xb500s gave me confirmation that i wasn't satisfied with the subbass/bass coming from the hm5s. soooooo. i got the d2000s.
i'll just say only a denon ah-d5000 or an audeze lcd 2/3 could probably make me happier.

 

[shamrock134]

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I don't know how you could so easily write off the Sonys, ESPECIALLY if you listen to mainly dubstep. The bass on those are probably the most visceral, head thumping type that I've listened to on a pair of headphones. If you listen to dubstep and hip hop, you want bass, and the XB series delivers them in spades. Its not fart can kind bass either. It's pure, unadulterated "Holy ****" bass. They're like bass chambers on your ears.

 
I wasn't writing them off, I just said that they are fine providing you don't listen to anything better shortly before or after as you then realise how muddy and low-fi they actually sound. I do use them at work where SQ is not that important to me. Out of interest have you listened to the Denons or Pro900? I still haven't found anything that does EDM/dubstep/DnB better than the Pro900 for my tastes. However, I must qualify this by saying if "noise pollution" wasn't a problem I'd always choose speakers/sub over headphones for bass-driven music. Alas, my neighbours would not appreciate this at all.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

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I'm not talking big differences here.  A proper amp isn't going to turn the D2000 into a different headphone.  It'll just make it a little bit better, and that little bit may be all you need to make it go from uninspiring to great.  There is also the possibility that even a properly driven D2000 isn't going to have the type of bass that you are looking for.

 
+1
 
 

 

[tseliottt]

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I wasn't writing them off, I just said that they are fine providing you don't listen to anything better shortly before or after as you then realise how muddy and low-fi they actually sound. I do use them at work where SQ is not that important to me. Out of interest have you listened to the Denons or Pro900? I still haven't found anything that does EDM/dubstep/DnB better than the Pro900 for my tastes. However, I must qualify this by saying if "noise pollution" wasn't a problem I'd always choose speakers/sub over headphones for bass-driven music. Alas, my neighbours would not appreciate this at all.

I have D2000s. Listening to them right now actually. And while the overall sound is better, they don't have XB500 type bass. No pair I've listened to has XB500 type bass. They're rare in that sense, and have earned a permanent spot in my line-up. And while I do notice their deficiencies right after listening to the Denons, after a minute I forget all that, and just enjoy the **** out of them. Sometimes you have to stop being critical, and just enjoy the music.

 

[LithoJazoSphere]

The Pro 900's bass is closer to the XB-500 than is the D5000 (and by extension, also the D2000).

 

[Dubstep Girl]

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The Pro 900's bass is closer to the XB-500 than is the D5000 (and by extension, also the D2000).

+1

 

[sneaglebob]

Manufacturer defect? What amp do you use?

 

[MrNurse]

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I wasn't writing them off, I just said that they are fine providing you don't listen to anything better shortly before or after as you then realise how muddy and low-fi they actually sound. I do use them at work where SQ is not that important to me. Out of interest have you listened to the Denons or Pro900? I still haven't found anything that does EDM/dubstep/DnB better than the Pro900 for my tastes. However, I must qualify this by saying if "noise pollution" wasn't a problem I'd always choose speakers/sub over headphones for bass-driven music. Alas, my neighbours would not appreciate this at all.

I am a HUGE basshead and always have been. I agreed. I auditioned the XB500 and HFI-580 the same day. From the first 5 seconds I was easily able to tell how low-fi and muddy the XB500 was in comparison. I was going to purchase the XB500 along with my 580's just for fun but I was disappointed.
 
The 580s give me very very heavy bass. Now, if I were to mention my Pro 900's...
The 580 and 900 are just way too fun. 
 
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Not writing them off at all.  It's just that in addition to the lower SQ, my basshead frequency preference is a V-shaped graph, and XB-500s have recessed treble.  And between my Pro 900s, D5000s, and DT-770s, Cowon X7, and E11, I can already get way more bass than the average basshead who doesn't have something similar like a Zo. 

I also agree. I have my Pro 900 and HFI-580 that more than satisfy my basshead needs. 
Even with my 580 being driven by my mediocre Fiio E5 and my Rockbox Clip+, I can EQ it to the point with you'll probably destroy your eardrums with the volume on as low as 75%. 
I have the Bass gain @ 24 dB and the 60 hZ gain @ 10 dB and it's insane. If I go higher, I honestly feel that I'd break either my drivers or my eardrums. The 60 hZ gain can be EQ'd to 24 dB! 
I have a ZO2 on the way and I honestly don't need the extra bass boost. 

 

[gyrofx]

I also have been running my D2000 for a year. It works very well for me as an all around headphone. I have a pretty cheap set up where I only run my D2000 through a NuForce uDac2 headphone amp/dac fed by my itunes on my iMac. I find the default sound to lack the mids by a bit and the bass around the 60hz area doesn't hit as hard. But no worries. If you are running a Mac, you can get this app called "HEAR" that has a whole slew of settings for a system wide EQ. the EQ resolution can go from 10 bands up to 96 bands. There is a tone of tuning you can do with the sound with this app, it's kinda of useful. I was just testing some Monster Beats Pro on my computer and the BASS sounds way boomy and in your face compared to the D2000, and it's on all the time. I like that D2000 gives you enough bass (better after you EQ) for songs that actually utilize the bass and much cleaner other times (EQing helps here as well). I've been running my headphones since last Dec except during the summer times cuz it's too hot to wear these. Over-all, i've really enjoyed D2000 for an all around can.

 

[nsdjoe]

+1 for the Hear app.  It actually works with PC too, and a single purchase allows you to install on both, which I have.  I've been looking for a global EQ for a while now, as I'm listening more and more to sources like Pandora/Grooveshark/Spotify than iTunes nowadays.
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I also have been running my D2000 for a year. It works very well for me as an all around headphone. I have a pretty cheap set up where I only run my D2000 through a NuForce uDac2 headphone amp/dac fed by my itunes on my iMac. I find the default sound to lack the mids by a bit and the bass around the 60hz area doesn't hit as hard. But no worries. If you are running a Mac, you can get this app called "HEAR" that has a whole slew of settings for a system wide EQ. the EQ resolution can go from 10 bands up to 96 bands. There is a tone of tuning you can do with the sound with this app, it's kinda of useful. I was just testing some Monster Beats Pro on my computer and the BASS sounds way boomy and in your face compared to the D2000, and it's on all the time. I like that D2000 gives you enough bass (better after you EQ) for songs that actually utilize the bass and much cleaner other times (EQing helps here as well). I've been running my headphones since last Dec except during the summer times cuz it's too hot to wear these. Over-all, i've really enjoyed D2000 for an all around can.

 

 

[thund3rstruck]

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I think your ears just need to adjust to the bass of the D2000.  The M-50s are an in your face can, where as the D2000s are more of an open sounding closed can where the emphasis is on soundstage and sq. 

 
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And nothing even resembling sub bass.

I just got my Denon 2K's and yea, these things don't even come close to having anything resembling bass.
 

 

[Taowolf51]

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I just got my Denon 2K's and yea, these things don't even come close to having anything resembling bass.
 

 
Give it some time. Didn't hear much bass from my Denons at first either.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

it seems that half the people hear the bass on the denons, half dont. 
 
mine where crazy on the bass when i got them, and they still have a crazy amount of bass now. love them for rap music

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
I have the M50. And the D2K and D5K.
 
The M50 doesn't do the sub-bass presence of the Denon.
 
I think you've mistaken a terrible mid-bass hump with what a neutral sub-bass capable headphone sounds like.
 
Denon bass is pretty much boss.
 
Sounds like you're the type who would probably like the PRO900 instead. Bunch of mid-bass that just over-powers everything. Hell, just get the XB500 and you'll be fine.
 
Very best,