[gusmahler]

Based on the reviews here, I bought a pair of Sennheiser HD497 headphones. I was disappointed. I couldn't figure out what people were talking about. Everyone talked about the bass output of the 497. But I heard no bass at all. I was all set to return the headphones. But I decided to try them out at home first (I had only tried it on my office mini system--Aiwa XR-M55.)

Imagine my surprise when I heard great sound, with good bass, coming out of those headphones. Problem is that now I am incredibly unhappy with my mini-system. Can anyone recommend a good mini-system? Or should I just get a headphone amp?

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gusmahler Imagine my surprise when I heard great sound, with good bass, coming out of those headphones. Problem is that now I am incredibly unhappy with my mini-system. Can anyone recommend a good mini-system? Or should I just get a headphone amp?

If your office source is bad then the sound will stay bad - most likely. Depending on your budget, why not get a nice little cd player for under 100$ and then a nice little amp for 100-150$?

btw, where did you read that the Hd 497 has relatively-seen lots of bass?

 

[gusmahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda btw, where did you read that the Hd 497 has relatively-seen lots of bass?

I guess I exaggerated. No one said the 497 has a lot of bass. But most reviews said it had at least some bass. Through my office system, there is nothing.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gusmahler I guess I exaggerated. No one said the 497 has a lot of bass. But most reviews said it had at least some bass. Through my office system, there is nothing.

In my opinion the HD 497 had excellent highs for the price, can't really remember the bass when I auditioned them. However, bass is always dependant on the players/receivers/amp's current output. So if you office's mini system only has a small current output then you won't hear the bass.
For a temporary solution you could just a get cmoy and try it with your mini system and see whether the bass performance increases.
Nevertheless, you'll end up getting a better source and a better amp anyway so why not taking the plunge for something better right now

 

[erikzen]

How about getting a USB soundcard, like an Echo Indigo or something? You could use your computer as your source and you already have the headphones. For less than $150 more you'd have decent sound, no fuss, no muss.

Personally, I've never tried it. I have a M-Audio Sonica, which I like but it needs an amp to sound it's best.

 

[Oddball]

Tivoli Model 2 (it's a radio with aux in) plus a source (cd player/mp3 player/pc) is pretty good (~$160 USD). Add the optional subwoofer (~$80 USD) and you'll get a nice, compact, and good-looking system with bass. It's probably not audiophile grade as far as $1K speakers go, but it's very nice. I have the Model 2 on my desk and am listening to it right now and haven't felt the urge to get the subwoofer yet. But if you like bass, you might as well get it all in one go. The Denon minisystems are also reputed to be good.

I like having speakers since they give you a different sound than headphones. And it's nice not always being tied up with a cord.

 

[erikzen]

I just suggested a headphone based system since he already has a mini system in his office. Granted he admits it doesn't sound that good but for when he only wants background music he can use the mini system and when he wants more intense listening he can use the headphones. It's probably not the mini system that's bad anyway, just the headphone jack.

Don't get me wrong. I've been eyeing those Tivoli radios myself!

 

[Ticky]

It depends on whether you want to listen to the mini-system through speakers as well as headphones.

If you want to retain the ability to play music to speakers, I would suggest Denon mini-systems. Though I've never owned one, I've given the Denon mini-systems a listen before. They sound much better than the regular run of the mill Sony, Pioneer stuff. Denon speakers are actually designed by Mission. And the silver/champagne finish for the system itself looks really elegant.

The only drawback is that the Denon mini-systems tend to be a tad more expensive than regular minis. Take a look at the D-M50s. Mission speakers, 3 disc changer and a receiver (with headphone jack). Not sure if the headphone stage is any good though.

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=2&c=15

 

[Oddball]

Although nobody probably cares, the Model 2 has a headphone jack. I'm not sure at this point whether that's of any relevance, but oh well.

It's decent, but the only purpose I can see it serving (as the Tivolis are often paired with portable sources that already have headphone outs) is giving additional power to drive your cans.

 

[lojay]

I've gone through that too.

I can tell you, the 497's literally beat all the equal-class headphones (eg Grados up to 225) in the QUANTITY of bass.

Its definetly the source. the 497 was fine with my SBLive, my CDPs, but the bass dissappears whenever i connect it to my AC97 onboard soundcard. I figure its the problem with a crappy source. I suggest you buy a better source (which is what you are doing now) or EQ up the bass (not really recc.)