[Stemage]

I'll try and make this brief but detailed.

After reading novels of material about the best and FLATTEST headphone for mixing (replacing near-field monitors essentially), I landed on a combination of the AKG k701 and the Headroom Total Bithead - with plans to upgraded to Heed Canamp later.

I started breaking these in as soon as I received them and I'm at around 150 hours. Let me say that for enjoyment purposes, these headphones are magnificent. Not only could you wear them for days, but the soundstage, crispness, and unbiased sound is truly amazing. Unfortunately, there was SO little punch in the low end, I came to the conclusion they WOULD NOT work for mixing rock music... period.

I was a bit worried that the Bithead was not pushing them, so I drove 3 hours to a friend's house in Raleigh that actually has a Headroom Micro Amp. It sounded MUCH better overall. The music seemed to breathe more, but the bass difference was negligible.

I always make the pilgrimage to the car and home stereo after a quick mix to check out the marriage between the kick drum and bass guitar, and I was shocked to hear how little was present in these cans. My subs were cursing at me. The k701's just won't work. I'm mixing rock and metal, so the timbre of that kick is very important. It doesn't have to be hot, it just has to be AUDIBLE alongside guitars and low mids.

So, oh my goodness, I'm returning these things and the Bithead as well (as it doesn't like to jive with Cakewalk Sonar very well), and I'm back to square one.

There are SO many Q&A threads on here, and I sincerely apologize for creating another, but I'm in a spot. What I really really want is the equivalent of a k701 was more bass response for mixing rock music. That's it. I've seen mentions of the AHD2000, HD600, AH-D5000, DT990, DT880, etc.

Knowing what my situation is, is there any recommendation you guys can make? I know there are many that can't help but roll their eyes at this, but I'm really NOT a basshead, and I really do want cans that are unbiased across all frequencies for the sake of mixing. But those low lows just need to be present so you can hear what those living room or car stereos will be showing off. The k701's are unbiased for the sake of enjoying any kind of music, but it's not the mixing headphone I was looking for.

Halp?

 

[chicscantdrive]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stemage /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'll try and make this brief but detailed. After reading novels of material about the best and FLATTEST headphone for mixing (replacing near-field monitors essentially), I landed on a combination of the AKG k701 and the Headroom Total Bithead - with plans to upgraded to Heed Canamp later. I started breaking these in as soon as I received them and I'm at around 150 hours. Let me say that for enjoyment purposes, these headphones are magnificent. Not only could you wear them for days, but the soundstage, crispness, and unbiased sound is truly amazing. Unfortunately, there was SO little punch in the low end, I came to the conclusion they WOULD NOT work for mixing rock music... period. I was a bit worried that the Bithead was not pushing them, so I drove 3 hours to a friend's house in Raleigh that actually has a Headroom Micro Amp. It sounded MUCH better overall. The music seemed to breathe more, but the bass difference was negligible. I always make the pilgrimage to the car and home stereo after a quick mix to check out the marriage between the kick drum and bass guitar, and I was shocked to hear how little was present in these cans. My subs were cursing at me. The k701's just won't work. I'm mixing rock and metal, so the timbre of that kick is very important. It doesn't have to be hot, it just has to be AUDIBLE alongside guitars and low mids. So, oh my goodness, I'm returning these things and the Bithead as well (as it doesn't like to jive with Cakewalk Sonar very well), and I'm back to square one. There are SO many Q&A threads on here, and I sincerely apologize for creating another, but I'm in a spot. What I really really want is the equivalent of a k701 was more bass response for mixing rock music. That's it. I've seen mentions of the AHD2000, HD600, HD650, DT990, DT880, etc. Knowing what my situation is, is there any recommendation you guys can make? I know there are many that can't help but roll their eyes at this, but I'm really NOT a basshead, and I really do want cans that are unbiased across all frequencies for the sake of mixing. But those low lows just need to be present so you can hear what those living room or car stereos will be showing off. The k701's are unbiased for the sake of enjoying any kind of music, but it's not the mixing headphone I was looking for. Halp?

Turn up the EQ on the low end, and it's bliss. Your alternative choices will largely be deficient in too many ways (unless you want to shell out over 1k), much more so than an EQ'd K701/2.

I up'd the low end frequencies by a good 7-9Db, and I have no need for any other headset. Sold off my Grado's and will sell off the others.

 

[Stemage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicscantdrive /img/forum/go_quote.gif Turn up the EQ on the low end, and it's bliss. Your alternative choices will largely be deficient in too many ways (unless you want to shell out over 1k), much more so than an EQ'd K701/2. I up'd the low end frequencies by a good 7-9Db, and I have no need for any other headset. Sold off my Grado's and will sell off the others.

That's an option I was considering, but I would not know what frequencies to put emphasis on without coloring the sound in a damaging way. Granted you normally have to do SOMETHING like that with monitors to decolorize a room, but on headphones, I feel like I'd be hacking my signal to compensate for something the headphones were not built to do. These headphones sound the way they were designed to sound. And I'm not as much complaining about that, as much as I am admitting they aren't the cans for me.

So you've seen this issue as well? With lack of bass? And you just EQ the crap out of them?

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stemage /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'll try and make this brief but detailed. After reading novels of material about the best and FLATTEST headphone for mixing (replacing near-field monitors essentially), I landed on a combination of the AKG k701 and the Headroom Total Bithead - with plans to upgraded to Heed Canamp later. I started breaking these in as soon as I received them and I'm at around 150 hours. Let me say that for enjoyment purposes, these headphones are magnificent. Not only could you wear them for days, but the soundstage, crispness, and unbiased sound is truly amazing. Unfortunately, there was SO little punch in the low end, I came to the conclusion they WOULD NOT work for mixing rock music... period. I was a bit worried that the Bithead was not pushing them, so I drove 3 hours to a friend's house in Raleigh that actually has a Headroom Micro Amp. It sounded MUCH better overall. The music seemed to breathe more, but the bass difference was negligible. I always make the pilgrimage to the car and home stereo after a quick mix to check out the marriage between the kick drum and bass guitar, and I was shocked to hear how little was present in these cans. My subs were cursing at me. The k701's just won't work. I'm mixing rock and metal, so the timbre of that kick is very important. It doesn't have to be hot, it just has to be AUDIBLE alongside guitars and low mids. So, oh my goodness, I'm returning these things and the Bithead as well (as it doesn't like to jive with Cakewalk Sonar very well), and I'm back to square one. There are SO many Q&A threads on here, and I sincerely apologize for creating another, but I'm in a spot. What I really really want is the equivalent of a k701 was more bass response for mixing rock music. That's it. I've seen mentions of the AHD2000, HD600, AH-D5000, DT990, DT880, etc. Knowing what my situation is, is there any recommendation you guys can make? I know there are many that can't help but roll their eyes at this, but I'm really NOT a basshead, and I really do want cans that are unbiased across all frequencies for the sake of mixing. But those low lows just need to be present so you can hear what those living room or car stereos will be showing off. The k701's are unbiased for the sake of enjoying any kind of music, but it's not the mixing headphone I was looking for. Halp?

The bass on the K701s is even deeper and more controlled than the HD650s:

Stereophile: AKG Acoustics K 701 headphones

Your problem was that the amp you were using was NO way up to the task of properly powering these headphones. I would only use the Total Bithead/Airhead for IEMs and not for full sized phones (especially the K701s).

My K701s are about the most neutral headphones that I own and I find the bass not lacking in any way (especially when compared to my other three...see my signature for my other headphones).

 

[oqvist]

But the guy is not looking for a total neutral headphone since it make it harder to mix tracks. Mix rock music on the K701 and you may blow out the sub in your car

.

Pro 900 have the deepest bass I ever encountered and certainly quite a bass boost in stock. German Maestro 8.35D Monitors is a cheaper alternative that doesn´t need much in amping. If you surely want an upgrade get the Pro 900. I preferr the 8.35D monitor over the K701 in many regards but it´s a bit claustrophic with stock ear pads for my taste. Can be fixed with newer ear pads but then you may find the same problem as you have with the K701 currently since it reduces the bass levels

435S may or may not have significant bass for you it´s in between the K701 and 8.35D Monitors.

 

[Stemage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your problem was that the amp you were using was NO way up to the task of properly powering these headphones.

That was my worry, but after testing them on a more powerful Headroom amp, there was minimal difference.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Reading more.

 

[ktsai1283]

In the meantime, have you been continuing to burn them in? Maybe with some bass-heavy tracks or while EQ'ing the low end? Give it some hours on that, then switch it back to neutral and see how it turns out...

 

[the chemist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stemage /img/forum/go_quote.gif That was my worry, but after testing them on a more powerful Headroom amp, there was minimal difference. Thanks for the suggestions guys. Reading more.

Yes, but is the headroom micro amp really that much better?

 

[the chemist]

Thinking things over again. Would a possible solution be an amp with bass boost such as the M^3?

 

[oqvist]

A bassy amp like the Heed Canamp will help if you need slightly more bass. Not if you need significantly more bass then as mentioned better get some other headphones.

 

[xnor]

Mixing headphones? Mixing is done with speakers.

 

[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by the chemist /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, but is the headroom micro amp really that much better?

Yes. It's a pretty powerful amp shoved into a small enclosure, and powers HD650s without much problem. It should have no problem with K702s.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xnor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mixing headphones? Mixing is done with speakers.

This.

Still, if you need deeper bass response the K601 does not disappoint. Of course if you're looking for "impact" (different from actual bass quantity) you'll want to look at some different cans.

 

[rds]

^ should read "mixing used to be done with speakers". The times they have-a-changed. Most people listen primarily with headphones these days.

 

[sampson_smith]

x 2. True that!