[Ricksander]

Hello all!
I'm searching for the best headphones for TIGHT BASS.

I DO NOT MEAN full, big, boomy, or subby...
Some examples of this might be the Skullcandy Crusher Evo, Sony's WH-1000XM4 or so...

I DO MEAN DRY, KICK, THUMP and FAST. Just to blow up your eardrums or the cap of your skull with every transient from the kick drum.

Do you have something to recommend? It would be even better if they were OPEN headphones, but I don't know if that gets in the way of getting the tightest bass.

I do not have a limited budget, but it will be awesome to get something like this for less than $1000 used. Also feel free to recommend amps and dacs combos.

Thank you very much guys!
Rick

 

[Davidzak64]

Hello all!
I'm searching for the best headphones for TIGHT BASS.

I DO NOT MEAN full, big, boomy, or subby...
Some examples of this might be the Skullcandy Crusher Evo, Sony's WH-1000XM4 or so...

I DO MEAN DRY, KICK, THUMP and FAST. Just to blow up your eardrums or the cap of your skull with every transient from the kick drum.

Do you have something to recommend? It would be even better if they were OPEN headphones, but I don't know if that gets in the way of getting the tightest bass.

I do not have a limited budget, but it will be awesome to get something like this for less than $1000 used. Also feel free to recommend amps and dacs combos.

Thank you very much guys!
Rick

Focal Elex/Elear are good choices or Beyer DT1990. I would stick with a dynamic driver if you want slam.

 

[esmse]

TH909

 

[silent-circuit]

Koss ESP/950 or the 95X Drop version. If you're willing to run EQ, they're in a class all their own. Nothing I've heard comes close, and I've had multiple sets that ran well over $1000 new.

Used pair should be $450, less for the Drop version. I've got the original, so can't speak to any difference between it and the 95X.

Yes, the energizer is annoying, but it's your amp, so all you need is a solid DAC. Eventually you may want to replace the energizer and get in to STAX and such, but I've had them for a while and have successfully avoided that temptation. So far as DACs, something like a used Topping D50 (or a D90 if you want to go all out) would be great.

 

[Ricksander]

Focal Elex/Elear are good choices or Beyer DT1990. I would stick with a dynamic driver if you want slam.

Thank you! Reviews seem to agree with you on that it has a tremendously tight bass, and that makes me very happy!

Would you recommend to use them with any of the tube amps that Massdrop suggest (DarkVoice 336SE and/or xDuoo TA-30)? Or would you suggest a solid state?

 

[Ricksander]

Koss ESP/950 or the 95X Drop version. If you're willing to run EQ, they're in a class all their own. Nothing I've heard comes close, and I've had multiple sets that ran well over $1000 new.

Used pair should be $450, less for the Drop version. I've got the original, so can't speak to any difference between it and the 95X.

Yes, the energizer is annoying, but it's your amp, so all you need is a solid DAC. Eventually you may want to replace the energizer and get in to STAX and such, but I've had them for a while and have successfully avoided that temptation. So far as DACs, something like a used Topping D50 (or a D90 if you want to go all out) would be great.

Thank you! Would you say that it is crucial to EQ on this headphones?

 

[moriez]

I DO MEAN DRY, KICK, THUMP and FAST. Just to blow up your eardrums or the cap of your skull with every transient from the kick drum.

If you can check out the Final Audio Sonorous 6 or 3. When given a good amount of amplifier power eardrums can and will get reshaped These also go well from a DAP.

https://snext-final.com/en/products/detail/SONOROUSVI.html
https://snext-final.com/en/products/detail/SONOROUSIII.html

 

[Raketen]

I haven't tried a ton but oddly enough I think the tightest bass I've ever heard in a headphone was from an on-ear- beyer dt1350's.

If you're not too concerned about subs and like an open-back headphone I think open planar can be decent in terms of tightness if not impact (wheras dynamic open backs often struggle)

ICYMI, here's one of the longer running bass threads, might be good place to ask: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-hardest-hitting-headphones-are-the-extreme-bass-club.716711/
Reputationally the fostex biodynamic stuff (fostex, e-mu woodies, drop TH, old denons) still seem to come up pretty consistently.

 

[Dazerdoreal]

If you want an open headphone and accept EQ, I personally think Planars can deliver the best results. Without EQ their bass is often slightly boring, but if you do so, the big drivers and the almost complete lack of bass distortion allows an amazing bass response which, in my experience, usually betters open-back dynamics.

 

[barato]

Compared to good dynamics, planar bass is slow and lacking dynamics (unless cranked way up) in my experience. Dont think they will satisfy OP, but for clean sounding bass specifically they are definitely the better choice.

 

[Legato2057]

While it isn’t the deepest or richest bass, if what you want is tight and controlled, you can’t get much cleaner than the Audio-Technica ATH-W5000.

 

[Davidzak64]

Thank you! Reviews seem to agree with you on that it has a tremendously tight bass, and that makes me very happy!

Would you recommend to use them with any of the tube amps that Massdrop suggest (DarkVoice 336SE and/or xDuoo TA-30)? Or would you suggest a solid state?

It's all preference. But a clean solid state amp seems to sound the best with my Focal Elex. They are fairly easy to drive.
If you want something more portable that kicks hard at a lower cost. V-Moda CFW2 or M100 will do the job without any amplification needed. They may not be as well rounded as the Elex in overall sound signature (V-Shaped).
But they do slam hard with the best of them. I enjoy them quite a lot.
What type of music do you listen to?

 

[silent-circuit]

Thank you! Would you say that it is crucial to EQ on this headphones?

Not crucial, but they can be slightly bass shy for some people without EQ.

I think a lot of people in this thread are pushing you toward boomy stuff - I wouldn't suggest Fostex (or any dynamic, really) to anyone specifically looking for clean bass. Planers just do it better, and electrostats do it better than planar magnetics. The lower mass your driver the lower distortion you're going to get with sound reproduction, no getting around physics.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

LCD-2C slams but overall it's slow and warm. Very nice all-around cans which are comfortable and well-made.

 

[cantcacheme]

Hello all!
I'm searching for the best headphones for TIGHT BASS.

I DO NOT MEAN full, big, boomy, or subby...
Some examples of this might be the Skullcandy Crusher Evo, Sony's WH-1000XM4 or so...

I DO MEAN DRY, KICK, THUMP and FAST. Just to blow up your eardrums or the cap of your skull with every transient from the kick drum.

Do you have something to recommend? It would be even better if they were OPEN headphones, but I don't know if that gets in the way of getting the tightest bass.

I do not have a limited budget, but it will be awesome to get something like this for less than $1000 used. Also feel free to recommend amps and dacs combos.

Thank you very much guys!
Rick

D9200 is a very good option , seem to fit your preference for tight yet powerful bass. However its right at or a little above your preferred price point