[Cruelhand Luke]

Beyerdynamic T 1.3

 

[AudioDuck]

I know someone said “stick with dynamic headphones”, but honestly I thought the Audeze LCD-XC had really good bass slam (very deep, very tight) when I owned it.

ZMF Atticus and Eikon would be great options too if you have an amp that handles 300 Ohm impedance well. Eikon has excellent sub-bass, Atticus has a mid-bass focus.

 

[saidentary]

ZMF Verite Closed.

 

[AudioDuck]

ZMF Verite Closed.

Totally agree- I only left it out due to the price, but you’re spot on!

 

[mildmannered]

Any mostly neutral studio monitor, but that's not necessarily what I'll recommend here. Due diligence on amping requirements for the below as well as noting that some of these reqs require used market to stay closer to budget. Also you listed a few headphones to rule out but what are you currently listening with the most?

Closed back - agreed with the D9200 recommendation for a closed solution and ZMF Eikon would also work for a different closed solution albeit with greater amp requirements as Audioduck mentioned.

Open-back - Audeze LCD-X or LCD2-Classic but note that you'll want to EQ these. Hifiman Ananda or HE500 may work, otherwise Arya Stealth. DCA Aeon 2 Open is another consideration. Focal Elex too.

Because you're looking for "best" ~$1000 I am not including the Beyerdynamic 1990 Pro but if you haven't heard them you may want to demo them (or buy then return) to see if you enjoy them.

 

[ST33L]

Fostex TH900mk2 or Sony MDR-Z1R. The former slams harder.

 

[hartphoto]

Open-back - Audeze LCD-X or LCD2-Classic but note that you'll want to EQ these. Hifiman Ananda or HE500 may work, otherwise Arya Stealth. DCA Aeon 2 Open is another consideration. Focal Elex too.

I'm also in tight/punch bass head category...no boomy bloaty sub bass. No slam/ear drum moving impact needed/wanted when it's done right. Correct tonality and speed a must. Accurate detail up top required (no sibilance).

The Audeze LCD-X fits this bill for me, along with some slight EQ'ing, and decent amp driving it. Use it almost daily for ~6 months now.

 

[Giru]

One more +1 for the LCD-X, seriously insane low end performance. The best part is that the 2019 version (which has even better sound than the current production X) goes for peanuts sometimes. Get it for sure; well within your budget and very easy to drive. I use mine without eq, excellent headphone.

There are ofcourse the end game options, of which I'd suggest the Abyss 1266PTC. Insane bass. I heard it with the Woo WA33 and although I thought it was still a bit overpriced, the combo was one of the best bass I've heard period.

A logical alternative to the above is the HEDD audio Heddphone (V1). The only caveat is that it's amping requirements are quite high. However if you can ever find a Violectric V281, run the hedd balanced: sick bass. I mean the refinement and detail in every track...muaaah! Just sublime.
Do note that the heddphone may not be comfortable for long periods tho (to some people atleast). Better audition before buying.

 

[voja]

Phonon SMB-01L

You can switch the back to make it closed-back or semi open-back. It uses Fostex's bio-cellulose drivers, and damn is it tight and fast!

 

[Ricksander]

Thank you so much for all your answers!

I'd love to have the oportunity to try all the headphones that you recommended and compare them myself; unfortunately I can't do that. So what I did was to read A LOT of reviews on every single one of them and compare them, and there is one for which the words "tight" and "slam" kept repeating in almost every review from every website: the Focal Elex.

Now, they didn't say that they had the greatest bass, or the best definition, or a great texture, but again, I am only looking for the tightest and fastest and slamiest headphones, and by the reviews online, seems to me that the Elex are exactly that.

Do you agree? Have you tried them and compared them against any of the ones that were mentioned in this thread?