[ScaryFatKidGT]

So the first pair of headphones I owned were Skullcandy skull crushers and Klipsch Image S4's and then the Image ONE's lol I laugh now at the skull crushers but I had the klipsches run off of a Sony S series walkman and the "clear bass" bass boost, man, on 1 was like normal, but 2 was like a crazy bass boost and 3 was like death by bass. I could feel the S4's housing actually moving in and out of my ears with the bass hits and the ONE's were crazy to, I think they sound like crap now but they were way better than the skull crushers with almost as much bass.
 
Anyway about the time I bought my SE215's I wanted for noise isolation as I worked on a loud machine at work and could listen to headphones, I lost my Sony player and got a 64gb iPod. With my 215's I learned what real details were. I now own Denon D5000's, M80's, SE535's, DT770's etc. I bought one of the new E series (or N?) players with my friend (looking for death by bass) and it just didn't cut it, with S4's, it pretty much needed to be on 3 all the time, 3 wasn't even as intense as the "2" I remember.
 
I'm thinking about buying a used S series but there like over $100 for the 16gb, I think I payed $90 for my new one, or taking a shot at a X or F series? but again very expensive and I don't have any experience with them. The Sony clear bass was crazy, way better than like the Fiio's EQ, you can up bass a little (2 or 4) but past 6 it is upping to much of the mid bass and every thing sounds muddy, the Sony only upped the bass right where the punch is at, it was actually pretty cool.
 
Also I wanted to try to get a hold of a pair of Monster Turbine Pro golds but they fricken stopped making them and even if I got a pair they would probably break and be replaced with something else as Monster doesn't make any for a replacement.
 
What should I do? Denon urban ravers? (also discontinued...)

 

[ryanjsoo]

JVC FX700`s, only iems I have tried that sound (or feel) like headphones, they have this amazing bass that you can really feel, without bass boost of course, they feel like much larger drivers than their 10mm diaphrams, the movement of air on the bass is insane, the bass is fast and detailed, drums resonate heartily, mids are crystal clear and actually have more detail than my se535 ltd-j`s, highs are well extended and eye level with the best of the best, not to mention soundstage width and depth is so great I often turned my head to see if someone was coming or something. You can get them relatively cheap no as the FX850`s have been released but its not too much of a difference between the two and the FX700`s are already pretty darn good and have more mid bass than the FX850`s anyway.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Whenever someone comes here looking for big bass I tell them to amp with a bass-boost.

From my experience (check the sources I've owned) you simply cannot achieve the levels of bass these members thrive from a MP3 player alone, because firstly, the bass-boosts on these DAP's are often software implemented rather than hardware and secondly the internal amplifiers don't have the power you need. To get around this you use an external amp like FiiO E11, JDS C5, C&C BH, DigiZoid ZO2 and give the low end a helping hand with their dedicated bass boosts functions.

What you'll find is once you do achieve the bass you're looking for like I did with Hippo VB and E11 many many months ago is you've passed that obstacle, after a few weeks of blowing your brains out you start to understand what bass bleed is and begin searching for the mid-range again then you discover real clarity, detail and timbre. It's fun though achieving big bass.

 

[heatofamatch]

If your main concern is clear bass, I think you can very much just get another S series. Moving up to an X or F improves other aspects of sound but I'm not sure they offer more/better bass.
 
Also you may not necessarily need to do it via an amp like upstairs mentioned, because the market is now flooded with IEMs that really react the hell out of the same old low frequencies provided by the player -- It's THE mainstream sound right now. 2014 is a great time to be a basshead. Brands like Sony have gone for very tactile bass across their entire headphone line, even the cheap buds that come with Sony smartphones "rumble" and "drive" in a way that woulda been unthinkable in 2008-09 when Sony's house sound was way more neutral. In short, the whole market's trying to cater to you. I think it's worth trying out whatever's available for audition in your local stores, and see if anything makes an impression.

 
I'm not a basshead myself but what about the Sony XBA-H1? I know it may not be readily available for purchase/auditioning in your area...but it's the closest thing Sony's got to replacing the old (very bassy) XB90EX which I thought was heavy bass done very well. These two may or may not have less clarity than your S4

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

  Whenever someone comes here looking for big bass I tell them to amp with a bass-boost.

From my experience (check the sources I've owned) you simply cannot achieve the levels of bass these members thrive from a MP3 player alone, because firstly, the bass-boosts on these DAP's are often software implemented rather than hardware and secondly the internal amplifiers don't have the power you need. To get around this you use an external amp like FiiO E11, JDS C5, C&C BH, DigiZoid ZO2 and give the low end a helping hand with their dedicated bass boosts functions.

What you'll find is once you do achieve the bass you're looking for like I did with Hippo VB and E11 many many months ago is you've passed that obstacle, after a few weeks of blowing your brains out you start to understand what bass bleed is and begin searching for the mid-range again then you discover real clarity, detail and timbre. It's fun though achieving big bass.

Yeah I'm well aware of needing some form of EQ boost, I just don't know where to get it from. As I said Fiios's just isn't doing it for me, on the E6 it's either a little boost or this muddy far away sounding cutting the mids and highs to get the illusion of more bass affect and on my E17 it just sounds bad above 4, I usually have my E17 on 2 when listening to my SE535's or other headphones just to give a little more low end but it isn't anything compared to what I've heard before, works great to at a little low end to SQ listening but thats about it.
 
Apples EQ also sucks and I downloaded a couple EQ app's but again while better than the Apple EQ and maybe slightly better than the Fiio's it seems to stop at a certain point and just starts to break up like its overloading the iPod amp or something.
 
I should probably try the ZO2 or 3, I always just thought that the added compression was a little weird and the 30+ levels would confuse me plus most of my friends I would suggest this to don't want to carry around a separate amp thingy although I wouldn't mind it if it did the job. I'm beginning to think that the Sony clear bass must add some compression or something, idk how they get so much slam in the 40-80hz range and not sound muddy.
 
Yeah I usually listen to music in a more audiophile friendly way mixed with bass head (D5000's) but I have a lot of friends that just crave that bass like I use to and that combo I had, had way way more bass and sounded better than any Beats, skull candy, Sony XB500's or there beats knock-offs I've heard (the new studios are pretty good and might work with a little bass boost).

  If your main concern is clear bass, I think you can very much just get another S series. Moving up to an X or F improves other aspects of sound but I'm not sure they offer more/better bass.
 
Also you may not necessarily need to do it via an amp like upstairs mentioned, because the market is now flooded with IEMs that really react the hell out of the same old low frequencies provided by the player -- It's THE mainstream sound right now. 2014 is a great time to be a basshead. Brands like Sony have gone for very tactile bass across their entire headphone line, even the cheap buds that come with Sony smartphones "rumble" and "drive" in a way that woulda been unthinkable in 2008-09 when Sony's house sound was way more neutral. In short, the whole market's trying to cater to you. I think it's worth trying out whatever's available for audition in your local stores, and see if anything makes an impression.

 
I'm not a basshead myself but what about the Sony XBA-H1? I know it may not be readily available for purchase/auditioning in your area...but it's the closest thing Sony's got to replacing the old (very bassy) XB90EX which I thought was heavy bass done very well. These two may or may not have less clarity than your S4

Yeah idk what it was about the S4's, they're harsh sounding in the upper mids and don't really have that much bass like strait out of an iPod but with that Sony player man it was like being in someones trunk with subs but having headphones on so you could still hear the music haha.
 
Well they still make the F series and they make it in 64gb to fit all my music, $300 is just a lot of money to find out the bass boost isn't what I'm looking for.
 
I was wondering about the Denon urban raver stuff, seemed like a good idea but they have already stopped making them.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

So I wasn't aware of what the Sony XBA-H1 were. I was going to say something about them probably not being available but behold best buy has them and on sale for $95. I had to get a pair, a hybrid BA/Dynamic fir $95... never thought I'd see the day I'd be buying something like that at best buy haha.
 
First Impressions I have to say they sound like the S4's, really harsh and they really don't have THAT much bass. This is the issue I'm having, even UBER XTRA! BASS BOOM! headphones don't really have that much bass. I'm going to let them burn in longer and hope the harshness goes away. The bass is tighter than S4's, I'd say maybe a smidge more bass than the Klipsch R6's (got them last week haha I know I have issues .
 
The on ear MDR-V55's actually have a ton of bass impact even tho they are not marketed as having "extra bass" on Sonys charts.

 

[heatofamatch]

Ah okay, our hearing must be very different then. I thought the XBA-H1 was too bassy for its own good, and the V55 was muddled with nowhere near as much bass impact. Sorry I couldn't help and now you'll have to take what I say with a grain of salt

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

  Ah okay, our hearing must be very different then. I thought the XBA-H1 was too bassy for its own good, and the V55 was muddled with nowhere near as much bass impact. Sorry I couldn't help and now you'll have to take what I say with a grain of salt

What? Thats insane? I mean I didn't listen to the V55's much just for a couple seconds on the little display in bestbuy playing some pop loop but I was impressed with the bass impact, it very well could be muddy tho.
 
The XBA-H1's tho seem to have about the same amount of bass as the Klipsch R6's, maybe a little more but comparable. The Sonys are very sensitive tho, I need 3-4 clicks on my macbook or Fiio volume to compensate, I do wonder how they got the dynamic to be as sensitive as the BA. The Sonys are also really harsh on distorted guitars tho, the R6's are much smother.
 
The Sony's seem like a good headphone for all these "kids" I keep talking to that max out there players volume and still want the music louder but have more bass than the typical BA headphone, but they still pale in comparison to my S4+Walkman combo, I'm afraid I might have to waist money on trying to get my hands on an old sony player, I just don't know what model sounds like what so the safest bet is probably to grab the old S series I had like this one http://www.amazon.com/Sony-NWZS545-Walkman-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B002IPHA1W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402987242&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+s+series+walkman. Or go for something like the JVC's or Atrio MG7's? I did just buy a Z02.3 so we will see how that goes. UPDATE the Sony XBA-H1's are actually MORE sensitive than my 535's... like wut? By about 1 click of the macbook volume gets them around the same volume. Also while definitely less, the 535's actually have good bass punch in a quiet room.
 
I can make almost any pair of headphones I have, have to much bass for there own good buy putting the Fiio at +10 bass but then it sounds all dark and muddy and still doesn't have the punch/kick I remember.
 
I really hope these Sony's calm down with break in or I'm going to have to take them back, with voices and simple parts they sound wonderful but as soon as the guitars kick in its like sandpaper. I'm really intrigued by the hybrid design.

 

[hatefulsandwich]

Doesn't the Basshead headphones list in the Member's lounge include an extensive list of IEMs as well? I'm sure I saw that, but now whenever I try open the thread it crashes the browser on my Ipad. Might be worth a look since it's put together by bassheads for bassheads. I somehow doubt you'd fail to find their suggestions bassy enough.

I will say, personally, that the Ostry KC06As have a real nice bass slam on them that manages to not muddy things up. I wouldn't qualify myself as a Basshead, so take that as you will. I can recommend giving them a shot when they become available again.

 

[Twoguns]

I got the Hippo VB recently, and I would thoroughly recommend them.
They have the most amount of bass I have ever heard in an iem, without muddiness or rattling.
Straight out of an iPod they produce sub bass that is crazy, they will also benefit from good amping.
 
But it is important to remember that with all bass iem's seal is very important.
If you don't find tips that fits perfectly, your experience will be flawed.
 
Also I think it depends on which type of music you listen to. I have seen really bad reviews of the Hippo VB, but to my ears, listening to Trap, IDM, EDM and even some indie pop, they sound great!

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Doesn't the Basshead headphones list in the Member's lounge include an extensive list of IEMs as well? I'm sure I saw that, but now whenever I try open the thread it crashes the browser on my Ipad. Might be worth a look since it's put together by bassheads for bassheads. I somehow doubt you'd fail to find their suggestions bassy enough.

I will say, personally, that the Ostry KC06As have a real nice bass slam on them that manages to not muddy things up. I wouldn't qualify myself as a Basshead, so take that as you will. I can recommend giving them a shot when they become available again.

It's only for over ears, I have read CC whatever and Jokers IEM threads. Thats what made me want the Turbine golds.

  I got the Hippo VB recently, and I would thoroughly recommend them.
They have the most amount of bass I have ever heard in an iem, without muddiness or rattling.
Straight out of an iPod they produce sub bass that is crazy, they will also benefit from good amping.
 
But it is important to remember that with all bass iem's seal is very important.
If you don't find tips that fits perfectly, your experience will be flawed.
 
Also I think it depends on which type of music you listen to. I have seen really bad reviews of the Hippo VB, but to my ears, listening to Trap, IDM, EDM and even some indie pop, they sound great!

I just got the Denon C300's and a Z02 haha
 
I'm well aware of a good seal, own lots of IEM's. My S4's hit with anything rock/metal mostly, thats why I miss them haha, this is more like I've pissed off and wont stop buying **** till I get something that sounds like that again.

 

[hatefulsandwich]

And have they scratched your bass itch?

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

And have they scratched your bass itch?

Haha Yeah! The Klipsch R6's or the Denons on the ZO maxed, looking at the eq curves I didn't think I would need to max it but that's what it takes to bring back the sensation of an ant putting a kick pedal on my ear drum and using it for a bass drum.

Is a maxxed ZO2 (bass eq not volume) on SE535's wrong? Hahahaha I feel like the little BA might explode.

I think I might get a S-series walkman just for comparison although I really want to know if the F is capable of as much bass because I would like the added sq features and the extra capacity.

 

[ryanjsoo]

Why not just get an android phone and install v4a viper sound app and poweramp, eq up the bass, etc. After all its just software, rocking an m8 here, awesome driving power and bass from inbuilt amp, has boomsound bass boost built in (like sony clearsound+ or beats audio), you can eq eq eq, since there is so much headroom, just turn volume up and eq down so there is no distortion.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

  Why not just get an android phone and install v4a viper sound app and poweramp, eq up the bass, etc. After all its just software, rocking an m8 here, awesome driving power and bass from inbuilt amp, has boomsound bass boost built in (like sony clearsound+ or beats audio), you can eq eq eq, since there is so much headroom, just turn volume up and eq down so there is no distortion.

Well 1. I don't have an android phone, ha. Does it work that well? My friends S4 didn't sound that good. It needs to make my headphones thump without making everything sound dark.