[ashxcore]

I managed to be a dumb@$$ and lose my Zune 80 and AH-C551 in one go, yay me. 

 
I've been thinking I should upgrade for a while, but fortunately, upgradeitis is vaccinated by pennilessness. 

 But even such a state succumbs to the dire straits of no longer having a player nor IEMs (I surely won't go out the door with my Audio Technica ATH-AD700).
 
Anyhow, I loved the AH-C551 and also had the AH-C700 at one point, which I loved to their literal death. They had a good amount of bass and I'm a bit of a basshead.
 
What 'phones can you recommend with a similar sound signature to these within the $100-150 range?
 
I listen to more death metal, dubstep, hip hop, and indie than I do things like jazz or classical, so I'd prefer a more aggressive sound than a clinical, precise one, but would still like some sort of balance. 
 
Btw I'm considering getting a Creative Zen X-Fi2.

 

[ashxcore]

Hope bumping isn't contemptible here...

 

[bluebaron]

I am also on a similar position: i.e., current AH-C551owner looking to replace with better buds (bit of a bass-head).  Based on my research, I narrowed down my options to two:
 
1. Sennheiser IE6
2. Monster Turbine High-Performance In-Ear Speakers
 
Actually, I started a thread requesting to compare the above buds:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/503673/sennheiser-ie6-vs-monster-turbine-high-performance-in-ear
 
Probably the recommendations/suggestions/opinions in that thread might help me (and you) to make our picks.
 
Thanks,
baron

 

[ashxcore]

Thanks for your response, baron. I was eying the IE7, but of course they are a bit outside of my price range. I'll give your thread a look-see. 

 
I have been lurking a bit and heard lots of great things about the Monster Turbines, but I am not sure how much they offer in terms of clarity (unfortunately, I think it's impossible to have a really bassy 'phone that offers much in the way of clarity).

 

[phaboman]

I recently purchased the Hippo VB as an upgrade to my C551k. Based on what others have said, it's a good bang for the buck bassy IEM. I'm still waiting for it to come in... any day now...

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

 
Anyhow, I loved the AH-C551 and also had the AH-C700 at one point, which I loved to their literal death. They had a good amount of bass and I'm a bit of a basshead.
 
What 'phones can you recommend with a similar sound signature to these within the $100-150 range?

I had the C700's and C551's too. If you like the Denon sound, why not try out the C710's? There was an appreciation thread a while back. If I remember correctly, about 80% of joint C700/C710 owners thought the C710's were an improvement (I was one of them).
 
They occasionally pop up in the sale forums, but I think you can get them brand new and still have something left over from your budget. The only disappointment is that the C710 cable is a piece of sucky flimsy crap compared to the amazingly well-made C700 cable. It's quite horrible... and too short without the extension lead

 

[Mayzei]

Hi there, just wanted to voice my (slightly experienced) opinion. I own a pair of AH-C551's which I DID love! Until moving onto some Westone UM1's, I thought they were excellent, however, now I have owned a better, more neutral pair of IEM's, going back to the Denon's is almost unbearable. I feel the bass is extremely muddy and intrudes on the other parts of the frequency range.
 
What I am saying is that, although you proclaim yourself a "Basshead", a change in 'phones will let you experience other sound signatures that you might love! I listen to a lot of Dubstep and other elec. music on my Westone's (which have been called Bass light). 
 
TL;DR  I recommend you a Sennheiser IEM, (IE6/7), the sound signature is well rounded with good bass... But do not rule out the possibility of purchasing a non-bassy pair of IEM's, you will adjust to love them like i did!
 
My 2 pence.
 
Tom.
 

 

[ashxcore]

Quote:

I recently purchased the Hippo VB as an upgrade to my C551k. Based on what others have said, it's a good bang for the buck bassy IEM. I'm still waiting for it to come in... any day now...

That's another one I had been looking at. When you get them in, please do respond to this thread, or shoot me a PM!

 
Quote:

I had the C700's and C551's too. If you like the Denon sound, why not try out the C710's? There was an appreciation thread a while back. If I remember correctly, about 80% of joint C700/C710 owners thought the C710's were an improvement (I was one of them).
 
They occasionally pop up in the sale forums, but I think you can get them brand new and still have something left over from your budget. The only disappointment is that the C710 cable is a piece of sucky flimsy crap compared to the amazingly well-made C700 cable. It's quite horrible... and too short without the extension lead

I have not heard about the 710s, but I sort of want to try to test the waters a bit and try another company, meanwhile keeping a similar sound signature.
Oh, and is the cable flimsier than C551s? I had to use the extension lead with those too, which became a major annoyance. I missed my C700 cable for sure!

 
Quote:

Hi there, just wanted to voice my (slightly experienced) opinion. I own a pair of AH-C551's which I DID love! Until moving onto some Westone UM1's, I thought they were excellent, however, now I have owned a better, more neutral pair of IEM's, going back to the Denon's is almost unbearable. I feel the bass is extremely muddy and intrudes on the other parts of the frequency range.
 
What I am saying is that, although you proclaim yourself a "Basshead", a change in 'phones will let you experience other sound signatures that you might love! I listen to a lot of Dubstep and other elec. music on my Westone's (which have been called Bass light). 
 
TL;DR  I recommend you a Sennheiser IEM, (IE6/7), the sound signature is well rounded with good bass... But do not rule out the possibility of purchasing a non-bassy pair of IEM's, you will adjust to love them like i did!
 
My 2 pence.
 
Tom.
 

I love that deep bass. The deepest bass I've ever heard in earphones (although I have only listened to some EP-630s, the Zune phones, e2cs, Sound-fi 3s, and the two Denon 'phones mentioned). I own Audio Technica ATH-AD700s, so I am familiar with a completely different type of sound signature, but I NEED my deeeeep bass. I've heard quite good things about those Westones, though, mostly from lurking here.
 
And yes, the Sennheisers sound right up my alley. Hoping to get a few more suggestions, though. 

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies thus far! 

 

[ashxcore]

Now I am looking at the Monster Turbines as well. Any thoughts on those vs. Sennheiser IE6 vs. Hippo VB?

 

[ashxcore]

Now narrowed it down to just the Turbines or the IE6, leaning toward the Turbines.

 

[johnnymnemonic]

Hi there,
I thought, when i am here and getting to love personal music once again and having ordered my first portable amp,
I might look up what suggestions there are for an upbrade to my c551's that i have been ignoring for so long,
When i take these to bed now, i can, depending on what music, melt or fuse in the music and i love the sound.
Now it is more than a couple of years later and technology moves at lightning speeds,
I want to ask the topic starters questoin again, what comes after these c551 iem's
At about the same budget as i payd for them back in the day?
I have been shopping but the cheaper prized market looks filled with lots of sleek looking plastic buds that may come flying out of the factory machines 120 pieces a second, costing 1$ To make and hitting the shelf for 35$ or more.
When i bought these denon iem's that was 80€ for me and it was a lot of money for earbuds,
Do u think looking around to spend 100 or 150$ u cant go wrong or is there still snakeoil in that region.
And what do u advise upgrading to under a $150 when looking for a better but similar sound?
(When hearing nina simone sing mr bojangles or the kinks or shpongle or bob marley and dissolve in the sound)
Ps. I can get a pair of velodyne v-pulse 80 for 40€ Just inserting this in the mix.

 

[jant71]

Better but similar for $150?? Should =  https://usa.denon.com/us/product/portableaudio/inear/ahc720
 
Plenty of other choices as well  including fromTrinity which are affordable and tunable to a certain degree. think Delta V2 or Atlas Delta.
 
ATH-CKR9 is still a great choice and around or under $150 now but you have to buy from real authorized places to avoid the fakes.
 
You can check out the Chinese stuff as well like TK12, TK13 etc. that should be in that sound signature.