[Pomer]

New Poster/Member here.
I tend to be more of a lurker and just skim through topics for answers to the questions I have so I've been researching here, there and everywhere over the last 2 years since I started getting more interested in the hobby. When I started looking into hi-fi I probably started where most do with a more detail, imaging and separational focus but I am hoping to get some insight from opinions and personal experiences on what I consider to be a unfamiliar side hi-fi audio. I have admittedly fallen prey to things being hyped up and the inability to prevent myself from impulse buys but I wanted to try everything I could (within reason) while trusting people with more knowledge and experience to help guide me. This has lead me to acquire a fairly decent amount of headphones with the goal in mind that it was all in the effort of more clarity, more detail and all while focusing on the critical/analytical side of audio fidelity.

Preamble is getting a little bit long in the tooth so I'll cut to the chase and say that basically I am looking for potential recommendations for headphones that really focus in and deliver on a lush, full and well presented level of bass but most of all sub bass. Been listening to a lot of Electronic/Hip-hop/EDM music recently that has shown me that my general disregard for bass/sub bass emphasis has me interested in finding something that can provide a good slam without losing out on the bass detail or causing it to become muddy and bloated. With that being said I still want the mids and treble to remain apparent but more on the neutral side while not getting lost in the bass and I don't believe I have an aversion to finding highs to be too "peaky" all that frequently but concern for fatigue remains. I might be asking too much and this is probably a topic that has been talked about at length, numerous times but it's a more recent curiosity of mine that I'd love to get peoples input on.

Also if people are willing and interested I'd like to know what some would consider a good representation at the entry, mid-fi and hi-fi level of what I described would be. If just one sticks out as your personal best and/or best value without diminishing returns please let me know since I haven't started combing through other threads and instead decided to gather info directly. Obviously I have a budget for what I am looking for but I am leaving it off in an attempt to find out if what I am looking for is even attainable within my means.

TLR- In summary I'm really looking for something that can pull out the best possible qualities of rich, clean and powerful bass and *sub bass* since I've never really prioritized these traits in a headphone until recently. I still consider myself very new and relatively unexperienced to this hobby and hope my explanation doesn't come off as too redundant or conflicting. Feel free ask me to clarify if I haven't provided enough to off of or just let me know that I may be overlooking the source gear/signal chain aspect to make it all possible. Thanks!

 

[chesebert]

You need much better amps and dac/source. Your cans are fine and many can already produce gut shaking bass and subbass. Stop wasting money on cans.

 

[GREQ]

Also if people are willing and interested I'd like to know what some would consider a good representation at the entry, mid-fi and hi-fi level of what I described would be. If just one sticks out as your personal best and/or best value without diminishing returns please let me know since I haven't started combing through other threads and instead decided to gather info directly. Obviously I have a budget for what I am looking for but I am leaving it off in an attempt to find out if what I am looking for is even attainable within my means.

Entry level bass
Fun - Fidelio X2
Clean - Creative Auvana Live!

Mid level bass
Fun - Beyerdyanamic DT1770 (you already have the sibling) - best sub-bass 'thunder' I've ever heard
Clean - Audeze LCD2/ Hifiman HE-500 (discontinued)

High level??
I probably havn't heard enough headphones to answer this.
Diminishing returns exist everywhere.

Good threads for bass -
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-hardest-hitting-headphones-are-the-extreme-bass-club.716711/
- lots of subjective opinions here, but wayy too much "volume over quality"

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-closed-back-headphone-thread-plus-comparisons-reviews.939901/
- closed back thread, lots of high-end bassheads here

I think you're sources are up to par already.
Just enjoy what you already own.
If you need more bass, get a subwoofer? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[gimmeheadroom]

How do you guys know what cans he has? I don't see anything...

I could suggest Drop TR-X00 along with the DT1770 and LCD-2C that @GREQ mentioned...not sure if you meant LCD-2 or LCD-2C (classic).

The TR-X00 is not nearly as good all-around as either of those because the mids are recessed, but due to the speed and clarity of the bass it could be a good choice for the genres mentioned, and doesn't need much amp at all.

 

[GREQ]

How do you guys know what cans he has? I don't see anything...

On the user profile go to the 'About' tab on the far right.

He's got a bunch of relatively high end stuff listed there

I could suggest Drop TR-X00 along with the DT1770 and LCD-2C that @GREQ mentioned...not sure if you meant LCD-2 or LCD-2C (classic).

I'm not sure either ... I thought they were both decent anyhow... although not really any point getting it with his current inventory.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Thanks @GREQ The Beyers definitely need a good amp and I read the Sundara does also but I have not heard it. The Fostex and LCD-2C can slam out of a halfway decent amp. But I think the LCD-2C is gonna be too dark for his genres and it is not a fast headphone, unlike the Fostex.

 

[Pomer]

You need much better amps and dac/source

As the investment in my collection has grown I have started to wonder when the next step up of a DAC and Amp might be. I feel like their overall impact on the quality is the area I understand the least about throughout my journey. Made updates to my gear to offer a better idea.

I think you're sources are up to par already.
Just enjoy what you already own.

I do very much enjoy what I already have but I guess at least for me personally there is always something out there that could give me what I am looking for more specifically in a complete package while offering a different/better listening experience. Passion fuels the fire and FOMO always plays a part as well. Appreciate the input though it's always a back and forth mentally between "I am satisfied with what I have and what I get from it" and "But what if...?"

 

[xingfei]

On the user profile go to the 'About' tab on the far right.

He's got a bunch of relatively high end stuff listed there


I'm not sure either ... I thought they were both decent anyhow... although not really any point getting it with his current inventory.

Finally a person who really does check the users profile to view their inventory and go from there. Kudos

 

[plmon]

Fostex TH-900 is the best I've heard in terms of bass, slams hard but has clean, textured bass as good as planars. Treble is definitely on the bright side, but I'd say if you can handle the DT1990, you can probably handle the TH-900. Pad swapping is an option too, though I find pads that better balance out the treble like TH-610 or TH-X00 pads also shift the bass more to midbass than subbass.

Putting TH-900 pads + cups on E-MU Teak or TH-X00 gets you pretty close, just not quite as clean sounding in the bass. Without the cups, it sounds a bit hotter in the treble since the cups have dampening material inside.

 

[Pomer]

You need much better amps and dac/source.

I thought that this could be the case and that's why I mentioned it at the end of my post. Sadly even harder to audition AMP/DAC than actual headphones because I don't even know if there is anywhere nearby me that I could even go and try stuff out at. I got a cleaner/detailed set up in the SMSL SU-9>THX 789 and given from what I have been able to gather a warmer/softer set up in the Asgard 3>Modius to get a halfway decent taste of both ends. If you have any recommendations for things to look at and consider I would appreciate it. I've been wondering if I was bottlenecking the performance of my stuff with not making any upgrades to my set-ups so totally understand you saying this.

I could suggest Drop TR-X00

Fostex TH-900 is the best I've heard in terms of bass, slams hard but has clean, textured bass as good as planars.

Thank you both for the suggestions, over the last couple of days I have been researching the Fostex TH line and they are very intriguing and seem to be exactly what I am looking for namely the X00 Ebony/Purpleheart. Since they are both discontinued my only option will be to find them on the used market unless the 610s or Teaks are relatively comparable with the pad swap situation. The E-MU teaks might require me stepping into the modification world with all of their cup offerings which I don't know if I'd be ready for it but have heard good things so might be something to look into further. Also was seeing that some of the pad swap options for X00 while increasing comfort end in a loss of bass or sub bass which I would definitely want to increase comfort but not at the loss of impact or cleanliness to bass if possible. If anyone has any experience with pad swapping or relative comparability in addition to what 'plmon' said between Fostex/E-MU line for sub bass and bass I would love to hear what you think.

Outside of just general pad swapping I'm not really comfortable with my understanding of EQ to trust myself to know what to do with it. Graphs confuse me thus far and I know everyone is different and has different preferences including the fact that what sounds good to me might not be for everyone but I like the idea of letting the headphones show you what they are capable of doing instead of stepping in and cranking a certain area to compensate. Might eventually develop an understanding eventually but just adding this because I forgot it in my original post.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Pomer]

Just enjoy what you already own.
If you need more bass, get a subwoofer? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not sure either ... I thought they were both decent anyhow... although not really any point getting it with his current inventory.

Yeahhhh...I have a tendency to go too hard and too fast when I get interested and into something but if it helps I always try to get things on sale or for a deal of some sort. I have since been trying to exercise self control and be very particular since I already went overboard a bit. Generally since I was switching gears for what I was focusing in on I thought there might be some "kings" of each price range that might be worth dipping into and finding out if it was something I would want to work through the different cost/value levels to pursue more.

 

[chesebert]

I thought that this could be the case and that's why I mentioned it at the end of my post. Sadly even harder to audition AMP/DAC than actual headphones because I don't even know if there is anywhere nearby me that I could even go and try stuff out at. I got a cleaner/detailed set up in the SMSL SU-9>THX 789 and given from what I have been able to gather a warmer/softer set up in the Asgard 3>Modius to get a halfway decent taste of both ends. If you have any recommendations for things to look at and consider I would appreciate it. I've been wondering if I was bottlenecking the performance of my stuff with not making any upgrades to my set-ups so totally understand you saying this.

You can look at Pass Labs, Headamp and Luxman. Generally stay away from opamp, discrete opamp or special-sauce opamp, etc. You should target amps in the $2k (MSRP) range; buy used if you have to. Cheaper commercial amps have to many compromises.

 

[plmon]

Thank you both for the suggestions, over the last couple of days I have been researching the Fostex TH line and they are very intriguing and seem to be exactly what I am looking for namely the X00 Ebony/Purpleheart. Since they are both discontinued my only option will be to find them on the used market unless the 610s or Teaks are relatively comparable with the pad swap situation. The E-MU teaks might require me stepping into the modification world with all of their cup offerings which I don't know if I'd be ready for it but have heard good things so might be something to look into further. Also was seeing that some of the pad swap options for X00 while increasing comfort end in a loss of bass or sub bass which I would definitely want to increase comfort but not at the loss of impact or cleanliness to bass if possible. If anyone has any experience with pad swapping or relative comparability in addition to what 'plmon' said between Fostex/E-MU line for sub bass and bass I would love to hear what you think.

Outside of just general pad swapping I'm not really comfortable with my understanding of EQ to trust myself to know what to do with it. Graphs confuse me thus far and I know everyone is different and has different preferences including the fact that what sounds good to me might not be for everyone but I like the idea of letting the headphones show you what they are capable of doing instead of stepping in and cranking a certain area to compensate. Might eventually develop an understanding eventually but just adding this because I forgot it in my original post.

Thanks for the replies!

The E-MU Teak uses the same drivers and pads as the X00, the difference is in the wood cups and the frame color. The Teak cups are cut shallower than the X00 cups, so the E-MU Teak has a milder V-shape with less recessed mids. I heard E-MU changed their other wood cups to be cut the same way, except for Ebony (though you could confirm with E-MU themselves). I believe the TH-610 also uses the same drivers, but has the same dampening as the TH-900 in the cups and larger openings in the earpads.

 

[earmonger]

I do very much enjoy what I already have

You already have the ATH-R70X, my faves. The specs say the bass extends down to 5hz and when I try sub-bass tests like Hans Zimmer's "Why so Serious" at 3:25, the bass response is definitely there. How about playing with the EQ on your sources?