[satkinsn]

As a newcomer to serious headphone listening, I find that judging bass is the hardest part of evaluating 'phones.
 
I can certainly hear differences from HP to HP, but without the cue of very low frequencies and the 'feel' they impart (headphones are, after all, literally 'all in the head') it's difficult for me to ever think I'm getting real bass - even HPs that are supposedly bassy seem like they're at a remove.
 
So how do you guys do it, and what are your expectations when it comes to bass? Do you ever expect to feel it as well as hear it, even a little?
 
s.
 
btw - I'm thinking about this tonight because I'm listening to Mingus's 'Black Saint And The Sinner Lady,' an album with a generous lower end. The 24/96 download from HD Tracks - more than a lot of other albums I have - seems to need decent equipment. I've upped my game since the first disappointing play through last night, but the bottom still sounds...not weak, but not entirely present either.

 

[MrJohnny]

I lust for bass. Personally for me, I love the Really low Sub Sonic bass. It brings a smile to my face, but its hard to create a really bassy headphone with not affecting the highs. 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Yea it's hard to get both loud subwoofer-like bass without affecting the mid/highs in headphone, I've spent months tweaking the EQ settings for my XB500 using kX Audio driver's 10-band hardware DSP EQ for Audigy 2 ZS that allows 0.1 increments and I think I've really found the optimal balance now (yes even a 0.1 difference sometimes provides a noticable difference), it's like getting bass that sounds like a typical 8" sub that you both hear and feel without overpowering the mids/highs (ok except in very bassheavy songs then), I wish more people would be able to hear what kind of sound you can get with spending this little, 43 EUR for XB500 and 15 EUR for a used Audigy 2 ZS (and no amp) and installing kX Audio drivers. I'm really addicted to the sound I'm getting, I must have the optimal budget setup one can find for a basshead, I don't plan on changing this soundcard for a long time since the kX Audio drivers are so amazing, I sold both ATH-M50 and DT770 Pro and now planning on selling Gary's PA2V2 amp as I have no use for it anymore either... XB500 + optimally tweaked EQ curve with kX Audio Drivers/Audigy 2 ZS <3 It sends shivers down my spine listening to Within Temptation's wonderful female singer's soothing voice and the wonderfully sounding drums along with it, many times I go to sleep very late cuz I just can't stop listening to my music. Despite I'm a basshead I still love listening to many ballads and non-bass centric music and especially RPG console game music and believe me or not but this setup works well even for that... I get better result (to my own prefers at least) with XB500 than I did with M50 or DT770 Pro that are much expensier but that's much thanks to kX Audio drivers though, comparing from other sources the results are quite different. 
 
Most people here keep spending more and more money to get better result, I went the opposite way and still got better result.  

 

[InnerSpace]

Quote:

So how do you guys do it, and what are your expectations when it comes to bass? Do you ever expect to feel it as well as hear it, even a little?
 

 
The mind plays tricks with bass ... it's well known that a mid-bass hump fools us into thinking low bass is present (I guess by emphasizing the second harmonic, which can't exist without an implied fundamental.)  Similarly I have noticed that certain bass impacts sound so ... impactful, I guess, that my brain kind of fills in a phantom effect in terms of full-body feel.  So yes, I expect to feel it a little, now and then.
 
My favorite bass test is the opening "Sunrise" fanfare from Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathusta" ... I bought a recording of it after seeing the movie "2001", and loved the dramatic brass and the tympani strikes, but then years later, on a better system, realized that most of it is underpinned by - OMG! - a low C on the organ pedal, just growling away at about 32hz.  Then, on a great system, I heard that it's not just a pedal note ... it's actually a chord ... as well as the organ, there are two double basses playing the same low C on detuned strings, a contrabassoon playing the G a fifth higher, and two more basses playing the C an octave above their partners.  And then ... on a truly great system ... you realize that the organ is playing an octave lower than you thought.  You heard a doubling effect before.  The organ pedal is down there at 16hz, putting amazing acoustic horsepower into the hall, with wavefronts so separated you can practically count them as they roll past.  If you can hear all that, then your system has great bass.  And strangely - because as a test it's very steady-state in itself - I have found systems that let me hear all that also excel in terms of bass speed and articulation.

 

[kingtz]

For me, it was hard to "judge" bass until I knew what bass actually sounded like. Thus, I acquired an audio test CD with track of tones at 20Hz, 30Hz, 40 Hz, etc and listened repeatedly until I got a feel for the different bass levels.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Well for me the most important thing I check from the bass is the deep bass vs punchy upper bass ratio. I want pretty much a 50/50 ratio, many headphones can be bassy like XB700, Denons somewhat depending on equipment which are a bit more focused on the deep booming bass while others got great punch but doesn't handle very deep bass very well which AKG K 518 DJs (K 81 DJs) are a good example of, they have tremendous amount of punchy upper bass but when you turn on a hardstyle song with <80Hz bass you clearly hear it's lacking in that department. XB500's got both a wonderful punch and wonderful deep bass.

 

[cancausecancer]

My favorite bass test is the opening "Sunrise" fanfare from Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathusta" ... I bought a recording of it after seeing the movie "2001", and loved the dramatic brass and the tympani strikes, but then years later, on a better system, realized that most of it is underpinned by - OMG! - a low C on the organ pedal, just growling away at about 32hz.  Then, on a great system, I heard that it's not just a pedal note ... it's actually a chord ... as well as the organ, there are two double basses playing the same low C on detuned strings, a contrabassoon playing the G a fifth higher, and two more basses playing the C an octave above their partners.  And then ... on a truly great system ... you realize that the organ is playing an octave lower than you thought.  You heard a doubling effect before.  The organ pedal is down there at 16hz, putting amazing acoustic horsepower into the hall, with wavefronts so separated you can practically count them as they roll past.  If you can hear all that, then your system has great bass.  And strangely - because as a test it's very steady-state in itself - I have found systems that let me hear all that also excel in terms of bass speed and articulation.

When I play that song I hear the sound of an engine room or the non harmonious grumbling of a refrigerator. I would like to hear what you're hearing.

 

[satkinsn]

 
Quote:

Quote:

My favorite bass test is the opening "Sunrise" fanfare from Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathusta" ... I bought a recording of it after seeing the movie "2001", and loved the dramatic brass and the tympani strikes, but then years later, on a better system, realized that most of it is underpinned by - OMG! - a low C on the organ pedal, just growling away at about 32hz.  Then, on a great system, I heard that it's not just a pedal note ... it's actually a chord ... as well as the organ, there are two double basses playing the same low C on detuned strings, a contrabassoon playing the G a fifth higher, and two more basses playing the C an octave above their partners.  And then ... on a truly great system ... you realize that the organ is playing an octave lower than you thought.  You heard a doubling effect before.  The organ pedal is down there at 16hz, putting amazing acoustic horsepower into the hall, with wavefronts so separated you can practically count them as they roll past.  If you can hear all that, then your system has great bass.  And strangely - because as a test it's very steady-state in itself - I have found systems that let me hear all that also excel in terms of bass speed and articulation.

When I play that song I hear the sound of an engine room or the non harmonious grumbling of a refrigerator. I would like to hear what you're hearing.

Not that there's anything wrong with 'the sound of an engine room or the non harmonious grumbling of a refrigerator.'
 

 
s.