[leokennis]

Hello,

At the moment I'm a satisfied user of the Audio Technica ATH-M50. However, I want to upgrade.

Three things I'm looking for:

• More bass. I like bass on my headphones. The ATH-M50s go deep, but to me have too little impact. My cans should have a good bass impact.
• Comfort. I love the ATH-M50's comfort; I can wear them for hours.
• Not too power hungry. I will not be using them out of an iPod, however, I will be driving them out of a portable 9V-battery amp. I'm not planning on buying anything more powerful.

Three things I don't care about:

• Brand. I'm not married to any brand and am willing to try anything.
• Looks. Seriously, they are for private, in-home use
  
• Mod-ability. I'm too clumsy to mod, and I won't
  

I can't give a specific favorite genre; one week I listen to rock, the other week I listen hip-hop. The only genre I rarely listen to is classical music, so all rounders are preferred.

Price-wise I'm willing to spend around €200-250, new or used.

Does this make any specific headphone pop up in anyone's mind? Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[ourfpshero]

possible upgrades:

jvc harx900. fantastic bass, easy to drive. highs and mids a little recessed. very comfy about 59$

denon ahd2000. great bass, forward mids and highs. very comfy. one of my faves. about 220$

 

[leokennis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ourfpshero /img/forum/go_quote.gif possible upgrades: jvc harx900. fantastic bass, easy to drive. highs and mids a little recessed. very comfy about 59$ denon ahd2000. great bass, forward mids and highs. very comfy. one of my faves. about 220$

I read the AHD2000 really needs an amp...is this true in your experience?

 

[ourfpshero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leokennis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I read the AHD2000 really needs an amp...is this true in your experience?

it runs fine even straight from my mp3 player. it does improve with amping also but is very ez to drive

 

[TStewart422]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leokennis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I read the AHD2000 really needs an amp...is this true in your experience?

Nah. I used to own a pair before I destroyed the cord. Sad day. They sound great out of an iPod; so they'll sound great out of your amp. Like the M50 (which I'm using now and like for radio work), it's low-impedance and high-sensitive. It's great.

 

[Pianist]

I think Shure SRH840 is a good upgrade from M50, but it has a more laid back sound if you don't mind that. It's better in pretty much every way - better, more controlled bass, more textured and refined midrange and a more natural sounding treble. Fairly easy to drive as well, but the Shures do improve with amplification.

 

[Acix]

The GMP 8.35 are great and a natural upgrade to the M-50.

 

[techfreakazoid]

Are you looking for closed or open phones? Open would be an upgrade to the closed M50 for a more airy soundstage and better imaging. If you want more bass, you might want to look into upgrading your DAP. The M50 pairs well with the S9 and if offers numerous bass adjustments. The DT990 might be your cup of tea and the velour pads breath more / are more comfortable than the pleather pads on the M50. Only thing is that a good amp is required to bring the stock 250 ohms alive. If you're willing to stretch your budget go MANUFAKTUR, then you can get them in 32 ohms.

For closed phones, the SRH840 offers great isolation and less leakage than the M50. It's a heavier phone and offers a looser fit than the M50. For rock and hip hop, the M50 mates better for those faster genres. The SRH840 is too polite / sluggish for my tastes. Haven't heard the GMP 8.35 so can't comment on its sound signature or comfort.

 

[Graphicism]

My experience with D2000 was without an amp these cans are severely lacking in bass quality, I'm talking monotone thump thump, not of that real deep layered sub bass that I'm guessing you're looking for. Amped they sounded quite good, however that was with an $800 Singlepower tube amp with "D" getters and even then I think theres much better available for the money.

SRH840? ~ I know it's a FOTM but I've seen people recommend these for those requesting 'bass light phones' so unless you get a chance to listen to these don't believe the hype. Everyone does seem to say they work well unamped but then again I hear that about the D2000s which I know isn't true.

The obvious answer for low frequency quality is Ultrasones but comfort might be an issue, I'm used to mine now but when I switch between them and say my XB500 I'm reminded what comfortable headphones really feel like. On that note I would recommend the XB500 IF you can EQ the little mid-bass hump then they truly open up into wonderfully deep headphones that surpass that of my HFI-780 in terms of quantity.

 

[kb1gra]

My take, at least on the 840s, is they are decent unamped but scale up REALLY well with a good amp.

For what it's worth, I found the bass on the 840s to be reasonably tight and deep considering the number of hours I imagine the set had on them. I am guessing from the tonal quality that the bass tightens up with more burn in. I personally would not call them a bass light phone but again this depends on your source and amp. The bass deepened considerably when paired with a decent amp.

I would say that between the M50s and the SRH840, the difference isn't so much in the quantity of the bass but in the control of the bass...i felt the bass on the 840 was more controlled than on the M50.

I will say if you find the M50 comfortable you might not like the shures...they're shaped differently and have a more "relaxed" fit which since they're heavy you may not care for.

 

[leokennis]

Thanks for all the replies! Regarding bass: the M50's bass is detailed enough, but there is just too little of it... I'm a bit worried the Shures will also have that problem... At the moment I'm leaning towards the Denons but they are overpriced in The Netherlands... But in short: I am of course looking for bass quality, but also dedinitely for quantity

 

[TreeTribe]

Hi,

I am also in the market for some quality cans around $200. I was all set on the Shure SRH840, until I went to the store to try them out.

First off, they are alot bigger and heavier on your head than the M50s and slightly less comfortable. I also read in another thread here something about people getting pains in their ears/necks from the Shures upon extended use (a few hours). Obviously I didn't get this pain as I tried it for a few minutes at the store. But they weren't the most comfortable.

Secondly, when powered straight from your portable device (no amp), the bass does not even compare to the M50s, which the salesman recommended to me. I was alot more impressed with the M50s. Way more bass. Much tighter bass. I also tried out the ATH-PRO700 while I was there, and I'm no audiophile, but they sounded almost identical to the M50's. Maybe just an eeeny weeny bit more bass.

So now, I'm nearly convinced to buy either the ATH-M50's or the ATH-PRO700s, however I've also read alot of good things about the Denons. I think I'll give them a go the next time I'm in the store, but the way things look now, I'll have an Audio Technica on my head soon!