I made a
comparative review (Sony MH1/MH1-C, Klipsch S4, HiFiMan RE0, Grado SR60, etc.) that tests a headphone's capability to drive quality bass to louder volumes with minimal muddiness and without distortion. Included in the list is the Philips SHE3580 along with more than
$500 worth of budget-fi I bought in the last two months. If I did get a good pair, then the SHE3580 failed my simple bass test quite pathetically. Only the FX101 came closest to the best in my list, the Sennheiser CX400 (CX500 without volume control). Although I recommend the FX101 over the CX400 because of availability, as the latter has been discontinued and only fakes are available in the market, last week I was able to find a trusted Amazon Japan seller that sells authentic CX400's and CX500's. I can confirm they're the real deal comparing to my authentic pair I got from Newegg a few years back. I will update my thread with high-res pictures. The CX400 will cost you $42 total shipped from Amazon Japan through Tenso. If you don't amplify your bass to dangerous levels like I do, then the FX101 is more than enough for $15. I got a lot of criticism from this website for my abnormal demand for extreme bass, but they're all based on the mistaken assumption that I equate bass quality with bass quantity. And then you see them recommending RE0 to people who are looking for bass like you and
this is what happens.
EDIT: Regarding the Hippo VB, I haven't tried it. But I suggest that you be wary
according to this review that they have less bass impact than the Creative EP-630/Sennheiser CX300. It is smarter for you to stick to your initial demand, which is tons of quality bass, and try not to be sidetracked by hypnotizing audiophile jargon. If one day you think you want to know what that "audiophile" sound is all about, then try the Sony MH1-C (although you'll be disappointed by the bass if you like your bass party loud). I still maintain my argument that it's harder for headphones to drive quality bass at higher volumes (it's easy to tell because they either crack or not) than to
EQ/postprocess (stereophonic-to-binaural DSP) your way to make an inexpensive quality headphone
sound the same as expensive hi-fi ones. (In one of these links Joe Bloggs shows a tutorial on how to EQ a SHE3580.)