[misterDX]

should we compile a sticky educating people that "bass" isnt everything? And make them realize asking recommendations for "wet your pants kinda bass" phones is probably not the best question to ask? i am not going against bass-lovers, but still, we seem to be overwhelmed with too much little bassheads lately and it makes me wonder if they really cant enjoy other spectrum of music other than bass.

anyway, thats a mouthfull, any comments?

 

[jonathanjong]

Hmmm...to each his/her own, I say. Though perhaps some bass-heads are bass-heads because they've not heard good mids/highs. Perhaps.

 

[DarkScythe]

I personally think overly-bassy music kinda ruins it, but that's just me.. I suppose most people love that thumping bass. Then again, I'm not really one to enjoy rap and heavy metal, so I guess that's it.

 

[olblueyez]

Personally I think good bass is the single most underrated and most lacking aspect of most mainstream electronic equipment. It is for that reason I think the bass heads come out of the woodwork because bass is the biggest missing component, what do you hear when you listen to midline equipment, better mids and treble for the most part. You cant have the entire picture when any part of the music is missing. Thats the difference between not forgetting you have headphones on and getting lost in the music, I dont think its ok to adopt a "mids and treble are most important attitude" anymore than "bass is everything". Isnt that why we are here, to hear all of the music and not just the parts that run of the mill junk spits out? My system recently reached a level where I dont skip certain albums or tracks anymore, I used to target the music that sounded best on my system and now it all runs together and the time flies.

 

[ZoNtO]

It's because of MTV, ecstasy, and inconsiderate people blasting subs at parties and in their cars....

I hate what America has come to...

Do the Helen Keller

 

[olblueyez]

It does make me laugh when I pull up to a kid and he has giant subs paired up with a junky system and you can hear every nut and bolt on his car oscillating loose as the car disintegrates. I guess its some kind of mating call because it isnt about the music.

 

[Rednamalas1]

worst part is that they don't realize that mid-bass hump is missing bottom bit as well. Many have yet to hear hair-raising bass from 20-50hz...

 

[thoughtcriminal]

I think what most people associate with bass is vastly overrated. That muffled "whump whump whump" sound of some kid with a cheap subwoofer in his riceburner cranked way up. They way Skullcandy headphones sound. Rap music.

I'll admit I used to be a basshead. I'd walk around with the bass boost and EQ on my DAP cranked way up. Truth be told, it was mostly because I wanted definition to my bass, not loudness.

Now that I've got a good (some here would say merely decent) set of headphones, I find less bass power to be more enjoyable, as it is clear and defined without overpowering everything else.

I will expand on what jonathan said. Most of them haven't heard what bass should sound like. So they crank the bass to hear it better and miss out on the rest of the music.

 

[powertoold]

I used to think that mids and highs were the most important aspects of the spectrum, but after experiencing good bass, I find that bass is just as important as everything else.

Like thoughtcriminal said, a lot of people think of good bass as powerful and plentiful, but that's not the case with good audio equipment. Bass extension is much more important than bass quantity. Deep bass is the foundation of my favorite type of music, classical. The deep bass contains the emotions and girth of the piece. Without good and extended bass, a lot of emotion goes away. I think that's why a lot of people have trouble enjoying classical music these days. They're looking for good and strong bass but don't pay attention to the deepness and soothing emotional nature of good bass

 

[olblueyez]

Couldnt agree more!

 

[jurgen1]

Bass is everything to me, but it has to be clear, fast and not disrupt or overpower the mid and highs. I don't get any satisfaction in the type of music I listen to if I don't feel the bass impact or the air pushing against my eardrums.

 

[Taikero]

Music without bass to me is like watching a movie with laptop speakers: Totally wrong.

Granted, I still want as much clarity from my music with the bass I'm getting. Even so, I'd still sacrifice some clarity if it meant I got a less-than-anemic amount of bass. You can have all the clarity you want, but it means nothing without the "fullness" or "feeling" behind it. Music without bass behind it feels empty to me (and I don't mean the trunk-rattling kind of bass either).

So yes, I'm a basshead, but only because clarity is everywhere in the IEM world, and good bass is only found in a handful of IEMs, most of which are downplayed by the clarityheads.

A musician wouldn't play his music without good equipment to represent the full range of sound, so why do so many insist on hearing their music without that full range all for the sake of the frequencies over 1000 (give or take)?

 

[TacticalPenguin]

Hey hey now, quit stabbing at ety IEMs. Just because the bass isn't half of what I hear doesn't mean I can't hear it. They're for LISTENing, and when you LISTEN, you can hear everything just fine. Besides, a lot of head-fiers prefer detail over bass quantity.

 

[Rednamalas1]

um. you do realize frequency of 1000 should be high mids or treble range, right?

 

[olblueyez]

I want it all, bass and detail that is smooth!