[Ikarios]

I'm looking for a fun alternative to my open-air K501s/Audio-Technicas, so I've been looking into the more popular closed models known to be bassy - ATH-M50s, DT770/80 Pros, and Sennheiser HD380 Pros (which was a bit of a dark horse). They all have great bass and a pretty decent fun factor, but I've noticed that all three have a trend of having recessed mids. This, combined with closed resonances (or maybe the recessed mids are caused by the resonances), makes them sound claustrophobic and thin/body-less. Basically, I'm looking for a Grado in closed form, preferably under $300-400.
 
I've also listened to the SRH840 (which was a little too neutral to be "fun", and super uncomfortable), the D2000 (which was probably the closest, but didn't isolate well, still had a slightly recessed midrange and sometimes harsh highs), the Ultrasone Pro 650 (which had a moderately recessed midrange and harsh/sibilant highs). I've considered going up the Ultrasone line but they get expensive fast, and I don't know if the differences will be enough to warrant the price jump - they'll need to be pretty significantly different from the Proline 650 to be worth it, similar to how the AD2000 was a completely different jump from the AD700.

 

[LizardKing1]

I don't consider Ultrasone the best-for-your-buck out there either.
I have read a lot about the Grado sound signature, but having never actually tried one I can't comment much.
The M50s are praised for being a good all-around fun headphone.
The Shure SRH750 I own have a good lower extension, don't recess or distort at all and the sound to me is a lot of fun to hear.
I was going to suggest the SRH840 (never tried them, so I was really just going to mention them), but you say you'll miss the bass, so no fun. Also, the SRH750 are known to be much less comfortable than the SRH840 and the midrange, from what I've read isn't as clear, so maybe something else.
The Sony XB have insane bass, but I think the mids/treble really get second place in priorities.
Isn't Denon supposed to be exactly what you're looking for?

 

[tdockweiler]

Koss Pro DJ 100 when well amped. It's bassy, but not bass heavy. Just under that. It has slightly more bass than the SRH-840, but more forward mids. They are more forward than the SRH-840, but not as much as say the ATH-AD2000.
Perhaps similar to the K601. It's also very comfortable if you use the MDR-V6 pads. The only negative is that it needs a small amp for portable use. It's my favorite headphone of all time probably.
 
Sure it's cheap and most will pass over it, but it really sounds better than 90% of the under $100 closed headphones out there. I like mine so much that I'm going to buy another one when they go on sale and recable it.
 
The closet match to it's signature is maybe the newer HD-650, but it doesn't have nearly as much bass.
 
BTW the DJ100 has many similarities to the SR-80. The DJ100 just has more bass, more detail/clarity, a better soundstage, better imaging and less fatiguing highs. The drivers look so similar and the SR-80 driver can actually fit in the DJ100's shell!
 
Best Buy carries them and it's easy to return if you hate it. I wish more people tried out this underrated headphone.

 

[zmd]

Dude, Grado in closed form? There can be only one: Senn HD25.

 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

ESW9 is another one. The highs were too recesed for me, but the bass and mids were thick and meaty.
 
You can't have it all. Like I mnetioned many times before, for the most part, you can only have two of the three main aspects of sound if you want emphasis in particular ranges.
 
Bass and Mids = recessed/weaker highs (i.e. HD650 has been known to be too smooth for some, though the bass and mids are rich. This kind of emphasis is the most popular option for audiophiles who want more excitement than neutral phones, and isn't frowned upon like bass and treble emphasis, from what I have seen in my time spent here. Since there are a lot of people sensitive to sparkly highs, they find smooth highs to be perfect and natural. I don't agree myself, but YMMV.
 
Bass and treble = recessed/shallow mids (i.e. Most consumer headphones. XB700 is a prime example. This is the most popular by consumers and starting audiophiles.)
 
Mids and treble = recessed/shy bass (i.e. K701. The 2nd most popular option for audiophiles, as it lets you focus on the most subtle of details, moreso than bass and mid emphasized headphones.)
 
There's no exception, though there are some that do better than others in keeping recession to a minimum (i.e. D7000).

 

[Ikarios]

Quote:

Dude, Grado in closed form? There can be only one: Senn HD25.

 

Have it -sounds great, but the on-ear implementation starts to bother me for extended periods of wear. I did forget to mention the HD25 has almost exactly what I'm looking for in a secondary headphone, though

 


Quote:

ESW9 is another one. The highs were too recesed for me, but the bass and mids were thick and meaty.
 
You can;t have it all. Like I said before, for the most part, you can only have two of the three main aspects of sound if you want emphasis in particular ranges..
 
Bass and Mids = recessed/weaker highs
Bass and treble = recessed/shallow mids
Mids and treble = recessed/shy bass
 
There's no exception, though there are some that do better than others in keeping recession to a minimum (i.e. D7000).

I've heard the ESW9s and while I loved the mids and the bass, the treble was too smooth and slightly recessed (actually now that I think about it they remind me of the RE262s). It wasn't the recession that bothered me, it was the slowness and smoothness of the treble, good for slow music but kind of annoying with fast cymbal-heavy music.
 
I don't believe that you can't have it all... The HD25s are probably the closest I've come to the signature I want, although they're a little bit mid-forward. I've tried a lot of closed headphones, and a lot of them had single issues that I feel can be fixed (i.e. ESW9 with a faster treble, or HD25s with a slightly pulled back midrange). Does being "neutral" necessarily mean that it has to be "boring"? I'm still optimistic that there's something out there that will be exactly what I want.
 
I haven't tried the DJ100 or the SRH750DJ, though, and they sound like they wouldn't be too bad. I'm a little wary of the DJ100 because tdockweiler's the only one who really reps it (no offense

) so I doubt I'll be able to resell without taking a loss. What bothered me about the SRH840 is not that it didn't have bass, it's that it was designed as a monitoring headphone and as a result was flat and boring. I do like the sound signature but not as a closed secondary headphone, because I get better "neutral" out of the K501.
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I edited my previous post.
 
Well, neutral doesn't mean boring to some of people, but when you want a little more excitement than what neutral represents, you may find it boring in comparison (I do).
 
Guarantee that you'll lose some elsewhere to gain some where you think you need fixing. Kinda like my XB500. All bass with no mids or highs. I kept the bass where it's at and raised up the mids and treble to my liking. All the sudden, the bass wasn't as good as before. There was the tradeoff.
 
I think as far as a fun, bassy, closed headphone goes, the D7000 is the sweet spot for musicality with the smallest amount of tradeoff. The mids are ever so slightly recessed, but quite close to the bass and treble. I'd say give it a try. It's a flagship for a reason, IMHO.

 

[tdockweiler]

Yeah I've been trying to get people to notice this headphone forever. It's the only headphone that seems to have turned me into some sort of Koss fanboy?! It's really that good, but obviously can't compete well with $200+ headphones, but some. I did prefer it to the M50, SRH-840, HFI-680 and even the ESW9a. I actually prefer it more than my Sextett LP by far. Under $200 for closed, the only one that came close was the KRK KNS-8400, but that's quite bass light, but one extremely good headphone..that's also ignored by almost everyone sadly.
 
Do you have a Best Buy near you? I think if you don't like it, they will accept a return no questions asked. Maybe they will let you demo one with an amp? Doubt it. There's a couple people on here that tried it and liked it. Not as much as me though! I swear someday it will turn out to be like a Sextett, where nobody seems to love it or hear about it until 20 years later

. It deserves to be as well known as the KSC75 and PortaPro, but silly Koss only sells it at Best Buy and JR.com?!
 
You can find a review of it in this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-71-portable-headphones-reviewed-sony-mdr-zx700-mdr-v6-added-03-07
 
Quote:

I haven't tried the DJ100 or the SRH750DJ, though, and they sound like they wouldn't be too bad. I'm a little wary of the DJ100 because tdockweiler's the only one who really reps it (no offense

) so I doubt I'll be able to resell without taking a loss. What bothered me about the SRH840 is not that it didn't have bass, it's that it was designed as a monitoring headphone and as a result was flat and boring. I do like the sound signature but not as a closed secondary headphone, because I get better "neutral" out of the K501.