[ProjectDenz]

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Yeah I see your point.  I've just always been a believer that bass is good so long as it's kept nice and tight.  I dabble in culinary exploits, and the equivalent component there is hot sauce.  There has to be a balance between heat (bass) and flavor (tightness).  If you ever get too much heat and not enough flavor, you're just begging to have an orifice (in this case your ears) abused in an unholy manner.

 
What about layering? Too much one note bass is no good for me.

 

[reddragon]

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What about layering? Too much one note bass is no good for me.

 
 
whats the meaning of one note bass anyway?

 

[ProjectDenz]

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whats the meaning of one note bass anyway?

 
 
Bass that doesn't really have any definition to it. All it is is doof doof doof.

 

[reddragon]

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Bass that doesn't really have any definition to it. All it is is doof doof doof.

 
 
this is a little abstract for me to understand. i mean i understand what you are saying but will need solid examples for me to learn what one note bass actually is. i have a beyer dt990 pro 250ohms and my xb500 should be coming in tomorrow, so my dt990 doesnt have one note bass (im guessing) and the xb500 does right? so if i listen to both on a bassy song, i should be able to figure out what an one note bass is, right? is there any good example or any easy way for me to tell what one note bass is? doof doof doof, isnt that bass usually sound like?

 

[ProjectDenz]

Hold on a tick, I'm going to compare the XB500 with my DT880 (bass should be the same quality as DT990) for a second.

 

[warrenpchi]

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What about layering? Too much one note bass is no good for me.

 
Strangely enough I don't actually mind that as much...  I guess there's a bit of personal preference involved here.  One of my pet peeves is not being able to hear distinct bass notes or hits (when I know that there should be distinct notes) simply because the cans/drivers can't keep up.  Beats take the "art" of turning-all-bass-notes-into-one-continuous-drone to a whole new level.  For me, I find that lack of detail and definition disturbing on many levels.
 
Plus let's keep in mind that if a source calls for it, many fast LF cans can [usually] reproduce a sustained bass note fairly well (albeit with a sharper attack and release).  But for cans to simply throw up their arms and give up when a nicely succint bass hit is called for - that's just a hard pill for me to swallow.

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

 
What about layering? Too much one note bass is no good for me.

 
Quote:

 
 
whats the meaning of one note bass anyway?

 
Quote:

 
 
Bass that doesn't really have any definition to it. All it is is doof doof doof.

 
Wait, that's what one-note bass is?  For some reason I had always understood one-note bass to mean something rather different...

 

[reddragon]

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Wait, that's what one-note bass is?  For some reason I had always understood one-note bass to mean something rather different...

 
 
whats your own understanding of one note bass?

 

[warrenpchi]

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whats your own understanding of one note bass?

 
It's when a single bass note (or sometimes a narrow range of bass notes) sound too pronounced or exagerrated because the drivers are too fast (as tight bass cans often tend to be) and don't allow bass notes to blend into (or layer upon) one another.
 
God if I'm wrong someone please tell me.  I'd rather be wrong and know it (than be wrong and think I'm right).

 

[ProjectDenz]

To me one note bass is that doof doof feel you get. Listening to some trance songs, when there's different types of bass notes happening in quick succession the bass doesn't really blend in well. It's just that banging of the bass constantly and the bass doesn't change it's tone at all. Compare this to the DT880 which blends in quite nicely. It's really a hard thing to describe unless you hear it. It does do well with the simple and slow beats hip-hop usually has though!
 
You will definitely see the DT990's bass as superior, but you might like the XB500's sound. This is all in my own opinion and people own listening tastes differ.

 

[Oderi]

Funny that Denons haven't gotten a lot of mention in this thread. The AH-Dx000 series is known for its bassiness while still maintaining a good overall balance (compared to XB's and what have you). It's discontinued, yes, but if you can find D5000's from somewhere they're a great buy (their mids are the most forward out of the series according to what I've read which would fit those guitars you mentioned, tho they're the only ones I've heard and own myself). D2000's are considered a very good value headphone. The series doesn't have big amping needs either.

 

[greensaw]

Thanks for all the suggestions!! When I'm in College, I'll get myself a nice pair of headphones (300 and up$). I just need something that will get me to College lol.At that point I'll come back to this thread. For now though, I'd really love to stick with 130$ and under range. I say 130 cause I'm considering getting the Pioneer steez 808's (I guess they are the "bass head" headphone in other countries). It's that or the XB-500's. They've gotten a lot of love on here. Seeing as the 808's just came out, I'm going to wait till others have had a chance to try them and give feedback on them. (Hopefully compare them to the xb-500's). But anyway thanks for all the Info! This has been so welcoming with great suggestions!

 

[Malevolent]

For headphones that are around your price range, these are what I would recommend.
 
Headphones with a good combination of bass quantity and quality: Ultrasone HFI 580, Audio-Technica WS55, Denon DJ HP700, Beyerdynamic DT770, Denon D1100
Headphones with just lots of quantity: Sony XB500, Sony XB700, V-MODA Crossfade LP2, Audio-Technica PRO700MK2
Headphones with good bass quality: Sennheiser HD25-1, Audio-Technica M50

 

[obobskivich]

It's when a single bass note (or sometimes a narrow range of bass notes) sound too pronounced or exagerrated because the drivers are too fast (as tight bass cans often tend to be) and don't allow bass notes to blend into (or layer upon) one another.

God if I'm wrong someone please tell me.  I'd rather be wrong and know it (than be wrong and think I'm right).

One-note bass is a "negative" thing - like "Wooly" or "Boomy" - not a positive thing, like "detailed" or "clear."

Basically it means that all bass sounds "one note" or blurs together into one incoherent mess of "boom boom boom" or "doof doof doof" - there's no definition, texture, etc down there. You can't listen to an organ or bass and hear it as an instrument, it's just a wall of loud, deep, noise. Like listening to a jet engine. An example in a song would be like AFX - Windowlicker, the final bass line, it's more or less a wall of distortion. Compare that to something with complex low notes, like Sabbath's Iron Man which has a lot of nice drum kicks and deep guitar/bass notes in it. There's more complexity and texture.

With a "one note bass" can, both of those will just sound like mud on the bottom. With something that's proper from top to bottom, you'll get the wall of distortion effect from AFX, just like you'll get the nice drums from Sabbath.

This is much easier to explain in context of speakers - ever been in a car where someone has "upgraded" the sound system with a ton of subwoofers in the trunk (very cheaply)? And all of the bass is just a big, loud, "boom" whenever the song "hits." That's one-note.

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

One-note bass is a "negative" thing - like "Wooly" or "Boomy" - not a positive thing, like "detailed" or "clear."
Basically it means that all bass sounds "one note" or blurs together into one incoherent mess of "boom boom boom" or "doof doof doof" - there's no definition, texture, etc down there. You can't listen to an organ or bass and hear it as an instrument, it's just a wall of loud, deep, noise. Like listening to a jet engine. An example in a song would be like AFX - Windowlicker, the final bass line, it's more or less a wall of distortion. Compare that to something with complex low notes, like Sabbath's Iron Man which has a lot of nice drum kicks and deep guitar/bass notes in it. There's more complexity and texture.
With a "one note bass" can, both of those will just sound like mud on the bottom. With something that's proper from top to bottom, you'll get the wall of distortion effect from AFX, just like you'll get the nice drums from Sabbath.
This is much easier to explain in context of speakers - ever been in a car where someone has "upgraded" the sound system with a ton of subwoofers in the trunk (very cheaply)? And all of the bass is just a big, loud, "boom" whenever the song "hits." That's one-note.

 
Nice way to put it. One note bass is just not detailed at all - everything sounds like a mash, a huge wall of bass, so to speak.