[sid12345678910]

Hey guys,
 
I've been away form the forum for a while and in that time sadly my old Shure 440s broke which I am uber sad about, so yeah the title kind of says it all.
 
Music preference is mostly electronic music but I do listen to a lot of different things. 
 
Sound signature preference: Sub bass has to be well extended and has to go low, I prefer a sub bass increase more than anything.I prefer neutral mid bass,mids and highs should be more or less neutral but some colouration is OK.
 
Budget: Around $500
 
These will be used at home and I will not be taking it out so it does not have to portable. I don't mind open or closed. I prefer it to be comfortable as it will be on for long hours
 
I have listenend to these headphones:
HD600 - Very good, way too little bass
HD650 - Broing sounding but good bass i would prefer the hd 600
DT770 Pro - good, but didnt have enough time with it
 
thx

 

[Starionn]

HE-400 perhaps? (he-400 vs hd60)
 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Hey guys,
 
I've been away form the forum for a while and in that time sadly my old Shure 440s broke which I am uber sad about, so yeah the title kind of says it all.
 
Music preference is mostly electronic music but I do listen to a lot of different things. 
 
Sound signature preference: Sub bass has to be well extended and has to go low, I prefer a sub bass increase more than anything.I prefer neutral mid bass,mids and highs should be more or less neutral but some colouration is OK.
 
Budget: Around $500
 
These will be used at home and I will not be taking it out so it does not have to portable. I don't mind open or closed. I prefer it to be comfortable as it will be on for long hours
 
I have listenend to these headphones:
HD600 - Very good, way too little bass
HD650 - Broing sounding but good bass i would prefer the hd 600
DT770 Pro - good, but didnt have enough time with it
 
thx

 
Are you looking for high quality clean subbass, or just high quantity subbass?
 
Pretty much any dynamic around that price has very high sub-bass distortion figures even if the roll-off is respectable, so e.g. Denon D5000 will have rumbling subbass but it will be 'dirty'.
 
On the other hand magneplanar headphones have exceedingly cleaner sub-bass distortion figures but because of that, their sub-bass will "sound" less in quantity because of the lack of harmonic distortion mixed in - they will sound more like a tactile vibration rather than a rumble.

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

Are you looking for high quality clean subbass, or just high quantity subbass?
 
Pretty much any dynamic around that price has very high sub-bass distortion figures even if the roll-off is respectable, so e.g. Denon D5000 will have rumbling subbass but it will be 'dirty'.
 
On the other hand magneplanar headphones have exceedingly cleaner sub-bass distortion figures but because of that, their sub-bass will "sound" less in quantity because of the lack of harmonic distortion mixed in - they will sound more like a tactile vibration rather than a rumble.

could you provide examples of headphones that illustrate what you are talking about?

 

[mc21]

I was going to suggest d5000 also even though I didn't like them. There's a lot of bass and but from my experience they kind of linger and "muddy" the sound. I think that's what the other person meant that it is "dirty" bass. There's definitely a lot of it and it rumbles and makes your head shake almost.

 

[gelocks]

If you want a powerful and very present sub-bass, I think that you'd probably want to rule most open-back headphones out... (I'm with you on the HD600s, they are excellent but no powerful sub-bass.)
 
On your budget, I would check:
 
Yamaha Pro 500s: Goes low and rumbles with power, bass is not as loose as the old Denon D5000s, mids are not as recessed as other "bassy" headphones and highs are a bit emphasized but not to the point of making your ear bleed. Cons of this headphones is that they look like Beats (if you care about that) and they are BIG! (it pressures the top of my head and makes it uncomfortable for long listening sessions... but as I have mentioned, I have a weird head I guess lol)
 
V-Moda M100s: Great looks and style, provides crazy good and controlled amounts of bass, but mids are a bit recessed and highs rolls-off a bit early so you would miss that "air" and "sparkle" that other headphones might provide (like the Pro 500s.). Cons, again, comfort level. The pads are a bit uncomfortable sadly... BUT Val is actually making NEW bigger earpads!!! (I plan on buying them again once this happens).
 
Sony MDR-1R: Loved the brown-silver combination and how they looked! Although they were being promoted as being "bassy" headphones, to my ears they are NOT bassy in the "XB-" sense of the word. Still, they provide a good amount of sub-bass, mid bass is a bit more accented and they extend well... but, to my ears, there seem to be a spike in the upper-mids (or somewhere in that region) that made them too forward and hence fatiguing! Comfort was great and probably the best of these 3...
 
MrSpeakers Mad Dogs: These will probably NOT provide the "rumble" and sub-bass power you need, they are a bit mid-forward and the highs are not offensive (but still a bit airy). To my ears, these are VERY similar sounding to the Sennheiser HD600s but with a bit more sub-bass/bass presence.
 
Anyway, I guess those would be my recommendations for your budget.
If you can extend it more, then I would recommend the Ultrasone Signature line (either Pro or DJ).
 
Wait for more people to chime in with their recommendations, make your list, and start testing if you have the chance!
 
 
Good Luck!

 

[jerg]

Quote:

could you provide examples of headphones that illustrate what you are talking about?

The planar magnetic part? Anything from Audeze and Hifiman, pretty much (they are the duopoly on commercial open planar magnetic headphones at the moment).

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

If you want a powerful and very present sub-bass, I think that you'd probably want to rule most open-back headphones out... (I'm with you on the HD600s, they are excellent but no powerful sub-bass.)
 
On your budget, I would check:
 
Yamaha Pro 500s: Goes low and rumbles with power, bass is not as loose as the old Denon D5000s, mids are not as recessed as other "bassy" headphones and highs are a bit emphasized but not to the point of making your ear bleed. Cons of this headphones is that they look like Beats (if you care about that) and they are BIG! (it pressures the top of my head and makes it uncomfortable for long listening sessions... but as I have mentioned, I have a weird head I guess lol)
 
V-Moda M100s: Great looks and style, provides crazy good and controlled amounts of bass, but mids are a bit recessed and highs rolls-off a bit early so you would miss that "air" and "sparkle" that other headphones might provide (like the Pro 500s.). Cons, again, comfort level. The pads are a bit uncomfortable sadly... BUT Val is actually making NEW bigger earpads!!! (I plan on buying them again once this happens).
 
Sony MDR-1R: Loved the brown-silver combination and how they looked! Although they were being promoted as being "bassy" headphones, to my ears they are NOT bassy in the "XB-" sense of the word. Still, they provide a good amount of sub-bass, mid bass is a bit more accented and they extend well... but, to my ears, there seem to be a spike in the upper-mids (or somewhere in that region) that made them too forward and hence fatiguing! Comfort was great and probably the best of these 3...
 
MrSpeakers Mad Dogs: These will probably NOT provide the "rumble" and sub-bass power you need, they are a bit mid-forward and the highs are not offensive (but still a bit airy). To my ears, these are VERY similar sounding to the Sennheiser HD600s but with a bit more sub-bass/bass presence.
 
Anyway, I guess those would be my recommendations for your budget.
If you can extend it more, then I would recommend the Ultrasone Signature line (either Pro or DJ).
 
Wait for more people to chime in with their recommendations, make your list, and start testing if you have the chance!
 
 
Good Luck!

+1. good overview of some of your options. I've only heard the M100 & MDR-1R on gelock's list.
 
I remember that the M100 had amazing bass that did indeed extend to down very low, so that is a great choice, but at $300, it is much lower than your budget. It is also a closed, portable pair of headphones.
 
For the MDR-1R, I would say that there is a bass emphasis, but I personally felt that the really low sub-bass frequencies were not as well represented. When I compared the MDR-1R to the AKG K550, I thought that the K550 had more of a clean low sub-bass rumble even though the K550 does not really emphasis bass. This may be due to the MDR-1R's mid-bass emphasis that slightly hides the really low sub-bass frequencies. Overall, a great comfortable closed, portable pair of headphones that can be found from $190 (if you're lucky) to $300, but for your specific request & budget, I think you can find something better.
 
If you are extending your budget to $1,000 for the Ultrasone Signature DJs or Ultrasone Signature Pro... I would suggest looking more into the Audeze LCD-2 Rev. 2 since you are not restricted to only closed headphones. They would be an example of planar magnetic headphones that offer clean sub-bass like jerg said earlier. 
 
Based on what I've read, these are exactly the type of open high-end headphones you are looking for. Generally, people say that these have amazing sub-bass compared to its competitors (like the HD800) while maintaining great balance and clarity. source: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/spectacularly-yummy-audeze-lcd-2-and-lcd-3-page-3
 
People at head-fi also often say that LCD2 has more and much better bass than the HD600/HD650 and the HE400/HE-500. Of course, I have not gotten to try them personally, but perhaps someone who has can comment

 

[jerg]

Quote:

+1. good overview of some of your options. I've only heard the M100 & MDR-1R on gelock's list.
 
I remember that the M100 had amazing bass that did indeed extend to down very low, so that is a great choice, but at $300, it is much lower than your budget. It is also a closed, portable pair of headphones.
 
For the MDR-1R, I would say that there is a bass emphasis, but I personally felt that the really low sub-bass frequencies were not as well represented. When I compared the MDR-1R to the AKG K550, I thought that the K550 had more of a clean low sub-bass rumble even though the K550 does not really emphasis bass. This may be due to the MDR-1R's mid-bass emphasis that slightly hides the really low sub-bass frequencies. Overall, a great comfortable closed, portable pair of headphones that can be found from $190 (if you're lucky) to $300, but for your specific request & budget, I think you can find something better.
 
If you are extending your budget to $1,000 for the Ultrasone Signature DJs or Ultrasone Signature Pro... I would suggest looking more into the Audeze LCD-2 Rev. 2 since you are not restricted to only closed headphones. They would be an example of planar magnetic headphones that offer clean sub-bass like jerg said earlier. 
 
Based on what I've read, these are exactly the type of open high-end headphones you are looking for. Generally, people say that these have amazing sub-bass compared to its competitors (like the HD800) while maintaining great balance and clarity. source: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/spectacularly-yummy-audeze-lcd-2-and-lcd-3-page-3
 
People at head-fi also often say that LCD2 has more and much better bass than the HD600/HD650 and the HE400/HE-500. Of course, I have not gotten to try them personally, but perhaps someone who has can comment

Having auditioned all of Audeze / Hifimans offerings (except a couple e.g. HE5LE and HE4) as well as HD650, I can say with certainty that the Audezes does NOT have more bass than other cans in this comparison, what they do have is very linear extension and very, very tight and clean low~sub-bass.
 
However, I can expand on that in that HE400s' bass is just as tight and clean as LCD2, and is fairly close in extension too.
 
Meanwhile HD650 and HE500 actually have a tad more bass presence than the others as they both have slight mid-bass emphasis! If you want more bass presence/rumble, these can actually be better choices.
 
Misconceptions are brewed from hyperbole and misconstrued opinions, and that is the case with the bass of Audeze cans. They do NOT have grand expansive head-numbing bass, but instead have very tight extended well-behaved bass. In addition, Hifiman planars come close or on par.

 

[skinnygamer12]

The HE-400 is a great choice for the price. They sound great with electronic music (and just about anything else). As jerg said, the lack of distortion means the bass has less rumble to it, but it goes incredibly low. The low end doesn't have that rumble to it like a subwoofer, but there is plenty of bass without overpowering anything; very clean sound. They also have a slightly dark sound signature, which can somewhat increase the perceived amount of bass IMO.

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

Having auditioned all of Audeze / Hifimans offerings (except a couple e.g. HE5LE and HE4) as well as HD650, I can say with certainty that the Audezes does NOT have more bass than other cans in this comparison, what they do have is very linear extension and very, very tight and clean low~sub-bass.
 
However, I can expand on that in that HE400s' bass is just as tight and clean as LCD2, and is fairly close in extension too.
 
Meanwhile HD650 and HE500 actually have a tad more bass presence than the others as they both have slight mid-bass emphasis! If you want more bass presence/rumble, these can actually be better choices.
 
Misconceptions are brewed from hyperbole and misconstrued opinions, and that is the case with the bass of Audeze cans. They do NOT have grand expansive head-numbing bass, but instead have very tight extended well-behaved bass. In addition, Hifiman planars come close or on par.

sorry, i meant "the LCD-2 has more SUB-bass specifically compared to other options." if you dig through any of the lcd-2 comparison threads, this specific point does come up a lot. I did not mean to imply that they have rumbling, expansive head-numbing bass... but rather that generally they seem to be characterized as dark headphones with great sub-bass extension. also, a lot of people do actually say that the lcd-2 has "better bass" than xyz headphones. that statement "better bass" does not necessarily mean "more bass." In my experience, when people on Head-fi say "better bass," they generally mean tight, accurate, balanced bass that do not bleed into other frequencies.
 
sorry if there was any confusion.
 
and yes, I did not hear these headphones & I am not trying to make any claims that I know how they sound. Just thought it would be a good option to look further into if OP is interested.

 

[Lorspeaker]

for your budget.....new d2000.
whats the price for a new d5000 now?
 
i'll take the dirty rumble over tactile vibration any day

 

[sid12345678910]

Quote:

The planar magnetic part? Anything from Audeze and Hifiman, pretty much (they are the duopoly on commercial open planar magnetic headphones at the moment).

aduazee way to expensive
hifi man i am considiring
 
Quote:

I was going to suggest d5000 also even though I didn't like them. There's a lot of bass and but from my experience they kind of linger and "muddy" the sound. I think that's what the other person meant that it is "dirty" bass. There's definitely a lot of it and it rumbles and makes your head shake almost.

i never got to hear them but i cant get them anymore anyways i got to listen to the d2000 but it was a loooonnnng time ago
 
Quote:

 
Are you looking for high quality clean subbass, or just high quantity subbass?
 
Pretty much any dynamic around that price has very high sub-bass distortion figures even if the roll-off is respectable, so e.g. Denon D5000 will have rumbling subbass but it will be 'dirty'.
 
On the other hand magneplanar headphones have exceedingly cleaner sub-bass distortion figures but because of that, their sub-bass will "sound" less in quantity because of the lack of harmonic distortion mixed in - they will sound more like a tactile vibration rather than a rumble.

defintinaly clean high quility sub bass but i have heard that the d5000 have clean sub bass but anyways thier not avaliable anymore so i cant get them
 
Quote:

HE-400 perhaps? (he-400 vs hd60)
 

 
 
i will give them a shot, i am much more interested in the HE 500 but thier out of my budget, i could only dream of LCD-2

 

[sid12345678910]

Quote:

If you want a powerful and very present sub-bass, I think that you'd probably want to rule most open-back headphones out... (I'm with you on the HD600s, they are excellent but no powerful sub-bass.)
 
On your budget, I would check:
 
Yamaha Pro 500s: Goes low and rumbles with power, bass is not as loose as the old Denon D5000s, mids are not as recessed as other "bassy" headphones and highs are a bit emphasized but not to the point of making your ear bleed. Cons of this headphones is that they look like Beats (if you care about that) and they are BIG! (it pressures the top of my head and makes it uncomfortable for long listening sessions... but as I have mentioned, I have a weird head I guess lol)
 
V-Moda M100s: Great looks and style, provides crazy good and controlled amounts of bass, but mids are a bit recessed and highs rolls-off a bit early so you would miss that "air" and "sparkle" that other headphones might provide (like the Pro 500s.). Cons, again, comfort level. The pads are a bit uncomfortable sadly... BUT Val is actually making NEW bigger earpads!!! (I plan on buying them again once this happens).
 
Sony MDR-1R: Loved the brown-silver combination and how they looked! Although they were being promoted as being "bassy" headphones, to my ears they are NOT bassy in the "XB-" sense of the word. Still, they provide a good amount of sub-bass, mid bass is a bit more accented and they extend well... but, to my ears, there seem to be a spike in the upper-mids (or somewhere in that region) that made them too forward and hence fatiguing! Comfort was great and probably the best of these 3...
 
MrSpeakers Mad Dogs: These will probably NOT provide the "rumble" and sub-bass power you need, they are a bit mid-forward and the highs are not offensive (but still a bit airy). To my ears, these are VERY similar sounding to the Sennheiser HD600s but with a bit more sub-bass/bass presence.
 
Anyway, I guess those would be my recommendations for your budget.
If you can extend it more, then I would recommend the Ultrasone Signature line (either Pro or DJ).
 
Wait for more people to chime in with their recommendations, make your list, and start testing if you have the chance!
 
 
Good Luck!

Yamaha seems interesting will check it out
 
v modas seem to have way too much mid bass and allot of colored sound but i guss i will give them a try
 
Sony mdr - 1r i really don't like spikes in upper mid range i am going to stay way from these
 
Mr Speakers Mad dogs - i have no idea about these, they seem good but i don't know
 
what headphones in the ultrastone line would your recommend?

 

[sid12345678910]

curently on my list to try out
 
HD 650 again
HIFIMAN HE-400
HIFIMAN HE-500
Yamaha Pro 500
V-Moda M100 why not
AKG K550
 
(i know that the HE-500 is out of budget but mabey if it sound way better then the HE 400 then i might put in a bit more)