[NullFear]

I have owned the 440s for about a year now and as I have been maturing little by little as a music producer I have begun to realize that the 440s just aren't what I thought they were when I first bought them.  The sound stage is incredibly narrow, their lack of bass leaves them sounding rather cold, and there lack of comfort has urged me to look for a new set.  Now they do have there strengths.  For instance, their mids and trebles are very well balanced and natural sounding.  I have come the the conclusion, however, that their weaknesses are greater than their strengths at least to me.  I would like to upgrade to a set that has a good amount of padding, warmer in the low mids and deeper bass, yet keeps a similar level of neutrality in the higher mids and trebles and of course has a deeper sound stage.  I would like, if possible, for this to be done in a budget of $200.  Based on my research so far, it seems that the best fit of these criteria are the Sennheiser HD558.  I would like to hear from people who have experience with HD558s as well as other suggestions that may fit my criteria.  I would prefer closed back headphones for private listening.

 

[billybob_jcv]

The HD558 is an open-backed headphone.

 

[NullFear]

Oh!  Thanks, I didn't realize that.  I guess I just assumed since I didn't see it in any of the descriptions.  Anyone with any closed-back suggestions?

 

[KG Jag]

KRK KNS 8400

 

[NullFear]

Thanks for the suggestion.  The KRK KNS 8400s seem to line up with what I am looking for so far based on reviews.  I will keep those in mind.

 

[NullFear]

Just ordered the KRK KNS 8400s.  Based on most reviews and comparisons with my Shures, these should be much better for me!

 

[Rozenberg]

  Just ordered the KRK KNS 8400s.  Based on most reviews and comparisons with my Shures, these should be much better for me!

 
Be advised, although you have read the reviews, 8400 also doesn't have that much bass.
I like my 8400 'cause it's neutral with much details and clear vocal, but the lack of bass had finally driven me to mod it.
Now the bass is more present 

You could find how to mod it in tdockweiler's thread

 

[NullFear]

   
Be advised, although you have read the reviews, 8400 also doesn't have that much bass.
I like my 8400 'cause it's neutral with much details and clear vocal, but the lack of bass had finally driven me to mod it.
Now the bass is more present 

You could find how to mod it in tdockweiler's thread

Yes, I have been reading the reviews, and have heard that they have not too much bass. Even so, I hear that the sound stage is much better and they are really neutral as you say.  I have definitely come to prefer a bit more neutral of a sound.  BTW thanks for pointing me to that mod. I will probably experiment with different materials to put in the cups to find what works best for me.  I got really lucky when looking for a good deal on the 8400s.  I found a seller on ebay that was selling a brand new set that just had an open box so I got them for only $100.  That is if they are telling the truth about them being unused, but they had 100% positive seller ratings so I figured it was worth a shot.

 

[NullFear]

   
Be advised, although you have read the reviews, 8400 also doesn't have that much bass.
I like my 8400 'cause it's neutral with much details and clear vocal, but the lack of bass had finally driven me to mod it.
Now the bass is more present 

You could find how to mod it in tdockweiler's thread

I have had my 8400s for a few days now and I couldn't imagine being happier!  In my opinion it seems that the 8400s actually have more bass than the SRH440s.  This could perhaps be because I listen to more electronic music so my definition of bass is much different than someone who listens to more rock for instance.  By bass I am talking more about the sub bass frequencies that you would get from a sub woofer from around 20 - 100 Hz.  Doing an A/B comparison between these two headphones, it seems like the 8400s have much less low-mid than the 440s which makes them much less muddy and clear.  These are the frequencies that are probably more commonly called bass to people who listen to more rock and other genres.  I do think the sound stage is quite a bit larger in the 8400s than the 440s.  These are definitely a worthy upgrade for a $100 set to a $150 set!  I was however really lucky to nab a pair of 8400s off of eBay for $100 brand new but with an open box!