[modi]

As the title says which one of these headphones provides the tightest, most extended and most pleasurable bass:
Alessandro MS pro
Grado RS-1
Sennheiser HD650

 

[md01]

HD650... grado and ms pro won't go as low as hd650.

 

[recephasan]

you guys have almost the same name! or i'm smoking crack..

I have the HD600, so can't say much for the 650, but the 600 is not as easy to drive as the Grados. Yes the bass is deeper but with cheaper sources and amps, as well as the RA-1, the Grados give better thump.
I'm sure the picture would be quite different with a Blockhead, though.

 

[Snufkin]

I don't really enjoy the HD650 bass, it just comes off as a little weak for my tastes.
I much prefer the MS-Pro, especially when extra impact is desired

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by modi As the title says which one of these headphones provides the tightest, most extended and most pleasurable bass: Alessandro MS pro Grado RS-1 Sennheiser HD650

Senn hd650 , but only paired with good source/amp - in this case the bass of hd650 comes out VEERY deep and beautiful ( not boomy , not punchy ) .

most of the time pleasure for bass-head is linked with the bass punch , which is a disortion ( so should be noted as a weakness ) of headphones/gears .

sometimes ..well.. caugh.. we like very much and fall sick on distortions/ringing behaviors ( me too

)

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi Senn hd650 , but only paired with good source/amp - the bass of hd650 comes out VEERY deep and beutiful ( not boomy , not punchy ) if you pair it with a good setup .

If paired with the wrong setup the bass on the Senns gets really really slow and rather undefined. Also burn-in tightens the bass a lot.

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda If paired with the wrong setup the bass on the Senns gets really really slow and rather undefined. Also burn-in tightens the bass a lot.

That's absolutely true.


Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi ...most of the time pleasure for bass-heads is linked with the bass punch, which is a distortion (so should be noted as a weakness) of headphones/gear.

I agree somewhat, but I think you go too far. Bass punch is something I want from a headphone, just not in excess like held in high esteem by some. To give you an idea, the ER-4 offers enough bass punch to me (and so does the HD 650).

 

[ssportclay]

Oh,it is very OK for headphones to have some bass punch.
TEEM BEYER DT860-THE SONIC SLEDGEHAMMER

 

[mneuwiueyagaobcf]

Hi Modi,

I have some wooden/recabled Grado 225's. Before that I had the sennheiser HD650 with Zu Cable. In terms of bass the HD650 bests the Grado's (flats), it is deeper, more focused and more accurate. If I switch to bowl pads the Grado's cannot even hold a candle to the HD650's bass.

Mind you, I have only about 3 hours on the grado 225's and I was using a much better source when I still had the senns. My grado's bass (with flats) is pleasing and exciting plus there is a lot of it however I often find myself missing the smoother bass of the sennheisers be it rock or classical.

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz I agree somewhat, but I think you go too far. Bass punch is something I want from a headphone, just not in excess like held in high esteem by some. To give you an idea, the ER-4 offers enough bass punch to me (and so does the HD 650).

I definitely like a good bass and love also punch on some listenings .

Anyway , what i know is what i get when i get to listen to live orchestra : I've never heard a live punch such as the one that can come out of headphones/subwoofer .
The bass of the live orchestra is always better (deeper , airier and so on ..) then the one i can listen trough my gears. But I admit my gears can give out a more bassy focused presentation .

(mo) the hd650 tend to lean and to have a "good" bass body , and sometime i fell them rolled off in the highs vs. reality .They like to impress with the bass/mids resolving capabilities , while other cans like to impress on other ranges.

Many time i feel some drum set get to you with a visceral rumble on live performance in a way that is unique , but the "extra" bass i hear on subwoofer or on some HP setup and i like is simply not as good as the live one .. + it is an "extra" bass ...

(MHO)the punch is a mid-bass frqs. bump .
To my ears there's quite less on well made recordings / good setup , simply the bass go deeep and is very defined / controlled , while you can have lot of punch on mediocre rock recordings trough mediocre audio rigs . And , I admit , it can be somewhat very pleasing .

I think there are times the pleasure of listening is associated to a particular kind of distortion/freq. bump which brings out some extra emotions ( to give an exemple : the rattling it can happen to feel trough the spinal chord on some bass or some highs resonances , i have

recorded it in my brain as a beautiful emotion )
The problem is when you step up in audio eq. and you listen a less distorced source/amp, what happpen to me is that is difficult to get back and stay on the previous gear .

 

[JaZZ]

Drums on a live performance -- let's say from a jazz orchestra to have them unamplified -- do have a lot of punch to my ears. I'm not talking of disco bass with (indeed) enhanced midbass or many headphones with similar presentation. Maybe we have a semantic problem. The ER-4 certainly has no obvious mid-bass emphasis, nevertheless does have the punch I'm talking about.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssportclay Oh,it is very OK for headphones to have some bass punch. TEEM BEYER DT860-THE SONIC SLEDGEHAMMER

NO WAY. DT770 = BASSMEISTER!

But to be serious for a second, I love my bass. The MS-2 has a very nicely extended bass range, and tight and punchy too. But I'm a bass monster, so the DT770 will satisfy my nostalgic Club cravings - just the dead souless electronic bass thump rattling your brain, oh yeah.

I'd love to hear the 650's bass in action. Maybe I'll burn some bass-loving tracks on a cd and bring it to the qualia meet, I hear there will be a 650 in attendance this time.

 

[Solude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ Drums on a live performance -- let's say from a jazz orchestra to have them unamplified -- do have a lot of punch to my ears.

The punch is from the impact, the resonance and decay of course is the drum itself. So unless the percussionist is a wuss drums have lots of punch.

Of your choices the Senn has the better bass by quite a margin.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

The only Grado that I've heard with better bass than the HD650 is the PS1, but at least when I heard it, the bass was great, but out of balance with the rest of the sound, it sounded great with some material (1812 overture) and just too bassy for others. I haven't heard the RS1 or MSP at any significant length though.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer The only Grado that I've heard with better bass than the HD650 is the PS1, but at least when I heard it, the bass was great, but out of balance with the rest of the sound, it sounded great with some material (1812 overture) and just too bassy for others. I haven't heard the RS1 or MSP at any significant length though.

I was able to compare a Senn HD650 with stock cable and a PS1 (both unbalanced) out of a X-Can V3 and imo the HD 650 did better in the bass region. Well, the PS1 failed to impress me anyway. In fact, if the PS1 cost the same as a RS1, I'd still take the HD650 most of the time.