[bleudeciel16]

My HD595's broke.  They lasted me many years, so I got my money out of them.
 
What I loved about them:
 
Comfortable
Extremely bright mids/highs (to my ears)
Open and crisp sound. (hope this makes sense?)
 
What I didn't like:
 
Lack of bass.  I don't like a ton of bass.  These headphones just seem to completely lack bass altogether.
Super long cable, but I can live with it if my next pair happens to be Sennheiser.
 
Current situation:
 
I bought a temporary pair of ATH-M50's to use until I buy a new setup.  For the price, they've been a great fill-in.  This pair of headphones really made me realize how much I missed having bass in my music/games.  The mids are highs seem really dull to me though on these headphones compared to my HD595's.  I feel suffocated when it comes to the mids/highs on the ATH-M50's, but maybe that's because the 595's are open and the M50's are closed? (I'm not sure that even matters or makes sense?)
 
I prefer to have bright highs/mids.  I also want bass, but if they sound like the dre beats, then count me out.  I want the bass to be accurate.  Not overpowering/drowning.  The hd595's just have no bass and for gaming (think battlefield 3), I would like better bass.  The deep bass of distant explosions on my M50's sounds awesome.  I missed out on that with my 595's.
 
Is it possible to get headphones that have a similar sound to the HD595's, only without the lack of bass?  Or is the lack of bass what gives the HD595's their sound?  I'm not sure how this works so I'm praying I can find headphones that have the crisp and bright highs/mids of the HD595's, in addition to good bass punch and extension.  Is this possible?
 
My budget is around $1000 for the headphones and the dac/amp.  I have an HT Omega Claro PCI soundcard but I can't use it because I just built a new PC and it doesn't have a PCI slot.  I'm basically starting from scratch.
 
I keep reading that the HD650's are good and actually have bass, but the price is pretty high and reading people say they're "DULL" or "VEILED" scares me out of buying them.  I had them in my shopping cart on amazon but after doing last minute reading, decided to research more and ask around before buying something.
 
What I want:
 
Comfort
Under $1000 for total price
Highs/mids (like the HD595's have)
Accurate (but not overpowering) bass
AROUND-ear
Don't care if they're open or closed, but if the "open" design is what makes the HD595's sound so open and clear then that's what I want
 
I do gaming but I don't like surround sound.  I prefer regular stereo.  Call me oldschool.
 
Thanks ahead of time.  I don't really have a budget but I don't think I need to spend more than $1k for a good setup. (right?)

 

[olegausany]

Denon D5000 should be for you. Since your new computer has no PCI slots than it has PCI-E slots so you cam get Asus Xonar STX which is a good match for D5000/7000. You can also go USB DAC and/or AMP way but for the best results DAC should operate in asinchronious mode which most don't do but those which do a way more expensive

 

[MattTCG]

The d5k can be had from Electronic Expo for under $400 NIB. But so could the he400 from moon audio. I'd actually say it's a toss up. Did you already have an amp/dac? Either one of these would leave you plenty of money for the amp/dac. 
 
If you wanna great serious on the orthos, strap on the lcd-2 r.2 and get your socks rocked. Gotta pay to play this one though and it's somewhat heavier than most.
 
gL!!

 

[Sllow]

D5K if you want some really heavy bass. Great for Battlefield and movies, but when listening critically to the music you can notice what mid bass is bleeding on the mids.
D2K or D7K for more balanced bass. Less great for Battlefield and movies, but nothing bleeds on your mids.
I would be cautious about getting the orthos, - they weight too much.

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

D5K if you want some really heavy bass.
D2K or D7K for more balanced bass.
I would be cautious about getting the orthos, - they weight too much.

 
Sorry but this is not quite right. 
 
D2k=really heavy bass, impact, extension and slam
 
D5k=the wood cups tighten the bass and give the mids a more natural sound
 
D7k=I can't comment on these as I don't own them
 
Regarding the weight of the orthos. Don't let it put you off. I'm as sensitive to weight as anybody on the planet. I own the he400 and formerly owned the heavier he500 and did not have an issue with weight for either.
 
gL!!

 

[Lorspeaker]

i would testdrive the Q701....

 

[Dyaems]

whats your source and amp @ OP? i think its better to buy an external dac, an external amp (if you need one), and a headphone for your 1000usd budget. if you managed to buy an hd800 at 1000usd (for example) and youll just going to plug in to your internal soundcard of your pc... well... not sure how that will sound *gorgeous*.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

The hd595 are just handicapped regarding the bass...  It seems that the d2000 /d5000 are the polar opposite of the hd595, not sure sure it's what you want.
But I didn't found the hd595 bright at all. The mids might be prominent , but not the highs at all.
If you find the hd595 too bright, then probably the hd800 would be unbearable to you.
 
Quote:

 
I keep reading that the HD650's are good and actually have bass, but the price is pretty high and reading people say they're "DULL" or "VEILED" scares me out of buying them.

Some recessed highs, might be exactly what you want .... Since you find the hd595 too bright.

 

[tdunks]

Personally, I find the highs on the Denon D5000 amazing. The bass punch is there and strong as well but it doesn't bleed at all. Also if you find the bass too strong the MarkL mod fixes that. The mids are slightly recessed but not overly so, and again the MarkL mod brings them forward.

They are an awesome closed can with a good soundstage in my opinion.

 

[bleudeciel16]

  whats your source and amp @ OP? i think its better to buy an external dac, an external amp (if you need one), and a headphone for your 1000usd budget. if you managed to buy an hd800 at 1000usd (for example) and youll just going to plug in to your internal soundcard of your pc... well... not sure how that will sound *gorgeous*.

 
FLAC on PC.  Going to get DAC and AMP since I have two very noisy gtx570 graphics cards inside my case.
 
Hopefully editing doesn't bump the thread since this is ancient, but incase anyone comes across this thread from a google search, I wanted to post what I ended up, so that I might help someone's decision on what to get.
 
UPDATE (2014-03-07):
 
I ended up with HD650's.  The price was high (higher back when I bought them), but worth every penny.  If you like the sound of your 595, 598, or 600's, you'll love the 650's.  They're basically the same sennheiser comfort, along with MORE detail and clarity, more bass punch and extension (actually "enough" with a tiny bit of EQ, which is aewsome--my 595's had no bass even with EQ lol).  they highs are very slightly rolled off, but I find those tip top highs really annoying and fatiguing so for me this is a good thing.  these are also a little warmer than the 595,598,600 headphones.  that's also something I prefer, so once again, perfect choice.
 
best part about the 650's?  soundstage.  very airy and spacious.  while being warm and personal.  if you like sennheisers and seem to prefer them over other brands, you can't go wrong with either the 600 or 650.  650 is probably the better overall choice, though 600 is probably the better value if you're on a budget.
 
source?  FLAC on PC > xonar STX > coax > schiit bifrost uber > schiit lyr > HD650
 
hopefully that might help somebody in the future in a similar situation as I
 
(and if this bumps and gravedigs this thread by editing is, sorry!)