[Roller]

I have a custom version of the original version, and it's not half bad, though can't be considered bass oriented headphones. I'm curious about this MK2 version, but I don't really want to think much about it or I might start to fear doing a mistake on the Pro 900. Can't cross the $1K right now, and I also want to train my ears step by step.

 

[tyoung8]

um.. actually if you read between the lines in the headfonia review, the review is *not that great*.  He is already making all the excuses why the audiophile community would not like it and somehow heavily coloured sound is a good thing because if you are a 'true basshead' you will like it.  Okay.  Yeah, right.

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

Yeah, I saw that. I wonder if it can establish territory in the land of bass heads now...

 
If I were to base it on that review, I wouldn't be interested in the Mk2 at all. Apparently the Mk2 is even muddier and less clear and less refined than the TMA1, which I found to be a very muddy and unclear headphone to begin with. Sounds like the Beats Solo HD actually (which I have, so no need for another in the Mk2). I'm curious to see how much bass power the Mk2 has though, and whether it can stand up to the XB500 or the XB700. 
 
 
Pro900 is a great bass monster, but the rest of the sound sig I didn't like. It was too metallic, very rough and abrasive. Not my cup of tea. but the bass was there in oodles and it had major slam effect. 
 
My bass monster of choice is the XB700. More bass than the Pro 900, but a smoother, softer bass, like a warm ocean you skinny dip in. The rest of the sound is equally smooth.
 
The bass king many bass afficionados like to point to that's affordable is the XB500. Has the rougher, more aggressive impact than the XB700.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Pro900 is a great bass monster, but the rest of the sound sig I didn't like. It was too metallic, very rough and abrasive. Not my cup of tea. but the bass was there in oodles and it had major slam effect. 
 

So what are you saying? That it has a V signature and that its sound isn't exactly warm? Because I'm planning on getting the Pro 900 at the end of the month, and I felt like it would be definitely the upgrade for me.

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

um.. actually if you read between the lines in the headfonia review, the review is *not that great*.  He is already making all the excuses why the audiophile community would not like it and somehow heavily coloured sound is a good thing because if you are a 'true basshead' you will like it.  Okay.  Yeah, right.

Actually, I thought the same. the review at Headfonics doesn't make me want to try the Mk2 at all. And I'm a bonafied basshead. Thing is, I've never been overtly impressed by the bass on Audio Technica cans. The WS70 was a disaster, for instance. The original Pro700 was also a mess, not something I ever want to hear again, I'm not particularly confident that the Mk2 is any better. There's something to the tone of ATH bass that I don't like, even the M50's bass wasn't perfectly to my liking.
 

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

So what are you saying? That it has a V signature and that its sound isn't exactly warm? Because I'm planning on getting the Pro 900 at the end of the month, and I felt like it would be definitely the upgrade for me.

Oh, it's plenty warm, but yes it does have a V-ish sig, but not really, not the way a Denon or Beyer does. Like you said, "not exactly warm" might be the right choice. The Pro 900 is a really bassy can, and its bass really did impress, but the mids and treble felt very metallic and sharp. Lots of impact on all parts of the spectrum, and the sharp sound gives it a sense of detail, but it was too aggressive for me.
 
I am the type that likes warm, laidback and bassy sound, so it was just not my thing. Depending on what you are coming from, the Pro 900 could very well be an upgrade. What are you coming from anyhow, and what kind of sound are you looking for?

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Oh, it's plenty warm, but yes it does have a V-ish sig, but not really, not the way a Denon or Beyer does. Like you said, "not exactly warm" might be the right choice. The Pro 900 is a really bassy can, and its bass really did impress, but the mids and treble felt very metallic and sharp. Lots of impact on all parts of the spectrum, and the sharp sound gives it a sense of detail, but it was too aggressive for me.
 
I am the type that likes warm, laidback and bassy sound, so it was just not my thing. Depending on what you are coming from, the Pro 900 could very well be an upgrade. What are you coming from anyhow, and what kind of sound are you looking for?

 
Well, been using dedicated DACs for plenty of time, but audiophile wise, they're considered quite weak, after all they're in the PC domain. I'm currently listening to a pair of A&H XD-53 from foobar2000, going to a NI Audio 2 DJ and a PA2V2.
 
I have the philosophy of enjoying bass quite a bit, but not at the expense of the rest of the frequency range. I would never get a pair of headphones that's considered bright, my ideal would be a neutral sound with gobs of bass, which kind of defeats the whole concept of neutral, I know

And the fact that I listen to a bit of everything doesn't help either, but it's mostly electronica, with different pacing in the genre.

 

[Mochan]

The Pro900 is great for electronica, but I would definitely consider it a bright phone. If you want something more "neutral" with gobs of bass, the stuff that come to mind are the Shure SRH750 DJ, the D1100 and the Xb700.  All of these are really affordable but sound like what you are talking about. Though maybe they are a bit on the darker side too, haha. The 750 is probably the most "neutral" of the lot. 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

The Pro900 is great for electronica, but I would definitely consider it a bright phone. If you want something more "neutral" with gobs of bass, the stuff that come to mind are the Shure SRH750 DJ, the D1100 and the Xb700.  All of these are really affordable but sound like what you are talking about. Though maybe they are a bit on the darker side too, haha. The 750 is probably the most "neutral" of the lot. 

So you're saying that the Pro 900 might be something like a bright phone with tons of bass, making up for the V shape sound?
 
The thing is that I really want TONS of bass for once, something that shakes me to the very core, BUT without crowding the rest of the sound. And I also feel like D1100 wouldn't be a significant improvement over my XD-53. The XB700 just don't feel like a step up the ladder, and I never really liked Shures, for no reason though.
 
Mainly, I'm looking for something that will significantly wow me from what I have right now.

 

[DrNub]

Wow, so is mk2 piece of crap? From the translations from the JPN stores that I googled, apparantly the headphones are good but that guy is just one review ....
 
I'm still waiting for an "actual" review to be honest since I can't even find these headphones anywhere near where I live so I have to order them online.
 

 

[tyoung8]

Reviews on the comments of the article:
 
'The Pro700 Mk2 is a purebred basshead headphone, while the ATH M-50 is closer to a studio monitoring headphone that happens to have good bass quantity. The tonal balance of the M-50 is quite proper, with treble, mids and bass all taking roughly similar proportions. The Pro700 Mk2 is so seriously skewed to the bass regions, it's probably one of the most colored headphones I've ever listened to. '
 
'Tried the Pro700 Mk2 with iPod for sometime. Love the build quality, really good design But the tonal balance is too coloured for my taste. The mid-bass is too dominant with narrow soundstage. Pro700 Mk2 only good for certain music, definitely not an all-rounder bass heavy headphones. Whenever I want seismic bass, I prefer Shure SRH-750DJ, strong bass with more natural tonal balance, a better all-rounder for basshead I would say '
 
'yes mike, i retreated from audiophile a few months ago. without all those "restrctions" as an "audiophile", i reverted to my basic listening and man, bass is the win afterall. screw treble, screw vocals! bass + soundstage = everything.'
 
'It was mostly okay. I wouldn't put a strong mark on the soundstage.' 
 

 

[power]

pro 900s are titanium plated beassts mm do the ears fit in to cups or lay ontop?  

 

[Katun]

Quote:

Pro900 is a great bass monster, but the rest of the sound sig I didn't like. It was too metallic, very rough and abrasive. Not my cup of tea. but the bass was there in oodles and it had major slam effect. 

 
I'll agree there. I found the highs too metallic and invasive. Bass was excellent and definitely it's signature aspect.
 
Quote:

My bass monster of choice is the XB700. More bass than the Pro 900, but a smoother, softer bass, like a warm ocean you skinny dip in. The rest of the sound is equally smooth.

 
Agreed. Between the two, I really don't know which has "more" / "better" bass. But I think I like the XB700's bass even more, because like you mention, it's very smooth.

 

[Mochan]

Quote:

So you're saying that the Pro 900 might be something like a bright phone with tons of bass, making up for the V shape sound?
 
The thing is that I really want TONS of bass for once, something that shakes me to the very core, BUT without crowding the rest of the sound. And I also feel like D1100 wouldn't be a significant improvement over my XD-53. The XB700 just don't feel like a step up the ladder, and I never really liked Shures, for no reason though.
 
Mainly, I'm looking for something that will significantly wow me from what I have right now.

If you want tons of bass without crowding the rest of the sound or sounding too congested, the Shures are my pick. I hate Shures with a passion but the SR750 DJ is something special, it's a Shure for people who hate Shures.  I don't know how they compare to the XD53, as I've never heard one, but they do look alike.  Only problem with the shures is the comfort, I had issues with that and so have a lot of my friends. And the build quality is shoddy; the headband extenders are made of plastic and they can CRACK. Saw it happen right before my eyes. 
 
Don't let the price of XB700 fool you, cheaper doesn't necessarily mean worse. The XB700 has massive bass, but I never felt the rest of the sound was recessed. If you have heard the Senn HD650 then the balance is similar, but with tons more bass. The great thing about the XB700 is how the bass feels like a vast plain (or ocean as I like to describe it) beneath you, with the mids and highs floating above it. There is no midbass crossover bump that intrudes onto the mids. And come on, at the price the XB700s go, it's not much of a risk to experiment with. They cost what, fifty bucks? Hard to get disappointed at that price.
 

 

[Mochan]

 
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Wow, so is mk2 piece of crap? From the translations from the JPN stores that I googled, apparantly the headphones are good but that guy is just one review ....
 
I'm still waiting for an "actual" review to be honest since I can't even find these headphones anywhere near where I live so I have to order them online.
 

 
Not saying they're crap, just saying based on the review cited they sound like crap.
 
We're getting a review sample here, friend of mine has contacts and he's receiving a review unit next month. We'll have a little meet and I'll let you know how it goes.  I can compare it directly to a bunch of basshead cans if that helps. 
 
 
 
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Quote:

 
I'll agree there. I found the highs too metallic and invasive. Bass was excellent and definitely it's signature aspect.
 
 
Agreed. Between the two, I really don't know which has "more" / "better" bass. But I think I like the XB700's bass even more, because like you mention, it's very smooth.

Yeah, XB700 is just so smooth.  It's also a little hard to quantify what has "more" bass especially since the two have very different kinds of bass. 
The Pro 900 is more the earth-shaking, meteoric impact bass that is really great for clubbing and electronic music. 
The XB700 has oodles of bass but it's not the punch-me-in-the-face kind that the Pro900 has, but a more basic, "more" kind of bass that gives the impression of endless infinity. It's the kind of bass that goes well with any kind of music, as long as you're the type that likes a good amount of low end fundamentals on everything you listen to.
 
For impact the Pro 900 definitely has more impact, but does it have "more bass?" I'd need a year with both cans to really tell. The XB700 won't lose easily in quantity to any can, heck sometimes I feel it won't lose to the subwoofer on many home speaker systems.
 
Which bass is "better?" Hell if I know, all I know is my tastes prefer the kind of bass the XB700 has, but that said I also like to have a can with the kind the Pro900 has -- strong and impactful. I just didn't want it from the Pro900 because it would come with the metallic highs that I just hated.
 
I'm thinking the Pro700 Mk2 has the meteoric kind of bass from what I've been reading. Right now the can I have that fills this gap is the Beats Solo HD, but it's not perfect as a "punch me bass" headphone, since it is also quite tame compared to, say, the Beats Studio or the Pro900 or even the Q40. I'm actually in the market again for this kind of headphone, hence I've some interest in the Mk2 depending on how well it sounds.