[lin0003]

   
It's certainly been frustrating for me lately.
 
After owning the QC15 for years, I became sick of it and set out to get better headphones. Unfortunately for me, every headphone I purchased that was supposed to be better sounded so bad I couldn't even listen to it! Everyone always talks about how noise cancelling headphones have inferior sound quality, but I kind of get the feeling that to compete with a $300 noise cancelling headphone, you need to at least be near its price range.
 
I want to quickly mention that the V-MODA Audio Only Cable drastically improved the sound quality of my QC15. I think the stock cables (which have electronics that interfere with the signal) play a large part in why Bose headphones get such a bad rap.
 
The QC15 is definitely more colored in terms of tonal balance, but it still manages to get much closer to the essence of recordings than many headphones I've heard in the $100 to $400 range, at least in certain aspects. It still somehow sounds closer to a good speaker system than all of the "accurate" (*cough* hype *cough*) headphones I've heard. Heck, from my experience, $20 Sony or JVC headphones do as well. (That's not to say that the M40x and XPT100 don't have a lot going for them.)
 
In addition to being a musician practically all my life, I've been to music studios. I have a good grasp of when something doesn't sound right. I'm thinking it's much easier for speakers to properly reproduce sound, because every headphone I've heard has plenty of problems. Yet, I still prefer the presentation of headphones. At any rate, I'd rather have too much bass than nearly no bass at all.
 
The Focal Spirit Professional is the headphone I really want to get next (as you can see from my obnoxious signature offering to trade my soul and all my possessions for it

), but it's $349. After getting a desktop amp and DAC, my budget is exhausted for the time being.
 
As for recommendations, I liked the Sennheiser HD 558 more than a handful of other $100-$400 headphones when I briefly auditioned it, despite the fact that it was the most affordable one...but I still prefer the QC15 overall. Clarity and spaciousness were the only categories in which the Sennheiser beat it, in my eyes. I honestly prefer the more intimate soundstage of the QC15, though, so it's really only one category I preferred the HD 558 with.
 
(I'm actually selling my QC15 for $150 or best offer here.)
 
 
I answered your question in my PM:
 
 
They sound bad with all the tracks I play, in all styles of music. The mids sound even more off than the bass. Very weird tonality that sounds nothing like it does when you play music on some decent speakers. I felt the same way about the M40x, which I made sure was free from defects.
 
It's a shame, because I do love the XPT100's aesthetics, design, and comfort.
 
Oh, and I tried both cables. No difference.
 
And it's not an EQ issue. I don't typically use EQ. I also mentioned that even when I used EQ to set the bass to maximum, there's still hardly any bass at all!
 
I should have just quietly saved up for the Focal Spirit Professional (as originally planned) and saved myself all this trouble.
 
 
Did you not read the first post? Schiit Magni 2 Uber. (Has far higher output power than many amps.)
 
I mentioned that the same problems with the headphone's sound exist straight out of my laptop's headphone jack and that the problem is not my system. I also don't notice much difference with and without the amp.

That's quite odd then. 
 
Is it possible yours is defective? 

 

[Music Alchemist]

Also of note if  we're comparing M40x and XPT100 to your QC15's, your QC15's are much more forward with accentuated bass and treble not to mention much much more expensive, while the former are labeled as studio monitor's purposefully trying not to accentuate any frequencies. 

 
Key word: labeled.
 
It is my opinion that they fail miserably in reproducing audio accurately, far more so than the QC15 with its boosted bass and so on. (However, I have yet to confirm whether my XPT100 is defective.)

 

[Music Alchemist]

  That's quite odd then. 
 
Is it possible yours is defective? 

 
I've been saying all along that I suspect it to be defective, and also that I suspected the same thing of the M40x, which was sent in for repairs and sent back sounding exactly the same, since it wasn't actually defective. For this reason, I am hesitant to bother sending in for a replacement. The dealer told me it's "the luck of the draw" in this situation, since they don't repair anything, but would instead simply send me a new one, which could also be defective, for all I know.

 

[lin0003]

   
I've been saying all along that I suspect it to be defective, and also that I suspected the same thing of the M40x, which was sent in for repairs and sent back sounding exactly the same, since it wasn't actually defective. For this reason, I am hesitant to bother sending in for a replacement. The dealer told me it's "the luck of the draw" in this situation, since they don't repair anything, but would instead simply send me a new one, which could also be defective, for all I know.

Could also be that this model is made a bit differently to the HM5, which results in slightly reduced bass. The bass is already a bit light, so this can make the bass seem non existent. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Could also be that this model is made a bit differently to the HM5, which results in slightly reduced bass. The bass is already a bit light, so this can make the bass seem non existent. 

 
Although I want the Focal Spirit Professional next, I may end up getting the JVC HA-SZ2000 if I don't raise quite enough cash.
 
That way, the only complaint I could make about the bass is "Too much!"

 

[lin0003]

Haha, I remember listening to the JVCs at a meet, they really try to rattle your eardrums. 

 

[cel4145]

In addition to being a musician practically all my life, I've been to music studios. I have a good grasp of when something doesn't sound right. I'm thinking it's much easier for speakers to properly reproduce sound, because every headphone I've heard has plenty of problems. Yet, I still prefer the presentation of headphones. At any rate, I'd rather have too much bass than nearly no bass at all.

Then you should know that speakers in music studios have to be well placed, and typically you need some room treatments and possibly EQ to create an accurate frequency response. If you want to EQ a set of headphones flat, there's a thread on how to do this: http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress

 

[cel4145]

Could also be that this model is made a bit differently to the HM5, which results in slightly reduced bass. The bass is already a bit light, so this can make the bass seem non existent. 

What's a bit light? The HM5? Which is the same as the Fisher FA-003? Measurements beg to differ: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FischerAudioFA003.pdf

Now it could be a bit light to your personal tastes.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Then you should know that speakers in music studios have to be well placed, and typically you need some room treatments and possibly EQ to create an accurate frequency response. If you want to EQ a set of headphones flat, there's a thread on how to do this: http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress

 
I was just comparing speakers to headphones in general, and how I've noticed more problems with headphones.
 
The funny thing is that thread was already open in one of my tabs.

 

[lin0003]

What's a bit light? The HM5? Which is the same as the Fisher FA-003? Measurements beg to differ: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FischerAudioFA003.pdf

Now it could be a bit light to your personal tastes.

Just my personal opinion. Keep in mind I think the HD800 bass is basically perfectly neutral. 

 

[BillsonChang007]

My experience with headphones vs speaker is that, speaker are easier to achieve an accurate sound and depending on settings, speaker often have a warmer sound signature than headphones so I guess you are more used to the speaker sound while headphones are too lean and detailed to you. There are some spikes with the HM5 at the upper midrange but that's nothing massive like you described. 

 

[jodgey4]

The fact that you think so many cans are thin sketches me out... somethings gotta be wrong in your gear, or you are just a natural basshead!

 

[Music Alchemist]

  My experience with headphones vs speaker is that, speaker are easier to achieve an accurate sound and depending on settings, speaker often have a warmer sound signature than headphones so I guess you are more used to the speaker sound while headphones are too lean and detailed to you. There are some spikes with the HM5 at the upper midrange but that's nothing massive like you described. 

 
Part of me just wants to get a refund and move on, instead of leaving things to chance with a replacement.
 

The fact that you think so many cans are thin sketches me out... somethings gotta be wrong in your gear, or you are just a natural basshead!

 
When it sounds extremely shrill to the point of being unlistenable, and when it sounds like I'm listening to music through a tunnel that has stripped the music of everything that is music, I don't think it's because my preferences are for gigantic bass; I think it's because the headphones aren't reproducing what's on the recording.

 

[BillsonChang007]

   
Part of me just wants to get a refund and move on, instead of leaving things to chance with a replacement.
 
 
When it sounds extremely shrill to the point of being unlistenable, and when it sounds like I'm listening to music through a tunnel that has stripped the music of everything that is music, I don't think it's because my preferences are for gigantic bass; I think it's because the headphones aren't reproducing what's on the recording.

I think you are used to speaker sound sig. Look into something warm, and dark in the future  

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I think you are used to speaker sound sig. Look into something warm, and dark in the future  

 
Ironically, I rarely ever listen to speakers and prefer headphones overall. I don't think it's just about preferring a less accurate sound signature; I genuinely believe that the studio monitor headphones I've tried are not all that accurate.