[john unc]

I've been in the market for some over-ear headphones for some time now and I simply don't know how to make a decision.  There are so many headphone companies out there.  I'm tired of in-ear headphones as I've burned through multiple pairs and they all have given out within about a year.
 
I listen to a variety of music, but mostly Rock/Electronica and my 12" Kicker subs have spoiled me...I must have good bass.  Most of the music I listen to is bass/drum-driven.
 
I think that a pair of closed cans would be better in comparison to open-air phones because I often listen in quiet areas (like the library at school).  I bought the Sennheiser HD 428 as they were relatively inexpensive ($60) and were advertised as "bass-enhanced" and I have used and been satisfied with Sennheiser before.  However, upon listening to them, the bass has been a supreme disappointment and I can't even listen to my music very loud because it gets scratchy.
 
I don't know what to try next!  I've read countless forums and compared here and there, but there are so many options. 
 
In summary, I'd like some closed, over-ear headphones with solid bass production for $100 or less.  I tried my roommate's Senn HD 280 Pro headphones and they sounded good, but I wouldn't say that they're designed for bass.  I'd also like to note that I'll be listening mostly to iPod music, so I won't have the ability to plug into an amp or anything.
 
Any suggestions would be much, much appreciated!
 
- John

 

[Graphicism]

Hi John, welcome to head-fi!
 
Check out Sony XB500 ~ you can demo them in the Sony store but rest assured they should meet your bass demands. I have a dozen headphones but the XB500 are my go-to for DnB. 

 

[john unc]

Thanks Graphicism, definitely checking them out.  I've heard generally that headphones such as the Dr. Dre Beats are pretty much overpriced crap...how would you say the XB500s compare to "bass headphones" like those?  Do the XB500s produce all-around sound in addition to the bass response?

 

[Graphicism]

I've heard the Beats and they're nothing but an overpriced gimmick with a generic 20 - 20000 Hz speaker. The Sony XB500 extend low and have great impact without the need for an amp, the bass is somewhat flabby in that it will run into the mids although nowhere near the extent of the Beats. I wouldn't suggest these headphone for classical, but for the majority of electronica they're perfect. Ultrasone HFI-580/780 would be a step up from the Sony XB range however your looking at over $100 for those, they are better all rounders though. If you want to sacrifice some bass for better mids/highs Audio-Technica M50 is a favorite around here, lots of threads about those. I personally like JVC RX700 which run about $35, decent all around with good bass however they are a bit big... not sure if you would like to wear them in public.

 

[john unc]

Thanks again Graphic!  The Ultrasone headphones are really out of my price range, for sure.  I have read a LOT about the ATH-M50s and have seen pretty much all positive comments...just wish there was a way to try them out!  I'm so in love with big bass now that it's really a priority...I'm gonna try my best to find a place where I can demo the XB500s.

 

[Graphicism]

No problem. You can also demo them in Bestbuy... they also stock the XB700 which cost a little more however I preferred the 500s. If you want good bass from an ipod nothing will trump the XB500s for the price, save yourself some time (and money) and just order them online. 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Also note if you'd demo the XB500 at BestBuy, many people have been underhelmed by the bass response because they seem to use some weird source that tames bass whereas listening at the home granted a whole different experience.
 
Here's a frequency response graph comparing those Sennheiser HD 428 you have vs XB500 that should at least give a hint...
 

 
XB500 really needs some EQing for good overall sound though if you want it a little more versataile, otherwise it can be a bit "muddy" sounding due to slight excessive upper bass boost which bleeds into the mids (you need to lower ~250Hz area slightly on EQ) and needs a slight boost at the mids especially 1kHz - 2kHz and highs needs a boost especially at ~4kHz and 16kHz. If you do EQ it will sound great for the price and have lots of bass (It's more a question of unbalanced sound than lack of sound quality but if you aren't able to EQ it doesn't matter much I suppose but bass it'll have lots of in any case).
 
If you'd get them then you should definitely look up EQu in the appstore, costs like $3 but it'll be well worth it if you're using an iPod newer than Classic or Nano.

 

[john unc]

Dang, thanks for the thoughtful response RPG!  As you may have gathered, I WILL be listening MOSTLY to an iPod (a newer iPod Touch)...this EQu app, will it allow me to do these sorts of things of which you speak with lowering frequency ranges and stuff?
 
Also, Graphic^ mentioned that the ATH-M50s are also generally recommended on these forums...they're quite more expensive than the XB500s, but do you have any idea of how they would compare?
 
Quote:

Also note if you'd demo the XB500 at BestBuy, many people have been underhelmed by the bass response because they seem to use some weird source that tames bass whereas listening at the home granted a whole different experience.
 
Here's a frequency response graph comparing those Sennheiser HD 428 you have vs XB500 that should at least give a hint...
 

 
XB500 really needs some EQing for good overall sound though if you want it a little more versataile, otherwise it can be a bit "muddy" sounding due to slight excessive upper bass boost which bleeds into the mids (you need to lower ~250Hz area slightly on EQ) and needs a slight boost at the mids especially 1kHz - 2kHz and highs needs a boost especially at ~4kHz and 16kHz. If you do EQ it will sound great for the price and have lots of bass (It's more a question of unbalanced sound than lack of sound quality but if you aren't able to EQ it doesn't matter much I suppose but bass it'll have lots of in any case).
 
If you'd get them then you should definitely look up EQu in the appstore, costs like $3 but it'll be well worth it if you're using an iPod newer than Classic or Nano.

 

 

[keoni]

Quote:

Dang, thanks for the thoughtful response RPG!  As you may have gathered, I WILL be listening MOSTLY to an iPod (a newer iPod Touch)...this EQu app, will it allow me to do these sorts of things of which you speak with lowering frequency ranges and stuff?
 
Also, Graphic^ mentioned that the ATH-M50s are also generally recommended on these forums...they're quite more expensive than the XB500s, but do you have any idea of how they would compare?
 

 

 
The m50 have a lot of bass too, but the sonys are insane.
Anyway, I have the m50 here, and the ipod will not power them well.
 
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I have owned M50 but I sold them quite quickly due to lack of bass for my taste but yea I'm a basshead. The bass is in IMO only relatively lightly boosted to the point it will never overpower the rest at all and it's recommended so often here for it's versatility, works "good" for most genres, not bad and not superb in any just decent/good for all genres. I was personally dissappointed with soundstage though, the XB500 has better soundstage of those two since it's not fully closed due to having some bassvents at back of the cups and this makes the XB500 sound a bit "airier" in comparision.
 
As for EQu... I'll let the following video speak for itself, the author is also among the most helpful people I've seen and he gladly tries to add features that his customers are requesting for and he's very kind, it's some of the best $3 you could ever spend owning an iPod Touch. Yes it's more than capable of doing what I was talking about:
 

 
Here's also my recommended EQ curve for XB500:
 
 
 
 

 

[nullstring]

I was really underwhelmed by the XB500 (heard them at best buy), and it wasn't just the bass response.
They just sounded bad. I think I'd rather listen to KSC75's.
 
It's possible that the best buy source just sucks, but I would point you in the direction of hfi-580.
 
Actually, the creative aurvana live! is on sale right now. I'd go for those, for sure.
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-EF0060-Aurvana-Live-Headphones/dp/B000ZJZ7OA
 
They are the same as the Denon D1001's
 
EDIT: M50's would be a good choice as well, but they are, as you said, more expensive
 
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=1203&graphID[]=1153&graphID[]=1603&graphID[]=1973
 

 

[john unc]

Thanks for the comparison, Keoni!  I appreciate your honesty regarding the M50...I have no business spending that kind of money anyways, so I feel better about knowing that they're probably not for me!  How are you guys creating/viewing those frequency distribution charts...website?
 
And RPG, the video is awesome.  I am DEF. going to buy the app...I've always wished I could customize the iPod sound past just the few EQs they offer in Settings, didn't even think about an app. like this!
 
I really hope that Best Buy has the XB500s available for demo...
 
Quote:

I have owned M50 but I sold them quite quickly due to lack of bass for my taste but yea I'm a basshead. The bass is in IMO only relatively lightly boosted to the point it will never overpower the rest at all and it's recommended so often here for it's versatility, works "good" for most genres, not bad and not superb in any just decent/good for all genres. I was personally dissappointed with soundstage though, the XB500 has better soundstage of those two since it's not fully closed due to having some bassvents at back of the cups and this makes the XB500 sound a bit "airier" in comparision.
 
As for EQu... I'll let the following video speak for itself, the author is also among the most helpful people I've seen and he gladly tries to add features that his customers are requesting for and he's very kind, it's some of the best $3 you could ever spend owning an iPod Touch. Yes it's more than capable of doing what I was talking about:
 

 
 

 


Quote:

 

 
The m50 have a lot of bass too, but the sonys are insane.
Anyway, I have the m50 here, and the ipod will not power them well.
 
 

 

 

[john unc]

Hey nullstring,
 
I definitely don't doubt that the HFI-580s are great...Graphic^ recommended them as well.  Only problem is that I've gathered that they're considerably more expensive ($189 on Amazon) than even the M50s.  Just a bit out of my price range just to be plugging into an iPod

 
I'm not quite familiar with the Creative Aurvana Live!, but will they produce the same bass as, say, the XB500s? Granted, I don't want ridiculous bass at the expense of every other frequency range, but I'm unfortunately biased towards it

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Seriously though, if you use EQu for the XB500 to boost the rest of the frequency range looking somewhat like this
 

 
Then you get both lots of bass and good overall sound for only $50 and XB500 is also among the easiest driven fullsize headphones around, among the ones I own and have tested it's the easiest driven one and I always thought the ones I had tried before that were already very easy driven which is perfect when using straight out of the ipod.

 

[nullstring]

Take a look at the graph I posted earlier. (They are the same as Denon D1001's)
 
They have less bass than the ath-m50, hfi-580, and ath-m50.
 
It's certainly not bass head bass, but more bass than your senns.
 
If you need bass, I would go for the hfi-580's (or maybe even hfi-780's if you can't find hfi-580's at a good price)
 
$125 on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ULTRASONE-HFI-580-HFI580-CLOSED-BACK-STUDIO-HEADPHONES-/270715936397?pt=DJ_Gear_Lighting&hash=item3f07ed5e8d