[geremy]

770 pros or something from the ultrasone range maybe.

I have the closed A700s, and I like them a lot. Good, quick bass in an ample amount.

 

[Katysax]

The output out of most laptop headphone jacks leaves a lot to be desired. For around $20 you can get a small USB DAC. It won't be world class but a huge step up from the headphone jack. Not all laptop sound is as bad, but some is beyond horrible. The headphone jacks of an iPod are actually very audibly distorted so if you think it sounds better than your laptop, you need a USB DAC.

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have listened to live acoustic music, and I find phones like the K701 and AD700 perfectly capable of rendering it. You [general you] may prefer a deeper bass response, but this does not mean your preferences are more accurate than mine; they simply mean your preferences are different from mine. It should be possible to enjoy your preferences without trying to convince other people that their preferences are inadequate. Exactly. This isn't a mind-boggling concept, yet so many people don't seem to understand it. It's fine to have preferences; just don't tell other people their preferences are incorrect because they don't agree with yours. If you think a more bassy phone better represents live music to your ears than a less bassy phone, that's fine. But that doesn't mean everyone will feel the same way, and that doesn't give you the right to tell those who enjoy the less bassy phone's presentation that your preferences are more correct than theirs. Just enjoy your music your way, and let other people enjoy their music their way.

If you simply said "I prefer phones with attenuated bass, such as the AD700s or K701s", nobody would argue with you. The problem is that you called it natural, which is simply not true.
Bass in a live performance (relative to other frequencies) can be objectively measured. So can the frequency response of headphones. Comparing these measurements will show cans like AD700 to be extremely bass shy. This is not a matter of opinion. (Similar measurements may well show the DT770s to be very slightly bass heavy. Truly natural is likely somewhere in between, but much closer to DT770s than AD700s. D5000s, perhaps.)

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geremy /img/forum/go_quote.gif 770 pros or something from the ultrasone range maybe. I have the closed A700s, and I like them a lot. Good, quick bass in an ample amount.

There are open and closed versions of the A700s?

 

[Maxvla]

You'll notice I didn't tell him he was wrong. I simply suggested he go deeper into his return period to give them time to break and and him time to adjust to them. If they still don't work right he should return them for something else. The main reason I slammed on the brakes was because he'd only spent 30 minutes with the phones. At least give something a decent shot before throwing them out, imo.

As to live concerts having bigger bass, this is true, but it, imo, is also not correct. The sound engineers know most people are tuned to big bass and exploit it. Listen to a rock concert live and then listen to the same song on a studio album and you'll get 2 very different animals. My preference is the studio album to setup your levels/gear preferences, then listen to the live albums for maximum enjoyment.

Also, loud bassy rock concerts aren't the only live events. Try going to a professional symphony orchestra. Thankfully the concert halls are tuned properly to provide bass presence, but not so much to take over the delicate balance. I know because I've been to many professional concerts including one just last week. I commented to the people I was there with that the bass was so well balanced it was a breath of fresh air and they agreed.

 

[Meloncoly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are open and closed versions of the A700s?

Yes, that is correct. The A700 name refers to the closed version, and the AD700 refers to the open version.

 

[iancraig10]

I have two ad700's and it is true .... the older one has developed a fraction more bass. It only really appears though, when the music has it.

I think that it is often the case that people want the sound of speakers in a room or even worse, the sound of a live event. (Which is awful)

The bass at live events is cranked up so high that it physically moves your stomach. That is not good bass. That is just lots of bass. Your average home speaker or headphone will never produce this ridiculous amount of bass without serious problems.

Also, many CD's are compressed which can give them a loud sound with not really, a tight clean bass.

With headphones, your perception of bass is decreased because you haven't got the 'physical' sound waves hitting your body. You then perceive that there is no bass.

Try listening at lower volumes. Don't try to reproduce a 'live' concert and actively listen. After a while, crank the volume slightly until you feel more of a bass presence and your opinion of the headphone may change.

100 hours burn in. Might help loosen up the drivers. If you're still not OK with the sound, then obviously move on.

I find it more difficult to get a good treble response without sibilance and a nasty edge at the top and that's something that the AD700 does nicely. They have a 'sweet' sound. Fantastic with acoustic sounds as long as you get the volume at a level that starts to make you hear it in a natural way rather than a too loud 'unnatural' way.

It isn't a good idea to make a snap judgement since you could well start changing every headphone that you decide to buy as a result of a hasty judgement and end up going back to the first pair, that in comparison were not actually that bad.

I did that and it cost me a fortune!!

Ian

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

I have listened to live acoustic music, and I find phones like the K701 and AD700 perfectly capable of rendering it. You [general you] may prefer a deeper bass response, but this does not mean your preferences are more accurate than mine; they simply mean your preferences are different from mine. It should be possible to enjoy your preferences without trying to convince other people that their preferences are inadequate.

And so have I. When I heard my first organ play, I was shocked about the amount of bass it produced, compared to the midrange and treble. Again, as I said, i'm not into pronounced bass, im into accurate bass. If bass is strong in the recording, then it should sound strong. If its light, then it should sound light.

 

[mbd2884]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardstyler /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, you need bassier headphones. I would strongly suggest BeyerDynamic 770pro/80.

DT770, yay for farting bass!

I agree with the first few posts of this thread. Bass, percussion are support for the rest of the music, not at the forefront, unless you are listening to some heavy metal where the bass carries the rest of the ensemble, but that's rare even among heavy metal. I agree, if you are ever in a band you would realize that bass is not the emphasis of the music, its the mids and treble, bass should not be interfering with them. One of my friends played bass in the Portland orchestra (small time whatever), and is now in rock, jazz and funk bands, and agrees with me on this statement. DT770, fart way too much bass to be realistic.

If you mean from anything but an acoustic concert, the bass in them are not realistic. Just look at the speakers, and acoustics used for rock, hip hop or any genre of music. Want to hear how bass should be, listen to a real jazz band at a nice night club, or just go see the orchestra. Anywhere massive speakers aren't needed in an obscene venue that just throws and bashes bass into your skull. Most concerts, the bass and music is actually very far from being realistic.

The AD700s and AD900s will play the bass if it was meant to be loud in the recording, loud. They don't add any more bass, nor will they let the bass just fade in the background. Bass is great in these phones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayB18 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The bass of the AD700 is really source/amp dependent. On my laptop and PC they are way too bright sounding, with little to no bass. I you want a more bass heavy but still reasonably balanced headphone look into the Beyerdynamic DT250 80 ohm (closed) or Beyerdynamic DTX800 (open).

This can be said for any good headphone. They just playback whatever your source or DAC is. If it plays back crud, you will hear crud on your AD700s.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif DT770, yay for farting bass! I agree with the first few posts on the frontstage. Bass, percussion are support for the rest of the music, not at the forefront, unless you are listening to some heavy metal where the bass carries the rest of the ensemble, but that's rare even among heavy metal. I agree, if you are ever in a band you would realize that bass is not the emphasis of the music, its the mids and treble, bass should not be interfering with them.

True. Its the backbone of music, an important part but not the music itself on its own. (depending on music of course)


...though DT770 isnt exactly fart cannon. There are other headphones where that label fits better. I would say that it just has a large arse.

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif DT770, yay for farting bass!

Since the DT770s have exceptionally clean, tight, detailed bass that is realistically deep and powerful, I can only assume that your use of the word "farting" is merely an unfortunate word choice for a compliment. If you actually imagine that they sound less than excellent, you might want to get your hearing checked.

 

[iareConfusE]

I like how everybody just keeps suggesting he get new headphones instead of suggesting amps. It seems like nobody has read my post, along with the one other person who has been able to extract an enormous amount of bass from these headphones without distortion. You need the right amping for these phones, and you will get the bass that you want. I'm telling you to build or buy a CmoyBB, which can be done for less than $60, and I can almost guarantee you will enjoy the bass coming out of them.

I'm not trying to blatantly advertising this amp, I'm just telling you my experience with them, and that is they are freaking awesome for delivering undistorted bass to headphones that first seem bass anemic.

 

[lucky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you simply said "I prefer phones with attenuated bass, such as the AD700s or K701s", nobody would argue with you. The problem is that you called it natural, which is simply not true.

You're still trying to paint your subjective opinion as objective fact. And it's still not working.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since the DT770s have exceptionally clean, tight, detailed bass that is realistically deep and powerful, I can only assume that your use of the word "farting" is merely an unfortunate word choice for a compliment. If you actually imagine that they sound less than excellent, you might want to get your hearing checked.

There you go again, telling people to get their ears checked because they don't hear what you hear.

A five year old understands her favorite color won't be everyone else's favorite color. Why is this so hard?

 

[shagvirus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iareConfusE /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like how everybody just keeps suggesting he get new headphones instead of suggesting amps. It seems like nobody has read my post, along with the one other person who has been able to extract an enormous amount of bass from these headphones without distortion. You need the right amping for these phones, and you will get the bass that you want. I'm telling you to build or buy a CmoyBB, which can be done for less than $60, and I can almost guarantee you will enjoy the bass coming out of them. I'm not trying to blatantly advertising this amp, I'm just telling you my experience with them, and that is they are freaking awesome for delivering undistorted bass to headphones that first seem bass anemic.

where some good places to find this amp?

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky /img/forum/go_quote.gif A five year old understands her favorite color won't be everyone else's favorite color. Why is this so hard?

A five year old also understands that the only purpose of a crude, infantile insult like "fart cannon" is to p*ss people off. Nobody is stupid enough to believe that there is any substance whatsoever to it (particularly not applied to excellent phones like DT770s.)

You also mistakenly think that your preference for anemic bass makes lifelike bass "unnatural" somehow.