You don't find it thin sounding or lacking in bass quantity/impact?
Depends on the quality of the recording, the preferred music genre(s), the volume levels a listener prefers, the reproducing chain of electronics, and the values a listener attaches to various sonic traits in the overall sound.
As pertains specifically to bass reproduction; is the bass produced acoustically, or is it electronically enhanced? How loud and impactful is a bass guitar when it’s not plugged into a speaker/amp that’s plugged into a wall socket? How loud can a bass drum sound indoors versus outdoors?
Bass reproduction varies from venue to venue live and this can be heard in recordings as well.
I have recordings that sound fine as is with the SR1a, not perfect but within reason for me given the current state of all music reproduction. I have other recordings that require some bass EQ to meet my personal taste for what sounds right to my ears based on my experience with live sound.
I like open backed phones with spacious ear cups. I also currently own Abyss Phi, Senn HD800 and 800S. I’ve owned Oppo PM-1’s, Senn 600, Focal Utopia, several Stax, several Grado’s, and have spent a fair amount of time with Audeze and HiFi Man and Sonoma Acoustics. (I really liked the Utopia but the ear cups were just a hair too small for my largish ears (and I refuse to stuff my ears into an ear cup any more, comfort is just as important to me as sound). Also, the sound stage was not quite what I liked, but overall a great sounding phone with any of my preferred music genres.)
The SR1a can reproduce the same low notes as the Phi and Senn’s but not at the same level or with that sense of moving air, or air pressing on the tympanic membrane that the Phi or Senn’s can provide. Even with EQ the SR1a can’t do that, but I can get a fairly satisfying sound “for myself” and I let my brain assist with the illusion that it approaches the truth.
Depending on how loose I adjust the Phi’s ear cups I can make the deep bass go way over the top in amplitude, its fun, but not accurate with my music (classical, jazz, and classic rock) so I end up scaling it back. I’m aware the TC is better in some regards than the Phi and I spent 12 days, in home, listening to both side by side in April 2019, and while the TC was an improvement over the Phi I couldn’t justify the loss I’d take trying to sell the Phi and there was no upgrade path for the drivers because of a change in the housing design. The Phi is still a fine listen for me.
The Senn’s are still a fine listen for me as well. Depending on the amp I use them with, and I have 8 different ones, I sometimes prefer the original, sometimes the S (depends on the recording) and also whether it’s for just music or home theater listening.
Neither my Phi or Senn’s can match the clarity, detailing and transparency I get with the SR1a at unraveling complex lines in a score which is what I relish. These same characteristics enhance my jazz and classic rock listening as well. But the SR1a does put a premium on recording SQ. I find both the Phi and Senn’s more forgiving of average recorded quality, but I’ve never felt the need to EQ either for the bass area as I do at times with the SR1a.
And, as I’ve said before, some people like their bass more real than real. They want a more visceral personal experience and that can vary with whether it’s an acoustic or electronically produced sound. I also believe primary genre choices may matter as to what will most satisfy a listener. Without knowing what the listener cares most about sonically with their preferred music genre(s) I don’t see how one can say this phone is better than that phone for anyone other than themselves. While it might be true that a perfect phone would reproduce any type music in an accurate manner the reality is we have to make concessions and compromises when we decide to buy /use this or that phone. There are always trade-offs. There is no one phone to rule them all.
