[mikoss]

I'm not sure if Crack or other tube amp could help bass head but I know that tube rolling when possible could make you more happy

+1 - I strongly recommend Tung Sol 5998 tubes for very deep, powerful bass with the HD-650's.

 

[Solrighal]

 
I had the Rega Apollo-R CD player for a while which I think has a very similar dac section to their DAC.  It was a really great sounding CD player and I'd probably still have it if it had balanced output.

 
It is quite appealing but the limitation with USB is a deal-breaker for me.

 

[Thebb]

  +1 - I strongly recommend Tung Sol 5998 tubes for very deep, powerful bass with the HD-650's.

I;ve been trying to find this with not much luck on some online tube stores.. Do you know where I can get this?  I can find it on ebay but dont know how reliable they are.

 

[Krutsch]

  +1 - I strongly recommend Tung Sol 5998 tubes for very deep, powerful bass with the HD-650's.

Well, I'm rockin' that power tube (

 ) as I write this, and the base is definitely sweet, but the HD-650s are not bass-head cans - I don't care what amp or tubes you use.

 

[Krutsch]

   
It is quite appealing but the limitation with USB is a deal-breaker for me.

 
That limitation is with the previous model; the newer Rega DAC-R has a modern USB receiver chipset.
 
FWIW, I have the previous model (previous being as in last month), but am feeding USB into a Bel Canto mLink, which nicely converts to S/PDIF, completely galvanically isolated with ultra-low phase-noise clocks and zero jitter. I am a huge proponent of USB audio using a separate converter. In my limited experience, it helps even DACs w/ up-to-date USB implementations. YMMV.

 

[mikoss]

  I;ve been trying to find this with not much luck on some online tube stores.. Do you know where I can get this?  I can find it on ebay but dont know how reliable they are.

eBay is fine, just ensure it's a reliable seller and they post pictures and test results, as well as a money back guarantee. (I guess it all depends on how tolerant you are of waiting for it to be mailled, and messing around if it needs to be returned). Set up a search alert on eBay and you'll be notified when they're listed.
 
They normally go for around $100 each on eBay, or more... but in the last month, I've seen some NOS 5998 tubes sell for less. Also, agree with @Krutsch - these are not bass head cans. Closed are the way to go for bass heads, imo. The Denon/Fostex headphones are probably the best I've heard for exaggerated bass.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

 
Good suggestion.  Or the Denon D2000 or D5000 for less $.  Or try the HiFiMan HE400.

 
The HE400 doesn't have bass anywhere CLOSE to the Denons. I still have no idea why people rave about its bass. 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

   
...wait, what?

 
LOL okay I know it's weird, but here's the thing. The LCD-2 was a headphone I wanted to like but somehow just couldn't. I was disappointed with its bass, thought it sounded kinda thin. Still, I felt like something was wrong with the setup I had, possibly. So, when I was selling my Pandoras, someone offered me to trade (plus a chunk of cash) their LCD-2 pre-fazors in Rosewood with an Lyr and a V-DAC. I asked to see the freq chart and it was an especially bassy set of LCD-2's so I pulled the trigger, figuring worst came to worst I could flip it around again. Ended up loving them. Still sold 'em, haha. 

 

[MattTCG]

   
The HE400 doesn't have bass anywhere CLOSE to the Denons. I still have no idea why people rave about its bass. 

 
I'm afraid that I'll have to pull out the poo-poo, ka-ka sign on this one. I've owned all the Denons and the hifimans. I'll put the he400 bass against any Denon for weight, slam, visceral impact etc. IMO...ymmv

 

[TMRaven]

Yeah.  When I was comparing my then HE-400 and Denon D2000, if the HE-400 sacrificed any amount of bass extension and impact compared to the Denon, I wouldn't have kept it.  It was only a couple weeks prior to that that I let the HD650 and Denon D2000 duke it out, and preferred the Denon for its bass extension and slam.

 

[Gilly87]

I'm a big fan of the HD650s and I really wanted to love the LCD2s, but I just couldn't. Too analytical for me. Sure the bass digs deep, but the overall sound just wasn't dynamic enough for me.
 
EL8s, on the other hand, are a whole Schiit-ton of fun to listen to. Might be the first headphone I ever immediately liked more than the 650s.
 
Quote:

   
LOL okay I know it's weird, but here's the thing. The LCD-2 was a headphone I wanted to like but somehow just couldn't. I was disappointed with its bass, thought it sounded kinda thin. Still, I felt like something was wrong with the setup I had, possibly. So, when I was selling my Pandoras, someone offered me to trade (plus a chunk of cash) their LCD-2 pre-fazors in Rosewood with an Lyr and a V-DAC. I asked to see the freq chart and it was an especially bassy set of LCD-2's so I pulled the trigger, figuring worst came to worst I could flip it around again. Ended up loving them. Still sold 'em, haha. 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'm a big fan of the HD650s and I really wanted to love the LCD2s, but I just couldn't. Too analytical for me. Sure the bass digs deep, but the overall sound just wasn't dynamic enough for me.

EL8s, on the other hand, are a whole Schiit-ton of fun to listen to. Might be the first headphone I ever immediately liked more than the 650s.

 
Hmmmm. Interesting. 
 
I'm rocking the 600s now, eyeballing the 650s to at least sample them short-term, but those EL-8s certainly are intriguing. 

 

[caracara08]

 

 
thanks Gilly, your post makes me happier about my pre-order on the EL8.

 

[Pipppero2007]

Hi all,
 
I am using this plugin:
http://bs2b.sourceforge.net/
As someone in the past suggested me here.
 
Thats because with my fav music (mostly speed and power metal), some albums (i.e. Dream Theater Images and Words for example), the drums are too thin, dry, high I mean they are very fatiguing to listen to, and they are like someone slap my brain (!).
 
With the above plugin and foobar2000 I obtain a softer drum that helps me to listen to these albums with the HD650 without that problem.
 
BUT, this plug-in is working with ALL sound and not only with drums. And it's not my purpose.
 
I feel not fatigue in listening punch sounds or very wide stereo effects (that the plug-in moderates).
 
So my question for you expert is:
 
1) with that plugin what settings I can use to work ONLY with drums and to leave the other sounds just like they are?
 
2) there are other plugins or DSP or else that I can use ONLY to make softer and less-fatiguing the drums that are recorded too harsh/dry/high?
 
Thank you and sorry for my english!

 

[Solrighal]

That's not the real purpose of that plug-in so you're going to struggle to achieve what you're looking for. Have you tried a real parametric EQ? Perhaps there's one available for Foobar. I don't know because I'm on OS X but a parametric EQ can be much more satisfying than a run-of-the-mill graphic EQ, no matter how many bands it has.