[webroo]

 
I recently bought some Sennheiser HD558's on the recommendation of a friend, he thought they'd be a good first 'real headphone' for me. Well I've had them for a few days and they're definitely a lot nicer than the cheap Sony's I had before, I love the detail and wide stereo feel of them, but I think I need a bit more bass. I like to listen to a lot of electronic music, mostly detailed IDM and ambient stuff, which tend to use lot of low bass frequencies. The 558's seem to roll these off quite early.
 
So I'm looking for something similar to the detail of the HD558 but with a little more low-down bass. Not monstrous quantities of boomy bass, but a little more would be nice. Similar price point would be good too. Open or closed-back doesn't matter, I'll be using them at home. Any suggestions appreciated

 

[Gwarmi]

You might like the M50 - it will retain most the detail that you're after and provide a nice little bass bloom down
low - especially if you run it from a dedicated sound-card.
 
Soundstage will be the only thing that suffers a tad.
 
Another great suggestion would be the Ultrasone 580 - I discovered these after I bought my M50
and they work nicely with EDM, a bit warm sounding but a nice sound nonetheless.

 

[Arnotts]

Shure SRH840 would be my recommendation. Go and audition some .

 

[pinkfloydfan]

Sennheiser HD650 could be what your looking for then, they are not bass monsters but are more bassy than the ones you have, more refined too.

 

[webroo]

Thanks for the suggestions, the HD650 could be ideal, but it's way out of my price range I'm afraid. The SRH840 is getting a bit expensive too, is the cheaper 440 any good?
 
The M50 and HFI580 might be what I'm looking for. I've done some searching and I see a lot of praise for the M50's here. Anybody know which of these two would retain more clarity and detail while still providing decent bass?

 

[PurpleAngel]

The HD-558s might need a long break in period to improve the bass.

 

[pinkfloydfan]

I thought the M50's were very bassy headphones?

 

[webroo]

 
Quote:

I thought the M50's were very bassy headphones?

I've been reading what people have written about them and it sounds like they've got some bass, but it's not overpowering? It's a difficult thing to read and write about, it's all so subjective! I've also been looking at some of the frequency response graphs on HeadRoom, but without a frame of reference beyond my HD558's it's hard to decipher. The M50's & 580's look like they've got more bass on the graph, but I've no idea how much that equates to in real life. I guess an audition is the only way to find out!
 
 
Quote:

The HD-558s might need a long break in period to improve the bass.

 
I'm not confident they will improve to the level I want them to, but I'm willing to give it a go, what length of break-in period are we talking about?

 

[TMRaven]

The M50s have bass, and it is a solid bass, but it's not overpowering at all.  I think a lot of head-fi is too used to their open headphones with very low quantity in the sub-bass region.  I'm not sure you'll get the same soundstage and crispness out of an M50 compared to the 558 though.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I'm not confident they will improve to the level I want them to, but I'm willing to give it a go, what length of break-in period are we talking about?

One guy said the sound really improved after about 200 hours of use.
His thread is somewhere here on Head-fi.

My HD-558 arrives on Monday, I'm planning on leaving them plugged into something for at least 4 days straight at high volume.

 

[TMRaven]

Eh, burn-in is grossly overhyped on head-fi.  There's no metaphorical light at the end of a tunnel with angelic choir singing once the headphone reaches a certain amount of hours played.  I've personally have never heard a clear difference in sound with my headphones after x amount of hours.

 

[webroo]

Well I never thought I'd do so much reading about headphones! Unfortunately I haven't come to any concrete conclusion, but I pulled the trigger and ordered some M50's anyway. It seems the general opinion is they're bassy but not overly bassy, which sounds about what I want. Whether it'll be too much bass for me we'll have to wait and see, I'll post an update when they arrive.
 
Quote:

My HD-558 arrives on Monday, I'm planning on leaving them plugged into something for at least 4 days straight at high volume.

I really hope you like them. By no means do I think they're a bad headphone, I actually think they're really good, it just depends on what sound you're after. The small amount of folk, indie and rock I've listened to them sounds fantastic, but that only accounts for a small amount of my music collection, which is why I'm looking for something a little more electronic-music oriented.

 

[webroo]

The M50's arrived yesterday and I've been giving them a listen alongside the 558's. Here's some thoughts:
 
The bass compared to the 558's is in another league entirely, I've not heard a headphone that goes so low. Just like the 558's showed me another dimension to my music through their detail and stereo separation the M50's are showing me a whole new world down in the lower frequencies. As I said my music collection consists of electronic stuff, so it certainly plays into the M50's advantages.
 
However I think it's perhaps a bit too much bass for me. It doesn't necessarily sound bloated or boomy, but it seems to dominate the mix with it's constant presence and it's distracting me from the other elements of the music. Also, compared to the 558's it seems to be missing some mids, which makes the small amount of folk/indie I have sound a bit thin and overly heavy. It's not a deal-breaker, just an observation in comparison to the 558's. Other aspects like soundstage seem a little reduced, but nothing that puts me off.
 
Despite that I'm falling in favour of the M50's, and I'm going to stick with them for now as I can't find a headphone that fits between the two in my price range. I also feel more comfortable EQing some of the bass out of the M50's rather than pushing the 558's up.

 

[VeXun]

Quote:

The M50's arrived yesterday and I've been giving them a listen alongside the 558's. Here's some thoughts:
 
The bass compared to the 558's is in another league entirely, I've not heard a headphone that goes so low. Just like the 558's showed me another dimension to my music through their detail and stereo separation the M50's are showing me a whole new world down in the lower frequencies. As I said my music collection consists of electronic stuff, so it certainly plays into the M50's advantages.
 
However I think it's perhaps a bit too much bass for me. It doesn't necessarily sound bloated or boomy, but it seems to dominate the mix with it's constant presence and it's distracting me from the other elements of the music. Also, compared to the 558's it seems to be missing some mids, which makes the small amount of folk/indie I have sound a bit thin and overly heavy. It's not a deal-breaker, just an observation in comparison to the 558's. Other aspects like soundstage seem a little reduced, but nothing that puts me off.
 
Despite that I'm falling in favour of the M50's, and I'm going to stick with them for now as I can't find a headphone that fits between the two in my price range. I also feel more comfortable EQing some of the bass out of the M50's rather than pushing the 558's up.

How are the m50's working out for you now? Do you still have the 558's? I have a pair of them myself and I felt the same way at first about the bass being almost non existent for certain genres but either my ears got used to the 558's or they burned in but now they sound great. Were you using them with an amp?

 

[joshwalnut]

Quote:

How are the m50's working out for you now? Do you still have the 558's? I have a pair of them myself and I felt the same way at first about the bass being almost non existent for certain genres but either my ears got used to the 558's or they burned in but now they sound great. Were you using them with an amp?

I feel the same, i've had the 558's for about 2 months now and the bass is warming up nicely. I also did the foam mod and i pair them with the fiio e10 with the bass boost.