[Roller]

Quote:

I really don't understand why we have so many people coming here every day to ask about which low budget cans to grab for bass.It's never "what's the best headphone <$200 for Prog Rock?" or "What can has the best mids?". Always "Recommend me some cans with 'GOOD' bass". I mean come on, I'm sure they're familiar with beats and skullcandies.

Go read the topic from the beginning. Quantity and quality were separated from the start.

 

[AndyV]

First of all, I think you are mixing both young people and new audiophiles in the same bag and call them newbies. I am 40 and yet I am a newbie in audiophile world. I have no interest in pop or rock now. However, when I was 20, I couldn't care less about jazz and classical music and all I wanted to listen was heavy metal and rap.
 
And that brings me to specific answer to your question - I believe the main reason why you see more hi-fi users demand heavy lows is a dramatic shift in demographic profile of hi-fi community. Specifically, it becomes much younger than even 10-20 years ago. Why it becomes younger? Only one answer - the progress in technology makes hi-fi cheaper and available for everyone starting from birth (my 3 and 5-year old's are sleeping while listening hi-fi music every day).
 
Hi-fi used to be available for those with big wallets, usually older population that preferred classic, vocals, or jazz. Now it's not on a high-stream anymore, it's on the maintream, hi-fi is the ears of every teenager, it became the new low (like boombastics in the 80th). And those with big wallets - do they stay with the croud? No, they move UP - to high end. It's up there, where no 18-year old can reach, they relax and talk about highs and middles, NOT here at the new bottom which hi-fi has become. 
 
 
 
    

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Listening to real bass, be it a cello or a drum, you feel it as well as hear it.
 
To reproduce it, you must feel it as well.
 
I don't buy the excuses for tight/light/neutral/different curve/etc bass.
 
I understand that reproducing it and enhancing it to the point of pounding your skull in two far beyond what it actually would have sounded like is one thing, but a good reproduction that gives you a satisfying vibration component is very appealing.
 
Very best,
 

 

[Joelby]

I'd like to know who doesn't like bass here? 
 
Bass performance is the most distinguishable aspect for the average joe to evaluate a system. New people coming here for advice are just looking for what they can identify as an improvement. Eventually if they dig into the hobby they may learn to appreciate the more subtle differences in midrange and treble reproduction. If not, whatever. They're still probably better off in the end and will enjoy their listening experience more.
 
I'll admit the number of threads asking for the same advice does get a bit redundant. However, it's no where near as annoying as the 5000 threads on why the Beats suck.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

I'd like to know who doesn't like bass here? 
 
Bass performance is the most distinguishable aspect for the average joe to evaluate a system. New people coming here for advice are just looking for what they can identify as an improvement. Eventually if they dig into the hobby they may learn to appreciate the more subtle differences in midrange and treble reproduction. If not, whatever. They're still probably better off in the end and will enjoy their listening experience more.
 
I'll admit the number of threads asking for the same advice does get a bit redundant. However, it's no where near as annoying as the 5000 threads on why the Beats suck.

The point isn't if people like or dislike bass, but some people seeking bass, and sometimes only bass quantity, not quality, while utterly overlooking the rest of the spectrum.

 

[mikeaj]

I would say this is also because most people don't really listen to music (that includes me a lot of the time, depending).  They hear and feel music.  The difference is in the person's active involvement with the music and attention level.  A lot of music isn't even well suited to good listening or analysis anyway, and I'm not going to blame people for not listening since it's up to them what they want to do--particularly if they're doing something while music is on, which is common.
 
Bass is king for leaving an impression in casual listening and particularly in feeling the beat and the feeling of the music.  A lot of popular music is focused at creating a certain atmosphere, tone (using more of the literary sense of the word; I don't mean a musical pitch), or environment, rather than developing musical ideas.  For the effect, fun factor, etc. to work, you often need bass.
 
The largest and most noticeable disparity between cheaper/common sound systems is the bass, so it's natural that it's what buyers are going to be interested in.  They may be familiar with tinny cheap speakers that have big issues at 160 Hz and below, and on the flip side are regularly exposed to bass-heavy presentations.  The obvious difference leaves an impression.

 

[deadlylover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roller /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
About real world frame of reference regarding electronic music, I beg to differ as we already live in an era where live acts of electronic music are widespread throughout the world, so that could be said frame of reference. Though, that is not without flaws, as those live acts might (not necessarily) sound different if the artist wishes to, but then again, the same thing can be said over listening a live recording and being present on the event of the same recording.

 
That's a good point, when you go to a concert of whatever these days with modern mainstream music, the damn artist just wants to be heard by the audience, I don't think they actually care on how accurate the sounds are.
 
When you go to a live concert, what do you feel? Energy, emotion and all things nice.
 
And if it takes a 'fun' sounding headphone to reproduce those emotions, who are we to say that it isn't 'true to the recording', that is, if we take the live concert as reference.
 
Don't even get me started on how some self proclaimed audiophiles or 'music lovers' think that the modern mainstream crap doesn't have the same musical values as 'proper' music. How low do you have to go as a fellow music lover to bag on different types of music? It's pathetic.

 

[Joelby]

Quote:

The point isn't if people like or dislike bass, but some people seeking bass, and sometimes only bass quantity, not quality, while utterly overlooking the rest of the spectrum.

 
They come to our forum seeking advice. No seasoned head-fier is going to recommend phones with loads of bass quantity and no quality. So in the end, it's a win-win situation. The only thing left to argue is whether we act like pretentious assholes or not.
 

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

Go read the topic from the beginning. Quantity and quality were separated from the start.

I have yet to see one newbie coming here seeking true bass quality over quantity.

 

[AndyV]

Quote:

First of all, I think you are mixing both young people and new audiophiles in the same bag and call them newbies. I am 40 and yet I am a newbie in audiophile world. I have no interest in pop or rock now. However, when I was 20, I couldn't care less about jazz and classical music and all I wanted to listen was heavy metal and rap.
 
And that brings me to specific answer to your question - I believe the main reason why you see more hi-fi users demand heavy lows is a dramatic shift in demographic profile of hi-fi community. Specifically, it becomes much younger than even 10-20 years ago. Why it becomes younger? Only one answer - the progress in technology makes hi-fi cheaper and available for everyone starting from birth (my 3 and 5-year old's are sleeping while listening hi-fi music every day).
 
Hi-fi used to be available for those with big wallets, usually older population that preferred classic, vocals, or jazz. Now it's not on a high-stream anymore, it's on the maintream, hi-fi is the ears of every teenager, it became the new low (like boombastics in the 80th). And those with big wallets - do they stay with the croud? No, they move UP - to high end. It's up there, where no 18-year old can reach, they relax and talk about highs and middles, NOT here at the new bottom which hi-fi has become. 
 
 
 
    

And just to proof my point - going through a few first pages on high-end forum I found no questions about bass whatsoever.

 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

I have yet to see one newbie coming here seeking true bass quality over quantity.

 
Too bad for you then. Scratch that. I was just hoping to see any resemblance of a meaningful contribution to the thread. Alas, I didn't.

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

First of all, I think you are mixing both young people and new audiophiles in the same bag and call them newbies. I am 40 and yet I am a newbie in audiophile world. I have no interest in pop or rock now. However, when I was 20, I couldn't care less about jazz and classical music and all I wanted to listen was heavy metal and rap.
 
And that brings me to specific answer to your question - I believe the main reason why you see more hi-fi users demand heavy lows is a dramatic shift in demographic profile of hi-fi community. Specifically, it becomes much younger than even 10-20 years ago. Why it becomes younger? Only one answer - the progress in technology makes hi-fi cheaper and available for everyone starting from birth (my 3 and 5-year old's are sleeping while listening hi-fi music every day).
 
Hi-fi used to be available for those with big wallets, usually older population that preferred classic, vocals, or jazz. Now it's not on a high-stream anymore, it's on the maintream, hi-fi is the ears of every teenager, it became the new low (like boombastics in the 80th). And those with big wallets - do they stay with the croud? No, they move UP - to high end. It's up there, where no 18-year old can reach, they relax and talk about highs and middles, NOT here at the new bottom which hi-fi has become. 
 
 
 
    

Glad I break stereotypes then

 

[Roller]

Quote:

First of all, I think you are mixing both young people and new audiophiles in the same bag and call them newbies. I am 40 and yet I am a newbie in audiophile world. I have no interest in pop or rock now. However, when I was 20, I couldn't care less about jazz and classical music and all I wanted to listen was heavy metal and rap.
 
And that brings me to specific answer to your question - I believe the main reason why you see more hi-fi users demand heavy lows is a dramatic shift in demographic profile of hi-fi community. Specifically, it becomes much younger than even 10-20 years ago. Why it becomes younger? Only one answer - the progress in technology makes hi-fi cheaper and available for everyone starting from birth (my 3 and 5-year old's are sleeping while listening hi-fi music every day).
 
Hi-fi used to be available for those with big wallets, usually older population that preferred classic, vocals, or jazz. Now it's not on a high-stream anymore, it's on the maintream, hi-fi is the ears of every teenager, it became the new low (like boombastics in the 80th). And those with big wallets - do they stay with the croud? No, they move UP - to high end. It's up there, where no 18-year old can reach, they relax and talk about highs and middles, NOT here at the new bottom which hi-fi has become. 
 

It's not just demographics, it's the music itself that's changed, with more present bass, without necessarily having equally increased quality to boot. Also, an apparent lowering of music recordings standards in technical terms. And all that adds up.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

 
That's a good point, when you go to a concert of whatever these days with modern mainstream music, the damn artist just wants to be heard by the audience, I don't think they actually care on how accurate the sounds are.
 
When you go to a live concert, what do you feel? Energy, emotion and all things nice.
 
And if it takes a 'fun' sounding headphone to reproduce those emotions, who are we to say that it isn't 'true to the recording', that is, if we take the live concert as reference.
 
Don't even get me started on how some self proclaimed audiophiles or 'music lovers' think that the modern mainstream crap doesn't have the same musical values as 'proper' music. How low do you have to go as a fellow music lover to bag on different types of music? It's pathetic.

the only reason someone could like mainstream music is if they are to lazy to search for their own music and discover what they truly like. 5 years ago i used to love mainstream until i discovered metal. i now know where my soul in music belongs. i am not hating on you or anyone for liking the music. it's just i can't see someone still choosing it after researching better bands and musicians. i personally find mainstream sounds monotonous and every song has the same beat.
 
 

 

[burk992]

I feel like one of the few "younger ones" who thinks the bass requirements are absolutely ridiculous. 

I mean, sure. I love a kick drum just as much as any other man. As a fan of revivalist hard rock, it's the base (haha, get it (i'm sorry that was terrible)) to everything in the song. But jeez, kids these days. I drive into town and stop at a stoplight with a Escalade full of bros... I mean gentlemen crunking out to whatever crap is on the local hip-hop station. Windows down, treble down, bass up. Even my brother is the same way. He has two 15" subs in his Suburban and no speakers.
 
It makes me want to vomit. Kid needs to learn what an EQ is.