[Alghazanth]

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And I as an everything-head will sit back and sip Cognac watching the battle unfold! 

To be serious, it is really not a bad idea, just that I will not be able to help but saying "too much bass" every line. It will interesting if a experienced basshead to start a decent guide on ALL basshead headphones (not just entry level) to make it the ultimate basshead thread.

 
I can see it now:
 
XB500: Yea so there's... tons of bass I guess. Like, a whole lot. It's pretty cool.
 
XB700: REDEFINING THE PHRASE "TONS OF BASS"

 

[rymd]

Or a welcome PM. But since this is Head-Fi, neither will likely happen.
 
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Not really a sub-forum, but a general sticky for newbies. Listing all of the potential entry-level headphones that may appeal to those coming from the 'in' crowd.
 

 

 

[ocswing]

I'll only answer to why I think a lot of new people ask specifically about bass. My perspective is that a lot of lo-fi equipment just has no bass. Coming from something like ibuds one of my first questions about a new set of headphones would be, "What's the bass like?" My first reaction would be to get that missing component back when stepping up the chain. And while I like a decent amount of bass I'm not a bass head, as I've heard a few headphones now where the bass is just too much. I think a lot of people new to head-fi are like that. They're looking to fix the glaring flaws on their current set up which would probably be bass and clarity. And I personally don't think there's really a larger issue than that.

 

[mikeaj]

What do you feel about intentionally adding distortions to the signal chain (other than FR changes) and tweaks that don't make a difference? 
 
 
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Dear moderators, IMHO:
 
It is fine for people to like whatever music they prefer. It is fine if most people on this forum seems to come in and ask the question:
 
"Hi, I'm new, what's the best headphone for dubstep and the one that gives me the absolute highest amount of bass?"
 
HOWEVER...
 
This website's tagline is "[..] meeting place for headphone hi-fi enthusiasts".
 
Many people come here to discuss and pursue hi-fi. Or at least they hope to. Hi-fi means trying to achieve as close as possible to an unadulterated sound signal from the source to the human hear.
 
MANY of us come here and would like to engage in constructive discussions on hi-fi topics. Artificially bloating frequencies to please a particular subset of users is not hi-fi.
 
Therefore I kindly ask:
 
1) why are there no sticky threads for newbies/dubsteb/moar bass etc
2) why can't the forum be split into subforums. E.g. "beginners", "hi-fi", "general discussion", "bass-head"
 
This way those of us actually interested in hi-fi wouldn't have to wade through hundreds of identical posts.
 
I just say this because this forum is quickly losing support from people that are interested in quantifiable measurements, objective reviews and balanced opinions on equipment. If things keep being like this, the forum will become a meeting place for fanboys and advertisers. Hi-fi people will move elsewhere.
 
Just my 2c

 

[Shufny]

Yeah, but they don't stop at that point, they want mooaaarrr. They will grow it out eventually like many of us did. Or they don't really like music at all, just partying. I'm a basshead, that now uses a K601... and I love the bass of these.

 

[TMRaven]

I really don't understand.  If anything, all lo-fi equipment has gobs and gobs of bloated bass.  Look at bose and skullcandy's offerings, for example.  The iBuds is a good example, but someone coming off iBuds would just as equally be satisfied from the same offerings that Bose and Skullcandy provide, which is why I feel they're so popular.  
 
 

 

[sailorman]

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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.

 
This is the nub of the issue.  I couldn't care less about anyone's personal preference on an individual basis.
 I'm definitely not a music snob.  I appreciate everything from Techno to Classical to Zydeco and everything in between (except rap.  Can't get into that)    
But, I wonder if we can expect a gradual deterioration in audio production standards as entire generations are trained to accept, and even prefer, cheaply produced, bass heavy 128 bit rate mp3's.
Will a set of cans without a "Beat" sound signature become an expensive "boutique" niche item?
Will balanced and accurate recordings become rare and high priced commodities only available in limited productions from tiny independent studios?
In the quest for the quick buck, will the recording industry go the same route as the publishing, television and film industry and design the bulk of their products to appeal to the least common denominator of equipment and music consumers?  
I have a feeling that far more $450 beats are sold than $450 Sennheisers.  
Will Sennheiser, and the others, follow the market and cave in to a new generation of bassheads, reserving their accurate phones to a few top-dollar models aimed at a dwindling number of old timers and audio iconoclasts?
In other words, can we look forward to the "fast food-ization" of music and audio equipment; the marginalization of quality?
Maybe I'm paranoid, pessimistic, cynical and all that, but that's my only concern.  

 

[Arleus]

Maybe my sarcasm detector isn't working, but these are all already true, aren't they? Beats are widely available on the UK highstreet, but high end flagships from other companies are difficult to find. Even my local hi-fi shop (Audio T) only stocks Senns and Grados, and it's nigh on impossible to get a demo on the Grados. These are already niche items, and we've not even mentioned Audeze and Hifiman yet.
 
As for the recordings, didn't the loudness war stem from the need to making recordings more intelligible on low-end equipment in the first place? I might have got that wrong, but that was the impression I was under.
 
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Will a set of cans without a "Beat" sound signature become an expensive "boutique" niche item?
Will balanced and accurate recordings become rare and high priced commodities only available in limited productions from tiny independent studios?
In the quest for the quick buck, will the recording industry go the same route as the publishing, television and film industry and design the bulk of their products to appeal to the least common denominator of equipment and music consumers?  

 

 

[sailorman]

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Some of the stuff on the first page of this thread got me thinking. I have no problem with you listening to music I can't stand through your headphones, or at reasonable volumes in your car, but when all you have is bass, and it's so loud it overpowers my (slightly bass heavy) music when I have it pretty loud, with my windows up, then I get annoyed. Sure you like the music, not everybody else does. Give me a choice to listen or not to.

Anyway, I would rather hear the squeal of the overdriven guitar's feedback making my ears bleed (exaggeration) over bass drum at times, so I am just against car subwoofers anyway as I find them unnecessary.

 
I'm seriously considering installing a horn from a train in the trunk of my car with a good-sized air tank to power it.
This should help balance the spectrum a bit the next time one of those cars blaring out hip hop with 10 subwoofers pulls up next to me at a light.
 
 

 

[sailorman]

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Maybe my sarcasm detector isn't working, but these are all already true, aren't they? Beats are widely available on the UK highstreet, but high end flagships from other companies are difficult to find. Even my local hi-fi shop (Audio T) only stocks Senns and Grados, and it's nigh on impossible to get a demo on the Grados. These are already niche items, and we've not even mentioned Audeze and Hifiman yet.
 
As for the recordings, didn't the loudness war stem from the need to making recordings more intelligible on low-end equipment in the first place? I might have got that wrong, but that was the impression I was under.
 


 

I think it might be a bit more true in the U.K. than the U.S., although all the good audio stores near where I live have either been closing down or shifting their emphasis to video.
Now that you mention it, the selection of headphones is a lot smaller in the shops.  You used to be able to find a good number of them in the higher end department stores even.
Now, I really don't bother wasting time looking and pretty much go straight online and take my chances.  It does suck having to drive 50 miles to demo anything decent.
 
The recordings have kept up a bit better I think, or maybe it's more genre specific than I realize.  Anyway I never buy mp3's, but how long will it be before I have my choice of a $0.99 128 mp3 or a $2.99 256 mp3 or a $4.99 flac that I have to special order because no one under 40 really wants CD's any more?
 

 

[sml1226]

I think it might be a bit more true in the U.K. than the U.S., although all the good audio stores near where I live have either been closing down or shifting their emphasis to video.
Now that you mention it, the selection of headphones is a lot smaller in the shops.  You used to be able to find a good number of them in the higher end department stores even.
Now, I really don't bother wasting time looking and pretty much go straight online and take my chances.  It does suck having to drive 50 miles to demo anything decent.
 
The recordings have kept up a bit better I think, or maybe it's more genre specific than I realize.  Anyway I never buy mp3's, but how long will it be before I have my choice of a $0.99 128 mp3 or a $2.99 256 mp3 or a $4.99 flac that I have to special order because no one under 40 really wants CD's any more?
 

There's not no one under 40... I've been avoiding downloads like the plague and buying up whatever CD or LP I can find lately... and I'm 17.

 

[sailorman]

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..........
Market usually gets what market wants so I also expect to see more bass headphones from now on. Beats, Sony XB series, lowcost JVC Xtreme Xplosion series etc. is a good sign so far.

I also expect to see more tabloid newspapers, trashy romance novels, teenage hormone movies and vapid sit-coms is a good sign so far.

 

[derycksan]

One of my annoyances with these types of question is that people are assuming we all hear different frequencies the same.  To me, balanced headphones/speakers sound like megaphones, no low end, over-pronounced mids.  That type of sound is flat (dull) to me.  I've been into hifi since I was little and I I know what type of sound I prefer.
 
Why do people like the TS care what other people are doing?  We all share a similar hobby/passion just enjoy the company.  I'd never tell someone what type of music they should listen to.

 

[Teejaay]

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Different generation, different strokes for different folks.  I'm sure that a lot has to do with the age of the listener / the type of music in the current era.  That's not to say that a lot of young people do not like older music - in fact a lot of them love it, but ratio-wise the odds are against the younger generation knowing / caring / experiencing any thing that we grew up with.
 
I'm 28 and can reference specific music that I consider old / classic, but someone who is 38 would reference some thing different in that regard.
 
Today every thing on TV is hip hop, synthetic, electronic, or auto-tuned.  That's what they know cause it's what they are fed through the media.
 
My wife LOVES classic rock but that's because her dad loved it and she grew up with it.   Not every one gets to experience it.   I know people at work who are in their early 20s who have never seen Star Wars, E.T., The Last Star Fighter, etc... and music-wise, they don't know Pink Floyd, Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, The Who, etc..I am in shock when I hear this but it's more and more common the older I get. 

 
sad sad truth. also whats wrong with bass ... my 15'' sub for my ht makes the room...
 
 

 

[K2e2vin]

At one of my old jobs I worked with a guy that was just discovering music from the 80s/90s; reason was he didn't listen to radio growing up.  I was 20 years old at the time and he was around his 30s IIRC.
 
Many newbies probably like bass just because it's fun.  You can feel it, etc.(lots of dance songs are bass heavy), perfect for parties, and in some instances it's for "making noise"/getting attention in cars; eventually it becomes their taste.  I mean, even around the time I was listening to nothing but Tom Petty, Eagles, etc. I couldn't help but play something like E-40's "Tell Me When To Go" when driving around with my friends on a Friday or Saturday night.
 
SN: I'm 23 years old.