I turned off the XBass on my iCAN and only used APO here. You do need a lot of power though to get this to shine. Had to put my iCAN in high gain. You can tweak to your liking. This is just extreme to see what headphones can do and my LCD-2c handles it with ease. Lower the 80 freq to 60 to make it less boomy. That's how I usually listen to music. You can also play with the Q values to make it more to your liking. I also have an upward slope after 1 Khz because this headphone is way to dark otherwise. On another note, when I switched my XBass on to 20Hz with the 30dB boost at 60Hz it got really insane (Liquid Stranger - Swollen Beasts)
Hmm that's very interesting to hear. I haven't tried the Expanse yet myself, but from most accounts I've read the DCA headphones are quite weak in the bass department, especially when it comes to dynamics/impact. I can't wait to try them one day soon to know for certain..
Definitely worth trying since they’re excellent overall, but I should clarify that it doesn’t have a large quantity of bass overall, it just hits hard really low. Overall it is a pretty balanced sound with excellent clarity and reproduction of instruments. Also, I could not drive them well with most amps in the store, only the wa33 did it adequately. Didn’t try wa5
I'm curious, I can't really offer good answers for this myself due to the limited selection I've heard, but those of you active in this thread, rather than just naming one hardest hitting bassy pair of headphones, can you name the best bass you've heard in an open back, in a closed back, and in an IEM separately? And I'm curious which of the three you'd pick given the choice too/and why.
My inclination based on the headphones I've heard would be to pick up an IEM for bass just due to the fact that even if they don't have much to begin with you can usually EQ in a stupid amount without the same level of distortion I've noticed when trying to do the same with my on-ear/over-ears. But I've noticed that I often prefer the quality of the bass from my K702 + EQ despite it not being as hard hitting as a closed back or IEM, so that made me wonder if there's some open-back over-ear out there that's godlike for bass.
I'm curious, I can't really offer good answers for this myself due to the limited selection I've heard, but those of you active in this thread, rather than just naming one hardest hitting bassy pair of headphones, can you name the best bass you've heard in an open back, in a closed back, and in an IEM separately? And I'm curious which of the three you'd pick given the choice too/and why.
My inclination based on the headphones I've heard would be to pick up an IEM for bass just due to the fact that even if they don't have much to begin with you can usually EQ in a stupid amount without the same level of distortion I've noticed when trying to do the same with my on-ear/over-ears. But I've noticed that I often prefer the quality of the bass from my K702 + EQ despite it not being as hard hitting as a closed back or IEM, so that made me wonder if there's some open-back over-ear out there that's godlike for bass.
Man, if you're reaching for an IEM instead of an over ear headphone to satisfy your need for bass then I can only say that you have not heard the right over ears. I have tried or owned a bunch of iems designed with great bass, for an IEM, but none of them come close to the visceral bass that certain over ear dynamic and planar headphones can create. What headphones have you tried? Also, from looking at your signature I can see that part of your problem with over ears might be your headphone amplifier. Most stereo or home theater (5.1, 7.1, etc) receivers do not have very powerful headphone amps built in. If getting good bass from closed/open back headphones is a path you want to go down, you might want to look into a dedicated headphone amp with some good power.
As for the best bass I've heard in headphones/IEMs by category, I'd have to say the best closed back is still the king of bass the JVC HA-SZ2000. Nothing I've ever heard hits as hard, with the right amp and some EQ it's like shoving your head inside a subwoofer enclosure. But, the rest of the frequencies are just ok which is why I recently sold my pair. As for open back, the Gold Planar GL2000 would be my choice. They can take as much as a 30db hike in the sub bass region without distorting, and slam my head around while also giving me good sound from the rest of the range. I'd also like to mention the Monolith M1060C from Monoprice. With some mods, making them open back, and using EQ, they are quite good in the low region. I've owned Audeze, HiFiMan, MrSpeakers/Dan Clark Audio, and many other planars and I've sold them all on and have kept my GL2000 and modded M1060C. My IEM choice is a tie between two, the Hyla TE-5B and the IMR Acoustics Opus Mia. Both have incredible bass for IEMs without sacrificing anything in the mids and treble. To answer your final question, which of the three would I choose if I had to? 100% without a doubt, I'd choose the open back. The GL2000 because it gives me 85% to 90% of the bass of the JVC SZ2k, but also gives me much better sound stage and mid/treble presentations. And hands down way more bass than IEMs can produce in my experience. YMMV of course.
Oh yeah my receiver headphone out isn't great and I rarely use it, the one on my audio interface is fine for the headphones I own, though I'm intending to get a Qudelix or something better for when I get planars etc. I agree with you though, what I meant to say with IEMs, is I'd probably reach for those if I want sheer quantity of bass out of the box, but maybe that's just my limited experience anyway. and I agree that there's something to how visceral it is with on-ears/over-ears in comparison. Hence why oddly my K702 sometimes gives me my favourite bass despite having barely any quantity - EQ fixes the quantity, but the way it hits is much more enveloping, like I'm in a room with powerful subwoofers, rather than just bass in my head.
> Gold Planar GL2000 would be my choice. They can take as much as a 30db hike in the sub bass region without distorting
Damn I thought the +12db shelf I often use on my K702 when I want open-back bass was a lot, that's impressive. That one's definitely going on my wishlist. I'd heard of it before but I think I confused it with another cheaper headphone and wrote it off, I just looked at the FR though and even stock it looks quite nice.
Oh yeah my receiver headphone out isn't great and I rarely use it, the one on my audio interface is fine for the headphones I own, though I'm intending to get a Qudelix or something better for when I get planars etc. I agree with you though, what I meant to say with IEMs, is I'd probably reach for those if I want sheer quantity of bass out of the box, but maybe that's just my limited experience anyway. and I agree that there's something to how visceral it is with on-ears/over-ears in comparison. Hence why oddly my K702 sometimes gives me my favourite bass despite having barely any quantity - EQ fixes the quantity, but the way it hits is much more enveloping, like I'm in a room with powerful subwoofers, rather than just bass in my head.
> Gold Planar GL2000 would be my choice. They can take as much as a 30db hike in the sub bass region without distorting
Damn I thought the +12db shelf I often use on my K702 when I want open-back bass was a lot, that's impressive. That one's definitely going on my wishlist. I'd heard of it before but I think I confused it with another cheaper headphone and wrote it off, I just looked at the FR though and even stock it looks quite nice.
I wouldn't recommend leaving it at +30db for sure, lol. I was just impressed that it was capable of it. As for the stock FR, it does sound pretty good, but I like a bit more bass so I add some in.
Recently got my D8000 Pro LE, first initial impressions regarding only bass is that it doesn’t come anywhere near 1266 Phi TC levels. I was hoping for a harder hitting subbass but that wasn’t there. The only thing it has is slightly better bass texture but the TC has way more bass quantity.
Having said that, its mids are so good, something that I’ve missed on the 1266. I’ve heard details in songs I’ve never heard. Almost brought me to tears on some songs.
Treble and soundstage are not as good as the 1266 TC, but not too far off.
Maybe I need to look at th-900 mk2 for that hard hitting subbass slam.
Recently got my D8000 Pro LE, first initial impressions regarding only bass is that it doesn’t come anywhere near 1266 Phi TC levels. I was hoping for a harder hitting subbass but that wasn’t there. The only thing it has is slightly better bass texture but the TC has way more bass quantity.
Having said that, its mids are so good, something that I’ve missed on the 1266. I’ve heard details in songs I’ve never heard. Almost brought me to tears on some songs.
Treble and soundstage are not as good as the 1266 TC, but not too far off.
Maybe I need to look at th-900 mk2 for that hard hitting subbass slam.
Did you EQ the d8000? The pro really needs EQ in the bass department. Still it won't beat the 1266 though.
Subbass is more of rumble which you can feel massaging your head with the right headphone/amp/eq. Slam goes more to the midbass and you can also feel with the right combo. It's just way easier to get on closed back headphone. The only exception for open headphones are 1266 when you place it correctly on your head and the he6se with the bass mod.
TH900 is great for that slam yes! I will never sell mine. Love the highs on it too! Crystal clear! But again NEEDS a lot of EQ to give you basshead levels.
The Sennheiser HE-1 has some excellent bass slam, sub bass rumble...you name it. I got a 20 minute demo with it and was immensely pleased with the bass and of course the overall sound signature of the HE-1. Unfortunately I don't have $75,000 Canadian to spend on them.
Recently got my D8000 Pro LE, first initial impressions regarding only bass is that it doesn’t come anywhere near 1266 Phi TC levels. I was hoping for a harder hitting subbass but that wasn’t there. The only thing it has is slightly better bass texture but the TC has way more bass quantity.
Having said that, its mids are so good, something that I’ve missed on the 1266. I’ve heard details in songs I’ve never heard. Almost brought me to tears on some songs.
Treble and soundstage are not as good as the 1266 TC, but not too far off.
Maybe I need to look at th-900 mk2 for that hard hitting subbass slam.
I really personally like the Bass on the D8000 pro LE. It is very detailed, has fantastic bass texture, and is still quite punchy. Though it is more mid base punchy. I find it to be a good middle ground compared to a lot of headphones either being punchy but not too textured (TH900 mk2. Though its slam is fantastic. TH900 highs hurt my ears) vs a lot of hp that go for textured but not as much punch. But I would agree the subbase punch could be a bit more. I EQ the bass up a bit.
I may be ruining my TH900 mk2 slowly by doing this but I have an EQ with the bass with a 20Db boost. It is so much bass but I only use that when in a very specific mood.
I've all 3. LCD2 wins in sub bass. HE6SE has best of both, sub and mid bass. TH900 has the mid bass and slam those other 2 can't reach. That's why I keep them all in my stable... This is all pushed with EQ, to max out the bass. LCD2 and TH900 can go more crazy than HE6se. HE6se is the more refined one of all 3. You can't get the head massage you can get with the other 2, but the quality of the bass is better though
Not just better, FAR better. I have owned all of those headphones. I still have the 900. Although, HE6se on the right amp has a very hard hitting mid-bass. Kick drums slam violently. The 900 is far superior in sub-bass though. The LCD-2 is a lower tier headphone than the the other two, unless you like a really warm wonky sounding headphone with decent bass.
I've all 3. LCD2 wins in sub bass. HE6SE has best of both, sub and mid bass. TH900 has the mid bass and slam those other 2 can't reach. That's why I keep them all in my stable... This is all pushed with EQ, to max out the bass. LCD2 and TH900 can go more crazy than HE6se. HE6se is the more refined one of all 3. You can't get the head massage you can get with the other 2, but the quality of the bass is better though
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