Tried the PRO900's & the D5000's ... Now what?
Dec 11, 2012 at 10:08 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

BassinURface

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My journey to find the perfect headphones has never felt so discouraging. Although I'm starting to understand the spectrum of music more it has left my dumbfounded and eager to find the right cans for me. 
 
My audiophile journey began with a simple pair of M50's and I found myself looking for something more. (something bassier and more fun) 
 
I pulled the trigger on the Ultrasone Pro900's and listened to them for about 100hours (without an amp/dac straight to my laptop PC) 
and felt something was off about them but at the same time there was something amazing about them.
 
I felt that the bass was almost perfect for me .. but I didnt know that until today. There was some sub-bass with a lot more mid bass. Now I understand that I love the mid bass more but still like  the sub bass to be there at the same. Even though the mid bass bled through to the midrange a bit it was still ok for me. So realistically the bass was exactly what I was looking for and was very close to what I truly wanted. 
 
Now the problem with the Ultrasone 900's. The highs were too sharp for my ears and I realized that I like to listen to my music loud and all the high frequencies would make me have to turn them down more than I wanted too. [Although detailed]  Without knowing I loved mid bass I went chasing sub bass and smoother highs and thought the D5000's would suit me better and with buyers anxiety returned my Pro900's within the month. I still don't know if the Pro900's would have worked for me today if I had a DAC/AMP. (Currently I own a Fioo E10)
 
I went a different direction looking for something new so I turned to the D5000 and I found something new I had never had before. I found lush Mids. Vocals were now a thing of beauty and I couldn't stop trying to find new music I never listened to before. Jazz/Classical/Piano/Anything Vocal. It seemed like anything I threw at them it would play anything flawlessly. These cans might even still be a keeper for me for an all arounder. Even though I love love LOVE these Mids. I still wouldn't mind having them a step back because they tend to make my ears sensitive since there so close. [Even the Pro900 mids were ok too me] 
 
Ok so heres the dilemma. That mid bass is gone and I cant seem to find the fun anymore. I even tried to buy an AMP/DAC (E10) thinking I could bring some magic out of them.. but It didnt. Don't get me wrong these headphones go Deep and they are one of the best sounding headphones I have ever heard and I still might keep these for an all arounder 
cool.gif
 There exactly what nuetral headphones should sound like. It sounds exactly like how the person recorded them wanted them to sound -_-. But for my deep electronica music collection I'm looking for something else. Something like the bass of the 900's , mids like the D5000's [although I wouldnt mind them a step back] , and highs to be smoother than the Pro900's. [Even the highs of the D5000's are ok too me]. 
 
Now I have concluded that I'm officially a basshead and I seek therapy from my fellow Head-Fiers. 
Thank you all for all your help and recommendations this as been one hell of a journey for sure. 
 
Here are some examples of tracks and part of tracks that I really want tracks to shine. It will help understand the music I listen too and what Im looking for, 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NszfjNrbPY The bassline at 1:35 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7uARcONu5A 1:00
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU7deWQofWc 1:00
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PImnYxrlsvk 00:30 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXxNXAEHk-c 1:15
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8cOZJ93Y_Q 1:15 and on
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzQE2Fh7fhE whole song 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCslVp_2zVg
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap8WnwxX5k8 1:00
 
Dec 11, 2012 at 10:37 PM Post #4 of 13
I wouldn't even know where to begin to get the EQ right on Foobar. I tried messing with it but I failed miserably. 
 
If the Zo2 is anything like the bass boost on the Fiio E10 it just bloats the sub bass. 
 
No other types of headphones or even different models of ultrasones come to my mind?
 
Dec 11, 2012 at 10:40 PM Post #6 of 13
Heya,
 
The D5000 on a Fiio E10 is very bassy. I have that setup myself. I am a basshead, and the D5000 is my basshead headphone of choice after going through many.
 
If you want it to surpass the PRO900 and still be like the Denon you know you already love, it's time for you to learn to equalize.
 
Equalize properly. Don't equalize up, equalize down. Take the non-bass frequencies down 2~3 db in software equalizer. Start there. Then tweak it to taste. Notice you're equalizing differently, you're pulling UP the bass by bringing down everything else. This in effect does the same thing. It just does it without pushing the driver past it's limits and into distortion. The Fiio E10 already adds a hard +3db to bass. Now just equalize the rest.
 
It's your best option. And it's free.
 
Here's what it looks like to do this in FooBar:
 

 
 
Notice I dropped everything except bass down below zero but left the bass alone completely. This effectively makes it much bassier, but without distortion. This is a better way to equalize than to simply increase the bass above the 0db line, which will lead to distortion and bleed very quickly and just sound bad. Equalize down and you'll hear a nice smooth listen, and tweak to taste.
 
Very best,
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 2:20 AM Post #9 of 13
Sell both and get the new Ultrasone Signature DJ's. Sounds like even better mid-bass and no crazy highs. It's next on my list, so I have not heard it yet. Sounds super promising.

(I have the Pro900's and the D5000's so I know what you are talking about...)
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 6:55 PM Post #10 of 13
The EQing actually worked quite well. But just for kicks I want to look in to some other Ultrasone models to see if I can pair my ear with something different also. Cant imagine spending $1000 on headphones. ^^ 
 
Dec 13, 2012 at 4:18 AM Post #13 of 13
You might want to read on of the excellent guides on how to equalize properly. Thoug it might take between 1 and 2 hours
 

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