[Makiah S]

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I'm starting to come to the conclusion that all headphones are a bit underwhelming for bass. if you have the X700 with a response curve like that and still want more bass you might as well have subwoofers on your ears. I did not realize i was a bass head until i started listening to EDM...for most tracks it makes up half the song, it's the solid foundation the rest of the song is anchored too. There is so much to be missed down low if the headphones can't reproduced them...I started finding *hidden* bass lines in tracks i did not even know had them...and with the highs...well i started noticing clicks, pops, scratches all the nuances in the upper ranges showed up good or bad. It was a real treat. Yes volume level seems to be a catalyst for epic bass on the Pro 900. I do listen to quite low volumes then average...this may be the reason. Some songs are just incredible with the amount and depth of skull crushing reverberating bass...so it must be track specific also.
 
That is one of my gripes with people who have climbatize their brain into handling high volume and you actually can hear all the detail of a song coming from the headphones or earbuds when your on transit...It blows my mind...I listen to probably 1/20 that volume and shame myself for ever going higher. Ignorance is bliss untill you can't hear....then it's just a problem.

There's another issue, the louder your music is the more distorted it tends to sound, the quiter the better and this is beacuse when you crank up the volume ur amping up ALL parts of that piece of music, and that creates unbalances... and the issue with the xb700 is that ALL that sub bass is great but everything Above like 200grz is SERIOUSLY rolled off, and for that reason I like my Sub Woofer for listening to Mid Bass heavy music [it can't even go deep enough for Dub Step the poor thing] so xD yea Sub strapped to my head sounds about right [I'm getting a cMoy in a few days which is a sub boost... I've NEVER had a sub boosting Amp b4 so technically I've listened to my xb 700's realitlvey under amped for a while now so I'm excited!]
 
And volume is a catalyst for bass, it's MORE power to drive a bigger wave which always has more impact because it's PHYSICALLY Bigger, but if u want to hear details then go with lower volumes and clean amps, then you can hear the song as it was orignally masterd [another reason I'm getting dt 880 for that cleaner sound to help me better describe bass] 

 

[SLO7_MACHIN3]

I've been recently thinking about selling these HP because of the "excessive" or prominent bass they produce, but they are also amazing for movies.
Interestingly, the last time i booted in windows, experimented in foobar a little with the eq. presets while listening to Neil Young's Everybody know this is nowhere, and found that it sounded better with the "live" preset, with low frequencies lowed a bit and mids and highs pushed a little, pushing the voice a little to the front and making the sound more balanced overall. I've yet to spend more time with eq. on.
 
I'm currently using my pro 900 with echo audiofire 2 firewire interface and would like to know if someone uses the same configuration and some thoughts about it. I would love to try some other dacs and/or amps, but unless i buy them there's no way i can. I'm now looking at a portable dac+amp to use with my phone, and although the pro 900 are for home use only, i'm really interested to discover how it will compare with my current interface. Since they are low impedance hp, do they benefit a lot with good amping?  Will there be any trouble impedance wise or lack of power with such a device (eg. e17, etc.)? 

 

[336881]

Anyone do the sennheiser hd 650 headband pad mod? It really helped me with the finkyness of the placement on my head and the comfort level increased. And it was only 15 bucks.

 

[SIDWULF]

Quote:

I've been recently thinking about selling these HP because of the "excessive" or prominent bass they produce, but they are also amazing for movies.
Interestingly, the last time i booted in windows, experimented in foobar a little with the eq. presets while listening to Neil Young's Everybody know this is nowhere, and found that it sounded better with the "live" preset, with low frequencies lowed a bit and mids and highs pushed a little, pushing the voice a little to the front and making the sound more balanced overall. I've yet to spend more time with eq. on.
 
I'm currently using my pro 900 with echo audiofire 2 firewire interface and would like to know if someone uses the same configuration and some thoughts about it. I would love to try some other dacs and/or amps, but unless i buy them there's no way i can. I'm now looking at a portable dac+amp to use with my phone, and although the pro 900 are for home use only, i'm really interested to discover how it will compare with my current interface. Since they are low impedance hp, do they benefit a lot with good amping?  Will there be any trouble impedance wise or lack of power with such a device (eg. e17, etc.)? 

 
Neil Young - Everybody Know This Is Nowhere? hehe, well that's part of your problem. These are most definitely EDM specific cans in regards to frequency response. At the same time the bass on that track is very very tame on my Pro 900. Also the second part of your problem in my opinion is your Equalizing away from this headphones sound signature. You might as well get another pair of cans if you feel the need to mess around in the EQ. I always felt that even touching EQ could do more harm to the sound then good and introduce distortions into the frequency spectrum by pushing the hardware to do what is not in it's range...It just...seems like a less then ideal way to *fix* this headphone...messing around with EQ feels like something you do with cheap ear buds that sound like crap anyways. speaking of which I don't even know why they put bass boost on Portable amps...I know people look at it and say "OHHHH MORE BASS BUTTON *PRESS* WEEEEEEE!" no...no...you should try to get used to your headphones at it's designed response curve first.
 
Cheers.
 
EDIT: Oh and I just noticed, yes they are VERY easy to drive. These things are louder then any of my headphones at comparable volumes from just my motherboard...I would say an amp is just icing on the cake not the whole cake...far from it.

 

[SLO7_MACHIN3]

SIDWULF that's more or less my opinion, that's why only now i toyed with the eq., but i don't think messing around with the eq is not an answer, although at first, as you said, it seems like a less than ideal way to fix things. I don't have much knowledge about audio, and with my age not much experience in listening to music, headphones etc., but what i know is that everyone has different ears, and every single piece of recorded music has its own characteristics, even the same album can sound a lot different between it's various releases, and there are also various programs that sound different, dacs, amps and so on. You said "pushing the hardware to do what is not in it's range", to what extent is this true? I don't want to turn this into a technical discussion, but it's true i've been trying to get more into the science of audio. On getting another pair of cans, that's why my post.

 

[SIDWULF]

Quote:

SIDWULF that's more or less my opinion, that's why only now i toyed with the eq., but i don't think messing around with the eq is not an answer, although at first, as you said, it seems like a less than ideal way to fix things. I don't have much knowledge about audio, and with my age not much experience in listening to music, headphones etc., but what i know is that everyone has different ears, and every single piece of recorded music has its own characteristics, even the same album can sound a lot different between it's various releases, and there are also various programs that sound different, dacs, amps and so on. You said "pushing the hardware to do what is not in it's range", to what extent is this true? I don't want to turn this into a technical discussion, but it's true i've been trying to get more into the science of audio. On getting another pair of cans, that's why my post.

 
By boosting certain frequencies you are providing a "dirty" representation of the original signal. Most people who are serious about sound quality usually go with reproducing the original source the exact way it was recorded within the limits of their hardware's sound signature...this is why you see alot of headphone that try to aim for as neutral frequency *flat* response as possible...The Pro 900's are i guess you could say hardware boosted by mechanical design into the low and high end of things...far from balanced...far from ideal for a wider range of music.. But they are extremely  *fun* cans for electronica. It's a gerne that deals with mostly the low and the high end of things in which the Pro 900's excel at in boosting while maintaining control over, which is hard to do.

I'm curious tho...What made you go for the Pro 900's in the first place?

 

[SLO7_MACHIN3]

I bought the pro 900 for a number of reasons: they were low impedance, easy to drive cans; wanted closed design so i wouldn't bother anyone; studio oriented, because i was looking to make music/record instruments with them; and finally i went for them because a good deal appeared, but i was also looking into other cans like the Beyer DT880.
Don't get the wrong idea, i like them very much, it's just i've never been into bass as in basshead (dont listen to drum n bass/trance/techno etc, but do like dancing, disco, electronica) and i find them fatigating, i do get tired and sometimes would like to just listen to some good music and relax.

 

[kookajamo]

I'm thinking about buying these because I'm a basshead and need good portable cans to go with my TF 10s IEM. 
 
I have two questions however:
 
1. Hows the sound leakage, and do I need an amp? (I guess this is a 2 in one question), oh and if I need an amp, any recommendations (3 in 1 baby)
 
2. I have a $1000 budget, can I get something similar with better sound for more or should I save some money and stick with these?

 

[Parall3l]

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I'm thinking about buying these because I'm a basshead and need good portable cans to go with my TF 10s IEM. 
 
I have two questions however:
 
1. Hows the sound leakage, and do I need an amp? (I guess this is a 2 in one question), oh and if I need an amp, any recommendations (3 in 1 baby)
 
2. I have a $1000 budget, can I get something similar with better sound for more or should I save some money and stick with these?

I can't answer question 2, but 1 I can help with.

The leakage is little, but not the least for full size closed headphones. The PRO900 is very efficient and sounds without an amp for me, but some think they sound better with an amp. An E11 should be more than enough.

 

[kookajamo]

I'm thinking I'll most likely end up getting the Pro900 + E17 just so that if I ever buy nicer headphones I won't need to upgrade my amp. Thanks for the help!

 

[Makiah S]

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I'm thinking I'll most likely end up getting the Pro900 + E17 just so that if I ever buy nicer headphones I won't need to upgrade my amp. Thanks for the help!

If you have a $1000 budget why don't you look into some SERIOUS portable stuff, like Schiit or HEadroom amps, and get a pair of cans in the $500+ or so range! Not saying the pro 900's r bad nor is the e17 but there's better stuff... that just happens to cost more <3

 

[kookajamo]

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If you have a $1000 budget why don't you look into some SERIOUS portable stuff, like Schiit or HEadroom amps, and get a pair of cans in the $500+ or so range! Not saying the pro 900's r bad nor is the e17 but there's better stuff... that just happens to cost more <3

This is exactly what I wanted to do, could you recommend a pair of cans and an amp that are similar to the 900s but are higher quality? 
 
I try looking around myself but I have a hard time since there is so much to choose from!

 

[Makiah S]

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This is exactly what I wanted to do, could you recommend a pair of cans and an amp that are similar to the 900s but are higher quality? 
 
I try looking around myself but I have a hard time since there is so much to choose from!

Try the Hifiman HE 400 or 500, theres also cans like Denon AH-D5000 I don't really know to many in that range, you'll have to venture out and ask some of the ppl who own them
 
I can how ever say that the Hifimans are a good start!  The HE-400 is $400 so start there an run wid it xD
 
DANG I'm liking what I'm hearing about the 400... I might want a pair! I might get them b4 I get the 500's tbh [but u gatta buy new cables <3]
Still look into the he 400 and a Cable upgrade, that should take up like $500! THe only issue is ppl say they are heavy... but comofort has never been a big factor with me [I've had some pretty heavy pretty bad cans in my day so im used to OMG its hEAVY] 

 

[kookajamo]

I'll definitely look into those, are they closed back so I can use them for out of home stuff and not bug anyone around me?

 

[SIDWULF]

Quote:

This is exactly what I wanted to do, could you recommend a pair of cans and an amp that are similar to the 900s but are higher quality? 
 
I try looking around myself but I have a hard time since there is so much to choose from!

Well there really isn't anything better as for mid-bass...I mean if your looking elsewhere your going to be sacrificing some bass either way. How much bass? it depends. You say your a bass-head...I am too as i have found out...And even with the Pro 900 I am finding i am not completely blow away with the bass in some songs...I mean **** i don't think i could ever stand something else with even a touch less bass. Headphones are all anemic!
 
I have had some cans with flat frequency response (HD 497 and HD448) and the lack of bass and general anemic presentation really got to me.
 
 
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Originally Posted by The Fed /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I've got the HE400 rev 2 and I wouldn't call it a monster bass at all... It has a decent bass level but far from over powering. 
The treble and mid range level detail is good.... I've been doing a/b samples of the He400 with my new Audeze LCD2's and I actually prefer the sound stage of the HE400..... The Audeze are clearer, more detailed throughout the full spectrum, better on technicalities.... but listening to different genres.... smashing pumpkins, Gorillaz, Creedence Clearwater, Otis Redding, Muse, Rise Against.... I honestly think the HE400's offer a warmer, richer more "live" presentation..... with Smashing Pumpkins CD "ripped to FLAC" it was night and day.... the Audeze provided all the minutia level details and were very very good, but the HE400 felts more full bodied and the sound stage felt more real/ live.
 
If the Audeze seemed like listening through detail oriented monitors at the recording studio, the HE400's felt like listening to them at a live performance.
 
My Ultrasone Pro900's.... now those provide an overwhelming bass..... super fun.... but of the three I honestly see the HE400 as my best all rounder.... I hope I don't get descended upon by the audiophile community for suggesting I prefer the entry level Hifiman over the $1k flagship planar from Audeze but from a "enjoying music" perspective.... The HE400's are my most versatile and my goto.

 
 
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The HE400 has a great quality and quantity of bass, but its not a basshead can. Its a can for those in between bass and balance. Bassheads won't be wowed by the quantity, but its certainly not lacking in bass. I'd say that those that appreciate good bass will be quite happy with the amount. BASS PRESENCE: If the Q701 is a 6.5, DT880 is a 7, the HE400 is an 8, the DT990 is a 9, and Pro 900 is a 10. However, the HE400 goes very low, where the rest roll off.

 
Maybe i will grow up one day or my music tastes will change but for now Pro 900 all the way... Bass + EDM.