[nam8macs]

Hey Head-Fi, how are ya? You guys helped me pick out my Sennheiser HD 212 Pros about two years ago, and I've come back for more advice for the upgrade.
 
The primary usage will be for unamped playing, with my 160gb iPod Classic. Looks mean nothing to me, although I do want more comfort than the HD 212 Pros (you can really begin to feel the ear pressure after an hour or two). I want heavy bass, as I usually listen to electronica, metal, and rock, although I do not want so much bass that it encroaches on the mids. I listen to every genre, but those are my favorites. I almost went ahead with buying some Dennon D1100s until I heard that the mids suffered from extra bass.
 
I've narrowed the list down to four headphones:
Audio-Technica ATH-A500
Ultrasone HFI-580 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional
Ultrasone DJ1 PRO S-Logic Surround Sound Professional
Sony MDR-XB500
 
Any input about those four? Or any other models I should investigate? Thanks a million!

 

[Thommohawk]

Hey man, I used to have the 212 Pro myself, I HATED the 'comfort' was like a vice for your ears and not the good kind!
 
Honestly I went straight from the 212 Pro to the Koss Porta Pro and that was miles better! And half the price too. Crazy stuff. But absolutely true. Epic sound unamped for the price. 
 
There's your headphone right there, unless you want a bigger upgrade and wish to spend more money than you spent on the 212 Pro's....

 

[nam8macs]

All the models listed in my first post were $200 US dollars or less, and I am fine with spending that

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Honestly, the 212 Pros got quite bad sound quality when I've been able to compare them to both expensier but also similar priced headphones, I wouldn't be suprised if Koss Porta Pros would beat them. However they aren't uncomfortable to me at all but they've become so stretched after using them so they just sit gently on my ears but I only use them at parents place whenever I go for a visit there at their comp these days and I wouldn't use them elsewhere. All headphones you listed would sound better, I'd think the Ultrasone HFI-580 would probably sound most to your liking and would probably fit those genres. The AT's I don't know much about, but Audio Technica has usually quite good midrange/vocals. XB500 is VERY bassy so you'd probably have to temper with the EQ to get it to your liking, less bass and more treble, otherwise you'd probably find the big emphasize in upperbass - lower mids affect the mids a bit too much.

 

[nam8macs]

Yeah, the 212 Pros dont have the greatest sound quality. Everyone seems to be really into the HFI 580s, so I think I'm gonna go for those. I am still concerned that I will need an amp for this particular set of cans but that's gonna be my next purchase anyways. Hopefully the HFI 580s will sound good without an amp for now.

 

[tekdemon]

I like the HD212's for what they are, DJ phones where the bass is the primary focus.  It'll kinda take over the sound but I don't automatically think of my PortaPros as being better, just different.  Dig both of them a lot for different reasons.
The comfort could be a little better but I usually just pull on it a bit before putting them on, so far they haven't exploded.
 
Are you looking for the same sound signature in your new headphones?  The bass-heavy DJ headphone kind of sound, or are you looking for something a little different.  Because a lot of the heavily recommended headphones on head-fi are going to result in a large drop in bass.  It really depends on what you're looking for.  

 

[nam8macs]

I want that bass :]
 
Sooo I ended up buying a pair of Ultrasone HFI 580's and an Ibasso D2+Boa amp. Bass is heavy, yet the sound is much more clear, unmuddled. I've ran em for about 30 hours so far, I dont think they are even fully burned in, so I expect the bass to get even heavier. Great cans so far!