[Funambulistic]

I'm trying to decide if I should just buy the highly-recommended ZO2 amp that everyone is recommending to me, or if I should return these, and buy a pair of Sonys or the Q40's and save myself $150+.

I would never suggest how you should spend your money, but the ZO2 is pretty damn awesome. It is more than just a "bass enhancer" - read up on it here: http://digizoid.com/?p=zo2

 

[Bobby123179]

Trust me, you're not the only one saying the ZO2 is pretty nice. I think it'd be a good investment.

 

[Bobby123179]

That website claims it produces 5X bass without distortion? That's too good to be true. I don't believe it.

 

[Funambulistic]

That website claims it produces 5X bass without distortion? That's too good to be true. I don't believe it.

The ZO2 won't distort. Your headphones, though... I have yet to push any of my headphones to the point of distortion, but then again, I want to be able to hear when I am old...

 

[Bobby123179]

I'm not saying that I'd push them to the point of distortion! But anytime I use an equalizer to boost bass in a song, it gets muddled and distorted.

 

[adamlr]

my source is just ripped YouTube mp3 files. So yeah, I'm aware the music's quality itself is bad to begin with.

well there you go... 
 

I'm not saying that I'd push them to the point of distortion! But anytime I use an equalizer to boost bass in a song, it gets muddled and distorted.

equalizing takes some doing. there are many ways to go about it. if your using a graphic equalizer (a number of bands that you push up or down) like i assume you are, lower the "pre-amp" band to the same extend that youre boosting the bass. for argument sake, say you added 10 dB to the 200 Hz band, lower the preamp by 10 dB aswell, and then turn the volume up. if you only boost, more often than not youll just get clipping (or distortion). if youre interested, i can explain further, just let me know what kind of equalizer your using. prt scr if you want...
 
edit: pm sent

 

[Bobby123179]

Thanks so much for the equalizing advice! I appreciate it!

 

[adamlr]

Thanks so much for the equalizing advice! I appreciate it!

sure, as i like to say, an equalizer is a bassheads best friend 

 

[Bobby123179]

Awesome! Well, if this amplifier truly does produce "5X the normal bass", I seriously doubt I'll need to adjust any equalizers to

 

[Bobby123179]

*to produce more bass!

 

[marone]

Jerry, we can't possibly be talking about the same headphones.

And well, I'm a total bass head. So bass quantity = sound quality to me, most of the time.

To me, that's boring. I want to feel completely immersed with the music and feel the bass. I've owned a pair of audio technica ATH-M50's before and has the same problem. Decent sound. No bass. Being a bass head, that doesn't work for me. I guess if I listened to like smooth jazz or rock, these would be excellent headphones. But for any heavy electronic music? These are no better than a pair of $10 skull candy buds.

Well I think we found the issue.

If you like Beats and similar, then you won't like any of the basshead cans recommended here as they tend to be of quality bass that is articulate and deep rather than turn your insides to jelly. You don't like the M50, so you won't like most of the other ones here as you want more of what the Beats have - a lower-mid and upper-bass boost.

Since that is the case I suggest one of the Sony XBnnnn line. They have a massive mid-bass hump as well as subsonic bass. The 1000 seems to be the most overpowering, but the 700 and 500 get good review along those lines also.

 

[Xinze]

Well I think we found the issue.

If you like Beats and similar, then you won't like any of the basshead cans recommended here as they tend to be of quality bass that is articulate and deep rather than turn your insides to jelly. You don't like the M50, so you won't like most of the other ones here as you want more of what the Beats have - a lower-mid and upper-bass boost.

Since that is the case I suggest one of the Sony XBnnnn line. They have a massive mid-bass hump as well as subsonic bass. The 1000 seems to be the most overpowering, but the 700 and 500 get good review along those lines also.

but they, once again, have less bass quantity wise than beats

 

[jerryneyk]

[COLOR=1F497D]I believe you may have set your expectations of the M100’s bass response a little high – no disrespect intended at all and I do not believe you are doing anything “wrong”. Reading the reviews here and on other sites, the V-Modas are often referred to as “bass head” cans but most said reviewers are comparing them to “neutral” sound signatures. I think of the M100 as having a “fun” sound with an elevated bass signature – not “bass head” at all (I am sure there are those who vehemently disagree). Also, listening to an IEM compared to an over ear design is a totally different experience. Case in point: my Velodyne vPulse IEMs can freakin’ rattle my skull whereas the M100s on the same song sound great but do not have that immediacy and, frankly, I feel any more bass would be overwhelming. The same is true when going from a closed back design to an open back. My Fidelio X1s rock, with great bass, but do not have the intensity of the M100s. The next step out would be a car system, then a home stereo, etc. On a couple “bass shy” (actually, quite neutral) headphones that I have, I sometimes use a Digizoid ZO2 digital subwoofer (around $100) that hooks  up between  source and headphones and they become absolute monsters. I tried the ZO2 on the M100s and the bass was way too bloated and overpowering – you might like it! If you still are not satisfied with the M100s, by all means return them and look elsewhere. They certainly are not for everyone. There are quite a few threads on here regarding bass head cans – I hear the Sony Xtra Bass series are pretty good in that regard. Good luck in your quest![/COLOR]

Agree 1000 percent, could not be better said. Our main issue unfortunately is not being able to demo headphones before we buy them, would save much trouble.

 

[audioops]

My guess is that you like distortion but you consider it bass quantity. Given this, I think it's absurd to buy an amp to colour the efficient headphones that you paid good money for and don't like. You don't like them. Stick with your beats in-ears and try another pair in a year or two to see if your taste has changed.
Either that or the unit is defective. Honestly, if you and your friend are saying "where is the bass" to a fully functioning pair of M-100s then nothing but products like beats will please you, because it's not actually bass you want, it's distortion.

 

[silverbox]

Crank up the EQ