[roma101]

Did you connect it to your source? Listening through a station - usually they bump up the bass on every headphone. At J&R they had Senn HD448s, connected to whatever station, and they sounded really, really bassy. A little while later, I got to plug them to my source and was surprised to hear them sound quite light on bass - very neutral and not the same bassy HD448 i heard before. If you're listening through a display unit, you are not really listening to the headphone, since their source is FAR from neutral.

The mids and highs on my M-80 are crystal clear. I find them to be more balanced than my M50 and I don't feel like the bass is overwhelming at all, probably the same amount as the M50 but better quality to my ears. Punchy and definitely a slight bass hump but not overwhelming. This is coming from someone who owns a KRK KNS 8400, which everyone calls bass-light, but I happen to think they have a good amount of impact and body. A big part of getting the best SQ with the M-80 is when you break the pads in over time and have them mold to your ears. The seal has a big impact on SQ with the M-80.

 

[EventVista]

Quote:

I tried a pair of M-80's at a shop before (they were display units so probably broken in by then?) and I have to say that I agree with what some of the other people were saying about the bass. That is, the bass is quite overpowered and muffles the treble and mids. Before I tried them, I was actually quite excited because I had read all those rave reviews here on head-fi about how their very neutral sounding with a slight bass hump. That slight bass hump turned out to be a little (understatement) too much for me and I have to say I was quite disappointed after hearing them. I suppose it's just not the sound signature for me, since a lot of people here love it.
 

Well stated blackmarket, The M-80s are great, well built headphones, but I agree that there is no denying that they have a deliberate bass signature.  

 

[roma101]

They have about the same amount of bass as the HD25 or M50.

 

[danquoc]

Quote:

Wow, that's the worst critique I've heard about the M80's thus far. 
The Beats by Dre are completely muddy while these are crisp. Yes, they aren't bass light, but it's not Dre heavy.
Haha, take it back. 

Nope, I'm calling it as I heard it. Minimal difference between the two.

 

[TheJesusGuy]

Quote:

Nope, I'm calling it as I heard it. Minimal difference between the two.

Were you by any chance listening to 1kbps files from your phone?

 

[mrpetemd]

Bought these sound unheard from an Amazon vendor for $180.00 on the strength of reviews by evaluators I've come to trust. They do require breaking in as do all headphones/loudspeakers, etc. before they begin to sing. I'm more than satisfied with the sound quality not to mention the solid build quality. While many reviewers/owners classify these as "bass-head" phones, I find the audio to be very well balanced across the spectrum with no particular frequency band emphasized over any other. Long listening sessions are comfortable (Most comfortable cans I've owned) and the sound is not fatiguing at all, at least to my ears. 
 
I listen to traditional jazz, fusion, R&B, house, rock via hi-rez downloads, Pandora, MOG, last.fm and ripped CDs (FLAC) on an external HD through a laptop running JR Media Center 17,output to a NuForce uDAC2 and Audioengine2's. My only criticism is the highly microphonic fabric covered cable. That can be compensated for but one should not need to.
 
For portable listening I have a SanDisk Sanza Clip+ and a NuForce DAC/Amp (out of production) w/16GB Micro-SD cards. My backup phones are Koss Porta-Pros.
 
Unfortunately, it's damn near impossible to audition a wide range of cans without actually spending money to "buy & try & return" if you don't like. With the M80's I bought, tried, liked and kept. My next upgrade may be a new DAC/Amp (e. g. FiiO E17, iBasso T3) that can serve double duty, desktop and portable.
 
As always, your mileage may and does vary.

 

[woodlawndon]

Well guys, first post here.  I just ordered the m-80s this week, haven't received them yet and I'm a little nervous now after reading reviews like this.  This will be my first toe-dip into a decent set of headphones.  I own a set of PortaPros and some skullcandy fmj iems.  The PortaPros sound ok to my ear but I'm ready to step up to something better after getting tired of poor comfort and sound that is uncomfortable after short listening times.
 
I guess I was just looking for some reassurance about my choice.  There's so much choice and opinions out there, it's very difficult for a newcomer.  Spending close to $200 on headphones was not an easy leap for me but I can't wait to give them a try. 
 
Reviews like this make me nervous of my choice.
Don
 

 

[ITALIANNYC]

You need to try out new cans for at least a week to really know if you like them. You need to listen to every kind of genre and really sit and listen. Your ears are use to the sound of the old pair of cans you had. It takes time to adjust to the new sound to see if you really like them. You start noticing different things about songs as time goes on. 

 

[DMax99]

Ordered mine last night, can't wait to try them out. Hopefully they won't disappoint