[Billheiser]

  Well, it is a nice problem to have, both of these headphones sound extremely good.  I wear one pair and think I am leaning towards them, then wear the other for a bit and then think I am leaning towards them.  I'm sure I could be happy with either, because man are they nice.  A little more kick in the lows with the Q701, would be really nice.
 
I will have to research the bass mod, but if I messed the headphones up...

 
+1 on above:  "...the bass port mod is easily done & reversible."

 

[Solrighal]

Go here for links on how to do it...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/582276/q701-impressions-thread/0_40#post_7921271

 

[turbobb]

I will have to research the bass mod, but if I messed the headphones up...

Check my sig for link to video guide on this. Just take it nice and slow and you should be able to perform this with the proper tools.

 

[mgh24]

It is pretty exciting to hear what people are saying about the modified 701, however, for me, just a few too many people warning to be very careful with the left side, and right now, as long as they are like new, I can return them for full refund.
 
Now, if I owned them with no chance of return, I would be all over that mod.
 
I don't have to work tonight, so plan on spending some extended time with the 150.  Even though the bass is still overpowering at times, there is something more exciting about them over the Q701 - purely subjective, and from someone with almost no experience with nicer headphones, so take that with a grain of salt.
 
Now I am really beginning to wonder about this road I have started down, this is just plain fun listening.

 

[cel4145]

Now I am really beginning to wonder about this road I have started down, this is just plain fun listening.

Well, your next step might be a dedicated DAC/headphone amp

 

[nuraman00]

  Now I am really beginning to wonder about this road I have started down, this is just plain fun listening.

Glad you're having fun.

 

[cel4145]

Oh, when you feel ready, come share your impressions of how the Q701 and HP150 compare in the HP150 thread. I'm sure people would love to hear about it

http://www.head-fi.org/t/727164/soundmagic-hp150-impressions-thread

 

[mgh24]

Oh, when you feel ready, come share your impressions of how the Q701 and HP150 compare in the HP150 thread. I'm sure people would love to hear about it

http://www.head-fi.org/t/727164/soundmagic-hp150-impressions-thread

I will do that.  The Q701 are back in their box, ready to be shipped back.  I was slowly falling in love with the HP150, then put on No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, and fell head over heels in love.

 

[mgh24]

Well I have been living with the HP150's for 3 weeks now, and I did indeed get my ears "burned in" to them, and have grown to really love them.  The bass is still sometimes a bit too much for me, but not very often 

 
Just tonight listened to Abbey Road, and Paul gets pretty darn low in "Golden Slumbers".  I have never heard it like that before. Even EQ'd the bass up for just for kicks, and I have never, ever, heard bass like that!
 
This has been a fun experience. 

 

[mgh24]

I have now had the opportunity to audition a total of 5 headphones, and I am more convinced now that I have not been missing bass most of my life. Well, I may have been missing a little.

I have listened to Q701, HP150, HD600, and now have hifiman 400i, I just got a set of Philips X-1 to try out. Tyll at Inner Fidelity stated that the X-1 would satisfy bassheads, and I would agree. They also sound much like the 150 - in bass only. That would lead me to think that the 150 would also satisfy bassheads. The 150's were where I started, so no wonder I was overwhelmed by the bass.

All that said, I am still searching for the "perfect" headphone for my tastes. I loved the Sennheiser sig, and would have been completely satisfied with them had I not heard the impact of the bass from the 150. The X-1 are more to my taste than the 150, I like their midrange better, and they don't sound quite as bright in the treble to me, which I also like, but they still go very low, they can rumble!

The 400i sound gorgeous to me, and the bass is like nothing I have heard before. However, they do not reach as low as the 150 or the X-1. It is only occasionally that I miss that, say on Dire Straits - Iron Hand, or, something I just discovered on Spotify, Ry Cooder - Drive Like I Never Been Hurt. There is something there that goes extremely low. It is there on the 400i, but it just doesn't reach as low, or doesn't have the same impact. Trouble is, both the 150 and the X-1 can sound horribly artificial on occasional tracks, to my ears at least.

So I have been turned into a bit of a basshead, but my experience so far is that there is a tradeoff between going extremely low with impact, or having what I hear as a clean bass from the 400i or the HD600. From memory, I think the 400i beats the HD600 in bass, but would love to do a side by side with the two now.

Anyway, just my ramblings, and my impressions so far on this path. I will say again, this is great fun.

 

[Solrighal]

You might enjoy the HD 650 then. The same basic signature as the 600 with a tad more mid-bass & a tad less treble.