First thing I need help with, is this the best forum to put this post in?
For my first foray into hifi headphones I bought Soundmagic HP150. Was looking in the $200-250 price range, and these seemed to fit the bill. Maybe this is a question specifically about the HP150, but I'm thinking it is not.
Just got these Thursday, so have not listened to them a lot, but I can already tell they have a huge amount of bass compared to anything else I have listened to, speakers, headphones, anything. I'm 58, so have been listening for quite a while now though never with extremely high end equipment.
Everything I read about these headphones was that they were not bass heavy, in fact most said they were pretty neutral, and bass heads would not be happy with them (I know for certain now that I am no bass head).
So my question is, if these are bass neutral, and they have considerably more bass than I have ever heard before, what gives? Have I been listening to bass light equipment all my life? I just sold an old pair of nice Yamaha speakers, I had an old pair of Sony headphones, though I do not remember the model, they were $80 20 years ago, and still have a well worn pair of Sennheiser HD420's. Since getting the HP150 I have been listening to them through an inexpensive DVD/CD player, and an Onkyo receiver, using what Onkyo calls CD Direct, which they describe as passing the signal through with minimal processing, so I figured that should be a relatively neutral signal.
Even putting on a CD I am very familiar with, like The Beatles Abbey Road, the bass is just way more than I remember ever hearing.
Listened to Elton John "I've Seen That Movie Too", from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and the drum kick is almost annoying to me.
Now I can put in some Linkin Park, some good hard rock that I am not as familiar with, and it sounds fine to me. Put on some Beethoven, and I am simply blown away. No question, there is some low, and very deep bass that can come from these headphones.
So am I only now hearing the bass the way the producers intended? I have a headphone that was described as being pretty flat, not boosting anything, with a source that I thought would be fairly flat.
I know I will adjust, or become accustomed to the new sound, and I can always EQ, but it perplexes me.
Maybe I should have tried the Beyerdynammic DT880, or the AKG701? Seem like they were often described as being a little "light" on the bass.
Again, maybe there is a better forum to place this question, but I would really like to hear what people think about my experience.
Many thanks!
For my first foray into hifi headphones I bought Soundmagic HP150. Was looking in the $200-250 price range, and these seemed to fit the bill. Maybe this is a question specifically about the HP150, but I'm thinking it is not.
Just got these Thursday, so have not listened to them a lot, but I can already tell they have a huge amount of bass compared to anything else I have listened to, speakers, headphones, anything. I'm 58, so have been listening for quite a while now though never with extremely high end equipment.
Everything I read about these headphones was that they were not bass heavy, in fact most said they were pretty neutral, and bass heads would not be happy with them (I know for certain now that I am no bass head).
So my question is, if these are bass neutral, and they have considerably more bass than I have ever heard before, what gives? Have I been listening to bass light equipment all my life? I just sold an old pair of nice Yamaha speakers, I had an old pair of Sony headphones, though I do not remember the model, they were $80 20 years ago, and still have a well worn pair of Sennheiser HD420's. Since getting the HP150 I have been listening to them through an inexpensive DVD/CD player, and an Onkyo receiver, using what Onkyo calls CD Direct, which they describe as passing the signal through with minimal processing, so I figured that should be a relatively neutral signal.
Even putting on a CD I am very familiar with, like The Beatles Abbey Road, the bass is just way more than I remember ever hearing.
Listened to Elton John "I've Seen That Movie Too", from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and the drum kick is almost annoying to me.
Now I can put in some Linkin Park, some good hard rock that I am not as familiar with, and it sounds fine to me. Put on some Beethoven, and I am simply blown away. No question, there is some low, and very deep bass that can come from these headphones.
So am I only now hearing the bass the way the producers intended? I have a headphone that was described as being pretty flat, not boosting anything, with a source that I thought would be fairly flat.
I know I will adjust, or become accustomed to the new sound, and I can always EQ, but it perplexes me.
Maybe I should have tried the Beyerdynammic DT880, or the AKG701? Seem like they were often described as being a little "light" on the bass.
Again, maybe there is a better forum to place this question, but I would really like to hear what people think about my experience.
Many thanks!