[kiikasi]

I'm not sure where to put this, but here goes: Headphones don't give the sort of physical feeling of bass that real speakers have, but they have all the frequencies you need to hear it. So how can we remedy this problem? What if we manage to hook up a subwoofer + headphones and use the subwoofer for the physical feeling while wearing the headphones? Do you think that could complete the experience?

I implore a bored individual with a subwoofer to figure this out and try it (but not with any people around of course. Listening to just the bass in music would get annoying). I mean, why not?

 

[kramer5150]

Ive read scattered comments before about k1000 users doing this. Ive never tried it myself but i dont see why it wouldnt work with any open cans.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

I actually tried this with an HD 650 recently. Not going to lie, it was pretty great. Nothing a headphone can do compares to the physical sensation of bass in a room from a speaker.
 
I find the HD 650 to be just a bit light at the very lowest frequencies (say below 60hz). Seems like this has been a limitation of dynamic drivers for some time that's only recently disappearing (and currently only in closed headphones like the NAD HP50 and Spirit Pro where the pressure can be contained). We can all argue forever about the correct amount of bass, but I'm talking about bass linearity at the lowest frequencies vs. roll-off, not the actual quantity vs. the other frequency ranges. This is one of the reasons planar magnetics have reappeared at the top end (flat bass response which sounds more natural than a sub-bass roll-off regardless of the overall bass tuning).
 
Ranting there a bit, but the point is that I found the combination of a non-EQ'd 650 and a relatively low volume subwoofer was really enjoyable. The speaker-like feeling of vibration really adds something to the open headphone experience and, for me at least, was a sort of best of both worlds scenario: The open sound of an open-backed headphone mixed with visceral bass that's superior to what you can get with a closed headphone. Neutral and accurate? Don't know about that. It was great fun and for me that's what really matters.