[fivefanband]

As much as I hate posting new threads, when I'm sure the information is hidden away somewhere in the forum, I just can't find it this time.

Anyway, I've been listening to and enjoying my HD555s for a while now, but have found, like many others, that they leave something lacking with rock. I had planned on getting the Grado SR225 to compliment them, but now I'm not so sure. Today I bought some Ksc75's to use portably and found myself falling in love with their enormous, impactful bass, something that I also find lacking in the the Sennheisers.

So, I guess what I'd like to know is, will the Grados deliver the same sort of deep bass as the Koss's, or should I find something else to compliment my HD555s?

Thanks!

 

[roadtonowhere08]

I have had the SR225's. They are great phones with good bass (but only with the flat pads,IMO). I have not heard the KSC75's, but they seem to have the reputation of good bass. The SR225's will rock like few cans can, but they are not the final authority on bass. I now have the DT770's, and they have more bass, but not better bass, just more of it. I find many headphones to be lean on bass. But I am a speaker/subwoofer guy, so I am a little biased.

Here are your choices:

1. Go with the SR225 and know that you have perhaps the best can for rock for the money with very quick and dynamic sound. It just does not have that tactile bass that rattles your brain.

2. You could be like me and get the DT770's and have the best basshead can this side of the L3000 or PS1 (or so I read). They have all the bass you could want (still not like a speaker/sub combo though), but they are not as fast or have that raw sound that makes guitar sound so great like the SR225. BUT if you are a fan of good drums like me, these are your cans as they will pound you with drums.

3. You could stay with your KSC75's and run far, far away from here.

 

[imported_Matt_Carter]

225's have too much bass.

 

[ferraro25]

I think they totally lack bass on a lot of recordings. I like the sonic balance of my KSC-35s much, much more.

 

[Ingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferraro25 I think they totally lack bass on a lot of recordings. I like the sonic balance of my KSC-35s much, much more.

I agree, and although I like the 225s for rock, I like them more for bluegrass and acoustic rock where the bass isn't a main focus. I really like the KSC-75 more for bassier music.

 

[DevilDog]

Yeah, it's a shame about bass. The SR-225s have bass, great bass, but there's just not a lot of it. But it's good, you can hear it, you can follow it, you can see it, but it won't rattle your chest.
For some reason cans without a lot of bass make me appreciate everything more, even the bass. It's all just much more balanced.

 

[Blackmore]

Sorry guys but I am a bit

If you want to kill your ears, go with DT770 or maybe Senn.HD485. The last one I own also and they are very nice phones for some records, specially with HIP-HOP, which I am not listen at all, and TRANCE ( they do superb job with it ) But after I have purchase SR225 just week ago HD485 must go, sorry Sennheiser

HD555 isnt even close with BASS that HD485 can produce, so just forget them

One thing you must know, HD485 are a bit boomy. After some burn in time it will become less but still up front of all sound. They are really massive/front BASS phones.

 

[ferraro25]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ingo I agree, and although I like the 225s for rock, I like them more for bluegrass and acoustic rock where the bass isn't a main focus. I really like the KSC-75 more for bassier music.

Right, the SR225s are great for some kinds of music that do not need bass... However, they do respond well to eq'ing - I can turn the SR225s into a bass monster pretty easily, with little distortion.

 

[ferraro25]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevilDog Yeah, it's a shame about bass. The SR-225s have bass, great bass, but there's just not a lot of it. But it's good, you can hear it, you can follow it, you can see it, but it won't rattle your chest. For some reason cans without a lot of bass make me appreciate everything more, even the bass. It's all just much more balanced.

I guess so, but for some reason, I have been craving speaker-like bass recently, so the SR225s just aren't doing it for me anymore.

I LOVED the SR225s several days ago, but after some eq'ing, I noticed how much more I liked my music with bass impact. I guess, ultimately, I am not an audiophile - I am not looking for the most balanced or accurate (hifi) reproduction of music, just the most enjoyable.

Bass is a big part of enjoyment. I have found that using a certain eq with the SR225s gives me incredible bass impact (NIN's Down in It sounds like I have a giant, yet refined-sounding subwoofer, at the start of the track, for instance), etc., but have decided to just stick with the KSC-35s because I don't need to eq them to get the bass I want (eq'ing is a temporary solution). I think my HD-595s are better at bass than either of the other aforementioned cans, but they lack the treble I want (they just sound muffled to me), so... I guess I am just another one of those smiley-face eq people, which is how I would describe the KSC-35s balance (at least compared to my other cans).

Anyway, to the OP, if you don't mind eq'ing your headphones, the SR225s can give you INCREDIBLE bass.

Updated to add: (To the OP) Oh, I see you have an X-Fi. If you end up getting the SR225s, try the "Drum and Bass" eq setting of the X-Fi with it. If it is the same as the eq settings on my Audigy 2 ZS, it should give you the bass I am talking about.

 

[afireinside]

No drumb and bass on x-fi

I tried turning up the EQ on the sub 1k hz frequencies up to 2.8 and the bass impact is a lot nicer for hiphop/techno

Not sure if I like it so much for metal though. Thanks for the tip!

 

[ferraro25]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afireinside No drumb and bass on x-fi I tried turning up the EQ on the sub 1k hz frequencies up to 2.8 and the bass impact is a lot nicer for hiphop/techno Not sure if I like it so much for metal though. Thanks for the tip!

You're welcome. The applications/drivers I have do not allow me to customize the eq (just select from a list - I got the drivers for my Audigy 2 ZS from the web, didn't install from the cd), and I can't see what the eq settings for "drum and bass" are. If you would like to know the specific settings, I could install the other drivers. I am assuming you are using this with your SR60s? Do they lack bass compared to the KSC-75s?

 

[afireinside]

Yes the SR60's. Haven't spent much time with the KSC's becuase I don't like wearing clip-on's right next to my loud computer. The SR60's are punchy which I like for rock but the bass in techno/rap is just disappointing. I'm looking for the subwoofer kind of impact there since there's not much in terms of detail to pick out. EQing it up helps A LOT. I'll try the KSC's amped on my x-fi as well.

Don't worry about the settings I'm going to play with EQ more tomorrow.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

The SR225 have a mid-bass hump that is geared to compensate for their lack of deep bass.

This is why many people don't think they have bass: they lack deep bass.

-Matt

 

[PsychoZX]

I found the bass on the SR-225s to be light with the stock bowls. I prefer the flat pads with them.

 

[Blackmore]

I found that they reproduce a great BASS from the source, if the BASS there. Not every record has an strong bass anyway. So that's why some people think that they don't have one. Also need to be said is that an amp. will help a lot. Once again the reproduction from orig.source is amazing, specially guitars.