Need fairly high end headphone recommendations - up to $500

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CountChoculaBot

Limp Gawd
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Dec 16, 2007
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I need some headphones that have lots and lots of bass slam (or at least a very good amount), while retaining excellent mids and highs, and (not as important, but still preferred) a good soundstage. I have AD700's, but the bass just ain't enough. They sound good and all... but they're just no fun. I need my bass :D

I've been looking at the most obvious candidate, the Darth Beyers (Closed, Blackmax, leather pads is the preferred config right?), but I think I'd rather look at cheaper candidates first. But ohmigawd these things look hawt. Not to mention their insane resale value...

On ebay, there are brand new HD580's for $170 plus shipping. With the HD600 grill and HD650 cable, how would these fit my needs? Also, I've read that this way they sound exactly like the HD600's. Oh yeah, I'd like to stay away from the HD650's since it's somewhat 50/50 as to preferring the HD600 or HD650, and since the HD650 is so much more expensive I'd feel it's not worth it.

I was also looking at the DT880's with some leather pads. The DT880's apparently excel in soundstage and mids and highs, and the leather pads reportedly help the bass a lot. Would this be a nice choice? And there's always that legendary Beyer comfort, and since if I get these I'll get leather pads... *drool*

Also, the HFI-780's have been getting good reviews... should I look at them? I know some guy preferred these over his Darth Beyers, and considering these are $250, I'd say that's pretty good.

Open to more headphone recommendations.

Will I need a headphone amp to drive any of these on a modded X-Fi? If so, what's a good one? Preferably, also good for an iPod and less than $100.
 
Couple things.

Firstly, the HD650 isn't significantly more expensive than then HD600. Shoot over to Headroom and have them e-mail you a significantly better price on the HD650 than they list (or just guess as to what the extremely obvious coupon code is) -- we're talking just a few bucks more than the HD600. Other sites operate the same way, as they have to adhere to the MAP stipulated by Senn.

If you want 'bass slam', you may not want to go the Sennheiser route at all. You'll also want to avoid AKG's K701, as they don't exactly offer the kind of slam you'd expect from such a big pair of cans. Darths sound like the obvious way to go, but I also haven't heard the DT 880 with alternative pads. I will say though, that, as an 880 owner, I wouldn't think enhancing the bass impact would really be necessary.
 
Sounds to me like you're looking for Beyerdynamics. Haven't heard the Darths, and I'm a non believe when it comes to esoteric cables, but a lot of people seem to like em. I'd shoot for the DT770/880 myself.

Also, I personally think the HD650 sounds terrible compared to the good old HD580. The HD580 seemed to me to have a more forward soundstage and realistic bass. HD650 sounded way too boomy. Of course, I might have been listening on a setup with a bad amplifier mismatch.
 
phide said:
Couple things.

Firstly, the HD650 isn't significantly more expensive than then HD600. Shoot over to Headroom and have them e-mail you a significantly better price on the HD650 than they list (or just guess as to what the extremely obvious coupon code is) -- we're talking just a few bucks more than the HD600. Other sites operate the same way, as they have to adhere to the MAP stipulated by Senn.

If you want 'bass slam', you may not want to go the Sennheiser route at all. You'll also want to avoid AKG's K701, as they don't exactly offer the kind of slam you'd expect from such a big pair of cans. Darths sound like the obvious way to go, but I also haven't heard the DT 880 with alternative pads. I will say though, that, as an 880 owner, I wouldn't think enhancing the bass impact would really be necessary.
Click to expand...

What I meant by that was that, since the HD580 reportedly sounded like the HD600 with $30 of mods (pulling it up to $200), that I didn't feel like spending Headroom's $350 for HD650's when sound improvement is still debated over the HD600 (which the HD580 is supposed to sound just like after aforementioned mods). Anyway, that's moot I guess since you said they lack bass slam, so I'll be looking at other cans now :p

Also, are you saying that the bass slam/impact is about what I'm looking for with the DT880's? It'd be nice if so, the price seems right and the reports of the excellent soundstage and all around quality seem great.

ex0du5 said:
Sounds to me like you're looking for Beyerdynamics. Haven't heard the Darths, and I'm a non believe when it comes to esoteric cables, but a lot of people seem to like em. I'd shoot for the DT770/880 myself.

Also, I personally think the HD650 sounds terrible compared to the good old HD580. The HD580 seemed to me to have a more forward soundstage and realistic bass. HD650 sounded way too boomy. Of course, I might have been listening on a setup with a bad amplifier mismatch.
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I know the DT770's fit well for what I'm looking for bass-wise, which is why the basic headphone I want is one that has the bass of the DT770 (or better :)) but has better mids and high's. The Darth Beyers fit perfectly, but at $500 for the config I want, it seemed a bit expensive, so I was going to look for any alternatives before getting a pair. I don't really want to get the DT770's since I have bad upgradeitis and I know I'd be tempted to get a more expensive pair later.


Overall, I think I'm leaning towards the DT880's, though I still need to do a bit more research on the HFI 780's. If these two don't work out, I'll probably go for Darths.
 
CountChoculaBot said:
I need some headphones that have lots and lots of bass slam (or at least a very good amount), while retaining excellent mids and highs, and (not as important, but still preferred) a good soundstage. I have AD700's, but the bass just ain't enough. They sound good and all... but they're just no fun. I need my bass :D
Click to expand...

Are you asking for a set of headphones with artificially emphasized BASS response?
If you are, why don't you just up the bass using the EQ on the computer?
It would be a lot cheaper than buying a set of headphones with skewed Bass response.

If you just wanted an overall better set of headphones, then nevermind the previous advice.
 
CountChoculaBot said:
Open to more headphone recommendations.

Will I need a headphone amp to drive any of these on a modded X-Fi? If so, what's a good one? Preferably, also good for an iPod and less than $100.
Click to expand...


http://www.ibasso.com/ShowProduct.aspx?ID=33



I love my Beyerdynamic DT250-80's for bass,but then I listen to 90% hip hop and rap,this is out of a RSA Predator most of the time,or McIntosh or NAD amp (all way out of the price range you set)which is why I posted the link for Ibasso.Picked my 80's up for 209 here in town (Ottawa) The ESW9's have very nice bass and are quite portable.For 5 bills I would go IEM if I was you.

Ibasso have some great amps on the cheap.I bought one for my step daughter and she loves it.Looks good to. :)
 
bbf said:
Are you asking for a set of headphones with artificially emphasized BASS response?
If you are, why don't you just up the bass using the EQ on the computer?
It would be a lot cheaper than buying a set of headphones with skewed Bass response.

If you just wanted an overall better set of headphones, then nevermind the previous advice.
Click to expand...

I really just want bass like that from my Swans D1080MKII's (2.0 system): The bass is there, and I can feel it too. Not too excessive, but it's there and it fulfills me, I guess. My AD700's on the other hand... I pretty much only hear it. It's pitiful =\ Attempts to up the bass artificially through an EQ or similar gives me a *massive* headache since it's just so slow, muddy, boomy, (insert more bad bass adjectives here). I might be overreacting by getting Darth Beyers... I dunno. I'm still trying to see if the DT880's are good. I probably overexaggerated my bass requirements (come to think of it, I really did), so now I guess I'm reconsidering everything. The Darth Beyers are still probably going to be my fallback, though.

Manny Calavera said:
http://www.ibasso.com/ShowProduct.aspx?ID=33



I love my Beyerdynamic DT250-80's for bass,but then I listen to 90% hip hop and rap,this is out of a RSA Predator most of the time,or McIntosh or NAD amp (all way out of the price range you set)which is why I posted the link for Ibasso.Picked my 80's up for 209 here in town (Ottawa) The ESW9's have very nice bass and are quite portable.For 5 bills I would go IEM if I was you.

Ibasso have some great amps on the cheap.I bought one for my step daughter and she loves it.Looks good to. :)
Click to expand...

I was actually looking at that amp as my prime candidate :D I guess I'll prolly get it if the headphone I buy is really recommended with an amp.
 
So by that what you're actually looking for is an accentuated mid-bass more so than an increase in actual bass. You're not going to get rocked by headphones (or a 2.0 setup of "budget" bookshelf speakers).
 
if your looking for bass you need the BeyerDynamic DT770's they are the king of bass
 
I have a pair of DT880's and I love them. They are a little bass shy though, so if you're looking for something with bass and like the beyerdynamic sound signature, I highly recommend the DT990's. They aren't as siblant as the DT880's, and they have more bass.



I wouldn't recommend putting leather pads on the DT880's though. It will increase isolation and thus increase the amount of reverberation that you'll hear in your sound. It kind of sounds like you're listening to music in a long tunnel, plus the increase in bass does not mean an increase in musical (useful) bass.
 
Thanks for the info Garfing, I guess the DT880's are out.

Anyway, I've been doing more reading on the Ultrasone HFI-780's, and apparently at $250 they've been stealing people away from many more expensive headphones including Darth Beyers. Also, ALO's selling modded 780's for $450 that has many people drawing comparisons to $1500 E9's. These cans have me really excited... now I only need to get the guy who's buying my Wii to pay up already :)
 
I've got the DT770's (250) with a Pocket Amp 2 Version 2 and I love them. Very bassy if I want them to be. I have a X-Fi Extreme Music sound card, and the amp has made a big difference.
 
The DT880s aren't bass heavy at all. I owned a pair before I owned my 650's. They have a huge soundstage recessed mids, bright highs and fairly weak bass. They'd be good for gaming and perhaps lively acoustic music (think new age or jazz) but they aren't the kind of headphones you want to wear if you listen to rock or any music you'd prefer to be 'in your face'. Think huge sound stage. I hated them.
 
CountChoculaBot said:
Also, are you saying that the bass slam/impact is about what I'm looking for with the DT880's? It'd be nice if so, the price seems right and the reports of the excellent soundstage and all around quality seem great.
Click to expand...
Very difficult to say. Your definition of bass slam probably varies from my own. Most of the transient, snappy 'slam' you'll hear from bass notes I'd define as being between the 110 Hz and 180 Hz range. I feel the DT 880s are just about 'right' in this range when driven by my Elite Pro, and a little over-accentuated when driven by my Prelude with the stock opamps (both cards' outputs drive them just fine, in my opinion, if you've been wondering). They do seem to trail off on bass response a bit more quickly than other cans might, but sub-80 Hz tones tend to make everything a bit messy and much more fatiguing, or at least they do with what I generally listen to (Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and a lot of game soundtracks), so I don't particularly miss them.

My HD650s are en route. I can likely give you a better idea of how the DT880s and 650s stack up in the bass department then, but I'd still be eying the Darths if I were you. It seems like they optimally fulfill everything you want without delivering loads of what you don't.
 
Make sure you have an amp for the 650's. If you run them directly from your soundcard they won't sound their best.
 
Nice choice, I also use a pair of HD650s that I bought about 2 years ago. I built an amp to use them with and it really makes all the difference.
 
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