Bass-y Headphones

mrluckypants96

Limp Gawd
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So I apparently am the biggest basshead ever. I like listening to EDM music, but I haven't been able to find headphones with enough bass for my liking. So it's time to look for new headphones. What's a set of headphones with huge bass but still decent mids and highs? I don't really have a budget right now, but try to keep it less than $400 if possible. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
 
Could try the V-Moda M100. Preferably with their XL earpads.


How would these compare to my current headphones? I've got a set of Audio-Technica Pro700's, a Sennheiser HD518, and a set of bass-modded HD439's currently.
 
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This is a difficult question because there are so many variables. The biggest IMO are impedance and sensitivity. Many headphones are low impedance and high sensitivity. Low impedance headphones generally work best with a source that can provide lots of current (amps), whereas high impedance headphones generally work best with a source that can supply lots of voltage. Mobile devices are usually limited by low voltage (battery voltage). This also applies to things like powering directly from your soundcard, as your soundcard isn't getting anything better than 12V from the PSU. Dedicated amps that are powered directly from he wall have access to much higher voltage, so they can supply more power especially to higher impedance headphones. Bass requires the most power, so it is important to find a synergy between your headphones and your amp. Even the best "bass-y" headphones will sound like shit if not properly amped.

Cheap low-impedance headphones are a dime a dozen and are made to provide "good enough" bass with the limited power available with a mobile device. Bass is usually there, but boomy and undefined. I personally have had the best results using higher impedance headphones in conjunction with a source that is able to supply significant voltage. It lookes like your current headphones are all low-impedance, all 50 ohms or less.

I would give the Beyerdynamic DT990-Pro 250ohm a shot. They have been around a long time because they have withstood the most important test of them all - people voting with their wallets and buying them continuously for over a decade as other headphones have long been forgotten. The "pro" version is cheaper than the consumer model but lacks nothing other than plastic decoration. The pro models do have more clamping force, but I consider that a good thing. The 250ohm impedance puts it well out of the range of heaphones meant for mobile devices, but the 250ohm impedance still makes it MUCH more flexible in regards to sources than a 600ohm headphone (Common among many high impedance headphones). When used with a source that can provide the voltage that it needs, the bass is truly amazing.
 
How would these compare to my current headphones? I've got a set of Audio-Technica Pro700's, a Sennheiser HD518, and a set of bass-modded HD439's currently.

I'd expect quite a bit more bass with the m100. I'm fairly surprised the Pro700 (mk1) has such minimal bass, though Mk2 is a different story. Handy wiki on head-fi for the bassheads.
 
This is a difficult question because there are so many variables. The biggest IMO are impedance and sensitivity. Many headphones are low impedance and high sensitivity. Low impedance headphones generally work best with a source that can provide lots of current (amps), whereas high impedance headphones generally work best with a source that can supply lots of voltage. Mobile devices are usually limited by low voltage (battery voltage). This also applies to things like powering directly from your soundcard, as your soundcard isn't getting anything better than 12V from the PSU. Dedicated amps that are powered directly from he wall have access to much higher voltage, so they can supply more power especially to higher impedance headphones. Bass requires the most power, so it is important to find a synergy between your headphones and your amp. Even the best "bass-y" headphones will sound like shit if not properly amped.

Cheap low-impedance headphones are a dime a dozen and are made to provide "good enough" bass with the limited power available with a mobile device. Bass is usually there, but boomy and undefined. I personally have had the best results using higher impedance headphones in conjunction with a source that is able to supply significant voltage. It lookes like your current headphones are all low-impedance, all 50 ohms or less.

I would give the Beyerdynamic DT990-Pro 250ohm a shot. They have been around a long time because they have withstood the most important test of them all - people voting with their wallets and buying them continuously for over a decade as other headphones have long been forgotten. The "pro" version is cheaper than the consumer model but lacks nothing other than plastic decoration. The pro models do have more clamping force, but I consider that a good thing. The 250ohm impedance puts it well out of the range of heaphones meant for mobile devices, but the 250ohm impedance still makes it MUCH more flexible in regards to sources than a 600ohm headphone (Common among many high impedance headphones). When used with a source that can provide the voltage that it needs, the bass is truly amazing.

My setup is a Xonar DGX Sound Card (because my onboard sound sucks, and the Xonar has lots of settings for fine tuning) feeding into a Onkyo TX-SR502 Stereo Receiver acting as an amp, so I should be good for power I think. I'll take a look at the DT990's. I had considered them before, but I figured I'd wait until I had a nicer sound setup.

I'd expect quite a bit more bass with the m100. I'm fairly surprised the Pro700 (mk1) has such minimal bass, though Mk2 is a different story. Handy wiki on head-fi for the bassheads.

I've got the MK2 version, but the bass is surprisingly weak. Both of my Sennheiser's can put out more. I'll check out some of the sets on that head-fi page, see what interests me, thanks!
 
How portable do they have to be?

I'm a owner and a Fan of the beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80's ... not remotely portable however unless you are sort of a glutton for punishment ... long fixed cable and they don't fold at all..

great price at amazon at $145~
Amazon.com: beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohm Studio Headphones: Musical Instruments

I also own the considerably more portable ATH-M50X headphones... (personally I loath the stock earpads on these I replaced them with Shure 840 earpads which works well for me...)

To my ears these headphones have great base while not making everything else sound like butt... if you have a guitarcenter near you they probably have both of these models and in my experience they match prices and will let you demo them...
 
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How portable do they have to be?

I'm a owner and a Fan of the beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80's ... not remotely portable however unless you are sort of a glutton for punishment ... long fixed cable and they don't fold at all..

great price at amazon at $145~
Amazon.com: beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohm Studio Headphones: Musical Instruments

I also own the considerably more portable ATH-M50X headphones... (personally I loath the stock earpads on these I replaced them with Shure 840 earpads which works well for me...)

To my ears these headphones have great base while not making everything else sound like butt... if you have a guitarcenter near you they probably have both of these models and in my experience they match prices and will let you demo them...

I don't need anything too portable, I've got a few sets of headphones that have folding/light frame. I'm looking for something for use at my computer.

Not for bassheads but I find sennheiser px100ii and koss portapro very bassy.
They are intended for outside use, so bass is very high to cover environmental noise, so when used at a desktop, those are surpriisingly god. I have Portapro btw.

If being closed is more important, go here The Hardest hitting Headphones are.. ( "The EXTREME BASS Club")

I don't like supra-aural headphones, too uncomfortable for my ears (smashes my ears between my glasses and the headphones). I like circumaural headphones better. That's a useful link there, :)
 
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I have beyerdynamic DT990pro and didn't recommend them because they are not a basshead headphone IMO and they have bright highs too, they have more bass then my Senn HD558 but not a lot.
 
I have beyerdynamic DT990pro and didn't recommend them because they are not a basshead headphone IMO and they have bright highs too, they have more bass then my Senn HD558 but not a lot.

They absolutely have considerable bass but your not going to get that without proper amplification. My DT990-Pro 250ohm headphones, properly amped, can make more bass than my Sony MDR-XB700 headphones. They can literally tickle my ears and blur my vision due to the bass.

I'm curious to hear your definition of a "basshead" headphone if the DT990-Pro does not qualify. Or maybe that's just because unlike other "basshead" headphones, bass isn't the only thing the DT990-Pro headphones do well?
 
Bit of an update. Because of money reasons, I'm going to be keeping to my current headphones for the moment. I have managed to get some head-shaking bass levels by using my stereo receiver as both the DAC and Amp, and cranking the bass levels to +12db. Maximum volume is limited because any higher than 40 volume starts tearing the drivers apart. At that point though it's sufficiently loud to block out the rest of the world, so I'm happy.
 
The Beyerdynamic C1 Pro is a piece of engineering fail. I did recommend it at one stage based off one I received when it first came out but the later ones I pulled apart during my time on head-fi sounded nothing like the unit I had. There is no music just bass.

I'd get a pair of used Darth Beyer's if you can find one. Very very bassy, which the stock DT770 and 990 are not (yes they can provide ample amounts of bass but lack some of the very lowest registers of the low end sound of the spectrum).
 
Any recommendations for headphones around $100, something where I can feel the bass vibrate my head? Friend told me to look for Skullcandy Skullcrushers. Any other headphones/headset to look out for?
 
Look into the JVC Live Beat HA-SZ2000

^^^^ this. They seem to be the hardest hitting cans from all the basshead threads I have googled.

for $100 bucks, see about getting a pair of Sony MDR-X10's off ebay or something. I have seen them new for 99. They are easy to drive and have very smooth yet hard and very low bass.
 
I have those too.. I am listening to them now infact. They sound very much like the MDR-X10's but don't go quite as low. Like when I play Bassnectar "Timestretch" I can tell the X10's take the bass lower. But for a pair of wireless cans they are pretty freakin good though. Perfect for my days at the datacenter. I have found the bass button to be too much - they have great bass without it. So I leave it off a lot because I found the sound gets distorted if you turn it up too much with that on. YMMV

Yeah I got two pair for $99 each on a BF sale. Blue and Red. Totally worth it!
 
They absolutely have considerable bass but your not going to get that without proper amplification. My DT990-Pro 250ohm headphones, properly amped, can make more bass than my Sony MDR-XB700 headphones. They can literally tickle my ears and blur my vision due to the bass.

I'm curious to hear your definition of a "basshead" headphone if the DT990-Pro does not qualify. Or maybe that's just because unlike other "basshead" headphones, bass isn't the only thing the DT990-Pro headphones do well?

Ok,I compared my DT990pro to HD558 back to back just yesterday and you are right, they do have considerable low bass, much more than HD558. I was just going by what I have seen bassheads recommend in the past and not my personal experience. I would say my DT990pro are easily the most fun headphones I own but for purity of sound I would pick my Shure SR840. For gaming I prefer my HD558 though because they are the most comfortable.
 
Most of Denon's lineup pretty much defines BASSHEAD while still maintaining great sound quality outside of BASS.
+1 A helluva lot more comfy than my previous Sennheiser Momentum over-ears V1s, and having a closed pair of cans is kind of important in an office environment :)
 
As an owner of the vmoda m100s I love them. But my basis of comparison aren't really bass heavy sets like the ath-m50, sennheiser pc333d, hyper x clouds 1 and 2 and the vmoda lp. I really enjoy the sound coming from my crossfade though.
 
I've just ordered the 250 Ohm DT990 to complement my Vive VR headset because I cant stand in ear phones, they hurt.
I'm amazed at the price considering the user reviews, build quality and comfort level, only £102 !
Looking through reviews of the 250 Ohm headphones, it appears they must be driven by a headphone amp to get the very best. Most negative reviews are from those who dont know how to get the best from them it seems.

I'll also be using these for music paired with an Oppo 105D DAC/headphone amp so I should be able to get close to the best they can achieve.
They will be compared to a capable speaker system on an Emotiva XPA-2 amp...
Home built large TL and Ribbon 3 way speakers, revealing, superb 3D imaging and considerable bass performance.

I dont expect them to be close in performance but it will be interesting.
 
I wouldn't call the DT990 (250 ohm) a basshead headphone. It has good bass and sounds very colored in the mids to me, but others have insisted on it being bright. I think it's a very fun headphone to listen to but it's not accurate at all and they lack sub-bass impact.

Regarding the V-moda m100, it indeed has sub-bass impact, but the mids and the highs were too muddy.
The only other basshead headphone I can think of in your price range is the Ultrasone Pro 900. Their S-Logic gets mixed reviews, but you should really give them a demo.
Of the many headphones I've heard, the absolute best end-game bass cannon is the Audeze LCD-2. But the price is quite inhibitory for most.
 
As mentioned above, bassy headphones are down to the amps and drivers. Really you need as big drivers as you can get. 40mm and up and the amp to drive them.

Bassy hifis.. whole different ballgame. You need a big room to establish a 20Hz standing wave, so start there before wasting $. Then we have room treatment etc... and the requirement of somewhere around 2x18" subs worth of surface area and associated group delay + peaky interference patterns in the room, to even really get there. Hence 21-24" or bigger for that sort of duty is the way to go - like GPUs, one big ass mofo is better than two smaller ones.
Unless you like fake bass from tiny speakers, using shitty tricks to 'make' a lower frequency via making beating frequencies basically. It's not clean.

edit: never seen Denon associated with 'basshead'... had them in the family for years. Most of their stuff is usually a mid powered amp of acceptable to good hifi quality. Amps are such a shitshoot for hifi though, half the time you're paying for chinese crap and terrible designs with pretty outsides. Check out the classe m400 internal shots or a Bryston.. overpriced trash. Brystons I've heard sound like ass especially if it's cold.. god damn.
Arcams I have were a pleasant surprise, bought them after much auditioning without looking inside, when I did, all became clear - rubycon caps, good assorted components with high end British toroids. No cheap crap but nothing absolutely esoteric. Good enough for my current use.
 
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Sony XB950BT, wireless and have a bass boost button that will blow your mind! Normally $200 but go on sale, lots of times half price, all the time!
Amazon.com: Sony MDRXB950BT/B Extra Bass Bluetooth Headphones (Black): Electronics

These are available refurbished for $89 on Amazon, I bought a refurb pair and am extremely pleased. They look and feel brand new. Sound quality is very respectable as well. I was using a Whitelabel BT dongle (Bluesoleil chip/driver) for my PC and noticed some static in the playback and switched to a Broadcomm chip/driver and the sound is clean now.

Edit: The red and blue colors are $79.
 
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I had ath-m50 and never considered them bassy. They were more neutral sounding IMO but not as good as Shure SRH-840. For studio use SRH-840 are an excellent choice.
 
definitely you should try V-Moda M100 .I read great reviews and comment about it . most of the experts recommend it .
 
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