Hey, I created a similar post but have narrowed down the headphones to a few but I’m just stuck on which one to choose. A little background info: I would like bass and quality bass but not to the point where everything else is just washed out and sounds meh. I currently own the HD 6xx, HD598, Sundara, & DT 990, and all of these headphones are particularly weak on the bass side and I would like something more “fun” sounding.
I play immersive video games most of the time but also enjoy a little competitive gaming & enjoy listening to jazz, classical, pop, chill, etc. and I’m going to power the headphones with the JDS labs atom amp/dac. The headphones that I’m deciding between are the Focal Elegia (used $~500), Drop + Dan Clark Audio Aeon Open X (W/ tuning pad $500), Massdrop x beyerdynaic DT 177x Go ($450). I looked at the m1570 but realized that my head is way too small to fit those. I also wouldn’t mind any other quality recommendations although. Thanks.
Edit: just saw a few reviews on the elegia and realized that these are meant to be analytical and precise and that they don’t have that much bass.
if you like the sound of your current headphones, but are just looking to add some bass, i would suggest one of the chifi pre-amps with tone control on amazon. they are like 40-60$ you can boost your low end without adding any noticeable distortion. they use ramp style boost. dont know the terminology. so say you have bass boosted slightly on it, it might give you +3db at 40hz and ramps down to +1db by 800hz.
anyways a suggestion to do instead of spending <500$ on another pair of headphones. i know my hd600’s have plenty of bass once boosted a little for instance.
that all being said. massdrop meze 99’s with the smaller pads would be right up your alley. i use the larger pads because i have huge ears, and the bass can get a little dominant with certain pairings. but with the smaller pads, it never does. they have strong bass and good mids and high’s.
edit: for another pair to look at anyways. the dt 177x will be a more refined headphone for sure for instance. also look at EMU teak. you can buy direct from EMU for 450$ i believe. they are known for good bass.
Thanks for the suggestions on the pre-amp. I really do enjoy the current headphones I have but I just wanted something completely different sounding and something a more fun and exaggerated which is why I would like bass. I will definitely look into the emu-leaks and compare them to the dt 177x. Do you have any comment on the dan clarks? I REALLY like the aesthetic of them and was wondering if they were any good? Thanks.
You should really look into getting some used audioquest nighthawks (they don’t sell em anymore) which is one of the bassist headphones you can buy that retains the clarity of any other good headphone. Us nighthawk users worship it to death. It’s deeeefinately different then any other headphone on the market I’m sure if that.
Cool thanks, I realized that they have become increasingly difficult to find now-a-days. I’m definitely going to try and win that bid and if not, I’ll probably going to get the e-mu teak. I was also considering the Drop x Elex but I don’t think they have that big oomph that the teaks have in the bass department.
If you can find them used, the CFA Cascades are AWESOME! I have gone through tons of closed backs in the last couple of years and they were all disappointments.
My trail of failures were:
Shure 1540’s
Sony Z7’s
Audeze NightOwl Carbons
Fostex TH-610’s
ATH-M50X’s
OPPO PM3’s
HD-598c’s
Beyerdynamic T5p.2’s
And Meze 99 Classic’'s
The only ones I ever really like were the 99’s.
