Been on quite an adventure, still on the hunt for that good sound. Here is a history of what I have owned and my feedback on each to get a feel for what I’m looking for.
HD 58x - started here when I first broke off from the gaming headset logic, good sound in comparison but lacked in the bass, and I now know about the sennheiser veil. Also the clamp force and band/cups were alot of meh for me, I have learned I really like soft leathers/protean pads.
HE 4xx - these were next as I wanted to check out planars, which I did like, had more bass but still wanted more. Headband was okay, pads could have been better.
M1060C - these were more in line of what I was looking for, but in chasing better sound and comfort went full mod, open back mod, changed out the headband to hifiman band. Still not happy with these, a bit too heavy and big, and while the hifiman band is more comfortable the clamp force is now worse with the hifiman band, but the original has that weird top of the head hot spot. I constantly flip back and forth on which band I like best, and constantly considering if its even worth it to keep fidling with this set or just move on to something better.
DT 177x Go - I wanted to experience closed back in that chase for good bass as all the prior headphones were or turned open back, part of me wondered if closed back is what I had to have to get that bass I want/knew with gaming headsets. I like these, but still on the chase for that better bass sound in a open back.
Leads me to my current hunt. Looking for open backs with good bass punch, I listen to a lot of trap/edm/dubstep/house, think San Holo/Seven Lions/Illenium/Don Diablo. I want that rumble I get at concerts but in my head.
Been looking at the below list and would love user feedback on them if they are a fit for what I want:
Sundara
HE5xx
E-MU Teak
DT 1990
Current DacAmp: JDS Element
but open to other suggestions in my hunt for that good sound and comfort, as I dont like overly bulky headphones or heavy ones. Looking to spend under $500. Appreciate any help in the hunt to keep me from buying all of them lol.
+1 for AQ Nighthawks if you can find them used. The sound has good weight and rumble to it. They are semi-open back so you don’t get that wide open feeling, but they are solid bass performers.
Hey,
i do own the fidelii x2, the audioquest carbon and the tygr. I also reviewed the phoenix for the last two weeks. The sundara has good bass, but not much bass quantity. The dt 1990 has a bass emphasis, but the tygrs should have more bass than the dt 1990. I didn’t hear the dt 1990 by myself, so take this information with care.
For bass quantity i would rank:
Nighthawk with protein pads > Phoenix > X2 > Nighthawk with microsuede pads > Tygr
For bass quality i would rank
Nighthawk Carbon > Phoenix > Tygr > X2
The Nighthawks (microsuedes) have better bass impact, bass texture and more subbass.
The phoenix has more bass quantity in midbass and general compared to the nighthawks microsuede. Unfortunately i didn’t compare the bass directly between the phoenix and the nighthawk with protein pads, but the nighthawk with protein pads should have at least the same bass amount, maybe even more.
Overall the nighthawk is for me the superior headphone (better comfort, soundstage, mids, treble, imaging, dynamics).
If you are interested in the nighthawk, make sure you buy the Nighthawk CARBON, becouse they are delivered with both pad variants, which gives you two very different sound signatures.
You could also be interessted in the Fostex t20rp mk3. These have good planar subbass, but need a powerful amp.
The new Emotiva sound like they might fit the bill here, if/when you can get ahold of one. Both Steve Guttenberg and Josh Valour describe it as warm and bassy:
Possibly i never tried EQ with the sundara, but TBH because the sundara generally dosen’t slam much i doubt it would be that good when it comes to the bass even with EQ
Mmmmmm you had me at warm and bassy. Something to keep you cozy on a cold winter night. I’m really interested to hear some
community impressions on these.
E-MU Teaks with purple heart cups are probably your best option for both quality and quality. They are semi open so they are not as isolating as a full closed back. It is also possible to make them open backs. Thus apperently makes the bass huge but kind of sloppy. Pad swaps and attenuation rings are also a way to tune the sound, particularly the bass, to you liking.
Plus the grills rattle on my Sundaras if I have them bass boosted with loud enough volume.
For the OP, I personally recommend the DT990s 600ohm (the gray ones). They are V-shaped, bassy w/o sounding dark. Stock pads have a little rumble but swapping to Dekoni Hybrids or Choice Leather will raise that dramatically, especially the Choice Leather… You’ll be transported to world of death, meat and metal
Hifiman HE6, HE6se, nighthawk carbons, and ZMF auteurs all have excellent hard hitting low end performance which can be bumped up to nice bloated/thumping club style mess with judicious use of EQ and your frequency range of choice. IMO, in my house, using my amps, my eq’s and my old DJ mix rips, YMMV, your idea of ear wiggling bass thump may be different from mine, i have really big ears and it takes massive amounts of airflow to wiggle them
Yeah, these are really great for actual prices. Audioquest doesn’t produce and sell them. So you have to buy a pair on the used market. I bought mine in very good condition for 180 euro 4 months ago. Try to buy them for about 200.
Bass quality, texture end espacially impact is really outatanding for an open back under 600$
Also, as a bonus the hawks are easily the most comfortable headphone I’ve ever worn. They are easy to drive and perform reasonably well off even a phone, but they definitely benefit from a good source. I will always have a pair these in my collection.
I own sennheiser HD 650. Looking for a complementary pair…Listened to:
Sennheiser Drop 6XX, 58 X jubilee, 599
Hifiman Sundara, Ananda, and Drop 5XX
Emotiva Airmotiv GR1
KLH Ultimate 1
Audeze LCD 1
Sennheiser aside from the 650, the Amazon special 599 black for 129 was a steal. Sorry I the it
Hifiman…great open sound with good bass definition but too little bass - 5xx bright, cups too big and sat too low - Sundara much better but no slam - Ananda more open and transparent but not worth double the price of others
KLH - great bass but bad bass - bled into midrange and vocals - and vocals recessed. Earpads size more on ear rather than over ear - very V shaped imho
Audeze LCD 1 - very small earpads - feel cheap - sound slightly congested - I don’t care about portability - for travel have bose qc 25 - sound great and can’t hear anything around me
Emotiva Airmotiv - these may be the keepers - have them almost 30 days - bass almost as prominent as the KLH however little if any bleed into midrange - vocals not as upfront as sennheiser - mild V shape - really good for more contemporaneous music that has drive
Hi! Welcome to HFGF! Do you have a budget in mind? For the rest of this post I’ll assume mid-fi level pricing…
You’ve posted in a thread looking for open backs but to complement your HD650 with something bassy might mean you need to look at closed backs. Something with a Fostex Biodynamic driver might be up your alley. Look for an E-Mu Teak or something from Denon in your price range.
If you need open back, Hifiman Edition XX has great bass. It’s on the track of HE-4XX, Edition XX, Edition X V2, and HE-1000V2 of Hifimans that have a warmer, bassier signature than what you’ve described above. The EXX is only available used now but can occasionally be found. Good luck!
