Lots of talk about HD650, but what about us who enjoy bass?

I think the Audioquest Nighthawk are a good bass heavy alternative. I know they don't get a lot of love. They don't quite have the mid range of the 650 but they are not totally recessed IMO. Purrin was spot on when he said they take a bit of training to hear past the warmth. They have really good bass extension, they seem to go as low as the LCD-2 pre fazor. They also are very sensitive to equipment and do better on less warm set-ups although I enjoy them on the warm Mojo

 

I like punchy reproduction of bass instruments combined with deep rumble. I also don't want it to get woolly or encroach on mids.

I personally look for a lack of v shape because I don't like highs, and I enjoy sweet mids and an overall enveloping full sound.

I searched for years before finding the JVC HP-DX1000. The sound is as close to perfect for me as I've heard.

 

Ive demoed the Nighthawk and found them sound terribly muddy, kinda like Denon AH-D2000, but it was from a very shitty amplifier

 

Agree. I bought a set based on the early hype and have regretted it ever since. They suck all of the attitude, heart pain, and emotion out of Lucinda Williams and leave her sounding like someone whining about life in the next room.

 

I don't get that with my pair. I get a very lush, warm and liquid sound. I do wish the mids were a bit linear but the tuning gives me a very nice relaxing sound. The distortion is also very low on this headphone. I personally think it's a headphone that needs time to adjust but don't blame people for being impatient.

 

I got a pair of HD650's and althought I disliked them at first (at first I found the HD600 better) ive grown to really enjoy them with certain genre's, to the point where ive decided to keep them and get rid of the HE-6.
But then I need something for electronic and EDM. I'm trying get a hold of some TH-X00, but its difficult.
I was thinking that I should maybe get HE-400i? That might even replace my HD650's aswell lol

 

EDM was very good on the HE-400i I tried but it won't replace a 650 if you listen to other genres.

I found anything with lots of presence/upper treble (4-10K) unlistenable (almost painful) with 400i.

 

Oh...
Why cant there be a perfect headphone...
Either its shit (Audeze), lacks bass (Sennheiser), too sharp in the treble (certain hifiman and Fostex TH-600/900) or they cost 5k!
How hard can it be? I guess those who said that you cant have only 1 headphone was right

 

It's as hard as you care to make it. I've long forgotten obsessing about headphones with HD800 & Sonarworks, bass is there as much as I want turning the tilt. No, it can't give a closed headphone rumble, though it's pretty awesumly capable. Perfect balance of all qualities to me.

 

LMAO! I have my ZMF Blackwoods for tight and extended bass. Just got the HD650 a few days ago and am waiting for some Dynamat to arrive to tighten the bass, but can't help playing with EQ and the XBass on my micro iDSD for those tracks that need more oomph below 60Hz (result: a bit too bloomy). I've found sibilance to be a problem on some Kpop tunes, so have tried some drawer liner cut like the quarter-mod (helped a smidge), one layer from 2-ply TP (also helped a smidge), then both. Now I'm trying to see how much of the clarity and resolution I've lost.

 

Would you still recommend the nighthawk?
I've been looking for something with really good, clean bass without spending too much (planars are no good), always wanted to try bio-cell drivers too but most are quite expensive. Nighthawk has dead flat extension and some of the lowest bass distortion I think I've seen, and used prices are very low for a bio-cell HP so it's pretty appealing.
HD800 is my reference for great bass.

 

I own the NightOwls so can't speak for the Nighthawks. But I got the Owls because they allegedly go clean down to 20Hz and I wanted something with more bass than my HD6xx.
No idea how Tyll back in the day came up with his measurement, but even 30Hz with Owls is inaudible and everything above only slightly stronger than the HD6xx. But I still kept 'em as the low distortion of the bio cellular drivers is really something.

 

Wow, what a necro! Unaware of this thread til now which feels weird because I love bass a little too much...

If you want good bass off the shelf (unmodded) with mostly unborked mids and highs, it seems like the Denon D-200 (5200,7200,etc) series, EMU Teak, or TH-X00 are all good choices and have nearly identical drivers and design. Or mod yourself a Fostex T-- variant. Nighthawk bass is too prominent in the upper bass and the bounceback in the highs makes them feel bloated and thin at the same time. And you're roped into their special pad shape or whatever.

For something with a bit more personality and a more distinctive aesthetic, ZMF Eikon / Atticus are excellent bass-forward headphones.

HD800 bass sucks complete ass compared to all others mentioned in this post when it comes to tactility, slam, weight, and textural richness. And that's with HD800 on a good amp compared to several of these driven by a phone. IME, YMMV, etc.

 

No not to everyone.

Not because I think they're bad headphones but because they have a lot wrong with them that many will find odd. The Nighthawk are very warm, very mid bassy to the point it's overly done. I like them as they offer something different in terms of ergs and even sound, the mid bass allows them to sound overly smooth despite the rocky treble and this can be good for late night listening but everyone I know personally who's tried them as thought they sucked. The Nighthawk isn't dead flat in the bass it has a very large hump, I'd even say bloated, that combined with the very closed nature can make things very congested and mushy sounding.

A safer bet would be something like a EMU Teak, a used Fostex THXX if you can find one. On the other side If you fancy being experimental and you can get them for cheap and if you bare in mind that resale will be difficult then you'll know for sure if you'll like em when you try them.