The Basshead Thread

I'm sure I'm not alone out there. I'm all about that bass.

The Summit is a blindingly bright danger zone I stay away from.

All of the best basshead gear I've heard is well below $1000.

I think the origin of my fascination with visceral bass started when I played in bands.

That physical sensation was addictive. Feeling the kick of the drums, sensing the pluck of low guitar stings, irresistibly tapping my foot.

But I've flown too close to the sun. If basshead gear sacrifices sound quality or exaggerates treble, I can't handle it.

That has left me with relatively few cans I'm happy with.

I love the JVC HP-DX1000/HA-DX2000.

I'm enjoying Aurisonics Kickers and Future Sonics Spectrum G10s.

I've owned dozens of others, but that's all I have anymore.

The Taction Kannons will be mine if the Kickstarter succeeds.

For dacs and amps, I heavily favor musicality over accuracy and detail. I'm done with delta sigma.

I now run an MHDT Labs Atlantis dac and Garage1217 Project Horizon/Sunrise for their musical, organic presentation and ability to tune them with tubes.

Who's with me? Does everyone here climb toward the Summit? Or does someone else seek the bass with ravenous fervor?

 

I like bass. I listen to techno. I've been to raves'n'parties with massive bass for decades. So I like bass massage, but sometimes it's overdone, I hate when in (usually underground) parties you hear&feel nothing but bass. Good thing most clubs these days have good systems.

Personally I've yet to hear more satisfying and balanced bass than my current HD800 stack with Sonarworks. Gungnir Multibit is a part of that too, when I compare with some other cheap DACs they are missing something down there (moffat bass?).

For fun, here's how the default flat setup (with extended ab000b profile) looks emulated with fb2k xgeq (but not as good quality). I guess some people see horror in such curve, I don't think that's even in real basshead territory. It's simply supposed to be how you hear flat studio when you actually have speakers or subs down to 20hz.

 

I'm curious how MHDT/Garage or more expensive tube stuff actually handle bass? Doesn't everyone usually say go SS for bass quality? I simply want a slamming, tight, clean as possible bass. The HD800 driver is stupendously good in giving that, very hard to get congested even with eq.

What comes to headphones, I'm highly sceptical of "Kannons" n similar stuff, perhaps they "punch" but got nothing else going on quality wise? I got Sennheiser HD8's for bass duty long time ago, but they simply suck compared to my current HD800 setup.. maybe I should send them calibrated..

 

I agree. Kannons and such are just gimmicks. What matters is bass power through drivers. While I like bass a lot, I also like other frequencies. I dislike thin bass and harsh treble though. I'll get myself an HD800 S and perhaps Fostex TH-610 as well just for bass. But if HD 800 S' bass is enough, I wouldn't buy TH-610.

 

don't forget some cymbals/riders part of the drums...some can actually have a response down to 30hz. reason no knows this is cause it's always eq'ed out.

 

Taction Kannons are not really a gimmick. They're an attempt to introduce something missing from the headphone world.

Speakers use subwoofers to accomplish the same thing.

I've heard all of the gimmick headphones. They all suck. The Tactions are the real deal.

We'll likely see more impressions after CanJam.

 

Personally I don't believe in getting separate lesser phones "for bass", it's simply sacrificing other qualities. EQ is necessary evil and any claimed fidelity loss from that is much less than using shitty phones and drivers to begin with.

Though admittedly open headphones aren't usually physically capable of upper bass punch even with EQ, so closed headphones have their own flavor. I guess it also depends whether one is listening to crappy EDM untz-untz or smooth subbass of Submotion Orchestra.. HD800 can certainly deliver ear throbbing massage at <50hz..

 

I have a hard time believing any gaming oriented headphone will be anything more than mid-fi quality, even if that. Probably good for the "+20dB paper flapping" crowd. But yeah I guess I'm a summit-basshead-snob.

Perhaps they can make attachable shakers to other headphones if everything goes well. Assuming the effect is desirable.. but atleast that I would be interested in.

 

I asked about that myself and it's something they're looking into.

I want a Taction driver on my HD650s. Badly.

 

Well, apparently HD800 S has extra bass compared to regular HD800 so it may be enough for me. That's why I'll buy HD 800 S first.

 

It only has more 2nd order distortion, not quantity.. and the slightly lesser peak may enable playing them a bit louder. HD800(S) by itself is not considered anything of basshead nature. And as it's mentioned elsewhere, the basic HD800 (with possibly SD mod) is better candidate for EQing as it has cleaner bass.

 

I know it has 2nd order distortion but it's perceived as more bass by our ears (that's what Tyll says) so in practice it's the same effect. Also 6 khz peak is gone so HD 800 S is the clear choice for people who enjoy bass. I would never mod such an expensive product.

 

Hey Luckbad, unlike most bassheads you seem to have experience with higher end headphones like he6/abyss etc. I know bassheads EQ to increase low frequencies, I always assumed it was to the point where the sound is awful How do the taction kannons sound compared to th900/he6 level headphones? I backed it on kickstarter because of you and hawaiibadboys reviews
edit: oh I see this was already discussed a bit.

 

They are a bit beyond standard mid-fi in overall sound. A studio reference type sound with good detail and a fairly neutral signature--at least when I tried the prototype. That is coupled with the crazy Taction drivers to give you pounding bass without having a muddied overall signature.

 

Fellow bashed here!

I'm interested in the Spectrum G10. Have you heard the G7's? Can you compare?

I'm also curious about the Aurisonics Kicker and their sound sig.

 

I like how the taction dudes do effortlessly what took spielbergs special effects guys a lot of effort to do
http://www.businessinsider.com/jurassic-park-water-cup-2015-6

 

DT770 Pro 80 ohms with pleather/leather pads. It's way more powerful than I thought it would be!

 

The 770 is pretty nice. To some it's endgame bass. To me, it's not in the ballpark, but I have a ridiculous bass addiction.

 

I'm thinking about going back to the velour pads, and using felt in front of the driver to lower the treble instead. The bass is at it's best with the velours, because that's when it gets deep. However, that's also when the treble is too elevated to enjoy the lows.

 

@Luckbad oh man i would kill to have taction drivers added on to my modded hd650 (now 580s as well). then it would be nearly the perfect headphone set up.