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Whats the best audiophile quality headphones that still kick with bass

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I am a complete newbie for audiophile technology and although I love high quality sound I am at a loss with getting myself a set up I enjoy. I recently purchased the Nuphone HEM 8s and was utterly disappointed at the complete lack of bass response. Excuse my utter ignorance but I imagine that's the lack of a large dynamic driver to reproduce the bass? I listen to electronic music almost exclusively and so this was NOT the headphone for me. (Anyone in the community who feels they would be a better fit I would be happy to send them at a half of what I paid on the drop, they have only been used once). I am looking to upgrade my set up with something that can be driven with a phone or portable amp. I am looking for a set of over the ear headphones and a set of IEMs for travel/running. I also plan on doing electronic music production at home. I am ignorant to what is needed to drive a headphone successfully based on its impedance etc. If someone would help school me on finding the right set of headphones and portable DAC set up for me I would be eternally grateful. Teach me the ways of the audiophile jedi my massdrop friends
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Spencerb
0
Sep 27, 2020
Idk if you are going to see this, but what did you end up going with? We are in similar situations and I've been looking for anything to help
StoryWeaver
3
Sep 27, 2020
SpencerbI didn’t get a set of IEMs. I ran into a financial situation ended up getting a pair of Sony wh-1000xm3 because of the noise isolation I needed and travel I was doing. It was the easiest high fidelity option I found. I absolutely love their clarity and they have a built in LDAC for music processing. I have almost no fatigue even after hours of listening. I do eventually want to get a pair fostex TH 900 at some point but it’s low on my priority list.
Spencerb
0
Sep 30, 2020
StoryWeaverWow I really didn't expect a response but I appreciate it! Thank you for your thoughts I might just hold out longer and end up getting something like you're thinking if I save enough.
kferguson
1
Apr 30, 2019
I use the Linsoul BGVP DMG iems, with a Linsoul BGVP 6N 400 core OCC cable, and Symbio W tips. I listen to rock/metal, rap, classical, and the full suite of electronic music (Infected Mushroom, Entheogenic, Dawn of Ashes, Downtempo Dubstep, etc...). This setup handles everything extremely well! I found the stock silver cables to put a bit much emphasis on the treble, But the heavier and better built copper cable tamed the treble down and increased the bass and mids. The seal is excellent with these tips, and I am extremely satisfied with this setup. The attached picture also has the stock silver cable for comparison. I would highly recommend this setup especially at the price range (110 for iems, 35 for the cable, 15 for 3 sets of silicone\memory foam hybrid tips) Edit: I have driven them with my Pixel 2 XL, and they sound alright like that, but I usually use a HiFi Walker HX sport lossless audio player. If you can get over the archaic screen, the sound quality is quite good, it holds 256 gb\14,999 songs (whichever fills up first lol), can act as a wired DAC\AMP, and it has 2 way Bluetooth (can stream from phone\computer, and to Bluetooth headphones\speakers). I know it's not super expensive (90 on Amazon), but I work in construction where everything gets destroyed and this has taken a hell of a beating and amazingly still works. I do have a 3 year warranty that I haven't bothered to use yet, I'm waiting until it really breaks lol. It's been dropped from 8 feet onto concrete over 30 times, as evidenced by the nicks on the zinc frame and the cracked corner on the surface glass (the LCD isn't broken underneath though)
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(Edited)
monkey4054
11
Apr 28, 2019
Fostex TH-900 has the best bass can you get overall. But it has slightly recessed mids and some people find the highs really sibilant. Otherwise its nigh perfect.
nick_t
186
Apr 28, 2019
monkey4054To accommodate that weakness of harshness of the highs and recessed mids. Get Modhouse agron or Tr20P by Foxtex. Soundstage and bassy while midrange is there not much sibilant.
Heefty
1387
Apr 26, 2019
Typically IEMs when sealed properly are bass monsters. I can't speak from experience on the HEM8s though. Did you try all of the ear tips to see if any of them get a better seal? The MD+ IEMs are nice and bassy if not. The bass is not completely overbearing either. There is a little bit of bleed over in the lower mids, but it's not egregious and you probably will not notice in electronic music. I recommend giving those a try. All headphones will benefit from a better designed amp whether they "need" one or not. Generally the SNR is much better, for starters. I've been loving my iFi Nano BL since I got some lower impedance cans to plug into it. It works great for lower impedance cans and IEMs, but won't power planars or high impedance dynamics.
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StoryWeaver
3
Apr 26, 2019
HeeftyThanks for the tips! Ill try out a couple other plugs to see but the seal was decent.. Bass was just non existent. I'll check out the I I Nano and see what that's all about
Fostex TR-X00 and TH-X00. They have a great rumble
JJayJJ
472
Apr 23, 2019
Any headphone having to do with a desire for heavy bass is by rule of thumb going to require an amp.
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