What is the obsession with head splitting bass?

fret_wimp2

Im on the lookout for a decent set of headphones.
In Harvey Norman & HMV ( only places i can try them out) almost every set of headphones is all about head splitting bass, at the expense of everything else.

The only headphones that I actually found decent were Sennheiser Momentum's but they are too expensive & the mic only works with Apple products which rules them out.

It seems that for anything remotely balanced, thats not two sub woofers on each side of your head you need to spend 150+ euros.

Am i wrong in this assessment?

ssmith6287

Unfortunetely it's what people think makes great sound.

K.O.Kiki

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-UE-4000-Headphones-White/dp/B00A668N16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441357916&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+ue+4000

The people's champ.

galljga1

Sennheiser are pretty good with a model to suit all budgets.
I agree on the bass issue. I personally want to listen to music as it was recorded, not overwhelming bass or splashy high frequencies. I like a neutral sound.
Try Cloney Audio in Tower Records on Dawson Street.

_CreeD_

I think it's a bit of social programming. Most people will nod, tap, whatever to the beat when listening to music in a group so they train themselves to focus on bass, and eventually that's what they go looking for in playback equipment. While I prefer neutral 99% of the time there are situations when I prefer the extra punch so I swap IEMs (E.g. for the DAP - Heir 4.Ais for neutral/majority listening, Shure SE215 for workouts....also the latter are a little more expendable ).

endacl

*Puts on pedantic hat*

Treble is 'head splitting'.

Bass is 'spine crushing'.

As ye were.

:P

colossus-x

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-UE-4000-Headphones-White/dp/B00A668N16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441357916&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+ue+4000

The people's champ.

Looking for an on-ear compact thingy. You'd recommend would you? Looking for something with a good bass.

fret_wimp2

colossus-x wrote: »

Looking for an on-ear compact thingy. You'd recommend would you? Looking for something with a good bass.

Troll?

fret_wimp2

upped the budget a little heading to music maker today to try the audio technica m40x.

scuba8

I would recommend Skullcandy Grind on ear headphones. They cost around €60.
The 'Grind' headphones are the only Skullcandy headphones that are balanced.
They would be similar to the Momentums but about half the price.

colossus-x

Sony Mdr-1r (which I own) and the newer version Mdr-1A are very good and are NOT over-bloated with bass. I paid €111 for a pair that I saw on Amazon on sale.

If your going to insist on getting something cheep then the lower end models would tend to be uneven with an emphasis on the lower end frequencies. This would cater for younger people who listen to contemporary pop tunes which would have a lot of bass creating the illusion of good sound quality - ie for those that don't know any better.

Cheaper still is the Creative Aurvana Live you could pick up for around €80. A very good all rounder.

fret_wimp2

colossus-x wrote: »

Sony Mdr-1r (which I own) and the newer version Mdr-1A are very good and are NOT over-bloated with bass. I paid €111 for a pair that I saw on Amazon on sale.

If your going to insist on getting something cheep then the lower end models would tend to be uneven with an emphasis on the lower end frequencies. This would cater for younger people who listen to contemporary pop tunes which would have a lot of bass creating the illusion of good sound quality - ie for those that don't know any better.

Cheaper still is the Creative Aurvana Live you could pick up for around €80. A very good all rounder.

Tried the sony's. very heavy on bass IMO/for me.
Went for Audio Technica M40x in the end. Very very balanced and almost overly clear, they can really show up a bad recording/encoding.

Listening to guitar or piano on them is amazing, a guitar riff is so crisp you can hear details like plectrum noise you cant hear in my old in ears.