Grado SR325

[RPTP22]

I have a Roksan Kandy amp and CD player. I have a pair of Grado SR325 headphones. I am disappointed with The bass and depth of the Grados. Would a headphone amp improve things?

 

[letsavit2]

I have no headphone output on my amp so purchased a project box s headphone amp with a pair of akg 550's. it sounds superb but bass is missing, I suspect the headphones.

Can you really get decent bass from headphones in comparison to decent speakers? Headphones are new to me so I can only compare to my speakers. Other than the bass they sound pretty amazing.

 

[quadpatch]

Can you really get decent bass from headphones in comparison to decent speakers?

Yes you can, but many of the ones that do bass powerful and well simultaneiously are not exactly cheap. Here's a few that I have tried, in rough order of awesome bass:

SoundMAGIC HP100 - not the most powerful bass, but very smooth and good for the price

Sennheiser HD650 - only slighly warm, more neutral with good bass

Denon AH-D2000 / D5000 / D7000 - more power than refinement (fun)

Denon AH-D600 / D7100 - more power than refinement (fun)

Fostex TH-600 / TH-900 - a good mix of power and refinement

Hifiman HE-400 / HE-500 / HE-6 - the 400 is a bit fun, but the rest are finement first, power second

Grado PS1000 - power and refinement, but OMG do you pay for it (£2000), still not the best sound for everything

I heard the new JVC Z series over-ear headphones at the London Head-fi meet last weekend and they have some potential too. I haven't heard them enough to know where to put them on that list yet though.

 

[dalethorn]

Can you really get decent bass from headphones in comparison to decent speakers?

The problem with comparing is that most of what people "hear and feel" with loudspeakers are the room resonances rather than the real bass. A room that's about 17.5 feet long or wide would have a strong resonance around 32.7 hz, or "Low C". A ceiling height of 8.75 feet would have a resonance of 65 hz approximately, and so on, and the "bass" from these resonances way overpowers everything else. Headphones have resonances of course, but those resonances don't generally occur that deep and are far less strong as well.

 

[letsavit2]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Like I said I'm new to good headphones so just purchased what hi fi 5star stuff. For the £230 I spent on the amp and phones the sound I'm getting is pretty amazing.

Was listing to them last night again and I think the bass has improved, or am I just getting use to them, do headphones take some running in?

 

[Frank Harvey]

I have no headphone output on my amp so purchased a project box s headphone amp with a pair of akg 550's. it sounds superb but bass is missing, I suspect the headphones. Can you really get decent bass from headphones in comparison to decent speakers? Headphones are new to me so I can only compare to my speakers. Other than the bass they sound pretty amazing.

As somebody else has mentioned, what you hear from speakers is usually tainted by the room, so the cleaner bass you hear from headphones might initially sound a little lean. Also, don't forget that the Grados are open back headphones. Open back generally sound better than closed back, and will usually have a more even bass response. Closed back headphones usually sound quite bass heavy.

 

[matt49]

Grados don't measure very flat. It's not a lack of bass so much as a hump in the treble. This can make them appear bass-light. I have the SR325is and like them a lot, but IME a pair of planar magnetic/electrostatic 'phones (Audeze, Hifiman, Stax) will seem to have a flatter response and will feel more satisfying in the bass. I have the Hifiman HE-500s, which have very tight, musical, satisfying bass.

As far as headphone amps are concerned, there are some excellent ones out there for fairly sensible money. I'd go for a pure Class A output, which will smooth off the top end and give plenty of punch below. I currently have the Musical Fidelity M1 HPAP on loan. Not silly money, and super sound.