[TMRaven]

Don't lower the mids on the itunes eq down below -7 or -8db.  Things get dark real fast.  A good 6db reduction at most should be good for a basshead type bassboost.

 

[Bill-P]

Quote:

What do you mean by the phrase, "match treble level"? I'm sorry, but could you elaborate further, as I am a little confused. Thanks.

 
I mean that as literally matching the volume so that treble on the LCD-2 sounds about the same as treble on the XB. And just treble, not the average level of mid + bass + treble.

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

to be honest, i own the xb500, xb1000, ath pro700mk2's and the xb1000 and i can honestly say in terms of just pure sub bass, the xb1000's blow the other 3 right out of the water, and thats with minimal eq
 
 
their bass signature is not too disimilar from the lcd-2's rev 2, the lcd2's might be a bit better in terms of layering and texture, but you have to actively search for it, i dont analyze my music, when i listen to subbass oriented dubstep like phaelah, synkro or burial, i just want to enjoy what im hearing period, and i want to feel it
 
 
in this regard the xb1000's reign supreme... but ONLY in sub bass, the lcd-2's present the entire spectrum of frequencies beautifully, strong articulated bass, forward, lush creamy mids, and relatively detailed but not sibilant or sharp smooth highs
 
i honestly dont think i would recommend them however at the 1000 price, but since i only paid 650 shipped with an already upgraded cable the value of which was over 200 alone, i can DEFINITELY say i'm more than pleased with my purchase lol
 
never heard any ultrasone cans so cant comment, but from what i gathered from your posts, the xb1000's would most do you justice, also feel i need to add, even tho i've never heard the xb700's, alot of people claim its sound isnt that different from the 1000's so it might be worth skipping the 500's for those and getting your feet wet with the 700's, the pads on the 500's arent completely circaumaural and at least the top half of your ears will rest on them as opposed to nesting comfortably inside them, just my 2 cents
 
 
equipment used was my grant fidelity tube dac 11, running vintage rca mullard made tubes into the jds labs o2 amp and also tried them biased matrix m stage (they're a great match for the sony's, not so much with the lcd's)

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

 
I mean that as literally matching the volume so that treble on the LCD-2 sounds about the same as treble on the XB. And just treble, not the average level of mid + bass + treble.

 
I see. Well, you're not going to be able to get much treble form the XB cans from a stock perspective. They are quite dark cans with a lot of treble sparkle missing.
 
It's like saying, let's match the mid-bass quantity level of the LCD-2/3 with that of the XB 500. Will it be the same LCD-2/3?

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

to be honest, i own the xb500, xb1000, ath pro700mk2's and the xb1000 and i can honestly say in terms of just pure sub bass, the xb1000's blow the other 3 right out of the water, and thats with minimal eq
 
 
their bass signature is not too disimilar from the lcd-2's rev 2, the lcd2's might be a bit better in terms of layering and texture, but you have to actively search for it, i dont analyze my music, when i listen to subbass oriented dubstep like phaelah, synkro or burial, i just want to enjoy what im hearing period, and i want to feel it
 
 
in this regard the xb1000's reign supreme... but ONLY in sub bass, the lcd-2's present the entire spectrum of frequencies beautifully, strong articulated bass, forward, lush creamy mids, and relatively detailed but sibilant or sharp smooth highs
 
i honestly dont think i would recommend them however at the 1000 price, but since i only paid 650 shipped with an already upgraded cable the value of which was over 200 alone, i can DEFINITELY say i'm more than pleased with my purchase lol
 
never heard any ultrasone cans so cant comment, but from what i gathered from your posts, the xb1000's would most do you justice, also feel i need to add, even tho i've never heard the xb700's, alot of people claim its sound isnt that different from the 1000's so it might be worth skipping the 500's for those and getting your feet wet with the 700's, the pads on the 500's arent completely circaumaural and at least the top half of your ears will rest on them as opposed to nesting comfortably inside them, just my 2 cents
 
 
equipment used was my grant fidelity tube dac 11, running vintage rca mullard made tubes into the jds labs o2 amp and also tried them biased matrix m stage (they're a great match for the sony's, not so much with the lcd's)

 
Thanks, Dutchi, that was what I was looking for.
 
I do agree that the sub-bass performance of the XB1000 are very impressive. In fact, all the XB cans (old version) were quite good at reaching down to the deeper sub-bass levels, but the XB1000 was renowned for this.
 
I also agree that the LCD-2/3 are definitely miles ahead of the XB 1000 in terms of fidelity, but it's certainly not a bass monster. In that sense, there are many cans that deliver more bass.

 

[TMRaven]

But which out of the LCD-2 and XB1000 delivers a stronger and deeper bass if you were to EQ the bass of the LCD-2 to XB1000 levels?  In other words, give the LCD-2 a 20db bass boost from 200hz downwards. 

 

[Docks]

I found the xb1000 to be excessively muddy and having less sub bass than my dt770s. I couldn't return them fast enough.

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

Quote:

But which out of the LCD-2 and XB1000 delivers a stronger and deeper bass if you were to EQ the bass of the LCD-2 to XB1000 levels?  In other words, give the LCD-2 a 20db bass boost from 200hz downwards. 

if we're just talking about bass and nothing else, im still going with the xb1000's, its just the nature of closed cans, the lcd's are open and give you really impressive bass for an open can, but its still an open can against a closed one.
 
like i mentioned before the presentation in the lower hz's are really similar, they both dig down deep, (down to 2hz with the xb1000, is that even sound anymore?! lol) but the xb1000's can be had for $250-300 new while the lcd2's are pretty much 4x that but not giving you 4x the bass, not even 1.5x the bass
 
as far as eq'ing 20db of bass on the lcd's, you probably can and really be happy with that sound, but you can also do the same with the xb1000's and go even further beyond that, again i cant stress this enough, in terms of just pure sub bass, the xb1000's trump the lcd2's when you factor in the price to performance ratios, now if youre talking about the entire musical spectrum, mids and highs, the lcd2's start to live up their fame and you begin to see where the hype comes from

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

Quote:

I found the xb1000 to be excessively muddy and having less sub bass than my dt770s. I couldn't return them fast enough.

 
i cant speak for the dt770's as i've never heard them, and they very well may be better at sub bass than the xb1000's i dont know, but to say they're muddy in their bass presentation? i have ask if you're serious right now, because thats a first, the xb1000's are 1 of 2 headphones with a strong bass presentation that doesnt bleed into the mids or highs
 
 
did you amp these? if you really found them to be muddy it could be your source, i find the xb1000's to have tight and really controlled bass

 

[TMRaven]

Quote:

if we're just talking about bass and nothing else, im still going with the xb1000's, its just the nature of closed cans, the lcd's are open and give you really impressive bass for an open can, but its still an open can against a closed one.
 
like i mentioned before the presentation in the lower hz's are really similar, they both dig down deep, (down to 2hz with the xb1000, is that even sound anymore?! lol) but the xb1000's can be had for $250-300 new while the lcd2's are pretty much 4x that but not giving you 4x the bass, not even 1.5x the bass
 
as far as eq'ing 20db of bass on the lcd's, you probably can and really be happy with that sound, but you can also do the same with the xb1000's and go even further beyond that, again i cant stress this enough, in terms of just pure sub bass, the xb1000's trump the lcd2's when you factor in the price to performance ratios, now if youre talking about the entire musical spectrum, mids and highs, the lcd2's start to live up their fame and you begin to see where the hype comes from

 
But you do realize that the ability to extend deep down low is mainly a result of moving large quantities of air, the likes of which an open headphone has an advantage of?  Also, graphs show that LCD-2 bass has zero roll-off down to the subsonic frequencies, unlike the XB1000.  Let's not be fooled by manufacturer specs: for example, audio technica AD700 has rated low bass extension to 5hz.
 
I'm not sure about doing the same with the XB700 as the LCD-2 as far as EQ'ing goes.  The LCD-2 can take up to 15 watts of power, meaning you can do massive amounts of reductive EQ with it, and I'm sure it wouldn't even need massive amounts to achieve same or more results than what XB1000 already delivers to the table.  XB1000 is also wooly and bloated by nature in its bass, while LCD-2 is tight and crisp, and the latter usually EQ's way better while retaining impact.  The former becomes mud.  From experience, it didn't take that much EQ at all for my HE-400 to get more powerful and more present in the bass than my D2000, and denons are known for low bass.
 
This is all of course theory crafting on both of our ends, but I don't think EQ'ing a headphone that's proclaimed to be king of bass should be straight up looked over.  If I were a pure basshead I probably wouldn't invest the money in it, but I'm just playing devil's advocate here.  I'm speaking from experience of hearing all the sony XBs, Denon D2000, Beyer DT770 and hifiman he-400.

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

well d2000s have a great subbass... better than most.... if you want heaviest bass then go for xb500 and eq the hell of them for bass and boosts and what not... they will crack your skull(your eardrum atleast)... but there will be no quality... only quantity...