Headphone Heights

Posted by Ned (A) on March 01, 2015 at 12:30:49

In Reply to: RE: New Sennheiser Momentum 2 first impressions... posted by AbeCollins on February 26, 2015 at 19:56:00

Seems as if you like them, glad to hear.

Re your question as to whether prominent bass is to be expected in a closed headphone v. an open one, I would say that in general a closed headphone would have more bass, other things being equal, because of the reverberations within the earcup.

But, it probably just as much reflects the "tuning" of the closed headphone, since manufacturers have significant leeway to adjust the bass (and other frequencies too). For example, Sennheiser has other closed headphones that don't have nearly as much bass as the Momentum, such as the HD25 (also very light and sometimes likened to a closed Grado) and its iterations, Amperior and HD25 Aluminum. (I've had both the Momentum and HD25-1 II.) There are even closed headphones which are light on bass, e.g., the AKG K550, which I auditioned at the now defunct J&R in Manhattan.

Manufacturers can adjust the bass (both in amount and in other characteristics) mainly by adjusting the padding within the earcup.

The fact that the Momentum has a fairly prominent bass means that Sennheiser wanted it that way. For the Mom. 2, they reportedly tightened up the bass by adjusting the earcup padding, but didn't change the amount of the bass v. the M.1 Yet, Momentums are not considered "bassy" headphones such as Beats, Skullcandy, and others, but it seems Senn. wanted a fairly prominent bass, likely because that's what the customer demographic for the M. would want, given the customers' expected type of music, the fact that it's portable, and related factors. For me the bass was a bit too prominent but it seems most really like the Momentum sound.

In a portable headphone, generally you would want a more prominent bass because bass is really adversely affected by outside noise on a plane, bus or train. Also, since you like rock, I would think a more prominent bass would be desirable, the only question is how prominent.

Grados are considered to be good for rock since they're dynamic with a prominent treble (some would say too prominent) and a pronounced bass which, however, doesn't extend very deep (into the so-called sub bass region). Grados are very light and some think they're uncomfortable, while others like their comfort. I had the RS-1 for a year or so and thought they were a nice improvement on the SR-80, while still retaining the Grado sound. I didn't like the soft wood though, which was easily dented.

BTW, the bass on the M. 2 probably won't change from break-in, since a friend ran the M. 1 for a week and the bass didn't change.