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Well, any headphone can make music sound in your head, but if you’re looking for something that will move your entire body, then speaker bass is what you need.
These days, bass quantity and quality are some of the main things millennials look for when comparing headphone performance. According to most headphone lovers, bass gives the music power; therefore low bass headphones may sound tinny.
And it’s true; the same goes for speakers. Only that their basses slightly differ from what we experience with headphone bass. It goes without mentioning that speaker bass is more visceral because you feel it with your whole body as it fills a room. Admittedly, no headphone can match subwoofer bass.
So while you can enjoy low-base frequencies (nearing subwoofers) in an excellent set of headphones, you can never really get a headphone that produces anything nearing subwoofer bass.
What Experts say About Bass Headphones
According to Tyll Hertsen in a review of a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre Solo headphones, some headphones have bass in quantity but don’t perform to the standards when it comes to producing sound. So how do you know the best bass headphones?
In his review, Hertsens attempts to explain the “bone conduction phenomenon” which he believes plays a primary role in the way humans perceive bass from speakers as well as over headphones.
As we speak, most headphone freaks prefer including fussy audiophiles like an increased bass response. This probably explains why most buyers may not go for headphones designed with “flat” or measurable bass. Careful listeners like Tyll Hertsens have set a subjective standard below which bass is perceived as flat even if it may sound like too much bass.
So Hertsens recommends that you go for the Etymotic’s ER-4PT in-ear headphones used together with Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors, MEElectronics A151, or maybe the full-size Sennheiser HD 650 headphones if you are looking for accurate sound.
But for those addicted to bass-heavy headphones then here is a list to pick from; the Jerry Harvey JH-16 phone, Thinksound ts02 in-ear, Monster Beats Pro full-size, and the Denon AH5000 phones are all great bassy headphones.
Check for Bass Quality Even as You Go For Quantity
For some music lovers, the bass precision remains as important as quantity. Excessive bass may dominate the sound making the music so thick and boring. But then everyone has their choice to make.
Again, be sure to check your surrounding when comparing headphone performance. Where you are will affect your perceived bass level. So it’s best if you test the headphones in a quiet room to get the accurate bass level. A chaotic place with all sorts of noise pollution will not allow you to get the accurate bass.
Avoid trains bases and any place with low-frequency noises that may mask your headphones’ bass. Remember, noise canceling and isolation models are not efficient at very low frequencies, which are better perceived via bone conduction and the entire body. So if you try your phones in a noisy environment, then you’ll need to boost up your headphones to perceive the base.
This is also to mean that if you often listen to music in noisy areas than in calm places, then bassy headphones are a smart idea.
