Best bass texture - with and without EQ?

Headphones General Headphone Discussion
1

I got the hifi bug again shortly after listening to the Audeze LCD-2C and finding it to have significantly better bass texture than my DT1990. This interests me as I listen to a lot of rock/metal.

After seeing the latest headphone tier list video, it seems like the experts don’t even find the LCD-2C bass texture that noteworthy, and there’s a few headphones that are TOTL in this area - LCD-4, HE6, HEDDphone 2 GT, and TH900MK2.

However those 4 don’t seem like good fits as the first 2 are discontinued, the 3rd is known to be uncomfy, and the 4th is a closed back which isn’t ideal for glasses wearers.

I was wondering a few things:

  1. Without EQ, are there any other TOTL bass texture headphones I’m missing above?

  2. Have people found that they can EQ headphones outside of this “TOTL bass texture” list to have the same level of bass texture, such as the LCD-2C?

Thank you!

2

DCA Noire X’ bass is pretty textured.

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3

I love the Noire X, and I was a little bummed/miffed/nonplussed/bemused it didn’t score higher on the giant tier. Oh well. I think the bass is great. “Texture” though sounds like the most subjective of all subjective phenomena.

FWIW, I think the LCD-2 Classic has great bass texture (as do the LCD-X and LCD-3). Haven’t heard the 4 though. That apparently is the champ.

Others with bass I love: Focal Clear. Meze Poet. Two very different textures, I think. The first is like a fist in the face, the latter like solid ground under your feet.

Perhaps that’s enough in the way of metaphor for the day. :grinning_face:

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4

I think @meanderer may want to know which headphones have the best impactful bass, beyond mere amplitude.