Bass on Headphones

[AustinHunter]

My friend has a EACH G200 a really cheap headset here are the specifications:

Driver diameter: 50mm
Impedance: 32Ohm
Sensitivity: 114dB +/- 3dB
Frequency range: 20-20KHz
Mic dimension: 6.0 * 5.0mm
Mic sensitivity: -34dB +/- 3dB
Mic impedance: 2.2kohm
Directivity: Omnidirectional

And I have a pair of Razer Kraken Pro Gaming Headset obviously better quality but I don't know if it is better sound. Here are the specs.

Frequency Response: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Impedance: 32 Ω at 1kHz
Sensitivity (@1kHz, 1V/Pa): 110 ± 4dB at 1 kHz Max
Input Power: 50 mW
Drivers: 40 mm, with Neodymium Magnets
Inner Ear Cup Diameter: 50 mm / 1.97”

For the future how do I use specifications to determine bass on headphones before I buy them?

 

[audie-tron25]

You can't. It's really about the quality and type of materials used in their construction as well as the tuning that the manufacturer has used for them. For example, I have both a Planetronics 307 and a Turtlebeach Z11. On paper, they have nearly the same specs (except for speaker size). However, in real life, the Turtlebeach have much clearer and heavier bass than the Plantronics. Bottom line, go off of reviews and pot-luck.

And don't always go off of speaker (driver) size either because that doesn't make as much of a difference as you might think. I have a pair of Sennheiser MX365's (with ~8mm drivers) which produce more bass than a cheap headset with 40mm drivers so it just shows how tricky buying audio stuff is

 

[Vosgy]

Reviews would be your best bet, Driver size will normally have an effect on how much bass a speaker can output, though that doesn't necessarily mean quality bass, just more/louder. Also a larger driver needs more power to move it so if there is a large driver but not much power moving it, it will still have little effect. Wanting to have lots of bass on a set of headphones isn't really something one should strive for, overall quality is more important. And with the extremely small drivers on headphones and lower power bass isn't something that will be common to find.

 

[Iamsoda]

My friend has a EACH G200 a really cheap headset here are the specifications:

Driver diameter: 50mm
Impedance: 32Ohm
Sensitivity: 114dB +/- 3dB
Frequency range: 20-20KHz
Mic dimension: 6.0 * 5.0mm
Mic sensitivity: -34dB +/- 3dB
Mic impedance: 2.2kohm
Directivity: Omnidirectional

And I have a pair of Razer Kraken Pro Gaming Headset obviously better quality but I don't know if it is better sound. Here are the specs.

Frequency Response: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Impedance: 32 Ω at 1kHz
Sensitivity (@1kHz, 1V/Pa): 110 ± 4dB at 1 kHz Max
Input Power: 50 mW
Drivers: 40 mm, with Neodymium Magnets
Inner Ear Cup Diameter: 50 mm / 1.97”

For the future how do I use specifications to determine bass on headphones before I buy them?

Gaming headsets are not bass headsets. They are meant to have clear directional sound with nice tight thumps.

First off there are no exact number that can tell how a headset will perform, because their are too many variables; however one can give a pretty good estimate based on a few key features.

1. Driver size is the size of the speaker. A larger speaker generally has an easier time hitting lower bass; however that doesn't mean smaller drivers can't hit low and some large drivers have very little movement so they sound shallow.
2. Ohm are the resistance of the speaker to power. Ohm y gosh really? (Couldn't resist) What this means is yes higher ohm's need more power, but they output clearer sound. This is because the speaker voice coil is thicker and stronger making it so it can more accurately produce sound in general.
3. Frequency range is the range of sounds produced from highest to the lowest. This is one of those that is more like a guess in my mind, because manufactures can lie as to what a headphone can actually produce. Sure it might produce 20 hertz at 40db aka almost like whispering level. So you don't need to get the lowest range here, but having at least 20-20k hertz is good. This is where you have to go in and listen for yourself.
4. Max power input tells how much power a headphone can take. Mind this isn't super important, but to me it is a durability factor. For example headphones that take 800mah probably wont get damaged left on high by accident on a computer. This spec with go hand in hand with the next spec.
5. Decibel output or sensitivity. This coupled with the mah tells the total output of the headphones. For example it is 100db @1mah 103db @2mah 106db @4mah and so on. Also a higher sensitivity usually means less distortion levels.
6. Finally ported vs closed headphones. As I mentioned before gaming headphones are not for bass, because they usually have a closed headphones. A port is basically a small hole that lets air move in back of the cone to help add booming bass. If you want booming bass, go with ported headphones for sure.

Really short form for bass:

Big drivers are good
higher ohms are clearer, but make sure you can power them (headphone amp for 80ohm plus)
20-20k hertz frequency or larger is good
Get ported headphones

 

[Iamsoda]

You can't. It's really about the quality and type of materials used in their construction as well as the tuning that the manufacturer has used for them. For example, I have both a Planetronics 307 and a Turtlebeach Z11. On paper, they have nearly the same specs (except for speaker size). However, in real life, the Turtlebeach have much clearer and heavier bass than the Plantronics. Bottom line, go off of reviews and pot-luck.

And don't always go off of speaker (driver) size either because that doesn't make as much of a difference as you might think. I have a pair of Sennheiser MX365's (with ~8mm drivers) which produce more bass than a cheap headset with 40mm drivers so it just shows how tricky buying audio stuff is

Give me a very detailed specs sheet for both and I can probably show you where they are different.

 

[AustinHunter]

You can't. It's really about the quality and type of materials used in their construction as well as the tuning that the manufacturer has used for them. For example, I have both a Planetronics 307 and a Turtlebeach Z11. On paper, they have nearly the same specs (except for speaker size). However, in real life, the Turtlebeach have much clearer and heavier bass than the Plantronics. Bottom line, go off of reviews and pot-luck.

And don't always go off of speaker (driver) size either because that doesn't make as much of a difference as you might think. I have a pair of Sennheiser MX365's (with ~8mm drivers) which produce more bass than a cheap headset with 40mm drivers so it just shows how tricky buying audio stuff is

Give me a very detailed specs sheet for both and I can probably show you where they are different.

Thanks for your help everyone

 

[Iamsoda]

You can't. It's really about the quality and type of materials used in their construction as well as the tuning that the manufacturer has used for them. For example, I have both a Planetronics 307 and a Turtlebeach Z11. On paper, they have nearly the same specs (except for speaker size). However, in real life, the Turtlebeach have much clearer and heavier bass than the Plantronics. Bottom line, go off of reviews and pot-luck.

And don't always go off of speaker (driver) size either because that doesn't make as much of a difference as you might think. I have a pair of Sennheiser MX365's (with ~8mm drivers) which produce more bass than a cheap headset with 40mm drivers so it just shows how tricky buying audio stuff is

Give me a very detailed specs sheet for both and I can probably show you where they are different.

Thanks for your help everyone

No problem. I hope I didn't kill you with too many words. 😛