[James Edward]

I currently use AKG K701’s and find them lacking in bass and general fullness of sound. I would like something that would be a good match for the headphone amp in my Luxman L-590AXll. If there are any specs that would be useful, let me know. I have been consciously downsizing my system and don’t want to add a headphone amp.
Thanks for any thoughts…

[James Edward]

I should add closed back phones are preferable but not crucial.

[Sam-fi]

If bass is your concern then you should try modding the k701/2 there are tabs around the driver that limit bass response that you can remove and it makes the bass a lot more like other headphones. Look for a good modding guide. I also hear removing some of the padding behind the driver opens up the stage by increasing speed. I personally listen to the k712 un-modded. The 702 and 712 have a +3db bass response compared to the 701 and lately I have been curious to demo a pair of 701 just to see how clean sounding they are.

[aricml]

If you're looking for more bass, I would recommend looking at Meze 99 Classics (or the similar 99 Noir from Drop)  I have a pair that I keep by my recliner in the bedroom and even when listening fairly loud, being closed back cans with decent isolation, it never bothers the wife.  Some reviews say they are a bit too much in the low end, but that seems to be what I like, and in general I just enjoy the heck out of them.

[FullRangeMan]

I could suggest planars for the better sound.
HifiMan have various phones in this $ range,
the cheaper are the HE400-SE only $109.
but they have a lot of refurbished phones.
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/headphones.html

Before purchase check this independent site for guidance:
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/hifiman/he400se
For better sound and larger soundstage prefer XLR4 balanced connection.

[JMW73]

I like the HifiMan Sundara Closed back

[Denton J]

I don't know the price point, but Focal just came out with a "Dune" headphone which adjusts to your hearing.  I am really curious about this feature.

[Letitroll98]

I like the HifiMan Sundara Closed back

+1

[Theronbo]

Many YouTube reviewers… including Danny Ritchie prefer the Ukrainian headphones: https://www.verum-audio.com/

$300. You can order them through GR Research… via a wait list.

I have a pair. They sound good. But, I don’t have a lot of experience with headphones.

I prefer my stereo.

I also have Audio Technical ATH-AD700X $100. The verum are definitely better… but 3x better?

Still prefer the ‘open headphones’ that is my stereo.

[BobM]

Open air or closed? Closed will likely give you more bass, but I find open air to have more presence, not the same but closer to the true stereo sound from your regular system's speakers.

For open air you can't really go wrong with any of the Sennheiser options. But then, the headphone amp you use will also make a big difference and "generally" a stand alone head amp will perform better than something built into a device. Plenty of options in both tubed and solid state at many price points. Go to HeadFi.com and you can search for recommendations to match a head amp with a set of cans.

[Letitroll98]

I should add closed back phones are preferable but not crucial.

^

[ThePriest]

Many YouTube reviewers… including Danny Ritchie prefer the Ukrainian headphones: https://www.verum-audio.com/

I have the Verums as well. They are really good (fantastic), but they are 8 ohm. So in reality you need a normal amplifier to drive them.
Headphone outputs (and most dedicated headphone amps) simply does not have the current capability to drive an 8 ohm unit.
And the amplifier needs to be dead silent. Any 50/60 Hz hum will be heard.
I have bought a JLH 1969 clone from Ali (10 watts class A) to drive them, but it still have audible hum.
So I am considering replacing the transformer with an SMPS. They don't have any 50Hz hum...

The Priest

[audibleguy]

A few recommendations on headphones;
-the HiFi Man HE-400i is a nice headphone, easy to drive
-the Verum 1's are another stellar headphone for the price, check out other "dealers" as some may have these in stock
-you cannot beat the performance either the Meze 99 Neo or the Meze Classic 99 headphones give you, great bass, midrange and top end
-some of the Audioquest headphones are also very nice, discontinued now but can be found used, Nighthawk
I am using many of the 'phones with a Rogue Audio RH-5 headphone preamp/amp, 2 tubes drives everything.