KCT,
I'm curious about what headphones you used prior to the AH-D5000 since your impressions will be affected by this.
Compared to the Sennheiser HD650, the base is definitely more pronounced and the reason/s one could give for this may be different. Some may say it's just plain excessive. Others may say that it's fuller and with more depth. I personally do feel that there is more depth and fullness to it. However, it may be somewhat too pronounced, making it a bit overbearing with recordings that inherently carry a lot of base. The interesting thing is that some very basy recordings sound just fine while others sound overbearing. I suspect it may well have to do with the engineering where some recordings have the base unnaturally exaggerated for the mobile music era.
My Denons were purchased from HeadRoom, an authorised dealer. These were made in China as inscribed on the headset. We do know that China is the land of the cheap ripoffs. However, we do know that China is a major territory for Japanese companies to outsource their factories and assembling of their electronic products. Thailand is another place.
The wide variation in cost is concerning and may well have something to do with fakes being out there.
Be that as it may, the Denon AH-D5000/7000's signature sound of prominent base is hugely popular to the point where the MarkL mod is a big thing of late. You can even purchase a pair of these phones pre-moded!! However, the MarkL mod is close to US$500!!!
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