Quick follow up.
My dad has always been a bit of an audiophile and really got me started on this whole thing way back when. Well, he borrowed my mod-ed D5000 a couple days ago, and now I can't get them back!

He really can't believe how good they sound. He didn't react this way when he tried my Sony R10s.
I think he's going to buy a pair and have me mod them for him. He's a little skeptical of the $250 cable on them, but maybe he'll even go for that, too.

Of course, genetically speaking we share the same ears, so it makes sense we'd hear things the same way, but I know he's not impressed by much, so I value his feedback.