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Denon AH-D2000 VS Denon AH-D5000, difference worth the upgrade?

post #1 of 23
9/22/08 at 7:15am
Thread Starter 
Just received a pair of Denon AH-D2000 last week, then i spent 200 on an amp. After the fact i realized that i paid enough to get AH-d5000. From what ive read,its sometimes better to upgrade the phones than amp them out. i probably would have been better off to get the 5000s.

Right now, my experience with amping these d2000s has been weak (C&C f1 portable amp providing a lackluster improvement). was considering purchasing another amp, but I was thinking i would be better off to upgrade the cans instead.

Anyone here heard the difference between the d2000 and the d5000? T.I.A. for the input.
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post #2 of 23
9/22/08 at 8:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyd171 View Post
Just received a pair of Denon AH-D2000 last week, then i spent 200 on an amp. After the fact i realized that i paid enough to get AH-d5000. From what ive read,its sometimes better to upgrade the phones than amp them out.
That depends on the source the headphone would be plugged into if there is no headphone amp available. Especially low impedance headphones react negative on high output impedances so I wouldn't run them out of a receiver or stereo amplifier.

The difference between D2000 and D5000 is quite obvious. Not from the technical point of view but from tonality. The D2000 has strong bass and an emphasis in the heights. Mids are kind of recessed. Headstage is big and almost 3D like but lacks in difinition.
The D5000 is much warmer tuned. It even has a little more bass then the D2000 has in direct comparison but due to the fact that the mids aren't as recessed as in the D2000s you don't feel like it's more.
The mids are warm, rich and colorful and the heights are much better integrated, nothing really sticks out. The presentation is a bit more involving and kind of "private".
Like I said before, from the technical point of view neither of the two is better.
But if you like the warmer presentation of the D5000 over the cool mids of the D2000 I would consider the upgrade if I were you (also depending on amping).

m00h
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post #3 of 23
9/22/08 at 10:24am
Wouldn't amping D2000s with a tube amp with decent mid bloom sort of warm up the sound?
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post #4 of 23
9/22/08 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by m0b1liz3 View Post
Wouldn't amping D2000s with a tube amp with decent mid bloom sort of warm up the sound?
Maybe, but not to the extent of making the D2000 sound as "warm" or full in the midrange, or anywhere near as tonally/timbrally sophisticated as the D5000, IMHE. : )
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post #5 of 23
9/22/08 at 1:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyd171 View Post
Just received a pair of Denon AH-D2000 last week, then i spent 200 on an amp. After the fact i realized that i paid enough to get AH-d5000. From what ive read,its sometimes better to upgrade the phones than amp them out. i probably would have been better off to get the 5000s.

Right now, my experience with amping these d2000s has been weak (C&C f1 portable amp providing a lackluster improvement). was considering purchasing another amp, but I was thinking i would be better off to upgrade the cans instead.

Anyone here heard the difference between the d2000 and the d5000? T.I.A. for the input.

Skyd171,
The D2000 will give you a lot to appreciate with a suitable amp (and source). Take your time and enjoy these exceptional cans!

Afterwards, you may want to upgrade both the headphones (i.e. to D5000) and the amp (to . . .?).
PAB
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post #6 of 23
9/22/08 at 8:26pm
Thread Starter 
too late! i already purchased the d5000 for 288 shipped! will be posting thoughts when they come in =)
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post #7 of 23
9/22/08 at 9:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyd171 View Post
too late! i already purchased the d5000 for 288 shipped! will be posting thoughts when they come in =)
Great price! New or used?
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post #8 of 23
9/24/08 at 12:12am
Thread Starter 
new of course ! =) just typed in denon ah-d5000 and google has a list of merchants with prices from 266....

wait i knew that couldnt be right, after checking again, it turns out i paid 388, not 288 :P still a good price.
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post #9 of 23
9/24/08 at 12:30am
Ah but are the recessed mids a result of something that can be changed with readily available mods such as the markl mods or recableing?

Some have commented that a recabled d2000 is superior to a stock d5000. I wonder if that cures the mids and harsher highs?

Have a blessed day fools!
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post #10 of 23
9/24/08 at 3:40am
Or with my Mod....It give superior separation, a ginormous and spacious soundstage/headstage (impossible to get with the stock Denons or Markl modded) more mids presence and a more balanced bass that doesn't intrude in the mids and slightly less 'sibilant' and bright mids, etc....
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueSundays View Post
Ah but are the recessed mids a result of something that can be changed with readily available mods such as the markl mods or recableing?

Some have commented that a recabled d2000 is superior to a stock d5000. I wonder if that cures the mids and harsher highs?

Have a blessed day fools!
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post #11 of 23
9/24/08 at 5:11am
what is your mod?
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post #12 of 23
9/24/08 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueSundays View Post
Ah but are the recessed mids a result of something that can be changed with readily available mods such as the markl mods or recableing?

Some have commented that a recabled d2000 is superior to a stock d5000. I wonder if that cures the mids and harsher highs?

Have a blessed day fools!
Recessed mids? I never heard 'em. Ditto for sibilant highs. Or flabby/tubby bass. My experience with the D2000 was one of a respectably balanced and eminently satisfying set of headphones that were reasonably true-to-the-source.

I enjoyed the D2000 stock, and I am enjoying even more the D5000 in their stock configuration. In the best of all worlds, I'd intended to have the D2000 APS V3 recabled--then to a/b them with the stock D5000, but decided to put the money into recabling the K501 with UP-OCC Ag and Cu instead.

All-in-all, I was quite happy with the stock D2000, and am now happier still with the stock D5000.
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post #13 of 23
9/24/08 at 9:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilashort View Post
Or with my Mod....It give superior separation, a ginormous and spacious soundstage/headstage (impossible to get with the stock Denons or Markl modded) more mids presence and a more balanced bass that doesn't intrude in the mids and slightly less 'sibilant' and bright mids, etc....
Yes, wilashort, now that you've baited us, and seconding dononus' request: what, pray tell, is thy mod? : )
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post #14 of 23
9/24/08 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post
what is your mod?
I think he means this one.
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post #15 of 23
9/24/08 at 12:00pm
O.K. Thanks, roxxor. Although that post is not clear about where the mod effects, per se, begin and where the burn-in effects end.
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