Denon D2000?

Open vs. closed...so you're going to get a different sound for sure. I've not heard the 555 for quite a while so I can't opine on the differences. You should certainly hear more realistic mid-bass. IMO, the 2000s aren't as good without a dedicated amp as a lot of people here seem to think. I took Headphoneaddict's advice and got the Nuforce Icon Mobile for my 2000s and it's a good match. You should be able to pick up a used one for about 60% of retail. You won't get desktop performance but I'm happy with the pair. When I plug the 2000s straight into my Sansa Fuze or laptop, the sq is fairly anemic.

I have the D2000s, and I have to agree with Chuke that they are much better when amped. Honestly, I love these cans. I have listened to the 555's, I can remember walking away thinking the sound was not for me... I feel that they sound quite anemic compared to the D2000's, but this is only when amped. The D2000s without amping are much less engaging IMO. If you chose to go for an low-fi amp, get the D2000s... they are the business!

Hi,

my situation was exactly like yours, had the 555 and moved to D2000. It is a technical upgrade - for sure - especially considering deep bass capabilities and headroom/stage. But the even greater difference is their sound signature. HD555 is warm, lots of ground tone, D2000 is cold, V-shaped.
BTW, i run K701/DT880 straight per soundcard, without a dedicated amp and they already excel D2000 in terms of sound quality. Your STX shouldn't have any problems to reach ear-damaging volumes with K701.

Just remember - high volume does not necessarily equal high quality.

I own a bunch of $200-$400 cans, and I really enjoy the D2000. The minor issue I have is with the mids - around higher male vocals - seem ever so slightly recessed. To my ears, this is such a minor issue, that I feel as though I am nitpicking.

I enjoy the bass - a bit emphasized on the lower end, but pretty flat up through to the lower mids. Clean sounding, and about as close to an open can sound as one can find in a closed can. I feel claustrophobic using my DT770, but I don't get that sense with the D2000. I wouldn't say it is as airy as the K601 or DT880, but for a closed can, it comes close.

Some say the cans are bright, but I haven't noticed that as an issue. Probably because after listening to the DT880 for a few years, I've become numb to high levels of brightness.

I haven't really sat down to do a ranking of my headphones, but I do find myself reaching for the D2000 quite a bit. They get as much play as my HD650 and DT880.

Decided to listen to some MJ with my D2000's

Thoughts:

Billie Jean:
- Bass is "punchy" in the intro
- Vocals do feel recessed, but I still find the music enjoyable and only notice it if I'm looking for it.
- Nice and clear during sections where there are a number of tracks layered above one another.

Thriller:
- Deep Bass, not overpowering
- Wide soundstage
- Vocals issue similar to previous song, not so much a problem for me but YMMV

Rock With You:
- Bass is forward in this one, adequate thump.
- Vocals are lush on this one
- Hi Hat's are a tad sharp (Need to turn the volume down a bit :P)

Dirty Diana:
- Resonating Lows
- Tight bass
- Vocals issue similar to that of Thriller and Billie Jean. More noticeable on this track, but really only now that I'm paying particular attention to it.

Just my 0.02
I'm in no way an expert so this might be complete bollocks, take it any way you want.

It's male vocals that can have a problem.

Pop music is generally fine on the D2000 and doesn't suffer suckouts or other problems due to the recessed midrange of the D2000. In fact, trying "Beat It" and "Billy Jean" there is no issue at all. I have an EQ preset that corrects for the D2000 recessed midrange. I enabled and disabled the EQ while playing those two songs and there is almost no change with or without the EQ. MJ's voice and the instruments just aren't playing in the recessed frequency region.

The recessed vocals and recessed guitars is more of an issue with harder rock, heavy metal, and similar. And even then it depends on the recording and how it is mixed and mastered and the general sound of the band.

If you use a media player like Foobar or even WinAmp or something that can make use of EQ plugins you can fix the recessed midrange. You need to use a good EQ that gives you the necessary control. Something like a 31 band graphic EQ or a parametric EQ. A 6 band graphic EQ won't cut it. Bump up the 1-3 kHz region by 3 dB or 6dB or whatever sounds good to you. No more recessed midrange. With the EQ the D2000 is a great all-rounder that can play anything and any genre.

Whether the bass of the D2000 is too much or not depends on your personal preferences for bass. I personally find the bass to be just right and very welcome.

I don't think the D2000's bass is overpowering. I keep hearing that they are "bass monsters," but I just don't hear it. I have the DT770/80 Pro, and those are bass monsters. The HD650 has more bass across the low end than the D2000. The D2000 is strong down low at the lower end of low, and that adds lots of firmness and structure to the bass.

They are definitely bass prominent at the beginning, but as the time goes it becomes more proportional.

Just tried They don't care about us. The bass is amazing and I really don't feel it's overshadowing the rest of the song (e.g., guitars against the end). I also don't really feel like they have a problem with Metal (I listen to a lot of it), however they do give a somewhat dark mood to it (as compared to the RE0 for example, I don't really have a flat sounding can, sorry).

Definitely needs amping, sounds like **** out of my DAP or laptop. Works ok with my NG98, hoping the M-Stage will bring it to the next level when it finally arrives.

The main problems I see with D2000 are:
a) the bass: there's plenty of deep bass, but where's the punch? This is a matter of missing mid and upper bass and the principal low amount of bass volume
b) the missing ground tone: let's put things right: i hardly listen to vocal music. But they certainly lack body with D2000. By that it suggests clarity and creates a quite wide sound stage, but at the same time it lacks emotional involvement.
c) The lack of presence tone combined with the forward highs: snares do not bang enough, on the other side the highs are very prominent.

All in all I consider the tonality as to be quite weird. The sound stage is awesome, but the lack of musicality make them fatiguing to me when listening to music. But for films I would absolutely recommend them. The sound stage fits perfect to create a "speaker illusion" in smaller rooms. DT880 is already too wide for those rooms, not to talk of K701.

The main advantage of the denon's is that they are easy to drive and have detailed sound.
The cons: They do not isolate very well and the bass is out of control and can be fatiguing sometimes.

The D2000 has NO BASS. I returned them. What is the point of listening to polka music without bass.