If they also sound harsh on the Fuze, then a new DAC isn't going to fix it.  (unless the Fuze is also a bright source, which I don't think it is)
 
You are much better off finding the right headphone than buying a bunch of equipment to try to fix a headphone that isn't right for you.  I also found the Denons to be harsh in the treble region.  So it's not you, you don't need to "get over it" or something.
 
Why are you against the HD650?  You have to realize that there is a lot of subjectivity in sound.  The people who say they are rolled off and boring are people who don't find your headphones bright or harsh, so clearly they don't hear the same as you do. 
 
I feel this thread has steered you very poorly.  You asked for a headphone that wasn't bright and now you've bought Ultrasones and you're eyeing a new DAC.  Woops...

lol I am not sure... I cancelled my order for ultrasones because I think they are probably going to just be as harsh or maybe more harsh then these Denon ones tbh...
 
I havnt actually purchased a Xonar essence dac but I may buy one just to see how the headphone amp and general dac compares to my current setup....
 
I might actually buy some sennheiser hd650 and see how I persoanlly like them...
 
TBH asking for peoples opinions (except for some people have been hepfull like malveux, thythmdevils) is just pointless because everyone has different contrasting opinions and a lot of "fanboyism" also....
 
I might give the sennheisers a go or I might just keep the denons I am not sure atm. They do seem smoother after a few days of use... maybe physical burn in or maybe I am just adjusting to them...

I don't actually like Ultrasones personally since I prefer the "piercing" treble of more analytical headphones, but I still think those were the ones for you. 
 
HD650 is another good choice but you'd have to buy a decent headphone amp if you don't mind that. I recently bought the M-Stage and I've been buying and trading headphone amps for about 3 years now and I feel that this is the best one I've owned so far especially considering it's price. The HD600 sounds nothing like the HD650 though, Sennheiser actually makes very different headphones from one another and doesn't build off the same "house" sound.

HD 650, the treble is clean and never sounds shrill or harsh.

Hmm why do you think that about the ultrasones?
 
Have you heard both the denons and ultrasone 2400?

Let me point one thing. I said to TRY a different dac, not to buy one, especially with closed eyes.Don't you have shops near there? The Essence u cant try but many cdp and amplifier with headphone out exist.
The essence is also a bit bright, but able to drive the denons.
I do not know the Sansa.
 
Said that, I think you are sensitive on the typical headphone peak which is around 10k to decline later more or less slowly, and not to higher HF like me.
There are VERY few headphones that have less of this issue. I think the JVC DX1000 and the LC2 rev2, but they are both expensive models. Senns 650 too as they have been suggested here, and more affordable could be worth a try.
 
Lastly phones need 200+h of burn-in.

Quote:

chris_himself said:

I don't actually like Ultrasones personally since I prefer the "piercing" treble of more analytical headphones, but I still think those were the ones for you. 
 
HD650 is another good choice but you'd have to buy a decent headphone amp if you don't mind that. I recently bought the M-Stage and I've been buying and trading headphone amps for about 3 years now and I feel that this is the best one I've owned so far especially considering it's price. The HD600 sounds nothing like the HD650 though, Sennheiser actually makes very different headphones from one another and doesn't build off the same "house" sound.

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Here's an FR graph comparing the D2000 (which are too harsh for the OP) to the Ultrasone 2400.  This correlates very well with the way I hear Ultrasones.  Harsh, and very uneven. 
 

 

Have you actually listened to the 2400? Supposedly they are quite a bit different to the other ones and also they are open backed...

You're probably not going to find a ton of people around here who's listened to it, so it's kind of a risk. But don't they use the HFI-680/780 driver? The HFI-680 had some small problems with sibilance and they just had a small rise around 5k, so that big spike right at 7k really doesn't look promising. They do look pretty laid back for Ultrasones though.

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nicholars said:

I had a very brief listen to the 598 in a shop and I wasn't very impressed at all tbh... they were brand new out of the box tho I suppose... Also not a fan of the look of them personally...
 
I have realised that I am what would be classified on here as a "basshead" eg. I like well textured, deep, tunefull bass a LOT! From what i have read I really dont think the sennheisers are going to satisfy me in terms of energetic presentation and bass response.... They are more of a headphone for vocals, jazz, classical music etc. from what I gather... I do like some of this but also listen to a lot of punchy electronic music etc.

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Same here (not a fan of 598 look).  I have the 558, did the foam removal mod, and really happy with them.  Highs aren't fatiguing at all.  Hard to really judge if they got better after burn in or I just got used to them.  A co-worker bought a 598 that I tried and they sounded pretty much the same as the 558 with foam mod (didn't compare before hand).
 
btw I listen to almost entirely electronic music (trance, psytrance, drum and bass, techno, *core (eg: hardcore, noisecore, speedcore)) and I'm perfectly happy with the bass on these.  I'm a big fan of the sub-bass these do.  That said, sennheisers are fairly balanced, so no emphasis on bass but also no emphasis on mids and highs either so I can have the volume a little louder because I'm not adjusting for the enhanced highs or lows.
 
I definitely wouldn't consider them basshead phones, though.  More like bass-adequate phones.  My .02
 
*edit
My past headphones, roughly in order: various cheapy, koss dj (forget model but they had had huge cups and collapse by rotating, rather old), remember I had something else back then but can't remember although I doubt they were premium in any way, old sennheiser wireless, sony mdr-v600 (for DJing mostly), sennheiser RS130 (wireless, I've used these for YEARS), sony mdr-v6 (haven't used it much though), sennheiser HD558.  So while a lot of sennheiser in it I'm actually looking at the DT-770 Pro because they're showing up on ebay for $90 if you can get one quick enough.
 
While compiling that list I realized you may want to give the sony mdr-v600 a try.  They are purposely designed to be bass-heavy, loud, and sound isolating (were designed for DJ use in clubs).  After maybe 7 or 8 years all I've had to change are the ear pads which you can find chinese knock offs with a little searching.  Main criticism are the ear pads suck IMO and there's no similar ones because they're made to contour the ear.
 

Hmm tbh after using these quite a lot over the last 5 days... 30 hours or so (Denon d2000)  the things that were annoying me about them seem to have pretty much dissapeared and now they basically sound awesome! Think ill just keep these! Seems that burn in DEFINATELY has an effect! These really are some NICE sounding headphones!

Quote:

nicholars said:

Hmm tbh after using these quite a lot over the last 5 days... 30 hours or so (Denon d2000)  the things that were annoying me about them seem to have pretty much dissapeared and now they basically sound awesome! Think ill just keep these! Seems that burn in DEFINATELY has an effect! These really are some NICE sounding headphones!

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The D2000 are indeed balanced/pleasant, and the response graph shows that, provide that the peak at 10khz doesnt bother you. It is much less than most 'phones anyway. Did you think about cable modding them?
I'm considering to buy the D7000, but the D2k seems a bit more neutral, and since you already have them...
 
Told ya about burn-in

My D2000 hasn't changed since I've gotten them. Over 100 hours now.  Good thing it hasn't, though, it was great from the start.

Great thread
 
I'd like recommendations for closed-back cans.
 
Please note that I do not own headphones amp

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Originally Posted by Telstar /img/forum/go_quote.gif

provide that the peak at 10khz doesnt bother you.

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Yeah IME looking at graphs, anytime a headphone's upper midrange/treble spike goes above the level-ish part in the midrange-bass, it's a red flag for possibly being harsh.