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~US$250 street price alternative to D2000

post #1 of 87
11/14/11 at 9:26am
Thread Starter 
I ordered D2000's from JR on october 23. JR last heard from denon on october 3 (third) saying that there was no estimated restock date for JR. Now it is november 14 and I am still without headphones, and both JR and Denon US has no idea when they will be back in stock.

I'm looking for a headphone that will sound similar/same to the D2000. I was initially going for ATH-M50 like everyone else on here but everyone was telling me how the D2000 are a way better deal considering the sound quality you get for the price.

I was looking at some of the 600ohm Beyer's, but the 770's look ugly to me. The 880's and 990's look awesome but they are expensive enough that even if I save a bit extra, I'll have to wait to use them until I get enough money to buy an amp that will drive those suckers. I have no portable amp solution right now and wont have one until closer to christmas time. I was planning on getting iBasso D-Zero OR getting a mini3+X1 for christmas and building that.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what headphones are comparably to the D2000's. Bass detail/speed is quite important to me, a little more so than treble. I currently have a AMB Gamma2 F++ as my non-portable source and only an ipod classic as my portable source.
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post #2 of 87
11/14/11 at 9:37am

I think its hard to find something similar to the D2000's in its price range. 

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post #3 of 87
11/14/11 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
Lol i know! Ive tried but the closest I got was Ultrasone. Hence asking the community. I feel bad buying a company's "so-so" headphones, if that makes sense. I dont like buying headphones that the company just threw together and said "this line is for people shopping by price range, but THIS OTHER line is for people shopping by sound quality". Also, it makes me nervous buying a headphone that I havent heard great things about. If this was a simple 50-80 dollar purchase, i wouldnt care. Correct me if I'm wrong, but to me a 350MSRP headphone is not just a "whatever" purchase, especially not as a combined anniversary/christmas gift from the girlfriend, MOST especially not on a college student budget. The last thing I want is for her to spend her money and then me say the headphones are "alright".
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post #4 of 87
11/14/11 at 9:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shrimants View Post

Lol i know! Ive tried but the closest I got was Ultrasone. Hence asking the community. I feel bad buying a company's "so-so" headphones, if that makes sense. I dont like buying headphones that the company just threw together and said "this line is for people shopping by price range, but THIS OTHER line is for people shopping by sound quality". Also, it makes me nervous buying a headphone that I havent heard great things about. If this was a simple 50-80 dollar purchase, i wouldnt care. Correct me if I'm wrong, but to me a 350MSRP headphone is not just a "whatever" purchase, especially not as a combined anniversary/christmas gift from the girlfriend, MOST especially not on a college student budget. The last thing I want is for her to spend her money and then me say the headphones are "alright".


SRH840 is the only headphone is not a 'so-so' headphone at that price range.

however, the bass is not strong at all. Great detail sound though

 

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post #5 of 87
11/14/11 at 9:59am

It is funny you mention ultrasones. I was gonna say even though they are completely different, believe it or not  the phone the kinda reminds me of the Denon D2000s a bit is my HFI-780. which cost less and is a very nice headphone in its own right. I would stay away from the M50s. There are all sorts of wrong on those head phones. The detail and imaging with good solid strong bass and extended highs are right in line with the D2000 sound. They look very nice too. 31Wc4ZwvDpL._SL500_AA300_.jpgSave you some money as well as they go for around $150 now.. Great headphones. Oh and don't listen to the haters that say the highs are shrill or this or that.. IT seems there are far too many guys that are so sensitive that any headphone with detailed highs will be considered shrill. These are awesome sounding. Similar in many ways to the sound of the D2000 actually. Wide stage nice full bass detailed highs, clean mids..

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post #6 of 87
11/14/11 at 10:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hughkk View Post



SRH840 is the only headphone is not a 'so-so' headphone at that price range.
however, the bass is not strong at all. Great detail sound though

Yeah, strong bass was the reason I was going with the D2000's in the first place. I didnt want something overpowering, but I did want to be able to feel the thump where the artist wanted a thump, or simply bask in vibration where the artist wanted a low frequency. Even monster turbines do this though. They dont do it TOO well, but the sensation is there.

I feel like I should clarify the "so so" comment before I get torn apart:

If I went out and bought Koss R10's, they cost like 20 bucks. other models in Koss's lineup are similar in sound quality and cost a bit more or a bit less. However, if i went up to Koss's CEO, VP, or even some engineer, and i told them "Hey, I bought the R10." They would give me a look like "that is uninteresting and I have absolutely nothing to say about it."

If I went to Ultrasone's people and said Hey, I bought your Edition 10's. They would be like man, that is a marvelous headphone. Possibly if I said "I bought the Pro x00 series from you guys" They might say "oh, yeah, thats a really good line of ours." rather than have no comment or look at me like im the most idiotic consumer in the world. Thats what I mean by "so so" headphones. I could probably even go up 100 bucks or so and wait until christmas after I have saved up some money, but for now I am seeing it as a better option to simply go for something other than D2000's.


Perhaps someone knows of an audiotechnica competitor to them? Ultrasone 700 and 900 both look so ugly compared to D2000, but I suppose I could do research on them and give them a shot. I cant figure out audiotechnica's product naming scheme for the life of me. They have all kinds of new and old headphone models listed on their website and I have no idea what sort of audience each line of headphones is marketed towards. I hate when they make me choose between "home listening" and "professional environment". What does that even mean?


EDIT: I should mention, I've listened to the HD595's and found that they have complete lack of sub bass. I listened to hans Zimmer's inception and Nero's Welcome Reality to test their bass response and was extremely disappointed. While they have great detail and good soundstage, if that is all the bass they can muster I am better off looking elsewhere.

I've also listened to Shure E3C and found that they also have nothing in the bass department. That is not to say that I should look for basshead headphones, but consider that my home setup is Audioengine A5 with a 10 inch subwoofer. I balanced the sound out so that the bass is present but never overpowers the mids and treble.

Monster Turbine has a near perfect balance to me, though I'd like to feel that bass also. That is part of why I am aiming for full size cans. I also have MeElec M11p+ and find the highs on those shrill and the bass, while it is there, is slightly overpowered and drowns out the mids at times.

I felt it would be beneficial to those helping me out to see what I've listened to for comparison/reference.
Edited by shrimants - 11/14/11 at 10:15am
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post #7 of 87
11/14/11 at 10:41am

Modded JVC-RX700 are almost identical to the D2000.

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post #8 of 87
11/14/11 at 10:52am

The new(ish) Sony top of the line Z1000 has seen price drops at reputable sellers very recently

 

from what was a firm $499 everywhere to about $300 today.

 

 

I'd definitely give them a listen -

you might find they're worth the extra 50 bucks :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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post #9 of 87
11/14/11 at 10:57am

I think you might be able to find the Denons in stock somewhere else, Audiocubes might have them, Amazon, etc; I would pursue that before I would pursue another headphone. As far as another headphone to suggest, I think anything else (at any price range, ignoring the higher end Denons) will be different enough in some way as to establish its own identity; if you want the Denon sound, get a Denon. 

 

There's the Sony MDR-XB1000, which is supposed to have silly amounts of bass, but I doubt it has a similar overall signature.

 

 


Edited by obobskivich - 11/14/11 at 10:59am
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post #10 of 87
11/14/11 at 11:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by obobskivich View Post

I think you might be able to find the Denons in stock somewhere else, Audiocubes might have them, Amazon, etc; I would pursue that before I would pursue another headphone. As far as another headphone to suggest, I think anything else (at any price range, ignoring the higher end Denons) will be different enough in some way as to establish its own identity; if you want the Denon sound, get a Denon. 

 

There's the Sony MDR-XB1000, which is supposed to have silly amounts of bass, but I doubt it has a similar overall signature.

 

 


Can't disagree here. Not to mention if you perform the open back mod on the denons it takes them to a whole new level and they sound better than some headphones that  are way more expensive at that.

 

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post #11 of 87
11/14/11 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graphicism View Post

Modded JVC-RX700 are almost identical to the D2000.



In terms of overall signature and holistic sound? What am I missing here.

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post #12 of 87
11/14/11 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Mourning View Post

In terms of overall signature and holistic sound? What am I missing here.


Yes overall signature is very similar. It doesn't quite have the boom of the Denons, but then if you've heard a modded D2000 or stock D7000 they've attempted to subdue the boom. I considered the JVC-RX700 an improvement and sold the Denons as a result. They are however one ugly headphone.

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post #13 of 87
11/14/11 at 1:33pm

I am sorry to hear that you cannot get your hands on them :(. Sadly, out of the 30 cans I tried before buying the D2000s, I could not find anything that sounded the same in the low range. I found cans with better mids, better treble, but they came at a price : higher low range. My advice to you would be to wait a while longer until someone has them in stock. If I were in your shoes, I would have the 'what if' feeling if I bought an alternative. These cans are something special for the price. I paid 320 pounds on them (a bit steep but got 2 years warranty with instant replacement in case something breaks) and after 50 hours I consider these the best investment I have ever made. Why? Well at the moment I am listening to my Nokia N8 + FiiO E11 + HQ FLACS and on Bass Boost 1 on the FiiO my ears are moving from the bass. Fun part? The bass does not distort at all and my ears are moving! I did not have this with any other can I tried in the shop. 

 

 

The JVC-RX700 are nowhere near to the D2000. Regarding the modding community, I am sorry but I had the chance to listen to a pair of modded D2000s and they were horrible. The solid bass was lost because my ears were farther away from the drivers due to the 70 dollar ear pads. I paid for ... BASS and I take it away with all kind of ghetto mods? No offence to those who do it  but the Denon engineers are not stupid. The Denon 2000 have 'boom'? This is argument is often seen at people who prefer the sound pushed to flat. Show me another pair of cans at this price range that dips so low and you hear it  and I will sell mine the next day. Try playing a few songs from Daft Punk and you will identify 4 different types of bass in the same song. Not many cans can do this. 

 

 

 

 

Quote:
I considered the JVC-RX700 an improvement and sold the Denons as a result.

 

 

WOW Just WOW! confused_face_2.gif

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post


Can't disagree here. Not to mention if you perform the open back mod on the denons it takes them to a whole new level and they sound better than some headphones that  are way more expensive at that.

 


... they are on a whole new level? So you take away their bass and say that they sound better than more expensive cans? Why would you buy the Denon if you don't want Bass? The stock Apple earbuds might have the sound you are looking for. 


Edited by Wishmaker - 11/14/11 at 1:56pm
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post #14 of 87
11/14/11 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your responses. I boycott all sony products and refuse to buy them for my own reasons. Also, if the XB1000's are the ones that best buy has on display, I want nothing to do with them. Silly is the only way to describe the bass on those. They sound even worse than the Beats. It should be noted that I'm not going for ridiculous make-you-puke subwoofer-in-the-ear bass. If it helps, eventually I'm going to go for Audeze LCD3 or something similar to their sound signature.

I'll look into JVC, but I cant mod them. I find that really disrespectful to my girlfriend, to have her buy me headphones and then tear them apart, void their warranty, and possibly break them. Mods are something I will do to the D2000 eventually, and I do plan on trying out the reversable mods like the pad tapering and overstuffing, but any mods like the full markl mod or recabling are somethign I will only do once the warranty is gone.

Can someone explain the product lineup for Audiotechnica and Ultrasone? What is the difference between their various lines? Ultrasone, for example, has HFI, Pro, Signature, and DJ.......

For now I am still waiting on the denon's. the D7000 is what I was aiming for in the future but I know a competitor for it is Audiotechnica's W1000's. The W1000 doesnt clam down hard at all on the head though, so they are not supposed to be taken out of the house under any circumstances by anyone sane or not part of the 1%.
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post #15 of 87
11/14/11 at 3:43pm

Where have you heard the LCD3?
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by shrimants View Post
If it helps, eventually I'm going to go for Audeze LCD3 or something similar to their sound signature.

Ultrasone lineup= Editions(unattainable at this price range), Pro (in this order 2900(open),900,750,650,550 etc, HFI (780,680,580 all just different sound sigs not necessarily better than each other). The Pro900 are compared often with the D2000 and there is in fact a whole thread about this subject ( I think the 900 should be the only HP from the Pro line you look at). Also I saw somewhere in the forums that D5000 may go on sale to around $400 new on amazon which is something I'm looking forward to.

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