[moodyrn]

I've been looking for a good closed(woody preferably) headphone for a change of pace from the open cans I have now. The Wuss was nice enough to let me audition his d7000, and I immediately liked them. So I recently bought them, and they are a nice change of pace from my other cans. I really like the sound stage. Though it's not as wide as good open cans, it is wide for a closed can and as deep as most open cans I've listened to.  Are they neutral/accurate? No, but they are very fun to listen to. Another thing I like is the resolution in the treble, it's not as good as neither my stax nor he-6. But it's just something magical about it. I love the deep bass as well.  Depending on the gear used, it can range from being boomy to being very tight. They thing I don't like is their isolation. Isolation is one of the things I was really looking for.  If I keep them, I do plan to get the new Jmoney pads. But I have thirty days to decide whether I'm going to keep them or not. So is there anything better in this price range that will give me everything I'm looking for? Please don't mention anything like an ed 8. They are not in the same price range, and also I would not like to give up sound quality for more isolation. It would be great to have both. So any suggestions?

 

[misformatt]

The only two comparable woodies I can think of are the Audio Technca W1000x and W5000. I haven't heard either, but from what I've read the W5000 is fairly bass light, but has a great soundstage and sense of transparency for a closed can. The W1000x is supposed to have more low-end (than the W5000), and seems to be a less polarizing can in general.

The Ultrasone Pro 900 isn't a woody, but I'd put it in or around the same league as the others. It has more bass than the D7000 and better isolation, but can be sibilant with some vocals.

I just put the new J Money pads (version 3) on my D7000 this evening and I haven't noticed much of a change in isolation. The genuine leather does eliminate some of the sweaty ear problems the stock pads can cause, though.

 

[Drosera]

I think the problem is that there is a direct trade-off between isolation and sound quality, particularly soundstage. The W5000 has a decent soundstage, but I think that's at least partly the result of them not being very isolating either (just like the D7000). The better a headphone isolates, the more closed/claustrophobic it will sound.

 

[moodyrn]

So basically anything in the same price range may be a side grade at best? That's pretty much what I feared. I guess I'm going to have to live with the lack of isolation.

 

[DjAmTraX]

At that price, the D7000 is KING.

 

[padam]

I like the HD250II because they do offer a very good soundstage (diffuse-field equalized) while having an isolation that is better than the 'average' closed headphones (yes, one of the few circumaural cans that actually isolate and have good soundstage as well). While I don't know how the D7000 fares I like them a lot better than the D2000 I used to have, the are a bit u-shaped just like the D2000 but much less so (more refined in the highs and lows) sounding and the bass extension is superb.
Hopefully one day I will drive them with something like a Beta22 to hear how they really sound.

 

[crumpler]

I'm having plenty of fun listening to my Sony Z1000s and it's been quite a while since i have enjoyed closed cans as much as i do these. Think these are just about within your price range but could be a smudge below if you buy 2nd hand.
 
One word of caution tho, there seem to be very polarizing opinions on these but i do love them to bits. And if you do enjoy listening at low volume, these are for you since i found that they do sound best when turned up just a bit louder than what i would usually listen at. I usually listen at 70dB which is plenty soft.

 

[moodyrn]

That is an interesting option. But like you said, there seem to be a love hate relationship with these. I know of one headfier, who loves closed cans, sold these what seem like days after getting them. But I could get them from amazon to audition and return the one I like the least.

 

[moodyrn]

I think the problem is that there is a direct trade-off between isolation and sound quality, particularly soundstage. The W5000 has a decent soundstage, but I think that's at least partly the result of them not being very isolating either (just like the D7000). The better a headphone isolates, the more closed/claustrophobic it will sound.

I think you are exactly right. I've owned a few closed cans, and all of the ones that had good isolation, had a "closed in" sound stage. I do think isolation is the trade off of closed headphones having a good sound stage. I know there are exceptions, but you have to pay a really high premium to get a good sound stage, isolation, and premium sound from a closed headphone. I suspected there wasn't anything is this price range that gave the best of both worlds. I just had to see if there was anything out there I didn't know about.

 

[nullstring]

I don't think the isolation is that great with these either...
but the JVC DX1000 and DX700 should be mentioned.

 

[fatcat28037]

Amanda says buy the D7000

 

[moodyrn]

I don't think the isolation is that great with these either...
but the JVC DX1000 and DX700 should be mentioned.

I would love a pair of those, but the dx1000 are more than 1000.00. I'm trying to find something "500.00-1000.00". The dx700 are extremely hard to find.

 

[nullstring]

http://hovanfue.com/products/VICTOR%252dJVC-HP%252dDX1000-Stereo-Headphones-*Wood*-Japan.html
 
And thats just from a 30 second google.
Although, now that I think about it, customs will probably bring that price up.
 
 
/me shrugs
 
I guess my point is that they are on the border and I'd be surprised if you couldn't find them for well under $1000.
Audiocubes is grossly overpriced and they are only 1150 there.

 

[Leander7777]

The Utlrasone pro 900 has a wide soundstage and good isolation. I guess it's an exception to the rule, as they use decentralized drivers.

 

[AmanGeorge]

My favorite closed headphone is the discontinued Sony MDR-CD3000. The soundstage is out of this world (better than many open headphones), and they are an incredibly musical set of cans. If you keep your eyes peeled, I'd think you'd be able to find one used in the $500-600 range. If you see one in the next 30 days, I would pounce on it - you owe it to yourself to give that set of cans a shot, and you shouldn't lose any money reselling in case you decide to keep the Denons.

The one word of caution I would give is that their isolation is nothing to write home about - probably at least as bad as the Denons.

But the sound....

One edit - the JVC DX1000 that is being mentioned is one of the few high-end headphones I've heard and genuinely disliked. Weird sounding pair of cans, to my ears. Highly recommend try-before-you-buy with those.