This is the closest post I've seen that I agree with. I had a chance to audition both the 800s (stock, maybe reterminated, can't remember what is stock on the HD800s) and the 7ks (with J$ pads, otherwise stock) at a meet with recordings that I am intimately familiar with (I was there, I made the recording, I've listened to the recording on a eleventy million systems and often at that, in short; I *know* what it sounded like).
A couple of my notes (there are purely my perceptions, take them for what you will): I found them
tonally to be similar, and that was my primary factor among others. The Denon's had more bass but I thought it was closer to what I heard during the recording process. The HD800s were excellent at displaying the music, no doubt.
The downsides I found were:
The Denons have more bass then the Senns. The Senns have some strange peak around 6k or 7k (it's under 7.5k and 8, I know that much) that I would have EQ'ed about 3-5db off of. Last, the 800s have just a touch of grit (sounds almost like sand stuck under a high-hat, the HD600s have a lot of it) around the around 7.5k, maybe 9khz. I could hear it in the low end of a cymbol crash and only on occasion, where as I heard liquid in that range for the Denons. The Denons have about a 1db recessed mid range. I thought the Denons reminded me of my Westone UM3X the most of the two.
I'd be content with either and I suspect you probably will be as well, but I personally chose the Denons. On a side note, I got the marklmod 7ks, and they still have thunderous bass, but if when you put them on and shorten the band on top by one click shorter then normal, it resolves that problem (and they sound rather nice after that). The J$ pads seem to sort of lock onto your head more, but that's neither here nor there.
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I'd take the D7000 as more neutral overall however the bass quality (not quantity) is better on the HD800. I'm one of the people who think that a good headphone will serve you as just one and will be suitable for all music genres, all you need is just find your sound. If somebody advises you to have several hi-end headphones then it means each one sucks in some way so it is no hi-end in the end. The D7000 is kind of hi-fi headphone but a bit fun oriented. Tonally it's pretty accurate, closer to neutrality than the HD800 and it won't make your music corrupted emotionally which IMHO the HD800 does. It turns everyrhing into analysing a dead body. It's presentation lacks emotions, is boring or just dead and you need a supa dupa hi-end components to make them move. The D7000 is low impedance however you will benefit quite much from an amplifier. It's weakest point is the bass. It's fun but not so extended from the lower side and kind of one note. The resonance is well spread all over the mid-bass region so it won't hurt but it's just like a better subwoofer, in most cases satisfying. I chose the Grado PS1000 for myself but I appreciate the D7000 for what they are, and I haven't heard the Beyerdynamic T1 however it's very probable I would recommend it to you as well. Good luck in making the right choice!
