Hmm...
Sovkiller sometimes can't help himself when it comes to the E9's...
My 2 cents.
I've owned the D2000's, not the 5000's and certainly not Markl modified 5000's. (BTW, kudos to Markl, who's opinions I've found to be spot on, see my sig for his influence) The Denon's I found good but a bit murky when compared to the best phones. I'm sure the 5000's are better.
As for the E9s, I've found them pretty close to L3000's, K1000's, and other similar quality phones, yet with a unique presentation. Maybe even a, let's call it, eccentric presentation.
At first I thought that the S-logic was a bit of marketing hype too. But oddly enough, I've actually come to think there's something to it.
I'm not going to get into a description of the sound but more what the phones do to my perception of the music.
But first I'll digress a bit. My goal for my system is simple. I want to feel that I'm a couple of tables back from a small stage in a room (not a hall or stadium) where the band is performing live. Close enough that I can ask the performers a question about a particular song or particular phrasing choice without having to shout. Think of a smokey jazz bar. With the band setup in the corner. And the bar behind you. Regardless of the type of music.
Anyhow, many phones give wonderful detail, palpable bass, clear mids and beautiful voice presentation.
But, no phone, and precious few speaker systems recreate ambiance like the E9's. At least for me. When I'm truly 'into' the music, I forget where I am and I 'see' the performers. The effect is strong enough that I've found myself visualizing the grimace of a player when he fingers a chord imperfectly. Or maybe I'll see a slight roll of the eyes when Krall sings of a lost lover.
With the E9's, my mental picture is damn near perfect, so much so, I'm not lost in the music. I'm there.
And, frankly, I don't care how they do it. It just happens.
I do think it has something to do with the extra reverberations from the way the drivers are housed. Whether this is S-logic, I dunno and I don't care. And I can understand how the E9s can sound strange at first. It took a while for me, at first I was just listening to music on a phone that sounded a bit different than any other I'd heard. But after a few weeks, I was there, in my smokey bar, with the players in front of me. In color. With cigarette smoke curling up through slowly rotating fan blades, to collect against the pressed tin ceiling. Hell, sometimes I'd find myself looking for a waitress instead of getting up to go to the fridge for a refill.
And that, my friends, is what it's all about.