[pataburd]

[This review was excerpted from the PL750 v. D2000 thread. I will be closing out my posts there shortly and moving the discussion to this thread.)

06/06/08
Very First Impressions (and Recollections of the Proline750)
[Tubes: 1x Generis 6SN7GTB (Japan) & 2x Raytheon 6SN7GT]

Just got the D2000 in-house: a nice-looking, nice-feeling and nice-fitting set of headphones. I like the look and finish of the composite material Denon developed for the ear cups, too.

While they are definitely bass-prominent, their bass is not as extended or controlled as the PL750 (to the best of my recollection). The D2000, to my ears, are a bit fat in the lower midbass, and not as textured or articulate as the PL750.

The Denon's highs are fairly good, smoother and more delicate/refined-sounding than the PL750. I wouldn't go quite as far as to say that the D2000 are more extended in the treble, though.

Mids on the D2000 are smooth and sweetish. With the PL750 the mids were more raw and visceral to my ears, with an almost haunting immediacy with female vocals.

Overall, the D2000 strike me as less neutral and more "fun" sounding than the PL750. The D2000's over-emphasis in the bass can make them sound slower to me, too. With the smooth, sweet mids and highs, the D2000 wax just a bit too syrupy (read: euphonic) for my listening tastes.

NOTE: (a) These are my first, unchecked stream-of-consciousness impressions, but I must be honest and say that I don't particular like the D2000 right out of the chute.
(b) I bought my D2000 used, two months old and, according to the seller they were reportedly "well burned in.” I think I remember reading that it does take a while for the D2000's bass to settle down and tighten up (300+ hours). Right now its lower mid bass is tubby and fatiguing for my ears. It very well may be a burn in issue at this point, however.


Do the D2000 and the Bada PH-12 Match Well?
IMHE, I heard no hum or edginess while using the Bada with the D2000, just fatiguingly prominent/uncomfortably percussive lower mid bass. [Contrary to popular belief, I also witnessed excellent synergy between the Bada and Grado 325i (given careful tube selection).]

Having said that, the D2000's 25 ohm impedance is outside the Bada's published 30 to 600 ohm design range; information which gave me reservations about purchasing the D2000 in the first place. Next week, I would like to try the Denon with my (SS) AVR-1905 and listen for appreciable differences, positive and/or negative.

Interesting how impedance mismatching apparently seems to exacerbate the Grado's treble prominence and the Denon's bass prominence. I don't know enough about this topic at all, in terms of understanding its disparate effects on two very different-sounding headphones.


06/09/08
The Bada Re-tubed and the D2000 Re-visited
[Tubes: 1x Sylvania 6SN7GTA & 2x Raytheon 6SN7GT]

Just re-tubed with a Sylvania 6SN7GTA driver (while keeping the 2x Raytheon 6SN7GT in place). Also, switched my DakiOm F203* (Dr. Kim Dao's feedback stabilizer that interfaces between the amp and headphones via the 1/4" SE jack) with an earlier experimental/beta version that has a wider impedance tolerance. No hum, background is very quiet with no music playing through the Bada.

The "tubby" bass has settled down, strengthened, deepened a little and become less concussion-inducing. The D2000 sound nice and weighty, open and smooth, but without the euphonic tinge of last Friday. Highs are smooth and detailed; ditto for the midrange. While still sounding bass-prominent, the Denon's balance is more believable and correspondingly enjoyable. Speed, pace and timing are also much improved from last Friday's first foray, with no sluggishness or syrupiness evident.

Will keep the D2000 on all day today. Right now Paul McCartney's "Let 'em In" sounds very, very good, with McCartney's bass pushing and driving the piece well.

Thank God for the Sylvania 6SN7GTA! : ) Tomorrow, God willing, I'll exchange the Raytheons with 2x CBS 6SN7GT, which are leaner, quicker tubes (in an attempt to further rein in the bass). And we'll see what happens. (Keep in mind that the guy sharing these observations prefers the likes of the AKG K501, Etymotic ER-4S, Sony MDR-SA5000, etc.)

Just put on The Glenn Miller Orchestra's In the Digital Mood (GRP records).
(1) The title track moves along just swell, with fairly clean differentiation and respectable resolution of the various brass instruments. The bass lines are well established and well articulated, rhythmic and easy to follow without being overly obtrusive.
(2) Vocals on "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" are clear and velvety smooth; transients sound crisp and nicely balanced. Damping of the final cymbal hit was prolonged and enjoyable.
(3) "String of Pearls" (undoubtedly, one of my all-time favorite Glenn Miller compositions) is served well by the D2000. On this cut I began to notice and appreciate their bass solidity and definition, together with a openness and delicacy in the highs and mids, especially in the mellow, mounting first few measures of this quintessential swing standard.
(4) The Denon handle the wide-ranging dynamic arcs of "Tuxedo Junction" skillfully, moving from a few trickling measures on the piano with a polite high hat and a few lazy muted horns to full-belting brass sections, stomping kick drum and loud cymbal crashes, with a remarkable ease.
(5) The D2000 gave me a lot to like with "Pennsylvania 6-5000." Saxophone arrangements were rich, sonorous and smooth without losing a sense of liveliness. I especially enjoy hearing the telephone ring—always did on this song—then the male vocals chiming in in unison with "Pennsylvania 6-5000!" This has been one of my favorite swing pieces since I was in my teens (when cigarettes were only 48 cents a pack). : )

Yes, the D2000 do indeed swing, and have captured my undivided attention with these tracks (which are not recorded bass-heavily to begin with, BTW). : )

In short: I've finally gotten my AH-D2000 "ears on"—and I like what's been going on in them for the last 40 minutes or so! And I hasten to add that the Proline 750 (to the best of my recollection) never sounded as rich, smooth and refined as the D2000 do today. : )

*An Unabashed PLUG (literally) for DakiOm:
If you have not tried DakiOms, you really should. With the 30-day money-back policy (that Kim Dao responsibly honors) you can't go wrong—they're worth a try at least. I've used them (R203, HR203, MA203 and F203) in my systems for several years with great success, so much that I consider them “indispensable” tweaks. Everything seems to work more efficiently and synergistically with the negative Feedback Stabilizers in place.

Here's the DakiOm link:
DakiOm - The Power of True Sound - Audio Accessories For Improving The Sound Quality of Audio Systems. Discover Dakiom Feedback Stabilizers!

O.K. They Swing. But can the D2000 Rock?
The cd, Santana (Columbia Legacy SBM re-master), an arguably "bassy" recording for starters, sounded too much of just that with the D2000. The lower mid bass in particular simply overpowered every cut on this album, squelching the high and middle frequencies and casting a bit of a pall above everything. The highs and mids were good, once I "normalized" the excess bass as best I could, but the entire cd sounded, to my ears, gorged with lower mid bass.

Classic Country to the Rescue
For some temporary relief, I got out the compilation, Country U.S.A. 1960, a collection of what, for-the-most-part, typically tended to be thin- or sharp-sounding recordings over the K501 and K701. Coupled with the lean driver tube (Sylvania 6SN7GTA), I thought of this as the "Slimfast" approach to reducing the Denon's excess bass weight.

Here, the D2000's warmth and familiar smoothness were both welcome and positively (and predictably) effective.
(1) Cowboy Copas' "Back to Alabam'" sounded warm and balanced, with detailed ring from the strings, and full-bodied tone from the belly of the lead acoustic guitar, and classic but not overly-biting twang in the pedal steel. In addition, Copas' voice was filled out very nicely and credibly by the D2000.
(2) Hank Thompson's vocal was smooth, deep, detailed and and alluring—if you can imagine that—on "Six Pack to Go."
(3) The D2000 smoothed some of the recorded glare from Hank Snow's voice on "Miller's Cave," but without hiding its goose-billed honkiness, either.
(4) Even Bobby Bonds' "Hot Rod Lincoln" came across with a vocal depth and warmth I'd never heard before but which, at the same time, sounded natural and not artificially induced.

In brief, this, by-and-large, is best this cd ever sounded to my ears (with the possible exception of the fairly bass-tilted recording of Johnny Horton's "North to Alaska").


Rock and Roll, Part 2.
The Very Best of Eric Burdon and the Animals 1966-1968 (PolyGram). Another attack of the pesky blood-slurping Transylvanian's cousin, the balance-draining "Count Bass-y." Too much lower midbass, and unfocused lower midbass at that. "See See Rider" was bullied nigh out of control by the Denon's brash bass overstatement.

Aside from that—and it's a big "that", I liked what the D2000 did for these recordings, though. Everything but the bass sounded great on "Hey Gyp" (especially the key strikes on organ/keyboard work). The bass-light, monoraul "Sandoz" was (predictably) well rendered by the D2000. On more positive notes, the bass on "San Francisco Nights" sounded a tad better controlled. By the time I queued up "Monterey," the bass was sounding surprisingly good: deep, fairly taut and articulate. On "White Houses," the bass sounded positively prodigious! At this point, I attributed the bass bloat catalogued earlier to deficiencies in the recording; either that or I—having lapsed into a state of auditory denial to rationalize my purchase of the Denon—had by now fully acclimated to the bass-prominent "overcast skies." : )

Next, some 60's pop: Spankey and Our Gang's Greatest Hits (Mercury). One of the D2000's particularly emerging strengths—at least for me, today—is their ability to miraculously breathe new life and warmth into an old recording. This cd is a case in point. Never have I heard these tracks portrayed with such smoothness and ease, but at the same time with a heretofore never-before achieved (or discernible) level of detail. And the Denon's bassiness is again working favorably. Wow! Where did that bold, moving bass line come from on "Lazy Day"? It really brings a new and positively additive dimension to these old tracks. And it isn't indiscriminate dark fuzz, either; it is full, rich, articulate bass from an old, un-remastered collection of songs that I would have thought until now had no "real" bass to speak of. The bass lines on "And She's Mine" were incredibly well articulated.

Are these the same headphones I put on this morning??? : ) : ) : )

Needless to say, this entire cd was a joy to experience through the D2000. They can pull of the seemingly impossible—or at least the curiously paradoxical; that is, they can be forgiving, but correspondingly more revealing at the same time. Until now, I've had a similar experience with only one other product, the K340. Now that's something the Proline 750 cannot/couldn't do, either, IMHO! : )


Rock and Roll, Part 3:
The D2000 did a fine job with Creedence Clearwater Revival's Chronicle collection (Fantasy). Bass was deep, fairly plucky and, as it were, effortlessly controlled on "Down on the Corner."

Go figure. Maybe these headphones were not actually fully burned as I was told when purchasing them. Or maybe, being thrice bitten . . . I'm undergoing the . . . transformation . . . into . . . a . . . —No! This cannot be, cannot be! I say, happening to me!— I’m turning . . . into a BASS head! (I'm having a difficult time biting back a fiendish giggle right about now.) : )


D2000 and (What I Recall About) the ATH-A900LTD
Being not an altogether unwitting accessory to hijacking, I would say—concluding [be advised] from my longterm memory—that the A900LTD lacked the high frequency extension, the low frequency extension, the openness and the drive of the D2000. Like the D2000, the A900LTD did a lot of things well, just not quite (and perhaps not nearly) as well, IMHO, as the D2000.

Hearing the D2000 for the first time brought the A900LTD immediately to my mind. To me, the D2000 are everything that I wistfully hoped the A900 could have been--and more. The A900, in the end and to my ears (immediately before I composed their FS thread), just couldn't quite escape beyond the borders of "so-so."

My goodness, I just requeued "She's Mine" from the Spankey and Our Gang cd for the third time! The bass is absolutely superlative on this cut: deep and articulate, but smooth and creamy at the same time. Yum! Yum! : ) And while the bass may have (just barely) gotten this deep with the Proline 750, it certainly was never as liquidy and tantalizing as it is on the D2000 right now.

Bassfully Yours,
PAB


D2000 and (What I [further] Recall About) the Ultrasone Proline 750
Right now, I have the D2000 leading by nearly three lengths over the Proline 750 of erstwhile memory. Keep in mind that, while it has been been several months since I last donned the PL750, my Prolines were RAL re-cabled, no less. For a closed headphone—and my field of expertise is by no means exhaustive in this area (re: ATH-A900LTD, PL750, K340 and D2000)—the D2000 are the best I've heard so far.

And at current street prices, the Denon are a better bargain to boot, IMHO. : )

Note, too, that the D2000 do scale up quite well when amped, sounding less laid back and more open and detailed from top to bottom. (Run straight out of my computer, the D2000 do not achieve appreciable volume and lack “kick.”) I would venture to say that they even acquire more airiness when amped. So it sounds like the D2000 are headphones you can enjoy unamped then, after you get an after you get an amp—should you choose to do so later on, headphones you can enjoy a whole lot more! : )


Monday Evening Ruminations about the D2000’s Bass Response
My experience with the D2000 earlier today seemed to be recording-dependent. On some tracks (like Santana's "Persuasion"), the Denon sounded sloppy (with too much lower mid bass), but on other tracks (like Spankey and Our Gang's "And She's Mine"), the D2000's bass was deep, tight and amazingly articulate.

Funny, depending on what cut I was listening to at the time, the D2000 conveyed some of the best bass, or some of the worst bass, I've ever heard, which leads me to believe that the Denon are well-resolving in the lower frequencies, and that the recordings themselves and not the D2000 in particular may be the source of perceived anomalies in the bass region.

You know, I often take it for granted that the bass on most songs is well-recorded, but that may not be true (and in every single case, it is certainly not true). If harsh, tinny treble can be attributable to faulty recording—and discernible with headphones that resolve well in that frequency range (e.g. the Sony MDR-SA5000 or Grado SR-325i), then why not extend the analogy to recordings with poor bass and headphones with especially fine bass resolution (e.g. [I submit] the Denon D2000)?

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pataburd /img/forum/go_quote.gif You know, I often take it for granted that the bass on most songs is well-recorded, but that may not be true (and in every single case, it is certainly not true). If harsh, tinny treble can be attributable to faulty recording—and discernible with headphones that resolve well in that frequency range (e.g. the Sony MDR-SA5000 or Grado SR-325i), then why not extend the analogy to recordings with poor bass and headphones with especially fine bass resolution (e.g. [I submit] the Denon D2000)?

I think that is what I concluded. Bass quality is highly recording dependent, and sometimes we blame the headphone or speaker when it is just resolving the truth. To hear drums recorded well, I use the Sheffield Drum and Track Record (CD) as my reference, which is my litmus test for tight bass. If there is overhang on the speaker or headphone, this CD shows it pretty well.

I don't really have a problem with the bass on the D2000. It isn't as tight as my main speaker system but the tonal balance is uncannily correct across the whole frequency range up to the lower highs. There is a bit of Grado-like upper mid emphasis/lower treble emphasis, but it's mostly well controlled.

 

[Mudshark]

Either I am getting used to it, or the bass on my Denon D2000's is settling down and settling in as the new cans break in. The bass was overpowering at first, but last night the bass sounded tuneful and proportional.

 

[pataburd]

06/10/08
[Tubes: 1x Mullard ECC33 & 2x CBS 6SN7GT]
The Bada has been re-tubed with the midrange-rich and slightly bass-shy 1x Mullard ECC33, together with the 2x CBS 6SN7GT, whose signature is appreciably more solid state-ish than tubey. My goal is to bring the D2000’s midrange further forward while trimming the bass a bit more.

By the sound of things on Angela Bofill’s album Angie, the tubing tact has apparently succeeded. The Denon’s ever-looming/ear-bopping lower mid bass has been muted/blunted a little and Angie’s soulful voice has moved more to the fore. The D2000 sound more extended, detailed and airy on top, too, relinquishing a small degree of treble smoothness in the trade. Horns exhibit more bite and flutter: there is more high frequency texture and dynamics. This is probably a worst case study: bass-wise, given the bass emphasis inherent in the original recording of this cd, midrange and treble-wise, given the brassy tone in Angie’s voice and high notes on Dave Grusin’s electric piano.

Duke Ellington Orchestra, Digital Duke (GRP)
(1) On “Satin Dolls” the D2000 serve up a slight excess of lower mid bass. [In retrospect, the ECC33 may actually be encouraging this unwelcome tendency with the Denon.] Everything else, save a tiny bit of ringy-ness in the upper piano registers, sounds respectably accurate and balanced: tonally, timbrally and dynamically. Tomorrow I’d like to re-insert the Sylvania and keep the CBS tubes in.
(2) “Cottontail” moves along very briskly. The D2000 exhibit admirable speed and just the right pace on this rapid-fire performance.
(3) Now, the sultry “Prelude to a Kiss,” its wistful mood fully captured and faithfully conveyed by the D2000. The clarity and detail of brush work on the high hat shimmers. The alto sax solo blends/interacts seamlessly with the piano and muted brass accompaniment. Bass lines are quieter in this composition, but the lower mid bass still sounds slightly swollen, somewhat strangling the fairly flawless and fluid mids and highs.
(4) The clarinet solo on “Moonlight Indigo” was smooth, detailed and nuanced, offering such believably and beautifully warm tones. The trumpet solo, likewise. My brain has begun to normalize the over productive bass and this piece becomes resultantly more and more enjoyable. The D2000 manage to be pleasingly “warm,” but without lapsing into “dark,” with their presentation.

06/11/08
[Tubes: 1x Sylvania 6SN7GTB & 2x CBS 6SN7GT]
I’ve exchanged the Mullard ECC33 for the more balanced and neutral Sylvania 6SN7GTB. Based on yesterday’s experiment, the Mullard encouraged too much lower mid bass bloom from the D2000. The Sylvania 6SN7GTB is smoother and more refined, IMHE, than its GTA elder cousin while retaining the latter’s positive strengths.

To begin, I revisited the Digital Duke cd. [The bane of equipment changes is the corresponding forced reiteration of the same musical selections (in order to better detect an equipment-related difference in sound).] Much, much better! : ) The lower mid bass bloat is down to a minimum, (and at least as a partial result) treble extension and detail are enhanced and the midrange is politely forward. Airiness, soundstage depth and dimensionality are also improved. [The more I hear the Sylvania 6SN7GTB, the more I like this tube. In this particular application it significantly betters the Mullard ECC33 (which is not BTW, I believe, an exact 6SN7-equivalent).] The D2000’s treble and midrange refinement and delicacy really come through now on this recording. But I must concede that the lower mid bass still sounds bulbous, not in the sense of being overly prominent, but in the sense, rather, of not being under tight control (how much of this is recording-dependent vs. D2000-dependent?).

Just revisited In the Digital Mood. Bass seems more solid and controlled on this disc than on Digital Duke. I must conclude that the bass tracks on the latter were not as well recorded as on the former.

. . . The FedEx man just delivered the HD600. . . . : )

 

[goober-george]

Nice, detailed review as always. How much more laid back would you say the Denon D2000 are compared to Grado's in general?
Oh.. can't wait for the HD600 vs D2000 showdown, looking forward to the review.

 

[Citizen86]

I think I'm planning on this being my next headphone... now all I need is $250 and an online store to put them back on sale

BTW Very nice subjective review, I enjoyed it.... Do you listen to any rock music that is a little more aggressive than CCR that you could tell us about?

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

Quote:

Overall, the D2000 strike me as less neutral and more "fun" sounding

Not surprised. Good detailed review.

 

[dreamwhisper]

great stuff,
thanks for sharing

 

[pataburd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Citizen86 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think I'm planning on this being my next headphone... now all I need is $250 and an online store to put them back on sale BTW Very nice subjective review, I enjoyed it.... Do you listen to any rock music that is a little more aggressive than CCR that you could tell us about?

C86,
Do you have any "little more aggressive" rock pieces/performers in mind? My rock tastes reside mainly in the late sixties and early seventies. If I have something on hand that fits the bill for you, God willing, I'll see how the D2000 perform with it. : )
PAB

 

[pataburd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jilgiljongiljing /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not surprised. Good detailed review.

JGJGJG,
Keep in mind that that "more fun-sounding than neutral" assessment was primarily linked to a driver tube (Generis/Japan 6SN7GTB). The Sylvania 6SN7GTA put a decidedly more neutral slant on the D2000's performance.

As the audition progressed, I eventually opted for "leanness" and "transparency" in my tube choices. So far, I've probably liked the 1x Sylvania 6SN7GTA & 2x Raytheon 6SN7GT combination the best. : )

PAB

 

[pataburd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goober-george /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice, detailed review as always. How much more laid back would you say the Denon D2000 are compared to Grado's in general? Oh.. can't wait for the HD600 vs D2000 showdown, looking forward to the review.

GG,
To my ears the D2000, while not as up-front in the treble as the Grados I've tried, still sound fresher and more vibrant, maybe because of their [D2000's] more balanced, refined and smoother rendering of the high frequencies. The Grados have a lot--I would unhesitatingly say excessive--treble energy and tend to impose an unnatural speed to the overall presentation. When I think of the way Grados perform, it reminds me of the "butter-smeared-around-the-outside-of-a-basketball" model for explaining the activity of electrons: fast, even frantic, activity that occupies the outer shell(s) of an atom. But after the frenetics of that sort of listening experience wear off, you're left without a nucleus, without a substantial gravitational core to anchor, or to sustain and properly order all that motion.

To me, the D2000 are very well paced, very believably paced, and bring a complimentary "nuclear" aspect to the listening experience. An instrument being played at a faster pace than others in the same mix sounds fast, while another instrument settling into a comparatively slower rhythm/rate in the same mix moves along at its own recognizably distinct speed. Owing to the manner in which they keep excellent pace, the D2000 happily remind me a bit of the K340.

The D2000 have an agility that I believe is more uniform and correctly cadenced across the frequency band, with the exception, often recording-specific, of a slowed sense of bass attack/speed (because of over-expressed lower mid bass). The SR-325i had tremendous high frequency agility (which is what I liked most about them), but in my experience their treble quickness, enhanced--or exacerbated, depending on what frame of mind you were in--by their treble forwardness, imposed a pseudo-acceleration/velocity and pronounced high frequency coloration on everything.

The D2000 are not slow; they are fairly fast--with a speed that is directly proportional, and apportioned precisely "as-needed," to the various constituent rhythmic elements of the recording, but they combine speed with an almost spell-binding liquidity, and therein lies one of their (many) ways of bettering the likes of an SR-225 or 325i--in my mind, and to my ears, anyway. : )

These Denon D2000 are some of the most promising headphones I've heard in a while, and my favorite among the closed offerings I've tried to date. (Be advised: I may--yet again!--be deferring the monies previously earmarked to fund my K501 APS V3 cable upgrade to purchase a(n interim) pair of the ATH-W1000.)

: )

PAB

 

[Citizen86]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pataburd /img/forum/go_quote.gif C86, Do you have any "little more aggressive" rock pieces/performers in mind? My rock tastes reside mainly in the late sixties and early seventies. If I have something on hand that fits the bill for you, God willing, I'll see how the D2000 perform with it. : ) PAB

That's cool. I listen to a broad range of music from soft acoustical guitar music to hard rock/punk type music, to some electronic music. It seems like the Denons would be a pretty decent all-arounder, seems like they have the bass to make bass-heavy music fun, but also have the high's to make rock music enjoyable.

That's what I'm looking for

But yeah, I'm wondering about how it does with faster music I suppose, but maybe you already reviewed that, I'm not familiar with all the songs that you used

 

[pataburd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Citizen86 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's cool. I listen to a broad range of music from soft acoustical guitar music to hard rock/punk type music, to some electronic music. It seems like the Denons would be a pretty decent all-arounder, seems like they have the bass to make bass-heavy music fun, but also have the high's to make rock music enjoyable. That's what I'm looking for But yeah, I'm wondering about how it does with faster music I suppose, but maybe you already reviewed that, I'm not familiar with all the songs that you used

C86,
The D2000, IMHE with what I've heard so far, keep excellent pace. Speed, I would submit, is one of the D2000's stellar qualities. If the track is fast, the D2000 can and will keep exactly abreast of it.

Last night I brought the D2000 home and ran them out of my Denon(!) A/V receiver. There is a cut on Al Jarreau's Heart's Horizon, "Way to Your Heart," (it qualifies as a jazz/funk piece in my book) that offers an unrelenting, wide-ranging, rapid-fire, almost savagely plucked electric bass. I was just as amazed with the D2000's facililty in reproducing and definitively nailing down those bass lines as I was with the performer's startling talent in playing them. The experience left me nearly breathless. But what's just as, or perhaps even more, amazing to me is how the D2000 can carry on a break-neck pace without losing stride, yet still maintain their liquidity and a curiously exhilarating sense of effortlessness.

The only time these headphones sound "slow" to me is when a briskly conceived/executed track has very bloaty, overly prominent, poorly recorded bass that suffocates the mids and drags a bit on the entire song.

Lead and rhythm are served very well by the D2000, too. : )

PAB

 

[Citizen86]

That's what I want to hear

I wonder if anyone has done a comparison between these D2000's and the SR225's... because it seems that the Denon's in comparison seem to do a lot more than the Grado's, in terms of soundstage and bass, although they're probably just slightly overshadowed in speed and mids and highs... that would be my guess from reading around anyways

For just a couple bucks more than the Sr225's, I think I have my eyes set on the D2000's, they seem like a much better all-rounder. Then with the markl mod, they'll probably be fantastic

 

[Golden Monkey]

Nice review, Burd...very comprehensive. Just to throw this in there, since I have both HD650 and D2000:
Impressions on the D2000 alone, I really like this can for rock and metal. Mine are not fully burned in yet, but for really lively recordings, they do a great job. I definitely agree that they are a fun unit, and very revealing...almost mrecilessly so with bad recordings.

The bass extends further than the 650's, and the treble as well, but they don't quite seem to have the grip on the mid-bass that the Senns have. The mids are more recessed than the Senns, and not quite as neutral overall, however the presentation is much more up front, almost to the point that I feel like I'm TOO close to the action (I end up feeling my eyes twitch from bass impact. Not that it booms, but I feel like I'm getting spooked by the sound, lol...). For live music, classical and vocals, I prefer the Senns, however the Denons are great for rock, techno, industrial, metal, etc. Can't really say which I like better overall, it's like comparing french vanilla to vanilla bean gelato...

D2000 strengths:
Lively, dynamic, up front presentation. Lush, deep lows, smooth highs. Easy to drive. Comfortable. Very detailed and revealing.

Weaknesses:
Heavy, don't quite want to stay in place. Somewhat "fragile" feeling. Do not isolate well. Slightly resonant. Recessed mids (may just be my impression, compared to the Senns). Slightly "out of control" bass, can be agressive, and somewhat fatiguing. Not a true "reference" phone, somewhat colored (but I stress that this isn't a true "weakness", just a flavor).

Even with perceived weaknesses, I really like this can a lot. Not something to jog with, but very comfy for long listening sessions, sounds great, looks cool, and a really awesome and fun sound!

I'm planning on eventually Markl-ing mine, either myself or sending them to him to do, but I'm waiting for more burn-in and more time with the phones in order to see if I really WANT to change their sound. Really happy with this can, and a nice compliment to the Sennheisers.