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Originally Posted by ferraro25 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Where are you getting this information? Mind to link several posts saying this besides just markl (and people parroting him)?
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personal audition?
and you don't want to know my opinion of markl
find the older D2000 vs D5000 threads back in the day around the release, most were arguing that the sound is similar enough (and then the whole "oh you need 200 hours to have an opinion" which because 300 and then 400 hours, myth crap, started)
they all use the same driver, have the same enclosure geometry, use the same quality of cable and jack, and same earpads
the only difference is price, earcups, and the termination of the D7000 cable (oh yeah, and the packaging of the D7000)
the earcup differences are between magnesium/plastic/whatever on the D2000 to the wood of the D5000 to the wood of the D7000 (which is more or less the D5000 earcup, with a bit better finishing and its been sealed)
now these differences ARE enough to make some changes happen between the 'phones, like I said they are different, but the price gaps are just too extreme, Denon is selling luxury and flash over diminishing returns of audio quality
the D7000 lists for around $1000 US, and offers minor cosmetic and functional (for example having a 1/4" termination) improvements over the D5000 which lists for around $600 US, the D5000 currently sells for around $450-$500 new, and the D7000 for around $600
that price delta is roughly fair imho (around $100), as the minor tweaks the D7000 offers are benefits (for example they did a better job finishing those cups, so you can't rub the lettering off in a week, and the 1/4 termination is what I'd expect on either 'phone at that price, the packaging is neither here nor there, because like priest said, its about $10 of gimmicks)
but if you look at that, how the D7000 is packaged and marketed, they're selling it more on the "look how luxuriously this is boxed, how nice the box looks, how good these look, how awesome this wood looks" not "there are massive sonic improvements and refinements over the D5000", that isn't to say they aren't better or worse 'phones, but the point I'm making is that the 7000 is more of a cashgrab on Denon's part, not an engineering rework
lets not get into the "these are better than these" or "these are the best headphone" discussions (or the "these are 90% as good as these"), because its all personal preference among the line, the only point I'm really trying to make is that the D7000 is massively overpriced, and bringing the price to $600 is fair
like priest said, nobody was biting at a grand, especially when they've got the majority of the build quality issues the D2000 and D5000 have (i.e: a five year old can still rip them apart the seams with no effort), and the primary selling point from Denon's end is the fancy box, they aren't even trying to say they're "massively better sound quality"
for source information on all of this, you can actually get Denon to more or less divulge is the same equipment:
http://www.usa.denon.com/AH-D7000_Lit0805.pdf D7000 literature
http://www.usa.denon.com/AH-5000_2000_1000-Lit.pdf D5000/2000 literature
now lets look at the 5000/2000 first:
specs are IDENTICAL, excepting those earcups, which means the only way you've got a sound signature change is those earcups, otherwise its the exact same headphone
now look at the 7000 sheet, specs are 110% identical to the D5000 specs, and hidden down there at the bottom, while you've got "luxurious box included" and other marketing vibes all over the thing
and you wanna tell me theres some massive sonic change or improvement between the two, when the marketing litearture even reads identical for the three of them? normally when a vendor makes a product more expensive, its either because its a luxury model (i.e: you get the Escalade over the Yukon, so you get better leather, premium sound, etc) or because it offers better features (i.e: you get the Hummer H2 over the Yukon, because it offers better 4x4 performance (the beauty of this example is all three of these vehicles run the same platform and engine, and one of them won't be in production by July))
to make it technical, lets look at headroom's measurements:
we're talking VERY slight changes between the three of them, its very obviously the same driver and housing geometry, with only the enclosure changing (these are about the changes I'd expect to see from changing housings of speakers slightly)
here's just an example of two different headphones being compared:
and another:
notice how you'll see much larger changes? instead of the lines being more or less on top of each other