I purchased the Denon from Amazon in February 2012 for $465 and, of course, the price went down the next week. Regardless, this my first set of higher end headphones and they represent a very good value. After listening to them I can fully appreciate the difference between headphones in the $100-$300 range and the quality you get when paying $400 or more. It is well worth the difference. The analysis of the specific nature of sound reproduction of the D5000 is better stated elsewhere. If you are like me, you may have several headphones. I kept thinking there was a perfect pair of headphones in the $200 range. The message here is invest the money you would have spent on 4 pairs in the $100-$300 range, and buy the Denons. Absolutely wonderful.