Jibbie
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2010
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As an AKG K701 owner, I've recently been looking for bassier headphones. I primarily listen to electronic dance music, and have been desiring headphones that incorporate all of the K701 strengths (detail, soundstage, imaging) with a bit more bass. After a bunch of research, I narrowed it down to the Denon D2000, the Beyerdynamic DT990 600ohm, and the Ultrasone Pro 900. Each headphone will be ordered from Amazon, tested, and then returned, until all three headphones have been auditioned and a winner chosen. Each pair of headphones will be tested on my rig, which includes an Ibasso D4 DAC, a Matrix M-Stage amp, and a collection of electronic music in FLAC.
I chose to test the Denon D2000 first, and my impressions are as follows:
Build Quality:
The D2000 look amazing. I almost like the look of them more than my K701s. They have a sleek, modern look while maintaining a refreshingly simple design. While the AKG's boast an elegant sense of style (a style that I love), the Denon's impress by remaining simple. They do feel, however, a bit fragile; even more so than the K701s. The plastic cups have a solid feel, but they are connected to the headband by a few simple screws. This fragility is not a concern, however, as I only use headphones sitting at my computer in my dorm room. As with any piece of electronic equipment, the Denon's should be treated with care.
Sound:
When describing the sound of the D2000, its probably the easiest to start with their bass presence: they have a lot of it. The D2000 provide a deep bass response with plenty of impact. The bass rarely intrudes on the midrange frequencies, and I found that it provided for some enjoyable experiences with electronic music. The bass does, however, have a decent amount of decay, which makes the D2000s a bit slow for many of the drum & bass songs I love. The bass is good, but it's not great. I found it a little too loose for electronica, even though it did provide some much needed impact and volume when coming from the K701.
The mids, while just the tiniest bit recessed, were quite detailed. Where the Denons left me wanting, however, were in vocals. Female vocals have the ability to hypnotize me when presented through my K701s. Vocal trance sounds amazing and incredibly engaging. This quality, unfortunately, just isn't there in Denon D2000. Vocals sounded good, just not mesmerizing.
The D2000 did highs quite nice, however, they did occasionally present some sibilance on songs in which my AKGs do not. High are extended and detailed, but every once and a while, sibilance would creep in, detracting from the overall experience.
The Denon's soundstage, detail, and imaging left me unimpressed, unfortunately. Being used to headphones like the K701s, I have a high demand for expansive soundstage, reference quality detail, and great imaging. When listening to trance through the AKGs, the sound envelops me. Synths flow back and forth, notes stack on top of each other flawlessly, and there seems to be no end in the depth of sound making its way into my ears, its as if I'm listening to speakers. I truly forget I'm wearing headphones. I have no such experience with the D2000s. Because of this, I'm returning them and will be ordering the next headphones on the list, the DT990s. Hopefully, they will incorporate all of the aspects I love about the K701 along with the impressive bass I heard from the Denons. The D2000 are a great pair of headphones with truly great bass, however, it just didn't immerse me in soundstage and detail like the K701s do.
I'll be posting a similar review of the DT990s when I get them.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing everyones opinions on these cans and my review.
Alex
I chose to test the Denon D2000 first, and my impressions are as follows:
Build Quality:
The D2000 look amazing. I almost like the look of them more than my K701s. They have a sleek, modern look while maintaining a refreshingly simple design. While the AKG's boast an elegant sense of style (a style that I love), the Denon's impress by remaining simple. They do feel, however, a bit fragile; even more so than the K701s. The plastic cups have a solid feel, but they are connected to the headband by a few simple screws. This fragility is not a concern, however, as I only use headphones sitting at my computer in my dorm room. As with any piece of electronic equipment, the Denon's should be treated with care.
Sound:
When describing the sound of the D2000, its probably the easiest to start with their bass presence: they have a lot of it. The D2000 provide a deep bass response with plenty of impact. The bass rarely intrudes on the midrange frequencies, and I found that it provided for some enjoyable experiences with electronic music. The bass does, however, have a decent amount of decay, which makes the D2000s a bit slow for many of the drum & bass songs I love. The bass is good, but it's not great. I found it a little too loose for electronica, even though it did provide some much needed impact and volume when coming from the K701.
The mids, while just the tiniest bit recessed, were quite detailed. Where the Denons left me wanting, however, were in vocals. Female vocals have the ability to hypnotize me when presented through my K701s. Vocal trance sounds amazing and incredibly engaging. This quality, unfortunately, just isn't there in Denon D2000. Vocals sounded good, just not mesmerizing.
The D2000 did highs quite nice, however, they did occasionally present some sibilance on songs in which my AKGs do not. High are extended and detailed, but every once and a while, sibilance would creep in, detracting from the overall experience.
The Denon's soundstage, detail, and imaging left me unimpressed, unfortunately. Being used to headphones like the K701s, I have a high demand for expansive soundstage, reference quality detail, and great imaging. When listening to trance through the AKGs, the sound envelops me. Synths flow back and forth, notes stack on top of each other flawlessly, and there seems to be no end in the depth of sound making its way into my ears, its as if I'm listening to speakers. I truly forget I'm wearing headphones. I have no such experience with the D2000s. Because of this, I'm returning them and will be ordering the next headphones on the list, the DT990s. Hopefully, they will incorporate all of the aspects I love about the K701 along with the impressive bass I heard from the Denons. The D2000 are a great pair of headphones with truly great bass, however, it just didn't immerse me in soundstage and detail like the K701s do.
I'll be posting a similar review of the DT990s when I get them.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing everyones opinions on these cans and my review.
Alex
