Today's round of audition included:
Sennheiser HD598
Sennheiser HD4XX something
AKG 701
Denon D600 (brand new)
Denon AH-D2000
My impression were: (and please don't be offended of my criticism of you happen to own one of those, only my personal taste and opinion)
From Bad / worse to Best / good.
It's a tie for worse between the AKG 701 and the Denon D600.
The AKG 701 had zero bass, a huge boost in the upper mids and shimmering / harsh treble. Bad soundstage, no detail retrieval and not all that comfortable. In other words, horrendous.
The D600 was not much better. Extreme Booming Bass, like BOOOOOMING ! not defined, not tight, not impactful, just plain booming mud and really overpowering. The mids were being drown out by the bass, the highs were harsh. And they were very heavy to wear, plus at their smallest size, they were pulling down my ears. The only plus, they looked pretty good, but overall BAAAADDDD.
The Senn 4XX something, don't remember but they were about $200 bucks. Fit and comfort was decent, sound was "ok" if you can't tell the difference between good sound and "ok" sound. For someone playing only mid quality MP3s they would do the job.But compared to anything higher up the food chain, umm..no..
The Sennheiser 598. They sounded pretty good, neutral ish..nothing over pronounced, but nothing magical either. No major complaints on the overall sound, but soundstage and detail retrieval was average at best Comfort wise, they were a bit tight on me. They are a pretty small "form factor" headphone. Small heads, children, it would work. Large heads / ears, not so much. But they were not "uncomfortable" (like the AKG) just too tight for me. I did not dislike their sound, but I know there is much better to be had. And at $550 CA, a bit pricey I think.
By far the best experience today was the Denon AH-D2000. The sound was exactly what I am looking for. Excellent Bass with impact but not over zealous or colored, just right. The mids were very nice and so was the highs, crips but again nothing over the top. Overall sound was excellent. And they are super comfortable to boot ! . The only reason why I could pick out some flaws is because a few days ago I auditioned a pair of Beyer T1s. So, the D2000 sounds really good, but.. the soundstage is no where near the T1 and most apparent is the detail retrieval, the T1s reach DEEP into the music and you can hear things that the D2000 simply cannot reproduce. Store is selling "my last pair" demo D2000 for $400 CA.
Now.. if someone has first hand experience with both the D2000 and the D7000 and tells me that the D7000 is everything the D2000 is BUT with excellent sound stage and deep detail retrieval..and is as, or more, comfortable.. I am ordering a pair right frigging now !!!
I really enjoyed the D2000 sound, more than the T1, but the T1's soundstage and details is just stunning and I want that as well.
Slowly but surely, I am trimming down the list !!
Cheers
Riker