[TheMafioso]

Hi Guys,
 
So I bought Denon ah-d1100 2 weeks back. I was in love with its sound, but however I found out (the hard way) these are very fragile. I broke its silver plastic arm on side of one of the headphone driver. Though I was at fault as I accidentally stepped on it, but it was very light force as i quickly realized what i done and pulled my foot back quickly but it still snapped, seems really brittle plastic is used by Denon which is a shame as these are $200 cans, it ought to have used better quality materials. I searched and found out other users have complained about this too on headfi. 
 
Anyway I got lucky and was able to get them RMA'ed as these were just 2 weeks old but I'm thinking of getting rid of them once I get them back, since i'm not among the more careful folks, I'm afraid i'll break them again. 
 
I know Creative Aurvana live are similar headphones as they use same drivers, but i wanted to know if these have better build quality ?
Also what are my other options in $120 range which are similar sounding and have better build quality

 

[Dyaems]

prolly same build quality. i never tried stepping on the CAL! though... try sony mdr v6/7506/7509 they have similar sound sig ( V-shaped) with your D1100.
 
you sure its not D1001 that you have? because D1100 and CAL! have different sound, V-shape and U-shape, respectively.

 

[TheMafioso]

thanks for the reply..well I have a d1100. Didn't know cal! sounded different thought to be similar as they have same driver..

 

[darren700]

I have the D1100 as well. I do like them alot (have recabled them as-well), but there is a bit too much bass for my tastes. The EQ with Rockbox solves this problem, but i would prefer not having to EQ.
 
I have ordered a pair of Denon HP700's to try out. They are DJ headphones so the built quality is vastly improved vs the D1100.
The reviews they have got are very positive, supposively sounds better than the Audio technica M50's (Which i upgraded to the Denon D1100's from).

Head-fi Review compairing to Denon D7000: http://www.head-fi.org/t/541654/denon-dn-hp700-review-and-comparison-to-the-ah-d7000
You can buy them here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/544653-REG/Denon_DN_HP700_DN_HP700_Professional_DJ_Headphones.html

 

[DJHeadshot]

Quote:

prolly same build quality. i never tried stepping on the CAL! though... try sony mdr v6/7506/7509 they have similar sound sig ( V-shaped) with your D1100.
 
you sure its not D1001 that you have? because D1100 and CAL! have different sound, V-shape and U-shape, respectively.

I wouldn't call the V6 similar in sound at all to the Denon D1100 which have way more bass more akin to Sony's extra bass line of headphones then the v6 which has a much flatter sound and will sound alot brighter in comparison.

 

[DJHeadshot]

Quote:

thanks for the reply..well I have a d1100. Didn't know cal! sounded different thought to be similar as they have same driver..

The discontinued Denon D1001 and the CAL share the same drivers the Cal and denon d1100 use totally different drivers 40mm vs 50mm and have quite different sound.  I think you should look into headphone like the M Audio Q40 or Ultrazone 580 given your preference for bass.

 

[TheMafioso]

Quote:

I have the D1100 as well. I do like them alot (have recabled them as-well), but there is a bit too much bass for my tastes. The EQ with Rockbox solves this problem, but i would prefer not having to EQ.
 
I have ordered a pair of Denon HP700's to try out. They are DJ headphones so the built quality is vastly improved vs the D1100.
The reviews they have got are very positive, supposively sounds better than the Audio technica M50's (Which i upgraded to the Denon D1100's from).

Head-fi Review compairing to Denon D7000: http://www.head-fi.org/t/541654/denon-dn-hp700-review-and-comparison-to-the-ah-d7000
You can buy them here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/544653-REG/Denon_DN_HP700_DN_HP700_Professional_DJ_Headphones.html

 
Let me know how does HP700 compare to the d1100, very interested to know after reading the reviews
 
I checked out reviews for Ultrazone 580 and q40, both of them seem to fit the bill, damn its too confusing..although the comfort level is less as mentioned in shoot out. I do sometimes watch movies with can, denons were very comfortable for that..
 
Also I dont have any headphone amp right now, but planning to invest Fiio e6, so I can go with those headphones which require amp..

 

[darren700]

Ok, so i just pulled them from burn in (after 48 hours). Sounds great to me so far. Less bass than the D1100 for sure, but it still kicks good. I find the bass in the D1100 bleeds into the mid-range a bit and there is just gobs of it. The bass in the HP700's is alot less prominent but imo has better quality than the D1100 bass. There is enough bass with the HP700 for my tastes.
 
the mids and treble sound very good to me, IMO a step up from the D1100.
 
I will probably keep both cans, just so i can choose which one to use based on my mood, but i have a feeling ill be using the HP700's alot more with my portable setup
(Ipod 5.5G 240gb Rockboxed w/ JDS Labs C421).
 
 
Comparison between the two was done with Audio-GD NFB-3.1 feeding the JDS Objective 2 Amp.
 
 
Also, i really despise the coiled cable, theres already a spot where its not even with the rest...)
I will probably end up recabling these with Canare Mini-starquad eventually (if i can figure out how to get them apart!)
 
hope this helps!

 

[Dyaems]

Quote:

I wouldn't call the V6 similar in sound at all to the Denon D1100 which have way more bass more akin to Sony's extra bass line of headphones then the v6 which has a much flatter sound and will sound alot brighter in comparison.
 
-pic snipped-

sorry but i dont "listen" by looking at graphs, i only comment based on what i have already listened. and i heard the d1100 and the v6. maybe my comment is abit off since english is not my language, but i still feel that the d1100 and the v6 has that V-shaped sig. maybe because of both headphone's midrange.
 
@OP, maybe try m50 if you want similar sound at the same price?

 

[TheMafioso]

Ok, so i just pulled them from burn in (after 48 hours). Sounds great to me so far. Less bass than the D1100 for sure, but it still kicks good. I find the bass in the D1100 bleeds into the mid-range a bit and there is just gobs of it. The bass in the HP700's is alot less prominent but imo has better quality than the D1100 bass. There is enough bass with the HP700 for my tastes.

the mids and treble sound very good to me, IMO a step up from the D1100.

I will probably keep both cans, just so i can choose which one to use based on my mood, but i have a feeling ill be using the HP700's alot more with my portable setup
(Ipod 5.5G 240gb Rockboxed w/ JDS Labs C421).


Comparison between the two was done with Audio-GD NFB-3.1 feeding the JDS Objective 2 Amp.


Also, i really despise the coiled cable, theres already a spot where its not even with the rest...)
I will probably end up recabling these with Canare Mini-starquad eventually (if i can figure out how to get them apart!)

hope this helps!

Thanks for your help buddy. I'm definitely leaning towards HP700 now but however, I just got a refund instead of replacement for my current headphones and I might be able to keep them too if UPS doesn't decide to pick them up. If they don't...I'll try to get them repaired (somehow ). I know superglue might help but it won't be durable. Any other way to get it fixed ? Are denon spare parts available since it just a plastic arm which snapped or will denon fix it if I take it to them ?