[thugboi]

Im going to start doing music production and ive done a lot of research and came to the conclusion that the denon Ahd 2000 is the way to go. A lot of people on this forum seem to like them a lot. But recently i visitied a local music store and they told me that i should get audio technica ath-m50. They all recommended this headphone to me. Im just woundering what you guys think? Any feed back would be appreciated....
 
thanks!
 

 

[Gradoman]

I bet £10 they just happen to sell audio technica ath-m50

 

[Thommohawk]

Basic economics at play too (and politics if you include store stock bias) the Denon cost significantly more money and are much better built than the M50. Yes many people rate the M50 highly, but then the D2000 isn't exactly without popularity either. 
 
I'm no expert with either headphone myself, in fact I've never heard either of them. But it wouldn't surprise me if the D2000 had better bass and a richer texture to the music not to mention better seperation and soundstage. I wouldn't know, but I wouldn't be surprised as the price difference suggests this. Though if there's one thing I've learned about headphones (in the low end at least) is that price means nothing in relation to quality. 

 

[limpidglitch]

What kind of music production is that?
 
I can't really see a Denon being fit for the task, in any professional setting. Makes as much sense as using a Grado.
 
Head-Fi member Lunatique is an experienced studio mixmaster, and has spent some time finding the 'ideal' headphone for the job. You'd might like to read some of his musings.
 
Here's a nice quote from the above link:
 
"In general, I would say that if you prefer a more delicate and elegant sound, the 007mk2 is for you. If you prefer a creamier and fuller sound, the LCD-2 is for you. If you don’t need substantial deep bass and want a neutral sound with enough detail but not excessively bright, the HD650 would be for you. If you need a pair of sealed-cans for isolation, and want powerful bass with deep extension, enough brightness and detail but not fatiguing, and have a very modest budget, then the M50 is for you. At this point I do not recommend the Denon D7000 (or its younger siblings, the D5000 and D2000) unless you intend to use EQ to make them more acceptably neutral."

 

[tdockweiler]

I think for music production and monitoring, the D2000 and even the M50 would be a poor choice. It seems like one would need a more neutral headphone instead. The M50 is closer to being neutral maybe, but not even close to me. Both i'd consider "Fun" headphones.
 
To my ears the D2000 is far better than the M50 in nearly every way. This is kind of to be expected since it's almost $100 more.
 
Please note that I had the black boxed M50 with the flap. The new one is supposed to be more bright and has less bass perhaps.
 
You may find this hard to believe but my D2000 when connected to a desktop amp has better mids than the M50. In comparison I don't find them recessed, which makes no sense because it goes against what everyone says. Maybe 1-2% compared to a neutral headphone, but that's so low to me it's not even worth mentioning. People seem to say they're recessed as if it ruins the D2000. Maybe they made minor changes to the new 2010 D2000's? Doubt it, but it's possible!
 
The soundstage of the D2000 is also far better than the M50. For being a closed headphone, it has a very good soundstage. It's hard to believe it's closed.
 
Comfort and build quality is also far better. I'm aware of a couple people having some problems with the D2000, but mine are fine so far. If it wasn't for the weight, they'd be some of the most comfortable headphones i've EVER owned. The k240 Studio come in 2nd place for comfort.
 
I found the highs on my M50 very rolled off. Even more so than the SRH-840! The white box versions sounded different to me and are more treble heavy then before to my ears.
 
The bass on my M50 was not very controlled, a bit bloated and boomy. Even without a ton of bass showing up, vocals on my pair were recessed and often slightly hard to hear. On my D2000 they're very easy to hear and I don't find them distant or recessed sounding in any way.
 
It could all be to synergy. I tried them without an amp once and hated them. Without being properly amped I could see them being described as having bloated bass or recessed mids.
 
Chances are that if I had the white box M50 my opinion might change, who knows! Remember that despite all my M50 complaints it was still "good" for a $100 headphone, but not great. The D2000 is only worth the upgrade when amped with a receiver or desktop amp. Definitely not worth it for gaming or for use as a studio monitor. They're a good pair with my k601 for when I need lots more bass.

 

[Slaughter]

I would say these Grammy winning producers would disagree that these are not studio phones. Studios phones are not marketed at head-fi! http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/happenings/8348746d4fb8725b/index.html

 

[Dead-Vocalist]

Hi everyone,
 
True enough Lunatique doesn't like Denon's much and favors ATH-50ms (perhaps he will comment again here.)  However there are several people on the Gearslutz forum that like the Denon 2000s for professional applications.  I do have a pair and I like them a lot but I have to admit I have not heard the ATH-m50s.  The Denons certainly appear to have flatter frequency response than the ATH-50ms on the headphone.com learning center:
(http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID%5B0%5D=243&graphID%5B1%5D=183&graphID%5B2%5D=&graphID%5B3%5D=&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Compare+Headphones )
 
However, Lunatique mentioned there the person that collected the data may have made an error and discussed it on this forum somewhere.  I haven't been able to find it though.  Of note, according to the headphone.com data the ATH-m50s are more isolating though both headphones are closed.
 
By way of providing some information that speaks well of the Denon 2000s, they were one of the finalist headphones in some testing conducted by a fairly well known sound engineer, Dave Rat, and his thoughts about Denon 2000s are summarized in his video at 7:45 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHkb4bhdnRA&feature=related .
 
Anyway, the Denon AH-D2000 had more detailed sound to my ears than any of the other headphones I was able to test at a local music store, which included SRH440s and 840s and HD 280 pros. If you do choose to go with the Denons, keep your eye out for an electronics expo coupon and you can get them there for $190.  I am very happy with mine but again have not heard the ATH-m50s.
 
I hope this helps some.