[Lunatique]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/wan...detail-454811/

I'm currently contemplating getting one of the Denon AH-DXXXX headphones, but I have no way to testing them where I live. I'm hoping that they have more sub-bass quantity and extension than the ATH-M50, which is the only headphone I have heard thus far that comes closest to reproducing the kind of sub-bass that a full-sized subwoofer does (though it could use just a tad more sub-bass quantity/extension).

If any of you actually own a M50 as well, I'd love it if you could test the M50 against your Denon(s) in the test posted above.

Someone in that thread already said that his D2000 could barely pass the test, but supposedly the D5000 and D7000 has punchier and more controlled/detailed bass, so I'm hoping they could pass the test. And by "passing" the test, I mean they must detect the sub-bass dropping out the the track when the G notes change to the C notes VERY OBVIOUSLY--if the difference is only subtle and not dramatic, then they barely passed.

Thanks!

 

[Lunatique]

No one?

 

[Cole-Gauthier]

Just tried the track with the D7000 out of my X-fi elite pro and I can say is, it's not head shacking bass. I can hear the bass but no rumble like a sub whatsoever but I can hear the different notes pretty clear.

 

[staerlor]

EDIT: NM, just saw the other thread on the topic.

Lunatique, I'm curious how the HD650s are in this regard.

 

[Lunatique]

Cole-Gauthier - Thanks for doing the test and letting me know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by staerlor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lunatique, I'm curious how the HD650s are in this regard.

The HD650 fails this test, but if I EQ the HD650 in the 30~45Hz region, it can pass the test to roughly the same degree as the ATH-M50.

Generally speaking, I'd be happy to find a pair of headphones that combines the punchy bass/ sub-bass performance of the M50 with the smoothness, soundstage, and openess of the HD650, while keeping the non-fatiguing treble/high-mids of both. I'm hoping the D7000 fits the bill.

 

[Nachkebia]

I am with D5000 and I am willing to do the test but it is very confusing...

 

[Lunatique]

Nachkebia - That's ok. Tyll from HeadRoom already did the test on the Denons, T1, HD800...etc in this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f77/he...fusing-468652/

 

[David.M]

can i do this test?

i have the DT990's

 

[Lunatique]

David - Sure thing, but it's probably best to report your test results in that original test thread, as this thread is about the Denons.

 

[odigg]

I just did it with a D7000. With a flat EQ I did not hear it easily. When I bumped up the frequencies ~100hz and below by ~3db, I heard it easily. Keep in mind that I was expecting it based on your description of the change so this made it easier for me to hear it.

I also have a D5000 that is stored away. I suspect it would be similar but I can dig it out if you'd like. That'll take me a day.

I'd also like to make a comment on speakers versus headphones for bass. A few days ago I was at a dealer listening to some Dynaudio speakers and was just memorized by Avishai Cohen's - Smash. The bass was just incredible.

I came home really looking forward to listening to this track on the D7000. To be honest, it just doesn't sound the same. The texture, notes, and all that stuff if there, but the impact is so flat. It's as if a dimension of bass is missing with headphones. The music isn't the same.

That dimension I'm talking about, obviously, is the physical feeling of bass. There has been some recent headphone research showing that full body vibration (the type you get from bass) accounts for about a 6db gain in bass for "flat" headphones. By this I mean that researchers found that people tended to provide a +6db bass EQ to headphones when the apparatus for whole body vibration was turned off.

So if you want to reproduce the bass of your monitors, I think headphones are a lost cause. IEMs might actually work better because of bone conduction.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lunatique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by odigg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just did it with a D7000. With a flat EQ I did not hear it easily. When I bumped up the frequencies ~100db and below by ~3db, I heard it easily.

I think you meant 100Hz?

I agree with the 6db thing. I find that with headphones, I have to EQ the sub-bass in order to get it to "feel" more like my monitor speakers, but even then, it's just the frequency response, and the visceral impact is still not the same. There is just something about the way sound wave travels through air that sounds and feels very different. It's much more dimensional.

Tyll of HeadRoom said that when he did the test, the D7000 had more prominent bass than the D5000, but he feels the D5000's bass is a bit more articulate.

I definitely don't want to be using IEM's when I'm home. I prefer to keep them as traveling headphones.

 

[odigg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lunatique /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you meant 100Hz?

Yes. I've corrected my post.

I find the D5000 and D7000 to be very sonically similar. The bass area has some differences.

The bass of the D5000 is plentiful, impactful, and extends well. The downside of this should be clear to anybody who can add a +5db EQ to all frequencies ~200hz and below. There is some boominess, loss of detail/texture, and the bass on bass heavy tracks can bleed into the midrange.

So it made perfect sense to "fix" this with the D7000. However, Denon seems to have done this by rolling off the frequencies below and above whatever frequency (80hz-100hz?) they boosted for"impact." With the D7000 you get more impact and slam, just without as much mud/boom as the D5000. The bass of the D7000 stays in the bass area better than the D5000.

Is this a good thing? I haven't made up my mind even though I've had the D7000 for nearly a year and the D5000 for longer than that. I think Denon sacrificed accuracy for cleaner bass region. I suspect the D5000 is more accurate in the lower registers, to the limits of a headphone with boosted bass.

Also, I haven't heard the D5000 in a while but D7000 has a boosted upper midrange. The D7000 has a remarkably forward midrange for a headphone with so much bass and this is how they've done it. They coloration is easy to detect if you are coming from speakers or headphones with a flatter midrange.

I can't recommend the D5K or D7K for making music but I suspect the D5K would be more competent for that purpose.

For simply listening to music, that's up to individual preference. I find both to be excellent, but I find the midrange of the D5000 to be easier to listen to with music that consists of real instruments and voices as opposed to techno like music with a great amount of bass energy.