[DissonHarmony]

A brief introduction:

 
Hi, I'm Guy and I think I'm starting doing my first steps on becoming an Audiophill.
It's been almost a year since I was planning to get my hand on Sen HD600. I know have the money, but 2 weeks ago I decided to go for cans I can actually use at school/bus, since I find myself spending a lot of time there just sitting wand waiting.
 
I can't imaging myself using the HD600s since first, they are open, and second, their impedance is 300ohm, and I understood driving them through a Portable device would be disappointing and battery-demanding.
 
I hate in-ear phones. Being an obsessive person, I tend to constantly mess with them until I feel they are well-positioned.
I really don't mind "looking like a pilot" and am OK with wearing even not-so-comfy Phones for long durations.
 

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To the point:

 
I'm looking for Closed Headphones with low Impedance I can drive with a Portable Player at the price of up to 400$ range.
 

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Musical preference:

 
Symphonic/Progressive/Power Metal, Power Ballads, Orchestral music similar to movie tracks.
 
The tricky part and the main reason why I created this thread instead of basing my purchase on reviews and other comments you can find on google is that when people say "metal" or "Headphones good for metal" they many time think of (What I call - "Dry Metal") Metallica or some other music based on Distortion, Bass, Drums and rough vocals which is not what I listen to!
 
The Metal I'm listening to usually involves Synths, Piano, Orchesta, Choir, vocalists who sing high, sometimes opera...
 
In addition, while listening, I focus a lot on the vocalist, orchestra and synths.
 
There was an era when I turned the 'Bass Boost' in my audio-driver options on.
It was fun for a while, but I later understood I didn't like it how the bass stole the glare from those mids and highs. 
 
. I think I really like the mids and highs, and that makes the headphone-picking even harder for me.
 
Examples that show what I like pretty well:
 

1) Adagio - Niflheim (This one contains most of the characteristics I like in music).

 
 

 

2) Iron Mask - Freedom Blood (This one is much less symphonic and more energetic, more metal).

 

     

3) Axel Rudi Pell - All the Rest of my Life (Power Ballad).    

 

 

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Phones I've considered/am considering:

 
1) Denon AH-D2000
 
While searching on Google and reading reviews and comparisons, I found they were suitable for metal.
Once again, I cannot be sure that when such people say "metal" they include my taste in it or thing about 'boomy' distortion and bass.
 
I thought those were the phones for me:
Low impedance, Closed, people say the suit for metal, but when I read their bass was quite strong that made me start concerning.
I remembered that "Bass Boost" mode. It was fun in the beginning, but became lame later...
 

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2) Ultrasone HFi 780/750
 
I barely know about them. Some people mentioned them in a thread where the OP said he enjoyed some bands which are not exactly similar, yet has many characteristics that are close to mine.
 
I started checking on Google and some said 780's bass was too strong.
 

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3) Senheiser HD 25-1 II
 
Well, I admit I avoided checking them much. I guess it's their look that psychologically made me 'abandon' them.
 
They look more of a toy and less professional than the others. Something from a lower scale, different league, but hey, I'm hear for the music and not for the looks. In didn't look like a pair that can actually isolate well and I found their impedance was 70, so I gave up on them easily.
 

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Looking for someone who can help me and hopefully others in the future finally be able to pick our closed cans for the more neoclassical genres of metal. Thanks in advance for your time reading this.   

 

[skuntruk]

Denon d2000 or d5000 if you can find it used. best closed cans in the price range for metal.

 

[nigeljames]

If you want 'closed' phones for isolation the Denon's won't be a good choice.

 

[DissonHarmony]

Quote:

Denon d2000 or d5000 if you can find it used. best closed cans in the price range for metal.

 
Thanks.
 
Are you sure they suit well Metal the one in the first Video?
That Underworld Song is pretty much the type of songs that I listen to.
 
In addition, I can't let bass conquer those highs and especially not the vocals. I'm not a bass-lover, I suppose. According to this provided info, are you still certain Denons are the right cans for me?
 

 
Quote:

If you want 'closed' phones for isolation the Denon's won't be a good choice.

 
Yeah, happened to read this on a few forums.
I'm obviously not planning to use them in very noisy environment.
Isolation is important, yet not my top-priority.
 
Is their isolation that bad? O.o
 
Thank you.

 

[Deep Funk]

The AKG K181 DJ, if you can audition one try it. Isolation is very good with that headphone...

 

[dweaver]

You might want to have a listen to the Denon DN-HP700, they have good solid bass but not boomy bass that colors the rest of the sound spectrum, their mids are slightly forward and the treble is nicely detailed. I like them alot for my music which includes a lot of singing by females like Loreena McKennit. Here is my review and here is |Jokers| review, BTW I also have owned the HD600 and I prefer the sound of the DN-HP700 over them as I find the more forward mids nice and I also prefer how cymbals are produced as well. These won't have as large a sound stage as the HD600 but they have a very good sound stage considering their size. Oh and in comparison to the D2000, I would say they are not quite as heavy in the bass as they are more like the D7000 in that regard.

 

[DissonHarmony]

Sounds interesting. Thank you.
Do you think I'll prefer them over the senheiser HD 25-1 II based on my taste?
 
-Do you happen to know why I can't find them on Denon's site?

 

[dweaver]

Unfortunately I haven't heard the HD25 but go to Joker's review I linked as he has them in there I believe. As for why Denon doesn't have them on the one site. I think they list their professional/DJ equipment differently than their consumer headphones.

 

[Deep Funk]

Some DJ oriented headphones are better than you would expect...

 

[DissonHarmony]

Quote:

Unfortunately I haven't heard the HD25 but go to Joker's review I linked as he has them in there I believe. As for why Denon doesn't have them on the one site. I think they list their professional/DJ equipment differently than their consumer headphones.

Oh, I read it. I was just looking for some extra information.
 
I now found them. They have a different site for their DJ Equipment.
I also noticed they have a pair named - DN-HP1000.
Any thoughts about them? I can't find comparisons regarding their Audio Quality.
 
And thanks again.
 
Quote:

Some DJ oriented headphones are better than you would expect...

Yeah, I suppose.

 

[silverbox]

PRO 900

 

[LugBug1]

I use my D2000's for big orchestral peices, as they give you the "wow" factor, the bass is big and low to begin with but mellows and tightens after burn in. They are also quite bright at the top end too. They are a very colored hp, that work well with symphonic music in general.
 
The sound isolation is not one of their strong points only a little better than open headphones.  

 

[dweaver]

I tried out the DN-HP1000 along with the M50 when I bought the HP700. I thought the HP1000 was a lot like the M50 sonically and consequently I did not like it. But they are a bit bigger so a bit more comfortable. The bottom line on them was they had less bass and the treble sounded a bit rolled off as well. You do have to keep in mind I was looking for an alternative to my D7000 though so that was the signature I wanted. BTW I was actually in the store to audition and buy the M50 as I had heard it was the closest one to the D7000 sonically. I only tried the Denon's when I was unhappy with the M50 and when I tried the Denon's I started with the HP700 because it was cheaper and a bit smaller, liked it a lot and then thought "hey if it's this good the HP1000 has got to be better!", only to find out it wasn't. At least not to my ears.

 

[joelpearce]

Stock, I think you'd find the HFI-780 a bit bright and harsh for that music.  More importantly, the mids would get a bit lost.  With a few basic mods, though, these are now my go-to headphones for portable use.  They have plenty of bass, but it's punchy rather than boomy, which means the bass stays out of the way unless it's called upon to deliver.
 
I find it interesting that you say the HD25 look like a toy.  Of the ones you've mentioned, they are the most used by professionals, because they are built like a tank and have user-replaceable parts.
 
I haven't heard them, but you may also want to look into the German Maestro 8.35D.

 

[dweaver]

LOL just tried out your music links and actually found they sounded very good with my D7000 and the HP700. The first song sounded good on both but was a bit better on my D7000 due to the sound stage, middle song was very very nice on the HP700 as it kept up with no problem and it's more forward mid-range made the guitars sound very nice the D7000 almost had to much bass or it was a bit slower so it didn't sound quite as nice, the third song sounded a but better on the HP700 again because of the mid-range.
 
For fun I threw on my SM3 IEM with each song as well. The SM3 is a mid-centric IEM with a slightly deeper but typical BA type bass (it's bass is not as deep or impact-full as a dynamic speaker) and it's treble is a bit recessed to make it less fatiguing. 
 
Song 3 sounded very nice with incredible micro detail which seemed to make this song better. The vocals were very nice and the bass actually sounded good as if it was better served by the leaner bass, the treble also sounded nice as it had most of the sparkle still but was definitely less fatiguing. In the end I still prefer the HP700 but the SM3 did offer a nice change up.
 
Song 2 was easily managed by the SM3 as the BA speakers had zero issues with the speed of the song, again the bass sounded good due to it's leaner tighter sound. Again the SM3 had zero fatigue. But over all I still prefer the HP700 but I suspect heavy metal fans might actually prefer the speed of the SM3 more.
 
Song 1 sounded very large with the SM3 with a very interesting sound stage that surrounded me (this is a trait of the SM3 for some songs which sometime works well and others just sounds weird, in this case it made the song better), I liked all of the micro-detail the SM3 brought to this song. The bass again is tight. For this song I actually like the SM3 presentation better but would be happy with the HP700 or D7000 as well.