[Mato]

Are they sonically similar?

I have tried the D1001 and AT ESW9 so far. I think the AT ESW9 are great portable headphones, but they don't make me go wow!

I bought the D1001 to look at the Denon sound signature and while they were quite different to the ESW9, they too didn't make me go wow!

I listen to mainly classical. Perhaps it is the 'closed' sound signature?

 

[bluntman]

THe D2000 seriously owns! Ever since I got it, I've tried many other headphones on the market including the AKG K702, HD650, Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro, and nothing really compared to the AH-D2000's bass, comfort, look, sound quality and detail for the price it sells.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Are you planning on running the D2000 from your iPhone or are you going to use it at home with the NAD? The D2000 isn't a good choice for with a portable. An iPod/iPhone won't drive them well enough and probably not loud enough with quieter classical recordings. I don't know how the NAD is for driving them. NAD amps have generally gotten good marks for their headphone out.

I like my D2000 with classical, especially larger symphonic classical that is on the dynamic/aggressive side (like Shostakovich). With lighter classical I generally prefer my HD600 but the D2000 does fine as well.

The problem with the D2000 though is they need EQ. If you're using a PC based player like Foobar or similar you can add a good parametric EQ and fix up the D2000 so they do classical right. A little boost in the 1-3 kHz range fixes up the violin sound. Otherwise violins can sound a bit dull, and that's generally not what you want with classical. The difference with the EQ can be subtle (or may be striking depending on your ears), but in cases like this the subtle can make all the difference. If you're not willing or able to EQ the D2000 then you might want to avoid them.

I haven't heard the D5000. Supposedly it does better in the midrange department and violin department and might not need the EQ. I can't say, since I haven't listened to it yet.

 

[Leonchan]

If you ever get the chance. Try the Markl mod of either of them.

 

[Mato]

Alternatives to the D1001, but similarly priced? Just for me to try a different sound signature.