[yoyo59]

recently bought some denon 5000 to pair with the asus essence st, though I was going to be blown away..pretty dissappointed, I prefer ie8 with Sony X which costs way less
 
any suggestions :S?

 

[Aizura]

The Essence ST has a decent amp, but not nearly powerful enough to make the D5000's really sing. They are low impedance, but need a lot of current.
You need a dedicated amp to be able to get a real upgrade from your IE8.
Also give the D5000's time to burn in. Maybe they'll improve enough over time to justify the cost for you.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Try another headphone?

 

[tdockweiler]

I don't know much about the Essence ST, but I think I could agree with this.
The first few days of having my D2000 I was just amazed with them when they were connected to my Schiit Asgard.
I went downstairs to use them straight out of my Ipod Touch and it's like they transformed into a completely different headphones. The mids were recessed and the bass was bloated, even boomy and not very well controlled. The sound wasn't bad, but just "OK". To say the least I was majorly disappointed and immediately thought something was wrong.
 
I hooked them up to my Total Airhead and it was now just "better". Went back upstairs and used them with my Schiit Asgard and the difference was night and day. No subtle difference.
 
I actually had no idea the D2000 (and probably D5000) needed a powerful amp to really sound their best.
 
With my asgard the D2000 has no recessed mids from what I can tell. The bass is also not bloated/boomy and is very well controlled.
 
I think synergy has a lot to do with it. I had the D2000 years ago and returned them due to my symptoms above when using them unamped. I'm so glad I got them again.
 
Is there anyone else who has had this same experience?
 
Quote:

The Essence ST has a decent amp, but not nearly powerful enough to make the D5000's really sing. They are low impedance, but need a lot of current.
You need a dedicated amp to be able to get a real upgrade from your IE8.
Also give the D5000's time to burn in. Maybe they'll improve enough over time to justify the cost for you.

 

[yoyo59]

like what amp? know any which would suit it well?

 

[tdockweiler]

I use mine with the Schiit Asgard and it's a perfect match for me.
So far it's been good for everything i've tried except for the DT-880 600 ohm. It even drives my k601 very well.
 
I've heard the Matrix M-stage is another good cheap amp, but I'm not sure if it's a good match for the D2000 or not. I'm sure it is.

 

[jmac1516]

tdock,
 
Did you try the 2000s with an AV receiver?  How did that sound?

 

[cbaty08]

I just got my d2000s last night and have been listening to them through a Pioneer Elite vsx-21txh, and I must say that these sound GREAT.
 
I have no experience in high-end audio so I cannot give you any real details as to what sounds good through the cans coming through the AV...
 
All in all I am very excited to get these broken in!!
 
Quote:

tdock,
 
Did you try the 2000s with an AV receiver?  How did that sound?

 

[tdockweiler]

I'm not sure yet. I'll have to try them. They seem to drive my old HD-600's and k701 just fine though, so i'm sure the D2000 will sound good on them.
I just hate using my receiver since it's in a room where i'd need a huge extension cable.
 
Quote:

tdock,
 
Did you try the 2000s with an AV receiver?  How did that sound?

 

[MomijiTMO]

The D2000 always had recessed mids relative to everything else. I tired it on a few amps before selling it. 

 

[tdockweiler]

I haven't really had any issues with the recessed mids. This is coming from someone who sold the M50 due to the recessed mids! Perhaps my Asgard helps in this area. I was really a bit worried that vocals would be hard to hear or slightly distant, but this is definitely not the case. Even pop  or simple vocal oriented acoustic music sounds great. I'm really picky about recessed mids, so I'm surprised the D2000 hasn't bothered me. To me it's a a total non-issue and it seems like it's not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. Perhaps I have some good synergy with my amp, who knows.
 
I don't know if the D2000 is picky with desktop amps. Probably not at all. I have a feeling the D2000/5000 doesn't like portable amps.
 
Seriously, I'm not hearing the recessed mids on my D2000 at all. I guess if everything sounds fine with me, then that's all that matters. The bass is so well controlled for me that it doesn't take away from anything else. I was surprised. Totally different from my first experience with the D2000.
 
I did hear the recessed mids on my Airhead and unamped though. I don't like them unamped AT ALL.
 
 
Quote:

The D2000 always had recessed mids relative to everything else. I tired it on a few amps before selling it. 

 

[wind016]

I even heard recessed mids out of my Denon D7000s when I had them... but, I did not realize how recessed the mids were until I completely focused on the vocals. Comparing to other headphones, it becomes obvious after you search for it
 
However, if I had not heard what AT could do with vocals, then ignorance would have kept me plenty happy with the d7000s

 

[tdockweiler]

I tried doing this with my D2000 even after switching from my k601 and other headphones with great mids/vocals. Vocals are my main priority, so I guess I may have a magical pair or something. Again, could be my amp "fixing" something the D2000 is normally lacking. I just find that with my D2000 and k601 I'm set for awhile and it's a good combination. I don't use an EQ EVER and never felt the need to.
 
It's just weird, vocal quality on my D2000 with Asgard is near perfect (not distant or hard to hear) and I don't mind complaining about my headphones if something is not right

 
I actually find vocals on the D2000 better then on my HD-600! I know that may be hard to believe!
 
So yeah, I guess my point is that maybe the D2000 has recessed mids, but so far I haven't experienced this problem yet. Lucky me!
Quote:

I even heard recessed mids out of my Denon D7000s when I had them... but, I did not realize how recessed the mids were until I completely focused on the vocals. Comparing to other headphones, it becomes obvious after you search for it
 
However, if I had not heard what AT could do with vocals, then ignorance would have kept me plenty happy with the d7000s

 

[MomijiTMO]

You know, you don't need to keep on explaining why you have that opinion.

 

[tdockweiler]

I like talking and typing, so yes I do

 
I just would hate for someone to see "OMG D2000 has recessed mids!!" and then avoid it completely.
 
All our sources and amps are all different, so headphones are always going to sound slightly different for everyone.
 
Everyone hears different anyway...
 
"Recessed Mids" is just so annoying to me and people just go way overboard on saying this. Not that anyone has here.
 
BTW I wonder if it's possible for companies to make very minor changes in a sound signature without telling anyone. My new M50 sounded completely different than my old pair and others have reported the same.
Maybe the D2000 is like this, very unlikely, but possible.
 
I guess I did repeat a lot of what I said early, but oh well. I guess it's just that I nearly skipped the D2000 due to many of it's negatives and in the end I'm glad I didn't.
 
Total night and day difference than the first pair I had about two years ago.
 
Quote:

You know, you don't need to keep on explaining why you have that opinion.