[Slapdaddy]

Okay I am brand new here, but have lurked around in the past some getting tips and suggestions on what to buy.  In 2008 I picked up a pair of Denon AH-D1001 phones and have absolutely loved them.  They are bone stock without any modifications.  The left speaker went out tonight suddenly while listening to music.  The right speaker is just fine.  I have opened them up and visually inspected them and the solder looks fine and the speaker wire looks properly connected without any issues.  So I moved to checked the impedance of each side.  The right side was consistent but the left speaker was fluctuating wildly and did hit 0 at times.  I wouldn't say I'm a complete noob to this as I have a general understanding of how this should work, but I'm not sure where the problem lies.  If the impedance is fluctuating wildly, would that be a problem with the speaker itself or could the wires in the cable have gone bad?  I'd much rather just replace the cable than buy a new set of headphones as I really do enjoy these a lot....but if the worst comes to pass, I would have no problem shelling out for a better set.   Oh and this is my first post, so I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong section as I didn't see a repair or troubleshooting forum in the headphone section

 

[Frankie K]

It sound's like the speaker may have seen it's better day's, unless You believe You crimped the wire severly in a spot or something to do with 1/4 or 3.5 plug or adapter. Try looking in the Do It Yourself section, maybe You'll find a solution there if not, You could alway's upgrade. Good Luck!  

 

[tyoung8]

If you absolutely love your D1001 you can pick up the same pair cheaper by buying CAL!  which is basically D1001 rebranded for $70.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-EF0060-Aurvana-Live-Headphones/dp/B000ZJZ7OA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1301326674&sr=8-4
 
Or you can try something else.. for example by jumping on the Superlux Express Train which considered to be better than CAL! by some:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/546556/superlux-668b-express-train-voted-best-budget-headphone-2011#post_7368223
 
 
 
 

 

[Slapdaddy]

Quote:

It sound's like the speaker may have seen it's better day's, unless You believe You crimped the wire severly in a spot or something to do with 1/4 or 3.5 plug or adapter. Try looking in the Do It Yourself section, maybe You'll find a solution there if not, You could alway's upgrade. Good Luck!  

I went through every mm of that cable, bending, pulling, and pushing....while listening for any kind of intermittent sound....it didn't work.  I think if there was any crimp in the cable, I'd at least be able to hear something??  I think I might just hop on the upgrade path here and go looking for a better pair of headphones.  I have had these for about 3 years now and treated them like gold.  (If it costs around $100, gold treatment applies lol)  So maybe it's time for a better set.  Any suggestions?
 


Quote:

If you absolutely love your D1001 you can pick up the same pair cheaper by buying CAL!  which is basically D1001 rebranded for $70.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-EF0060-Aurvana-Live-Headphones/dp/B000ZJZ7OA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1301326674&sr=8-4
 
Or you can try something else.. for example by jumping on the Superlux Express Train which considered to be better than CAL! by some:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/546556/superlux-668b-express-train-voted-best-budget-headphone-2011#post_7368223
 
 
 
 

I'm guessing that those CALs have the same driver inside of them, just with a different casing?  Have you listened to the D1001s?  If so, how would you say those compare to the Superlux headphones?  From the time it took write my previous paragraph, I went from thinking about upgrading into full upgrade mode now so I'll be reading reviews for a good week or so before I make a purchase haha.
 

 

[tyoung8]

yeah, the CAL have the same driver as the D1001.
 
I haven't heard of D1001 myself but here is a comparison by Napilopez.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-72-portable-headphones-reviewed-monster-beats-studio-added-03-22/1815
 
'Simply put, they put out quality sound you would not expect from the price. But it's not just the frequency response, and it's not just the psychological impression the low price makes. They handily beat out the Denon D1100s I recently bought. Although I can see some preferring the super-energetic frequency response of the Denons, in terms of quality I think it's really quite clear the Samson's win. I can hear detail in the treble that I simply could wasn't present at all with the Denons, despite the highs being much more in your face with the Denons. The less exaggerated bass is more textured to my ears, extending as low and more linearly, while still retaining hefty impact for any genre. The mids are smoother on the Samsons. The imaging is better, the soundstage is wider, the presentation is more transparent. I honestly cannot think of one area of sound where the Denon's "win" in terms of audio quality.'
 
Oh Samson SR850 = Superlux 668b btw.

 

[Frankie K]

You could also check out Grado's 60, 80 and 125's or Sennheiser's, Fischer Audio FA003, AKG's and Shure. Need to figure out how much You want to spend and narrow it down to what You want. Over or on the ear is another thing You need to be comfortable with, out of the phone's I mentioned plus are a few more nice brand's it can be a little crazy. I hear the Fischer's are real sweet, You could check them out and compare with the other's for Your choice. Check in Head Gear for some review's and choose wisely for Yourself, Your the one who's going to be wearing them! 

 

[soundaddicted]

Is $100 your budget? 

 

[Slapdaddy]

$150 was the budget.  In the end, I obtained a pair of Denon AH-D1100's for a pretty good price.  They sound fantastic with some EQ tuning; out of the box they're pretty bass-heavy so I had to drop it off some with the EQ.  My EQ setting that was tuned for the AH-D1001 set I had didn't play all that well with these 1100's.  But now that I brought the bass down some and tweaked the highs a slight bit, it's perfection to my ears.   Bass is punchy, tight, not muddy, and not overpowering.  Mids are warm and the highs are crisp.

I did look at a few different sets of headphones but since I had Denons originally and enjoyed the sound, I figured I couldn't go wrong with another set of them.  I just hope they last longer than the 1001's did. Thanks for all your replies and help!
 

 

[Frankie K]

Just enjoy, that's the key!