[baonguyen82]

I just recently purchased a pair of D2k's from a fellow head-fier upgrading from Denon HP-1000's. I did some pretty extensive research on upgrading cans spending countless hours looking at different cans under the 300 USD mark. I finally decided to pull the trigger on the D2k's and to my dismay was thoroughly unimpressed with the sound of the stock Denon AH-D2000. The clarity and soundstage were slightly improved but not enough to merit the price increase for the upgrade.
 
I then read into D2k, D5k, and D7k mods and became obsessed with improving the sound on my new cans. I ran into lawton audio forums but was taken aback by the huge premiums they charged for the upgrades. Being in the ranks of starving graduate students, I searched for a solution that wouldn't break my bank yet would give me the sonic results that I've been searching for. 
 
I then stumbled upon Chris Tran on google and his custom audio solutions from Grados to D2k's.
http://chrishimselfaudio.blogspot.com/
I explained my situation and we worked out an extremely reasonable price for recabling. He was very prompt in communicating via email but luckily we both are gmail users so I was able to google chat with him directly on a daily basis during the whole process. I shipped him my D2k's without any padding and they arrived with the right earcup completely removed from the rest of the headphone. Unfortunately, according to head-fi this was a common problem with the cheaper stock denon screws that they install. 
 
Chris and his partner Ted went through a hell of a time trying to fix them for me and eventually they are exactly as they appear in the picture.
 
Chris offers  UniCrystal 28 AWG Solid OCC Silver bare wire up to 99.99999% purity which is able to transmit electrical signals faster, and with less distortion than ordinary OFC and silver wires. All of these features make the pure OCC silver the state-of-the art conductor materials for the audiophile cable industry.
 
Within less than a week(including return shipping time), I received my new cans and the sound was like night and day. The sound stage and clarity between the original cable vs. the new cable were vastly improved tightening up the boomy bass as well and I'm proud to say that these cans will last me for years to come. I can't imagine why Denon would offer such awesome drivers and a crappy stock cable. I highly recommend Chris's work  as well as his amazing customer service. 
Enjoy the pic of my beautiful set of cans. My next project will be to embark upon woodying them up with martincustom audio.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by baonguyen82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
UniCrystal 28 AWG Solid OCC Silver bare wire up to 99.99999% purity which is able to transmit electrical signals faster, and with less distortion than ordinary OFC 
 

How much faster?

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

How much faster?

Dunno thats just product literature according to the brand/source of wire I buy haha... I never have been too wrapped up in the physics of cables, since at this point you can never be too sure about quality, consistency, construction, and sometimes it's really luck of the draw. I just build what I enjoy building according to how it looks and feels, the positive sound changes were actually a blessing in disguise... and thats how I got started actually. Some could ding points off me for selling stuff that I can't write a 2 page essay on, but I just do what I enjoy
 
You meet a lot of really nice people on head-fi too which has been the driving force behind this. Bao and I still talk daily even though our transaction was over like months ago
 
Happy thanksgiving Beagle!
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

and the sound was like night and day.

 
I don't suppose that's exaggeration, is it?
 
Very best,

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

 
I don't suppose that's exaggeration, is it?
 
Very best,

I can't really say much without looking like I'm trying to plug my work... but I'd say yeah he's closer than you think to the truth. These cans really did get turned around from boomy thunderbass monsters to something very respectable. D2000's IMO are a great platform to start a project on if thats your sort of thing.
 
Since you guys bumped this thread while I was gone.. I did get an e-mail about a quote D2k recable so thanks for that
 

 

[darren700]

I dont suppose thats my quote? lol, i found your site from this thread!
I thought, that name sounds familiar, then i realized my LOD that i bought from "ANDEROAN" was made by you...

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

I dont suppose thats my quote? lol, i found your site from this thread!
I thought, that name sounds familiar, then i realized my LOD that i bought from "ANDEROAN" was made by you...

Oh hey, whats up Darren!
 
Yeah we'll get your D2000's taken care of today right? I have more or less a free slate this week so it's perfect timing,
 
Yeah Anderoan has like 20 of my cables, I guess he bought a few too many hahaha. Great guy.
 

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

I don't suppose that's exaggeration, is it?

I'm sure it's a slight exaggeration, but I can vouch that recabling the D2000 makes a noticeable difference. I switched to some Mogami 2534 cable, and they became noticeably brighter and more sibilant. That's all I really noticed. Keep in mind my D2000s are modded to be open-backed.
 

 

[kenman345]

I am looking into getting these cans for myself and was wondering if it would be too much to ask about pricing for recabling? I understand if you dont want to or if the price varies a bit, but I would love to know a ballpark at least if possible.
 
Greatly appreciated.
 
Also, any advice for fixing that known earpad issue?

 

[Chris_Himself]

I believe I'm allowed to publicly answer questions about my stuff, if not I'm sure the admins will let me know.
 
The pricing for a basic 4ft recable is $120, if you need 5ft, I usually throw it in for free, and I'll do additional lengths at $12/ft.
 
The variables in cost are sleeving, wood trim for the cable, and your termination options. I do offer balanced output cables as well
 
Most questions can be answered by going to our webpage.

 

[TMRaven]

Is there any noticeable increase in sibilance?  I might have to give Chris a hit, as I'm growing tired of my D2000's cable.  Its length is too long and it tangles too easily.

 

[darren700]

Quote:

Is there any noticeable increase in sibilance?  I might have to give Chris a hit, as I'm growing tired of my D2000's cable.  Its length is too long and it tangles too easily.

i Have not received my cans back yet, so i cannot comment on your question yet, but will when i receive them. I notice you have both the DT990 600 and the D2000, i also have a pair of DT990's on the way and i am wondering how you think they compare? Is it worth it to own both?

 

[TMRaven]

They're more like alternatives than compliments.  Even though one is closed and one is open, they sound remarkably similar-- both having smiley curves.  The main difference is that the D2000 hits notes and tones 50hz and under with authority while the DT990 can't.  The D2000 has a spacious sound, but the DT990's is even more spacious.  The DT990 separates the layers of its soundstage way better than the D2000, even though both have about the same amount of detail.  The DT990 is slightly less sibilant as well.

 

[darren700]

Thanks for your opinion. I just received my DT990's and i really like them so far, i agree that they do have an extremely large soundstage, i notice the same thing with the low bass, definetly not as strong down low as the d2000's, and a bit brighter as well, but i knew to expect that.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

Is there any noticeable increase in sibilance?  I might have to give Chris a hit, as I'm growing tired of my D2000's cable.  Its length is too long and it tangles too easily.

In my case, there was a very noticeable increase in sibilance when I recabled my open back D2000s.