Lord Chaos
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Posts
- 404
- Likes
- 48
Summary:
I'm delighted with these headphones. Anyone looking for balanced, full-spectrum, detailed sound that's not fatiguing would be well served with these, I believe. Unfortunately I can't offer a comparison with other high-quality phones.
Some background:
I've been involved in live recording for a long time, starting with open reel and moving through the generations to hard disks. I've done sound reinforcement too. I've listened to musicians practicing and in concert. The point here is that I have a pretty good idea of what music sounds like.
I've come to the conclusion--your opinion quite likely varies--that no reproduction system will duplicate the sound of live music. I've spent a lot of time and money on coming close to the ideal, and finally gave it up. Given unlimited funds I could probably come close but this would require a dedicated listening room and some expensive hardware. The result would be ever more faithful reproduction some really good recordings, and a lot of questionable ones. So, I aim for being able to hear the music as best I can while not breaking the bank.
Usually this means headphones. They're much cheaper than a listening room. I started with Koss 'phones years ago and have moved through various others. They all allowed me to hear the music reasonably well, with damping of extraneous environmental noise.
A few years back my favored Sony MDR-CD5 phones broke. I assumed no more parts were available, so I started looking for replacements. Naturally I turned to the Internet for vicarious experience. For various reasons I ended up with a whole new system: A computer replaced the CD player, a Squeezebox and Benchmark DAC1 replaced the portable CD player, and Shure E500 'phones replaced the Sony.
I liked the sound of the E500. They showed me that the CD5 were lacking in many ways. There was a problem, in that the E500 were fiddly to use. After more research I replaced them with Sennheiser HD25. Still, you can't research one item without learning of others, and I kept reading strongly positive reviews of the Denon AHD-5000. I very nearly bought a pair, but some of the negative comments kept me from doing so.
Then I forgot about the whole thing. I'm not one to obsess over details. I now had sound better than I'd ever had. Good enough.
Enter the AH-D7000
A co-worker came to me, asking about digital-to-analog converters. To show him some examples we looked at the Headroom Web site. (I'm not affiliated with them but they've given me good service and it's reasonably easy to find things there) While looking at DACs, I saw a reference to the Denon AH-D7000. What's this? I looked around for more info.
Reviews are tricky things to read. Do the reviewers like music similar to what I like, and do they listen in ways similar to mine? Do they like the music presented in a way similar to what I like? So, I have to read between the lines. In the case of the new Denon, the decoding was pretty easy. The reviews were all positive, and described the experience in ways that made me think I'd like them.
A few days later the 'phones showed up. I immediately plugged them in and played a few favorite musical selections. I liked them instantly.
What do I like? I'll go in order not of importance, but of what I noticed.
1. Bass. These headphones go into the deep base with an ease and smoothness I'd never heard before. While other headphones have given me an impression of bass, with this it's the real thing. In a Sousa march, when the drummer hits that big bass drum I could feel the thump. This comes without any muddying or accentuation of the upper bass, lower mids. In Philip Aaberg's "Blue West" it's as if I'm right there with him as he makes that piano work hard in the lower registers.
2.Smoothness. Organ music is surprisingly hard to reproduce. With other headphones the sound is often irritating. The D7000 has all the detail, without the irritation. The same is true of other music but not so noticeable.
3. Detail. Even in tutti passages, the whole orchestra playing all out, I'm hearing an orchestra rather than a mass of sound. I really like this. Each instrument has its own voice, assuming the recording is good enough.
4. Impact. You'd think that heaphones, with their small drivers, would excel in transient response. Many don't, turning a kick drum into a kind of blob of sound. With these 'phones, I feel the kick. If there's a glockenspiel in the mix, it's audible rather than being a part of the general wash.
5. Subtlety. While all the details are there, the 'phones don't force any particular area into notice. If the music is subtle, that's what comes out. After-note reverberations are audible, instead of cut off. Hall echo is there. Characters of instruments are there, no matter how loud or soft the music is. This unforced quality may be the best characteristic of these 'phones.
In general, these headphones present music in an effortless way, making listening a pleasure no matter what kind of music.
Caveats, Biases and Equipment:
Note that I've not mentioned "soundstage." That's because I don't know what it is. Headphones present the music inside my head and I can't hear beyond that. I've tried to describe my experience in terms others can relate to, but each reader has different desires.
Also, I'm 57 years old. My hearing is good, but not perfect. Due to tinnitus my personal signal-to-noise ratio isn't the best. (Use earplugs when you ride motorcycles, folks)
I have a bias toward detail. I like to hear everything that's there. I also have a bias toward neutrality; a headphone should be good for all kinds of music. I'm particularly annoyed by upper bass that obscures everything else. I like deep bass, and want to hear those 32-foot and 64-foot organ tones.
Music includes classical of several kinds: orchestral, choral, solo instruments, a capella choir. Jazz of various kinds, older rock-and-roll, Celtic modern and traditional, "New Age" and hard-core unclassifiable.
Equipment is a Mac Powerbook, using Itunes, connected to a Benchmark DAC1 USB, which has a headphone amp.
This is written for those considering the AH-D7000. I won't get into a fight about quality versus other 'phones. Once you get to a certain level of quality, what's "best" becomes a matter of taste; what I've attempted to do here is give some information that will help anyone decide if these 'phones would work for them.
I'm delighted with these headphones. Anyone looking for balanced, full-spectrum, detailed sound that's not fatiguing would be well served with these, I believe. Unfortunately I can't offer a comparison with other high-quality phones.
Some background:
I've been involved in live recording for a long time, starting with open reel and moving through the generations to hard disks. I've done sound reinforcement too. I've listened to musicians practicing and in concert. The point here is that I have a pretty good idea of what music sounds like.
I've come to the conclusion--your opinion quite likely varies--that no reproduction system will duplicate the sound of live music. I've spent a lot of time and money on coming close to the ideal, and finally gave it up. Given unlimited funds I could probably come close but this would require a dedicated listening room and some expensive hardware. The result would be ever more faithful reproduction some really good recordings, and a lot of questionable ones. So, I aim for being able to hear the music as best I can while not breaking the bank.
Usually this means headphones. They're much cheaper than a listening room. I started with Koss 'phones years ago and have moved through various others. They all allowed me to hear the music reasonably well, with damping of extraneous environmental noise.
A few years back my favored Sony MDR-CD5 phones broke. I assumed no more parts were available, so I started looking for replacements. Naturally I turned to the Internet for vicarious experience. For various reasons I ended up with a whole new system: A computer replaced the CD player, a Squeezebox and Benchmark DAC1 replaced the portable CD player, and Shure E500 'phones replaced the Sony.
I liked the sound of the E500. They showed me that the CD5 were lacking in many ways. There was a problem, in that the E500 were fiddly to use. After more research I replaced them with Sennheiser HD25. Still, you can't research one item without learning of others, and I kept reading strongly positive reviews of the Denon AHD-5000. I very nearly bought a pair, but some of the negative comments kept me from doing so.
Then I forgot about the whole thing. I'm not one to obsess over details. I now had sound better than I'd ever had. Good enough.
Enter the AH-D7000
A co-worker came to me, asking about digital-to-analog converters. To show him some examples we looked at the Headroom Web site. (I'm not affiliated with them but they've given me good service and it's reasonably easy to find things there) While looking at DACs, I saw a reference to the Denon AH-D7000. What's this? I looked around for more info.
Reviews are tricky things to read. Do the reviewers like music similar to what I like, and do they listen in ways similar to mine? Do they like the music presented in a way similar to what I like? So, I have to read between the lines. In the case of the new Denon, the decoding was pretty easy. The reviews were all positive, and described the experience in ways that made me think I'd like them.
A few days later the 'phones showed up. I immediately plugged them in and played a few favorite musical selections. I liked them instantly.
What do I like? I'll go in order not of importance, but of what I noticed.
1. Bass. These headphones go into the deep base with an ease and smoothness I'd never heard before. While other headphones have given me an impression of bass, with this it's the real thing. In a Sousa march, when the drummer hits that big bass drum I could feel the thump. This comes without any muddying or accentuation of the upper bass, lower mids. In Philip Aaberg's "Blue West" it's as if I'm right there with him as he makes that piano work hard in the lower registers.
2.Smoothness. Organ music is surprisingly hard to reproduce. With other headphones the sound is often irritating. The D7000 has all the detail, without the irritation. The same is true of other music but not so noticeable.
3. Detail. Even in tutti passages, the whole orchestra playing all out, I'm hearing an orchestra rather than a mass of sound. I really like this. Each instrument has its own voice, assuming the recording is good enough.
4. Impact. You'd think that heaphones, with their small drivers, would excel in transient response. Many don't, turning a kick drum into a kind of blob of sound. With these 'phones, I feel the kick. If there's a glockenspiel in the mix, it's audible rather than being a part of the general wash.
5. Subtlety. While all the details are there, the 'phones don't force any particular area into notice. If the music is subtle, that's what comes out. After-note reverberations are audible, instead of cut off. Hall echo is there. Characters of instruments are there, no matter how loud or soft the music is. This unforced quality may be the best characteristic of these 'phones.
In general, these headphones present music in an effortless way, making listening a pleasure no matter what kind of music.
Caveats, Biases and Equipment:
Note that I've not mentioned "soundstage." That's because I don't know what it is. Headphones present the music inside my head and I can't hear beyond that. I've tried to describe my experience in terms others can relate to, but each reader has different desires.
Also, I'm 57 years old. My hearing is good, but not perfect. Due to tinnitus my personal signal-to-noise ratio isn't the best. (Use earplugs when you ride motorcycles, folks)
I have a bias toward detail. I like to hear everything that's there. I also have a bias toward neutrality; a headphone should be good for all kinds of music. I'm particularly annoyed by upper bass that obscures everything else. I like deep bass, and want to hear those 32-foot and 64-foot organ tones.
Music includes classical of several kinds: orchestral, choral, solo instruments, a capella choir. Jazz of various kinds, older rock-and-roll, Celtic modern and traditional, "New Age" and hard-core unclassifiable.
Equipment is a Mac Powerbook, using Itunes, connected to a Benchmark DAC1 USB, which has a headphone amp.
This is written for those considering the AH-D7000. I won't get into a fight about quality versus other 'phones. Once you get to a certain level of quality, what's "best" becomes a matter of taste; what I've attempted to do here is give some information that will help anyone decide if these 'phones would work for them.
