[rjoseph]

As for me and my D7000, we are a great match.

 

[Runkby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim3320070 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can I hear your impressions of the HD650 vs the D7000?

I have both the Denon AH-D7000 as well as the Sennheiser HD650 with an equinox single ended cable. I use the Benchmark DAC1HDR as a headphone amp / dac and so far I prefer to listen to the Denons. First of all the Denons are way more comfortable, but that aside, I find them to have a better sound signature. It really depends on what kind of music you listen to, but overall the Denons have much more base than the Sennheisers and they seem to be more open (referring to the veil that so many talk about with the Sennheiser). I probably have more than 150 hours on my Denons thus far and I have more comparisons to make, but initially I prefer the Denons. I listen to many different types of music and their differences can be seen by listening to various types of music. With classical, for example,they both sound very good, but I find the 650's to be a tad more veiled sounding, but still a good sound. With, say, organ music, the Denon's blow away the 650's. Also I find that with electronic music the Denon's are a superior choice; in fact, I think that the Denon's are a better choice for almost every type of music I've listened to so far. I have more comparisons to do and I am thinking of recabling the Denon's, however, I will probably wait on that because I may get a balanced tube amp and if I do that I would like to have the Denon's recabled with balanced xlr connections. But that being said, I am very pleased with the Denon's and would choose them over the 650's any day, however, my comparisons are not over yet. Hope that helped

 

[twylight]

I have both, 5000 is modded, 7000 is not.

Im tweaking gear right now, but I reach for the 5000s every time seems like. I had rolled an opamp in my DAC but it made everything too bright for me....backed that out last night. Tried to do the audio gd hdams, but they didnt have enough power.

It was my plan to have a nice desk rig and a cheaper rig at work...im waffling about selling the 7000s cause they do sound excellent.

Differences:
7000 - 1/10 turn more sensitive on the amp to gain the same volume
less bass than stock 5000 (not necessarily a bad thing)
mids a little more even in 7000 (i find the 5000 a little recessed)

the markl mod on a 5000 kinda destroys the 7000 overall in sound - I dont think you can do the 5000 mod on a 7000 as I think it would kill the bass completely - on the 5000 it makes it perfect.

I would do the earpad mod in one second flat. I swapped earpads a few times and the treble gain and clarity with the earpad mod is VERY obvious.

I would do that, maybe the first ring on the driver - but thats it.

The 7000 to my ear has a flatter response which people think is a good thing, but oddly I still reach for the 5000s.

I would just get the 7000 at this point and do the ear pad mod and run with it for a month. Street prices are <200 apart and the 5000 is harder to find most of the time.

My only gripe about the 5000 is it makes them heavier to be modded.

If you listen at loud volumes I would send both cans to Lawton Audio and get a full mod done - the markl mod handles louder volumes much cleaner...but loud enough to leave you ringing volume is what im talking about.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by twylight /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have both, 5000 is modded, 7000 is not. Im tweaking gear right now, but I reach for the 5000s every time seems like. I had rolled an opamp in my DAC but it made everything too bright for me....backed that out last night. Tried to do the audio gd hdams, but they didnt have enough power. It was my plan to have a nice desk rig and a cheaper rig at work...im waffling about selling the 7000s cause they do sound excellent. Differences: 7000 - 1/10 turn more sensitive on the amp to gain the same volume less bass than stock 5000 (not necessarily a bad thing) mids a little more even in 7000 (i find the 5000 a little recessed) the markl mod on a 5000 kinda destroys it - I dont think you can do the 5000 mod on a 7000 as I think it would kill the bass completely - on the 5000 it makes it perfect. I would do the earpad mod in one second flat. I swapped earpads a few times and the treble gain and clarity with the earpad mod is VERY obvious. I would do that, maybe the first ring on the driver - but thats it. The 7000 to my ear has a flatter response which people think is a good thing, but oddly I still reach for the 5000s. I would just get the 7000 at this point and do the ear pad mod and run with it for a month. Street prices are <200 apart and the 5000 is harder to find most of the time. My only gripe about the 5000 is it makes them heavier to be modded. If you listen at loud volumes I would send both cans to Lawton Audio and get a full mod done - the markl mod handles louder volumes much cleaner...but loud enough to leave you ringing volume is what im talking about.

Hi,
Can you explain the highlighted statement above? I'm not sure you worded it like you wanted to, or I am not sure what you meant?

.

 

[twylight]

the markl mod on a 5000 kinda destroys the 7000 overall in sound

edited - thanks

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by twylight /img/forum/go_quote.gif the markl mod on a 5000 kinda destroys the 7000 overall in sound edited - thanks

That's what I was wondering, thanx!

.

 

[dynamics]

My favorite headphones so far. I have had the the HD650s before and prefer the D7000 over them. In fact I got rid of the HD650s pretty quick.

 

[akg702]

The Denon AH 7000 first impression was Wow, sound so tight more musical .... more fun and easy to listen to for most music. The Denon is much more fun to listen to than the Senn 650. Michael Jackson Remember the time, Black or White & Dangerous blows my mind a way...

The AKG 702 seems weak and less fun if you need bass. But sound stage and details are where the AKG 702 shines .... more separations .... big difference when I listen to Queen Live AT Wembley Love of My Life, Who Wants to Live Forever and Bohemian Rhapsody. The Denon Ah 7000 sound stage sounds like an indoor stadium compares to the AKG 702 outdoor Stadium soundstage ..... With the AKG I really enjoy it with my eyes close but with the Denon no different with my eyes close or open.

The Senn 650 sound like in the middle of the Denon 7000 (bass) and AKG 702 (sound stage) ... If I will pick the Denon 7000 > AKG 702 > Senn 650.

I'll keep my AKG 702 with my Denon .... maybe Senn 800 later to replace the AKG. But AKG $250 and Denon $550 are a big steal over the Senn 800.

 

[rjoseph]

I was incidentally listening to the Bohemian Rhapsody when I read this post. Its truly amazing. The can seems to adjust itself to the music very well. Was earlier listening to some Norah Jones and it was as though I was in a small darkened clubhouse where the performance was happening live, a more personal presentation. Love the bass in the Benny Benessai songs, its like being in an actual disco. The different layers of Jazz songs are very easily perceptible with these cans. These are truly amazing cans.

Love your snap of the D7000 as well.

 

[DoYouRight]

the d5000 and d7000 difference is very difficult and really hard to chose between. it the hardest "upgrade" to define. both are great at different things but very similar sound.

 

[woof37]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoYouRight /img/forum/go_quote.gif the d5000 and d7000 difference is very difficult and really hard to chose between. it the hardest "upgrade" to define. both are great at different things but very similar sound.

I completely disagree, DYR. The D5000 has a upper bass hump that makes some music sound fantastic and then ruins other music. I don't know if it's tuning, driver, enclosure, or what, but the D7000 is much much much better balanced.

 

[lmswjm]

I wanted to give some limited impressions of synergy with some popular headphones with the Phoenix. First off, I'd like to say that I'm a bit of a bass-head in that my home listening is primarily baroque chamber music and acoustic jazz. I like an up close/impactful presentation and these genres can be inherently bass light. Thus, many well respected phones don't fit the bill for me. I have been attracted to the Denon signature because of this. Point of reference is the D5000 which I mod'd to a semi-open design to reduce bloat and add upper extension. I've been quite satisfied with this phone for a while.

With an acute case of upgrade-itis, I wanted to try some new phones with the Phoenix. First candidate was the Senn HD800. It just didn't do it for me. Though I knew the D5000 was the inferior phone, it still delivered more slam / dynamics than the 800's. I kind of sensed that the 800's cable was holding it back, but didn't think that a cable swap would be enough for me. The other issue is that this phone has the loudest outside volume than any other open back headphone I've tried. It almost seemed louder off my head than on. Suffice it to say this phone is on it's way back to Montana right now.

The night I packed up the Senn's for good, came the notice that J&R had the D7000's back in stock. The D7000 simply toasted my D5000's. More upper extension, bass extension and control. More detail, clarity, liquidity, palpability, etc., etc. This phone makes me feel like I'm listening to an open design. So crisp and clean, there was no desire to swap out the cord. It reproduces drums like no other I've heard. On a good recording, you can hear the texture of the drum head and the attack like your'e the one behind the kit. After two nights of listening, I had no reservation about cutting the end of the cord off and doing the Kingwa 4 pin balance conversion. Great Neutrik parts, and directions yielded a very nice finished product. I love that 4 pin XLR connector. As anticipated, the phone was a lot easier to drive afterwards. It had better instrument separation and bass control, but not a night and day difference. After A/B ing for a while, it was apparent that I preferred balanced op. The 7000's are currently giving my Xd speaker system a run for their money. We'll see how they fair with the addition of the RE1 and CD7 next month!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim3320070 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you describe in more detail of the Phoenix sound with the balanced D7000? What is your source, is it balanced? Thanks

I don't know how else to describe the sound except to say that for me it's the perfect balance of upper end extension / detail while still maintaining it's lower end extension / detail and dynamic punch / slam. The best of both worlds. Mids are simply beautiful.

My source is a Shanling PCD300A player used as a transport S/PDIF'd (RCA) to a Crane Song HEDD 192 (Pro-audio AD/DA converters) with balanced outputs.

 

[DoYouRight]

When I directly compared D5000 and D7000 the mids on the 5000 sounded more forward, maybe that was due to a longer burnin, or the volume matching issue? I dunno, but it was there.

 

[les_garten]

My experience is with the D5000 vs the LA7000. The midz are much more forward on the D5000s. Some of this I'm sure may be due to the Modz, but I think a "lot" is from the cans themselves and is shown in these Graphs

.

My experience and these graphs have suggested to me that I would rather Mod a 5000 than a 7000. Both cans are winners though, IMO.

If I cold only choose 1 can it would be the LA7000, IME. I'm hoping a "well" modded D5000 puts in it 2nd position.

.

 

[tim3320070]

Go for it and let us know. Did you compare tapered vs. non tapered ear pads? What was the result- more specifically, what did tapering do to the sound?
Tim