[Taowolf51]

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while the 7k's are still my fav headphone, they are no longer my go-to / all-rounder can due to their overwhelming bass (the Senn HD 600's have taken over). i'm listening to the 7k's less and less, but with the music/movies I do use them for, they are remarkable.
 
ok, i'll bite.... what ortho should I try? I already have too many headphones, but I might be able to rationalize one more purchase for a few hundred bucks.

 
You ever think of the MarkL mod for your 7k's? I did them on mine and it really helped the bass (and numerous other things).

 

[palmfish]

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You ever think of the MarkL mod for your 7k's? I did them on mine and it really helped the bass (and numerous other things).

I've been curious about the mods for a while now. Can you describe how the mods changed the sound?
 
I actually bought the HE-500 and HE-5LE with the intention of "upgrading" from my D7000's to planar headphones. I don't like either one as much as my D7000's and they are going back to HiFiMAN.

 

[Taowolf51]

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I've been curious about the mods for a while now. Can you describe how the mods changed the sound?
 
I actually bought the HE-500 and HE-5LE with the intention of "upgrading" from my D7000's to planar headphones. I don't like either one as much as my D7000's and they are going back to HiFiMAN.

 
I didn't do the pad mods, but the cup mods reduced the bass (the bloat from resonance, which makes the sub-bass much more defined), tightened it, brought out the mids, reduced the warmth somewhat, but overall made it much more balanced, quick, and accurate. It removed some of that "special" signature that makes the 7k's so unique, but it fixed pretty much every problem they had as well, while still keeping with the "soul" of the headphones. I also did a foam pad to reduce sibilance (which I'm very sensitive to). Overall more "hi-fi", but still funky and unique.
 
In my opinion, *very* worth it, though it took a day or two to get used to it.

 

[1974]

Quote:

I've been curious about the mods for a while now. Can you describe how the mods changed the sound?
 
I actually bought the HE-500 and HE-5LE with the intention of "upgrading" from my D7000's to planar headphones. I don't like either one as much as my D7000's and they are going back to HiFiMAN.

 
I had the HE-5LE and 7000s at the same time, the 5LE lost the fidelity battle and was sold. It's funny, the HiFiMan amp the 5LEs were designed for just love the Denons so I kept it.
 
Speaking of modding, I still have the JMoney real leather pads for the Denons. I never really used them (perfect condition in the case) and will sell them to you if you're interested? PM me. They're thicker (but very comfy), tighten the bass, change the soundstage slightly, etc. People love 'em, but I think they're discontinued - here's a thread link:
 
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/434744/jmoney-denon-ear-pads

 

[palmfish]

I am interested in the JMoney pads, but I'm suspicious of what effect they'll have on the sound. Can you tell me a little more about how they are shaped and how the sound changes with them?
 
IMO, the key that prevents the D7000's from having too thick and muddy bass is the shape of the stock pads. The angle in back in conjunction with the little raised hump in the front prevents the pads from sealing, thus lessening the bass. All you have to do is lift the headphones slightly off your ears a little more while listening to hear how an even looser seal improves the bass.

 

[olegausany]

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I didn't do the pad mods, but the cup mods reduced the bass (the bloat from resonance, which makes the sub-bass much more defined), tightened it, brought out the mids, reduced the warmth somewhat, but overall made it much more balanced, quick, and accurate. It removed some of that "special" signature that makes the 7k's so unique, but it fixed pretty much every problem they had as well, while still keeping with the "soul" of the headphones. I also did a foam pad to reduce sibilance (which I'm very sensitive to). Overall more "hi-fi", but still funky and unique.
 
In my opinion, *very* worth it, though it took a day or two to get used to it.

You got the mod kit and did modding yourself while keeping stock pads or you send them to Lawton to do the mods?

 

[Taowolf51]

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You got the mod kit and did modding yourself while keeping stock pads or you send them to Lawton to do the mods?

 
I just bought some Dynamat and did the original mod.

 

[RushNerd]

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I just bought some Dynamat and did the original mod.

I don't know about the foam part, but you feel that matting the cups made a distinct improvement in the audio? I have thought about doing a cup only mod like that, but have also heard of things like them having a "cupped hands" sound or something to that extend. Did you find them to have a sound like this, or something that took getting used to after you modded them?

 

[Taowolf51]

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I don't know about the foam part, but you feel that matting the cups made a distinct improvement in the audio? I have thought about doing a cup only mod like that, but have also heard of things like them having a "cupped hands" sound or something to that extend. Did you find them to have a sound like this, or something that took getting used to after you modded them?

 
I haven't noticed a "cupped hand" sound at all, personally. I did more than simply put dynamat on the cups, though. I did the whole mod except the fiberfill in the pads, most of the internals in my D7k's have Dynamat on them.
 
The full mod directions can be seen here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/299627/how-to-build-one-of-the-worlds-finest-dynamic-headphones-markl-denon-ah-d5000-mods
 
I also took Mark's advice and did *not* put fiberloft in the cups. But with the exception of that and the pad mods, I followed that post.

 

[RushNerd]

So would it be fair to say you feel the mod introduced no sibilance and kept the bass quantity(this is important because it seemed to me it would rob you of some low end.) 
 
I have considered doing the mod several times to my 2k's and now thinking about ordering the kit for my 5k's. The last thing I would want to do is finish modding to realise it brought the low-end to "normal" headphone levels or rob it of impact which I didn't buy the Denon for. Thanks for the info!

 

[Taowolf51]

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So would it be fair to say you feel the mod introduced no sibilance and kept the bass quantity(this is important because it seemed to me it would rob you of some low end.) 
 
I have considered doing the mod several times to my 2k's and now thinking about ordering the kit for my 5k's. The last thing I would want to do is finish modding to realise it brought the low-end to "normal" headphone levels or rob it of impact which I didn't buy the Denon for. Thanks for the info!

 
No extra sibilance, I thought it had too much stock (so I did a different mod to reduce it). The bass quantity was reduced, however, which is what I wanted. It is tighter and leaner, with more defined and cleaner sub bass, but overall it is less and doesn't shake your head as much with the mid bass (it still very much can, though, especially with low sub bass). This is because the dynamat prevents parts from resonating and creating extra flabby bass. More mids, though, which is nice. It feels much more balanced now, but still with that amazing bass texture (more of it, if you can believe it), and some really great sub bass extension.

 

[1974]

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I am interested in the JMoney pads, but I'm suspicious of what effect they'll have on the sound. Can you tell me a little more about how they are shaped and how the sound changes with them?
 
IMO, the key that prevents the D7000's from having too thick and muddy bass is the shape of the stock pads. The angle in back in conjunction with the little raised hump in the front prevents the pads from sealing, thus lessening the bass. All you have to do is lift the headphones slightly off your ears a little more while listening to hear how an even looser seal improves the bass.

 
I'm not very good at describing sound, what I said previously about covers it. Definitely less mud in the bass, and they might solve your head comfort situation. I'd say buy and try, and if you don't like sell 'em. Being popular and discontinued they'll get snapped up first. Just thought I'd give you first refusal before I put them on the sale/trade section.

 

[palmfish]

I'm not very good at describing sound, what I said previously about covers it. Definitely less mud in the bass, and they might solve your head comfort situation. I'd say buy and try, and if you don't like sell 'em. Being popular and discontinued they'll get snapped up first. Just thought I'd give you first refusal before I put them on the sale/trade section.

Sure, I'll try them. Sending PM...

 

[-Shadow-]

After spending most of the weekend with mine glued to my head. I couldn't be happier with the purchase. They have take a little getting use to coming from the Sennheiser HD650 but so far I am really liking what I am hearing.

 

[RushNerd]

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After spending most of the weekend with mine glued to my head. I couldn't be happier with the purchase. They have take a little getting use to coming from the Sennheiser HD650 but so far I am really liking what I am hearing.

Like putting a V6 on a pair of 650's