[ianmedium]

I must admit I think the pads are a bit of a bargain when all said and done, think that this is a small firm hand making them and doing the research, I can't imagine how he would have turned a profit at $30 and now at just over seventy I doubt he is making much more of one!
 
I think we have gotten used to the Asian Labor markets bringing the costs down but Jeremy is making these in Canada at Canadian labor rates. And I am happy and willing to pay a bit more to support industry here on the North American continent rather than farming it out to overseas,it all has a knock on effect in creating a more stable economy at home I feel.

 

[scannon18]

I would gladly pay $70 for the simple fact that, currently, the outermost parts of my ears touch the components.  And they look cool.

 

[Mink]

I would love to put some nice thicker real leather pads on my Denons, but unfortunately it would effect the sound in a negative way.
When putting the drivers only slightly further away from my ears the highs become more sibilant, not awfully so, but why would I decrease the sound quality?
I think it is because how my ears are shaped, the closer the driver the better my ears cope with high frequency 'pressure'.

 

[ianmedium]

I would love to put some nice thicker real leather pads on my Denons, but unfortunately it would effect the sound in a negative way.
When putting the drivers only slightly further away from my ears the highs become more sibilant, not awfully so, but why would I decrease the sound quality?
I think it is because how my ears are shaped, the closer the driver the better my ears cope with high frequency 'pressure'.

Do you mean lifting them away from your ear? This really does not give a fair representation. If anything I have found the money pads reduce sibilance, the treble becomes crisper and female vocals become better defined but at the same time creamier!

I am listening to Alison Krauss at the moment, I have never heard her sound better!

 

[scannon18]

If you lift the pads away from your ears you will break the seal necessary for the bass to propagate, and the highs may be harsh as well.  I've found those results using my D2000s. The J$ pads, from how I see them advertised, form a seal.
 
This is looking more and more like my next not-entirely necessary audio expenditure.  I should at least wait for my most recent one to arrive in the mail.

 

[OldSkool]

Quote:

Can there be a better pair of headphones for electronic music?  After trying several different headphones, in ear monitors, etc, I haven't found anything that can reproduce electronic music in such a clean and engaging way, while still managing to give the bass that EDM depends on.

If there's a better pair of cans for electronic music, I have yet to listen to them. You are spot-on by describing the Denons as clean and engaging. I love my Denons for electronic and jazz, but prefer the Grados for rock and electric blues. Best of both worlds, IMO 
 
 

 

[inarc]

If anyone is after the Denon D2000, I just manage to get J&R to sell them to me for $190 shipped to CA. I called in. Stoked can't wait.

 

[chris.d.m.]

Quote:

If anyone is after the Denon D2000, I just manage to get J&R to sell them to me for $190 shipped to CA. I called in. Stoked can't wait.

Thanks for the heads up on that. 
 
I was really on the fence between Sennheiser 600's and the 2k's to go with a Grace M902B I just received yesterday.
I need them for studio mix referencing and decided to call J&R & go w/ the 2k's for that price.
Hope it was good call.

 

[sferic]

There is a common bond among Grado/Denon/Ultrasone afficiados. Lower end Grados blow everything else out of the water, to point where I ended up with PS1000 which are pure joy on excellent recordings, with excellent source, DAC, & AMP. One wrong move and they can be torture. But Grado only makes open phones. So then you look for a closed equivalent (unless you live alone in a noise free environment.)
 
Ultrasones were my first stop, and I love them. With mods. But they have this solid state insistence, and due to S-Logic, any slight change in placement on the ear can move you between Heaven & Hell. That said, the value and innovation is there. 
 
Enter the Denon D5000's. They are phenomenal. Beautiful, comfortable, exciting. My first mod was to remove the fabric covering the (already well protected) drivers. Got JMoney earpads and ripped out the fabric, they are far less squishy, offer much better isolation, and the slightly increased distance from the ear does help soundstage. I love these, can't believe they are closed cans. Would gladly spend bucks for D7000's but most reviews say the difference is slight, possibly a backslide, and now you can't touch them for less that $1200 when a month ago they were $650. Sticking with my D5000's until sanity returns.
 
Sennheiser - their low end cans can be great, or tinny and distant.Very inconsistent. I prefer Audio Technica in this price range. It makes me hesitant to move up the chain. I'd love to love the 800's but the low end cans don't give me the confidence to take the chance at blowing $1500. I saw them at BestBuy recently - there was a fabric covering over the drivers with the Sennheiser Logo embossed. That reeks of marketing managers trumping engineers. They felt great on the head, and the design was certainly lust-tech but no sound source available (not that it would've mattered in a noise store). Since I haven't heard them, I can't provide a review. But as a customer, I can say the marketing strategy has put me off. There are major flaws in the journey for a customer.
 
Next stop is the LCD2's. I hope they will fulfill my desire for a perfect set of phones that will make me want to wait to pull off my Denons when the house is quiet and I finally have a few moments to truly. Listen.

 

[brasewel]

^^ I recently attended a meet and got to compare all the top headphones and I was surprised at how good my balanced LAs stood up to the competition. The Denon bass is simply unmatched by any other can so if you prefer big, tight bass you will not find that in any other headphone. The Denon's do lack in the mids and highs and have a relatively small soundstage in comparison to the HD800 and AKG-701. Vocals and soundstage is unmatched in these two cans but they have relatively weak bass and may not appeal to bassheads.
 
I thought the T1 was a great phone but it did not have a defining characteristic to it. While the Denons have superb bass, HD800 superb soundstage, the T1 was just good at everything.
The HE-6 were a major disappointment and I am not going to mention their flaws here.
 
The differences between the D7000 and my LA2000 was marginal at best. Due to all the modifications I've done, it wouldn't be right to compare them but I felt my phones had a wider soundstage and tighter bass due to the JMoney pads and larger cups. I got to compare them for a limited time so take my words with a grain of salt.
 
The LCD-2s were disappointing in my opinion since they require a seriously good amp to bring out their true potential. I was able to pair them with a lot of different amps(balanced and single-ended) and while they sounded unbelievable when paired with the $3000 balanced Red wine amp, they sounded mediocre through everything else including my concerto. They sounded great balanced through the Woo WA22 as well. When paired with the Red wine amp they actually rivaled the Sony R10 and Stax MK2 which I thought were the two best sounding headphones I've ever heard. I would only consider buying the LCD-2 if you have a top-notch amp to pair it with.
 
I wish I could listen to the ATH-L3000 which are supposedly the best closed cans and see how my denons compare.
 
I'm happy that my LAs stack up so well to the competition and I will be keeping them. I will get an AKG-701 to complement my Denons somewhere down the line. Prior to the meet I thought the Concerto was a top notch amp and at it's price point it certainly is, but the difference between the top amps is night and day. I will now have to save up for a WA22 

 

[lbj]

^ Wow, very informative.  Thanks for the impressions, brasewel.  Especially about the HE-6 and LCD-2.  I had read that the LCD-2 paired well with the Concerto, I guess this is not a universally held opinion.  You've saved me some money steering me away from orthos, thanks!
 
(On the other hand, you've probably cost me money thinking about the LA2000 mods.)

 

[brasewel]

I felt the LCD-2s were underpowered when connected to my concerto. After pairing them with different amps I thought it might simply be me not liking their sound signature however, I had to pick my jaws off the floor when I heard them through the Red wine amp. The veil was lifted and they sounded magical. Bass extension was phenomenal, mids were fluid and highs were airy with a huge soundstage. Bass impact wasn't as big as the Denons but it sounded more life-like.
 
I found the HE-6 bright and it's an extremely inefficient headphone requiring some serious amping to get a decent volume.

 

[sferic]

Agree! 

 

[DDVX]

Alright well I'm going against what I said a few pages back, but after a longer time having these headphones, long listening sessions do get uncomfortable because of the heat on my ears. Any of you guys have any good ways to deal with the heat? Still love the sound these things produce, especially bass, but would love to be able to listen longer without worrying about it.

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

Alright well I'm going against what I said a few pages back, but after a longer time having these headphones, long listening sessions do get uncomfortable because of the heat on my ears. Any of you guys have any good ways to deal with the heat? Still love the sound these things produce, especially bass, but would love to be able to listen longer without worrying about it.

J$ Pads, real leather breathes so much better than pleather! Mind, I just saw were you live.I would imagine having ice blocks on your ears would be warm down there!!