[barid]

Quote:

They can keep them...  I'll stick with my D5000's and keep an eye out for a pair of D7000's.

 
I was actually thinking this as well.  Took stock of my headphones recently and decided to sell off some, I guess I'll be holding onto the D5000's for a bit longer just in case.  Maybe even give the D7000 a try while I still can.

 

[finchouse]

I'm in the same boat as many of you, I don't really like the beats look or design myself. I much prefer the current, classic, design.
Of course though, I'm willing to bet that >90% of skullcandy or beats purchasers don't frequent this forum (probably out of fear of ridicule, but who knows?).
 
Does Denon have a good go to market strategy with these phones? I'd say that remains to be seen, as we haven't seen any campaigns roll out just yet.
If they stick to their old guns, ie pass samples around to the influencers for review, for sure these won't sell as well as the current portfolio.
 
However, entertain me this thought: What if Denon implements a new strategy? 
Suppose they sign on a few select celebrity sponsors (not necessarily media celebrities) to engage potential buyers at zmot/fmot (zero/first moment of truth).
suppose they also begin signing deals with big box retailers (best buy, target, other places where people could audition the cans).
now you've got new customers that have never heard of denon, looking/listening to them in store. they go home, google "denon headphones" and see all the praise we've lauded on them for their sound quality. and BOOM. they have now new customers buying in.
 
But what about us? let's suppose the new cans (with the same drivers and acoustic engineering) sound just as good. Head fi is likely go around saying, they sound good, but I hate the look. BUt guess what? they still sound good! and the new kids like the look. everyone is happy (well except head fiers)
 
and the last point about kids not spending such large amount of money on cans? this is too easy to answer:
how many of you know high school and college kids who have beats? last I checked, they don't earn lots of money, and real beats ain't cheap.

 

[MDR30]

Quote:

ILike the current Denon flagship AH-D7000, both the over-ear AH-D600 and Artisan AH-D7100 use what Denon calls 50mm "free edge" drivers, which means the driver edges are not affixed directly to the baffles (which is how most headphone drivers are configured). Like most loudspeaker drivers, Denon's free edge drivers have a flexible surround (which is said to result in smoother driver movement and lower distortion).

 
The first "free edge" driver design, to my knowledge, was used in the heavy-duty Pioneer Monitor 10 introduced in 1975.
 

 

 

[alistaire]

What? This just seems stupid. It makes sense for Denon to make a bigger effort in the regular consumer arena, as they've got lots of experience in excellent closed headphones which could compete well, but it's odd to throw away their whole audiophile line, which has been popular for years, and still looks sharp, IMHO.
 
The new ones have completely ditched their clean look in favor of these overloaded junky things that look like they'll just be supplanted by a new model in two years. The naming and pricing seems odd, too...they left a lot of numbers between the sets, but only room in the price range for maybe one model. I really wish they would've updated what they had, if they wanted, or just added a separate consumer line. I love my D2000s, but there's no way I'm getting these. I'd rather buy a used D5000/D7000.
 
It's a shame...Denon headphones were the best-looking (and excellent-sounding) out there. It looks like they're abandoning their consumer base in favor of the Best Buy crowd, while I don't see why they couldn't keep both (given FOUR LINES of headphones). Also, the line names are just silly. Any music professionals wearing them are going to face a lot of mocking.

 

[mab1376]

Now they should drop the price of the D7000
 
Had my eyes on those for a year now!

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

I'm in the same boat as many of you, I don't really like the beats look or design myself. I much prefer the current, classic, design.
Of course though, I'm willing to bet that >90% of skullcandy or beats purchasers don't frequent this forum (probably out of fear of ridicule, but who knows?).
 
Does Denon have a good go to market strategy with these phones? I'd say that remains to be seen, as we haven't seen any campaigns roll out just yet.
If they stick to their old guns, ie pass samples around to the influencers for review, for sure these won't sell as well as the current portfolio.
 
However, entertain me this thought: What if Denon implements a new strategy? 
Suppose they sign on a few select celebrity sponsors (not necessarily media celebrities) to engage potential buyers at zmot/fmot (zero/first moment of truth).
suppose they also begin signing deals with big box retailers (best buy, target, other places where people could audition the cans).
now you've got new customers that have never heard of denon, looking/listening to them in store. they go home, google "denon headphones" and see all the praise we've lauded on them for their sound quality. and BOOM. they have now new customers buying in.
 
But what about us? let's suppose the new cans (with the same drivers and acoustic engineering) sound just as good. Head fi is likely go around saying, they sound good, but I hate the look. BUt guess what? they still sound good! and the new kids like the look. everyone is happy (well except head fiers)
 
and the last point about kids not spending such large amount of money on cans? this is too easy to answer:
how many of you know high school and college kids who have beats? last I checked, they don't earn lots of money, and real beats ain't cheap.

 
I don't have a problem with that strategy, tbh. I'm just not digging the direction the design team is taking. If Denon wants to be more cool with the young ones, then, by all means. They are after all, a company first and foremost. I just don't think the way to go about it is to take the Beats cookie cutter template, change some colors here and there and voila.. a new headphone.
 
If the sound is an improvement over the DX000 series, then I'm sure they'll have a loyal following on Head-Fi (apart from the Beats loving crowd). Still, I'm sure they could take the old design, throw in a few design improvements, market the heck out of it and still achieve their aims.

 

[MuppetFace]

Well, the actual flagship (D7100) is certainly an improvement over what we were assuming to be the flagship previously (the D600). I like the color combination, and I'm glad they lack the ridiculous faux contrast stitching of the lower model, but I'm still not sure about the overly stylized, fluid look of the frame, along with those earcup "bowls" that remind me of the SMS by 50 somewhat.
 
Still curious about who the new OEM is. Denon does not make their own headphones AFAIK, but rather brands them with their name. Fostex / Foster was the previous OEM, but now they've parted ways, so these could be quite different compared to the previous DX000 lineup.

 

[Kojaku]

I'm sorry...but what were those new earpads sewn on? A potato?
 
Kojaku

 

[finchouse]

I totally agree. If it were my decision, I would keep the existing line as is, and create a new subsidiary brand name for the new cans. It's just such a departure from current market image.
toyota has scion.
denon should have deNOwayI'mgoingtobuy

 

[jgray91]

It was pointed out before, and I shall point it out again: what is wrong with the fake white stitches on the black over-ear model. It doesn't even align with the real stitch LOL.
 
But I agree though, the Beats fashion/celebrity-endorsed headphones market (even though it has been quite some time) is a very tempting market for headphones manufacturers. This would eventually happen one way or another. But this is IMO quite a huge departure, so much so as to discontinue 3 very popular models in a niche market just to target a bigger, and possibly more profitable one? That's pretty strange.
 
And Music Maniac... really?
 
Now to wait for the real abomination back when it was leaked in April.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

It's a shame...Denon headphones were the best-looking (and excellent-sounding) out there. It looks like they're abandoning their consumer base in favor of the Best Buy crowd, while I don't see why they couldn't keep both (given FOUR LINES of headphones). Also, the line names are just silly. Any music professionals wearing them are going to face a lot of mocking.

 
Except the typical Best Buy customer isn't looking for the $500+ headphone, the typical Best Buy customer these days is looking for the $50 XB500 (OK it's probably $80 at BestBuy) which has gained lots of recognition as a cheap Beats alternative to the bass amazingness.
 
I don't see how Denon will broaden their targeted crowd with such pricing but yea I suppose the remaining unrevelead headphones will be more in the 50~$200 range.

 

[finchouse]

Perhaps, but personally I don't know where to buy beats except at big box retailers like bestbuy, walmart, target, etc. Most of the people (hell, even the workers) at these stores haven't done research and know little to nothing about how to truly gauge a product's true performance and usability.
plus the d600 are $500, those are pretty close to beats pricing these days I think

 

[Kukuk]

I'm trying my best to give them the benefit of the doubt...They're just so ugly.

 
I guess they can't sound worse than they look?

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

I totally agree. If it were my decision, I would keep the existing line as is, and create a new subsidiary brand name for the new cans. It's just such a departure from current market image.
toyota has scion.
denon should have deNOwayI'mgoingtobuy

 
Yeah. Such a radical departure might alienate its core fanbase. Opinions can change, but the early responses on Head-Fi don't hold much optimism for Denon's new line.
 
As you said, they should have introduced the DX100 line as a slight modification of the current flagships and branch off with a more urban name/style for their new cans.
 
I hope we're not beating a dead horse here, and I'm really hoping the sound can salvage the series.

 

[jgray91]

Quote:

Yeah. Such a radical departure might alienate its core fanbase. Opinions can change, but the early responses on Head-Fi don't hold much optimism for Denon's new line.
 
As you said, they should have introduced the DX100 line as a slight modification of the current flagships and branch off with a more urban name/style for their new cans.
 
I hope we're not beating a dead horse here, and I'm really hoping the sound can salvage the series.

For some, it's already dead since April 1st.
 
I'm joking of course. I hope.