[Raketen]

For some reason I have spent the last 30 minutes listening to Andrzej Panufnik - Arbor Cosmica: V Moderato on repeat 5 or 6 times, not the most pleasant track, A/Bing 2000j with ex1000 trying to decide between the two.
 
It's nearly 3AM. Thanks head-fi

 

 

 

[james444]

Tips selection is crucial. Comply tips are effective in keeping the treble in check but I personally dont like their effect on clarity. I find that meelec m9 large bore bi-flanges work very well for me.

 
X2. I've tried Complys and de-cored Shure olives in the meantime, but kept coming back to silicones.
 

 
Those are the ones I tried. Perhaps it's too much to say that they're unconditionally "harsh", but more harsh than the more traditional biflange tips included with old HiFiMAN earphones.
 
While I like biflange tips in general, I still prefer to use single flange tips on the DN-2000J because they don't impart a pneumatic vacuum effect. I think the K3003 tips are pretty good with the 2000J, but I don't own a K3003, so I can't use them all the time. So I think I'll try James' method of adding very thin cloth dampers to the stock tips. Currently, I use the Ts-500 most of the time. Since I'm still re-acclimating to the 2000J's sound, I've been using the Tx-500, which does muffle the sound a little, but coming from thick/warm earphones for the past 10 days, I'm not bothered by the (slight) drop in clarity.

 
I have a pair of those old HiFiMAN biflanges, however they're not a reliable fit for me. The clear stock tips sound very good, but imo they benefit from added damping.
 
Anyway, since everyone hears differently, here's a test track to judge for yourselves. This is a pretty well-recorded track by Indigo Girls to illustrate what I mean:
 

 
Subjective impression: up until 2:05, everything sounds fine. But then there's a slight increase in upper mids / lower treble energy, which makes the 2000J cross the line into sibilant and slightly strident territory: "Outside the sssummer's gone for good. Dying impatiens ssstacked up wood...". An A/B comparison with the K3003 reveals that this is not in the recording, as that latter don't cross that line and show neither sibilance nor stridency.
 
After adding a damping layer of alcohol swab between the nozzle and clear stock tips of the 2000J, sibilance and stridency with this track are almost completely gone and the upper frequency range sounds noticeably closer to the K3003, while the rest of the spectrum remains virtually unchanged.
 
(Here's an mp3 snippet in better quality for download, in case anyone wants to perform the test on a DAP. The essential passage starts at 0:15.)
 
With all that said (and my JVCs being confined to a drawer in order to support TWFK brain burn-in , I've had the 2000J for a week now and really come to like them. Been listening almost exclusively to these and the K3003, and while individual differences in bass, treble, decay, soundstage are rather subtle, I'm increasingly finding them quite different in character on the whole. I plan to post more on these differences between the 2000J and K3003 as soon as time allows...

 

[d marc0]

Those are the ones I tried. Perhaps it's too much to say that they're unconditionally "harsh", but more harsh than the more traditional biflange tips included with old HiFiMAN earphones.

While I like biflange tips in general, I still prefer to use single flange tips on the DN-2000J because they don't impart a pneumatic vacuum effect. I think the K3003 tips are pretty good with the 2000J, but I don't own a K3003, so I can't use them all the time. So I think I'll try James' method of adding very thin cloth dampers to the stock tips. Currently, I use the Ts-500 most of the time. Since I'm still re-acclimating to the 2000J's sound, I've been using the Tx-500, which does muffle the sound a little, but coming from thick/warm earphones for the past 10 days, I'm not bothered by the (slight) drop in clarity.

I've now tried most of my available tips and currently using jvc spiral tips. Somehow I'm finding them a bit better than the bi-flanges in the treble region and a lot more comfortable. Due to them being wide bore tips I have to use silver+blue rings on each side to keep nozzles from sliding all the way through.

Does the 2000j sound better than the sd2 ? How are the bass compared to the sd2 ?

They sound quite different. SD2 is more neutral with a midcentric signature. The DN-2000j is more like u-shaped because of the slight emphasis in bass and treble. Both are very well extended on both ends of frequency bandwidth. The DUNU is superior in bass quality in terms of depth, texture, detail, and more natural decay. The SD2 is a lot smoother in treble without loosing any detail - because of this I can listen to them even at really loud volumes, not so with the DN-2000j. DUNU upper mids are more analytical in presentation (clarity) While the SD2 is more musical but still detailed.

X2. I've tried Complys and de-cored Shure olives in the meantime, but kept coming back to silicones.


I have a pair of those old HiFiMAN biflanges, however they're not a reliable fit for me. The clear stock tips sound very good, but imo they benefit from added damping.

Anyway, since everyone hears differently, here's a test track to judge for yourselves. This is a pretty well-recorded track by Indigo Girls to illustrate what I mean:




Subjective impression: up until 2:05, everything sounds fine. But then there's a slight increase in upper mids / lower treble energy, which makes the 2000J cross the line into sibilant and slightly strident territory: "Outside the sssummer's gone for good. Dying impatiens ssstacked up wood...". An A/B comparison with the K3003 reveals that this is not in the recording, as that latter don't cross that line and show neither sibilance nor stridency.

After adding a damping layer of alcohol swab between the nozzle and clear stock tips of the 2000J, sibilance and stridency with this track are almost completely gone and the upper frequency range sounds noticeably closer to the K3003, while the rest of the spectrum remains virtually unchanged.

(Here's an mp3 snippet in better quality for download, in case anyone wants to perform the test on a DAP. The essential passage starts at 0:15.)

With all that said (and my JVCs being confined to a drawer in order to support TWFK brain burn-in , I've had the 2000J for a week now and really come to like them. Been listening almost exclusively to these and the K3003, and while individual differences in bass, treble, decay, soundstage are rather subtle, I'm increasingly finding them quite different in character on the whole. I plan to post more on these differences between the 2000J and K3003 as soon as time allows...

With the jvc spiral dot tips the slight sibilance is still audible but not annoying. Pls note I listen at low volumes in a very quite environment.

My sibilance test track is a little like the Indigo Girls track. It's Avril Lavigne - Things I'll Never Say. The chorus part is also the point of reference. If it's tolerable there then the review unit will generally do ok with well mastered tracks. The DN-2000j only hinted a slight sibilance with this track.

 

[jincuteguy]

   
X2. I've tried Complys and de-cored Shure olives in the meantime, but kept coming back to silicones.
 
 
I have a pair of those old HiFiMAN biflanges, however they're not a reliable fit for me. The clear stock tips sound very good, but imo they benefit from added damping.
 
Anyway, since everyone hears differently, here's a test track to judge for yourselves. This is a pretty well-recorded track by Indigo Girls to illustrate what I mean:
 

 
Subjective impression: up until 2:05, everything sounds fine. But then there's a slight increase in upper mids / lower treble energy, which makes the 2000J cross the line into sibilant and slightly strident territory: "Outside the sssummer's gone for good. Dying impatiens ssstacked up wood...". An A/B comparison with the K3003 reveals that this is not in the recording, as that latter don't cross that line and show neither sibilance nor stridency.
 
After adding a damping layer of alcohol swab between the nozzle and clear stock tips of the 2000J, sibilance and stridency with this track are almost completely gone and the upper frequency range sounds noticeably closer to the K3003, while the rest of the spectrum remains virtually unchanged.
 
(Here's an mp3 snippet in better quality for download, in case anyone wants to perform the test on a DAP. The essential passage starts at 0:15.)
 
With all that said (and my JVCs being confined to a drawer in order to support TWFK brain burn-in , I've had the 2000J for a week now and really come to like them. Been listening almost exclusively to these and the K3003, and while individual differences in bass, treble, decay, soundstage are rather subtle, I'm increasingly finding them quite different in character on the whole. I plan to post more on these differences between the 2000J and K3003 as soon as time allows...

 
Yea I tried the Monster Supertips foam and gel ones, and still like the silicone tips because it doenst' mess with the sound or change the sound.

 

[tomscy2000]

I cut out the wax guards in the Tx-500 tips and added them to the top of the mesh grille, with the stock silicone tips.
 
Seems to do the trick that @james444 suggested.

 

[james444]

  I cut out the wax guards in the Tx-500 tips and added them to the top of the mesh grille, with the stock silicone tips.
 
Seems to do the trick that @james444 suggested.

 
Neat trick! Was it easy to get them out undamaged? I might do the same, since the included Tx-500 tips are a tad too small for me anyway.

 

[tomscy2000]

  Neat trick! Was it easy to get them out undamaged? I might do the same, since the included Tx-500 tips are a tad too small for me anyway.

Used a pair of Metzenbaum (surgical) scissors and a scalpel (no, I didn't steal them from an OR, I have an unsterilized set that we use for anatomy and skills lab on porcine and cadaver skin), but I imagine that if you had a sufficiently fine-tipped blade, e.g. x-acto knife, if wouldn't be too difficult. Lean the blade against the plastic core and use a gentle poking motion at the sides to debride the glued mesh from the plastic core.

 

[d marc0]

I cut out the wax guards in the Tx-500 tips and added them to the top of the mesh grille, with the stock silicone tips.

Seems to do the trick that @james444
suggested.

I did the same with the Altone but it wasn't enough. Maybe I should try it with the DN-2000j. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[deadich]

How much more would you pay to get the 2000j's instead of the old 2000's?

 

[Brooko]

  How much more would you pay to get the 2000j's instead of the old 2000's?

 
$349 from Penon Audio - http://penonaudio.com/DUNU-DN-2000J
 
Keep an eye on Massdrop too.

 

[sithjedi333]

CTC has a deal for $299 + a pair of spinfits.

 

[omastic]

  I managed to try the DN2000j at lendmeurears shop yesterday but only had my phone running spotify as a source unfortunately. Impressions -
 
1. Enveloping sound stage with nice forward projection and left/right separation.
2. Impressive clarity. Definitely TOTL level here. 
3. Excellent bass and sub bass. Tone is also very nice.
4. Sound signature is bright - brighter than H8P.
 
So overall I was quite impressed except for one major problem - sibilance. The edginess in the upper mids / lower treble was just too much for me. My suspect is the source but it was much harsher than DN2000/1000 or even the Titan 1. 

I went back with my ZX2 to give them another try. They did fare a bit better but my ears still just wont agree with those treble peaks at all. It is unfortunate as I think it has unbelievable clarity and a very high quality bass and I really wanted to like them. Seems like they are purposefully designed for low volume listening where the sibilance or harshness is not that bothersome. I will stick with my Titan 1 for the time being. 

 

[MadMusicJunkie]

Well, I like a little bit brighter, like the K3003, so these reallly interest me.  However, K3003 is right on the cusp of being too high, so if these are much brighter than they, it could be a problem for a lot of people.
 
Doesn't stop me from really wanting to try them out!  selling anyone?

 

[Shawn71]

  I went back with my ZX2 to give them another try. They did fare a bit better but my ears still just wont agree with those treble peaks at all. It is unfortunate as I think it has unbelievable clarity and a very high quality bass and I really wanted to like them. Seems like they are purposefully designed for low volume listening where the sibilance or harshness is not that bothersome. I will stick with my Titan 1 for the time being. 

Hmm....so did you try LMUE's home breed "Alpha & Delta AD01"? if so how does it compare to 2K-J and Titan1 or VSD3/5 etc ?....

 

[omastic]

 
Hmm....so did you try LMUE's home breed "Alpha & Delta AD01"? if so how does it compare to 2K-J and Titan1 or VSD3/5 etc ?....

 
Actually I did, albeit for a rather brief amount of time (I was in a rush). The guy at the shop was almost overly enthusiastic in getting me to try it haha!
 
Sonically it sounded nice with a warm and smooth tonality. Good bass, fairly balanced mids and some sparkle in the highs. Probably more balanced than either VSD3/5 (comparable in sound quality as well) but not quite as clear and detailed as the Titan 1.
 
2K-j have a wildly different sound signature (much brighter) and belongs to a totally different league altogether.