[codeninja]

I currently have HD598 and D2000 and pretty happy with them. However, I'm also curious of D7000 as I like D2000 a lot.

Would it be a mistake to sell those two to get just D7000? My main is D2000 and HD598 is for live or acoustics music.

 

[codeninja]

I guess, no interest?

 

[wind016]

Personally, I prefer the HD598 over the D7000. The Denon's recessed upper mids really throws vocals back, but the D7000 *should* be an upgrade to the D2000. Haven't heard the D2000, though I did like the D7000. I think it will be hard to find a headphone that will be an upgrade to the HD598. Not many headphones have such a huge soundstage and balanced midrange. As for closed headphones being a direct upgrade to the HD598, the ATH W11R is the only one I can think of.
 
The W1000X may be a good headphone to consider.

 

[moodyrn]

I guess everybody's ears are different. I don't find any part of the d7000 midrange recessed. Their mids a very full and lush. I think they are significantly better than the w1000x. The w1000x are just too sibilant to me. Also I don't think the hd598 are in the same league as the d7000, and I have been a fan of the senn house sound for years. Everybody have their preferences I guess.

 

 

[wind016]

Quote:

I guess everybody's ears are different. I don't find any part of the d7000 midrange recessed. Their mids a very full and lush. I think they are significantly better than the w1000x. The w1000x are just too sibilant to me. Also I don't think the hd598 are in the same league as the d7000, and I have been a fan of the senn house sound for years. Everybody have their preferences I guess.

 

The midrange isn't recessed. The upper mids are a little =/ I suppose it helps the closed headphone sound less congested. I haven't heard the W1000X through my own rig so I'm not positive how it would sound.
 
Personally, I've never been a fan of Sennheiser, but the HD598's balanced midrange and soundstage is very well done. It is quite grainy though.
 
 

 

[tdockweiler]

I've always been curious about the D7000. I just have a problem buying a $550 headphone that's closed. Yes, I'm that addicted to open headphones. When I had the D2000 with my Asgard I never felt it had recessed mids. It could be that it had some good synergy with my amp and it helped in that area. People often say an amp can't change a headphone that much, but I think it can. I'm REALLY picky about recessed mids. The D2000 mids were fairly laid back and not forward, but I didn't find them recessed with my amp. I know we're talking about the D7000 though.
 
Since I felt guilty about owning so many headphones at the time, I sold them and kept the K601. I think for me a D2000 with slightly more forward mids and less bass would be perfect. D7000 should be close to this description maybe. I could have sworn I heard someone say the D7000 had forward sounding mids?! Huh? So yes, I guess all of our ears are different! I absolutely hate any headphone that has hard to hear or distant sounding vocals.
 
Hmm, I wonder if the D7000 has more bass than the HD-650? Probably. I didn't find the D2000's bass to be excessive with my amp and it felt fairly well controlled at least. A little less would have been perfect.
 
I wonder if Denon will ever make an open headphone or has?

 

[codeninja]

I've always been curious about the D7000. I just have a problem buying a $550 headphone that's closed. Yes, I'm that addicted to open headphones. When I had the D2000 with my Asgard I never felt it had recessed mids. It could be that it had some good synergy with my amp and it helped in that area. People often say an amp can't change a headphone that much, but I think it can. I'm REALLY picky about recessed mids. The D2000 mids were fairly laid back and not forward, but I didn't find them recessed with my amp. I know we're talking about the D7000 though.
 
Since I felt guilty about owning so many headphones at the time, I sold them and kept the K601. I think for me a D2000 with slightly more forward mids and less bass would be perfect. D7000 should be close to this description maybe. I could have sworn I heard someone say the D7000 had forward sounding mids?! Huh? So yes, I guess all of our ears are different! I absolutely hate any headphone that has hard to hear or distant sounding vocals.
 
Hmm, I wonder if the D7000 has more bass than the HD-650? Probably. I didn't find the D2000's bass to be excessive with my amp and it felt fairly well controlled at least. A little less would have been perfect.
 
I wonder if Denon will ever make an open headphone or has?

I think your taste matches well with mine in terms of kind of sound you like. I got rid of M50 because vocals got burried in some music, but haven't felt that with D2000.

I'm pretty happy with D2000, except for occassional minor sibilance with some music. I even like the amount of bass. I'm just being greedy on my headphone where if D2000 is this good, how about D7000...

 

[shane55]

Quote:

I think your taste matches well with mine in terms of kind of sound you like. I got rid of M50 because vocals got burried in some music, but haven't felt that with D2000.

I'm pretty happy with D2000, except for occassional minor sibilance with some music. I even like the amount of bass. I'm just being greedy on my headphone where if D2000 is this good, how about D7000...

 

The M50 has its issues. Recessed mids are just one. They are claustrophobic and somewhat muddy. Yet... they would be my choice were I to only have one pair... for everything. In spite of their problems, they are great all-rounders. My issues with them are minimal, and mentioning them tends to make them sound worse then they truly are.
 
The D7k are my go-to cans when at home and stationary. Combined with a very good SS amp, these are phenominal. My only real issue (and it's as minor as you can get) is that there is little isolation.
 
Open cans, while often 'superior' in certain regards... like 'soundstage' don't always have the intimacy that I require in my listening. The LCD2 and HE-6 while incredible, tend to disappear, allowing the sound to come from sort of an etherial space. Many like this. I like it on occasion, but not always. But I always like my D7k sound (with my rig). I have never heard anything out of the D7k that annoyed or disturbed me. They hit the mark every time I listen to them.
 
The Senn. sound is kind of a misnomer... with how differently the HD800 sounds compared to the HD600 & 650. The Denon sound is not. The D2k 5k and 7k all have similarities, and they improve greatly as you ascend the numbers.
I find little to no recession in the D7k mids. I have never heard sibilance in it's highs (my source files are usually high-def, analog, etc., or lossless) other than what exists in the recording. While on the slightly warm side of neutral, these are some of the most 'natural' cans I've ever heard. The acoustic quality and sonority is perfect for the majority of my music (mostly classical, with jazz, rock, bluegrass intrusions 

). I don't listen to trance, dubstep, rap, etc., so if that's your style, please take everything I've said with a mound of salt.
 
My recommendation is to swap out the D2k for the D7k (vastly superior in every respect), and keep your HD's until you decide that the D7k is far superior... then dump or keep them, but you won't be able to make that decision until you've heard both.
 
cheers
 

 

[codeninja]

I'm reporting back to my own question as I have switched to D7000, since then.  Mine is only about 20hours burned in, so it's still evolving.  However, I believe I have made the right decision to move from HD598+D2000 to D7000.
 
Overall I liked D2000's sound signature better, and with two very different headphones, my ears were rather getting confused as they have different pros and cons.  I was hoping D7000 to improve on D2000's cons enough to be the sole headphone to use.
 
So far, my finding is just the case.  I get tight bass with no boominess and sparkly high (no sibilance) plus clear smooth and warm sound.  I'm very happy with the transition.  I've started out with $80 MDR7506 and went 6 times the cost since then.  It's funny how far came in less than 3 month time.  Ultimately, I wanted to get a fun to listen to phone that matches my preference, and I think, I've found one.

 

[Proglover]

congrats!
 
D7000 is great, I'm with shane here; it's my to go can, I like it's intimacy, it pairs great with a decent solid state amp. All in all it's a great allrounder, if, and only if, you can stand to have a strong bass. But D7000's bass while strong, is not taking over the complete sound spectrum.
 
tdockweiler, yes it has more bass then HD650, to me both in quantity and quality. But these are 2 very different headphones I can appreciate for what they do.

 

[codeninja]

The amount of bass for d7000 is just find to me, whereas m50 at times became too much mostly the boominess that d2000 exhibited in lesser degree.
However, what sold d7000 to me is the type of bass that is punchy clear and ultimately overall sound signature that made me tap my toes and sing a long. While I do appreciate good sound, I'm no audiophile with golden ears.

 

[codeninja]

One more thing that I felt after trying my very first flagship is that if I ever want another headphone from other companies, I'll go straight to the flagships. I consider it to save my time and effort and money in a long run.  I think that also inlines with my typical shopping tendency.

 

[wind016]

 
Quote:

One more thing that I felt after trying my very first flagship is that if I ever want another headphone from other companies, I'll go straight to the flagships. I consider it to save my time and effort and money in a long run.  I think that also inlines with my typical shopping tendency.

Stax has a new flagship =)
 

 

[sk3383]

Hey codeninja,
 
You should look up Lawton Audio a.k.a markl
 
He modifies the Denon headphones, I can tell you first hand his work is top notch. With the custom wooden cups you can tailor the sound signature slightly to your listening preferences. You can even purchase the parts and modify it yourself if you so inclined.
 
I love my LA2000's. I also own the Sennheiser HD 598's and I was in your position a while back, decided to modify my Denon's and I now have the best of both the D2000 and HD 598s. The LA2000 midrange is both wider and deeper and the lower frequencies have tightened up. The midrange is not as forward as the HD 598.
 
 
Best regards,
 
Shawn
 

 

[roker]

Quote:

Personally, I prefer the HD598 over the D7000

 
Wow.
 
You HAVE to be in the minority on that one.

I can't say for sure, but my D2000s blew away the HD598s.  It wasn't even a fair competition.  The only thing I can say about the 598s is that they're a good TV/Videogame headphone.