[HeadphoneAddict]

Markl,

As you know I have the APS V2 cable on my D2000 and have been very happy with that, until I have spent time with the MD5000 review sample these past three days. If I buy just the medium/high density wood cups and have you do the markl mod on my D2000, can you make mine sound like your D5000? I need the extra midrange detail and soundstage that mine are missing.

For example - Listening to Gary Karr Super Double Bass (fimpressions.com) in XRCD, my D2000 push the upper tones of the strings into the background and pull the upper bass and lower mids into the foreground; so I could not clearly hear the rosin in the bow against the strings or feel like I was really there, but the MD5000 did it as well as my Koss ESP950 stats - with the added benefit that the pipe organ was also more present than with the Koss.

PS: I'll have my review up this weekend.

 

[markl]

HeadphoneAddict,
That's part of the beauty of these new custom cups we are offering Lawton Audio. Based on what the individual listener wants, we can recommend a specific pair of cups cut from a certain density wood. Each kind of wood sounds subtly different, on about the same level of change as a nice cable swap. However, all of the wood cups sound markedly superior to the stock plastic cups (in our opinion of course).

I have a good suggestion for you regarding which cups to choose. Cheers.

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevenkelby /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's funny because it's in Russian and you're possibly the only person on the forum who can read what the heck it is! Sorry for any misunderstanding Anyway, the Markl'd Denon's rock! Steve

Psh, by far not the only

 

[ironmine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bostonears /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your earlier post suggested using this vibroplast in place of the Fiberloft stuffing material. But this post says you're using it in place of the Dynamat vibration damping material.

In my first post I referred to Bitoplast, in my second post I referred to Vibroplast. These materials are different. Bitoplast may replace cotton or fiberloft when stuffing ear pads. Vibroplast is similar to Dynamat.

I've performed the mod. The bass improved significantly, but the pressure on the cheeks due to the overstuffed earpads reduced comfort to the point of being unbearable. I had to pull it out, even though it sounded certainly nicer compared to the stock pads. I will try to stuff the pads again, but this time I will reduce the thickness.

 

[ironmine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do NOT recommend stuffing the ear cups with fiberloft, that has been rejected as not optimal in the mod any more.

My mistake! I meant to say that Bitoplast can be used (instead of Fiberloft) for stuffing ear PADS, not ear CUPS. Sorry. I will amend my post above.

 

[Currawong]

ironmine: What amp are you using to drive the Denons? I found an amp upgrade, in my case, got a much better hold of the base.

 

[ironmine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif What amp are you using to drive the Denons?

I intended to use these Denons with April Music Stello HP100, but, unfortunately, I had to send it back to the manufacturer for replacement due to the unacceptable level of background noise, when this Stello was used as a pre-amp.
So, now I drive these headphones with either the headphone output of intergrated amplifier NAD C320BEE or portable player iRiver HP-120. They sound ok and are only marginably behind Stello HP100. I also had a chance to listen to my D2000 while being driven by my friend's receiver Yamaha 757, it sounded sickeningly. My friend was upset

As I said above, I finished the full mod as per Markl's instruction. The bass has improved, yes. It became more manageable. It's no longer a burning issue screaming for a fix

However, I've got myself another "food for thought": I've spent this evening comparing Denons D2000 with my other cheap headphone - Sony MDR CD380 (semi open model). I invited my wife to share her impressions from this comparison. You know, to my great confusion, she preferred Sony. It made me kind of sad. Because I partially had to agree with her. When you swap these two phones on your head and play the same song again, Denon's sound strikes you as "tubular", "tunneling". It sounds "closed" and "confined". In a couple of minutes your ear accomodates to it and you stop noticing this effect and then you start thinking that Denon is a winner. But only after the accomodation, not before. I do not mean to say that Sony is absolutely better, but I do say that in some way the sound produced by cheaper Sony is indeed more attractive. Isn't it distressing? It makes me wanna take a hand drill and drill some holes through Denon's cups to free the sound.

Have I purchased the wrong phones? Is the closed type not really for me?

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironmine /img/forum/go_quote.gif I drive these headphones with either the headphone output of intergrated amplifier NAD C320BEE or portable player iRiver HP-120... I also had a chance to listen to my D2000 while being driven by my friend's receiver Yamaha 757, it sounded sickeningly.

The receiver's headphone jacks are either high-impedance taps off of the speaker path, or poorly implemented op-amps. In either case, they are far from optimal. There is virtually no portable source that will directly amp those cans anywhere close to their optimum.

Any system, is just that - a system. Every component must be of proper caliber for each to perform well. Quote:

Originally Posted by golem other cheap headphone - Sony MDR CD380 (semi open model). I invited my wife to share her impressions from this comparison. You know, to my great confusion, she preferred Sony. It made me kind of sad. Because I partially had to agree with her.

It is of no surprise that a high sensitivity, less-resolving can would sound preferable when underpowered. Quote:

Originally Posted by golem09 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So markl, after disliking the stocked D5000, what would you see as the direct alternative to the modded ones? (Leave the Sony R10 aside, and stay in the price range

Even the famed R10 will not sound ideal under your current circumstances. Upgrade your source and amp first.

 

[Bostonears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironmine /img/forum/go_quote.gif In my first post I referred to Bitoplast, in my second post I referred to Vibroplast. These materials are different. Bitoplast may replace cotton or fiberloft when stuffing ear pads. Vibroplast is similar to Dynamat. I've performed the mod. The bass improved significantly, but the pressure on the cheeks due to the overstuffed earpads reduced comfort to the point of being unbearable. I had to pull it out, even though it sounded certainly nicer compared to the stock pads. I will try to stuff the pads again, but this time I will reduce the thickness.

Thanks for the clarification. For the earpads on my D2000, I originally tried Fiberloft, but I found it difficult to get the desired thicknesses into the right places without some lumpiness. And I never liked the idea of using part of plastic cup to hold the material in place. So I pulled out the Fiberloft and instead used pieces of 1/4-inch thick closed cell foam, cut to the desired shape. Works perfectly for me.

I also used a strip of the same closed cell foam to line the underside of the headband, which makes it much more comfortable for me. It was quite tricky to open the ends of the headband assembly and slide the foam in place a fraction of an inch at a time, but once I got it in, I can't imagine using these phones without it.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif HeadphoneAddict, That's part of the beauty of these new custom cups we are offering Lawton Audio. Based on what the individual listener wants, we can recommend a specific pair of cups cut from a certain density wood. Each kind of wood sounds subtly different, on about the same level of change as a nice cable swap. However, all of the wood cups sound markedly superior to the stock plastic cups (in our opinion of course). I have a good suggestion for you regarding which cups to choose. Cheers.

I love how the D2000 are laid back and not very fatiguing with my Single Power balanced amp, but the MD5000 have more detail which is an absolute must for classical and strings and such. And with the MD5000 the lead singer (male or female) doesn't partially fade into the background in the upper mids like the D2000. The MD5000 soundstage and level of detail rivals my Koss ESP950, with the added benefit of deeper low-bass.

What cups would you recommend to deal with that, since I already have the APS V2 balanced cable?

 

[markl]

HeadphoneAddict,
Your best bet to make your D2000 sound more like the MD5000 would be to go with the mahogany cups that we damp for free. You'll get the same full-range rich, liquid tone, but because our cups are a bit larger than stock, you get a slightly more expansive soundstage over the stock cups. Cheers.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif HeadphoneAddict, Your best bet to make your D2000 sound more like the MD5000 would be to go with the mahogany cups that we damp for free. You'll get the same full-range rich, liquid tone, but because our cups are a bit larger than stock, you get a slightly more expansive soundstage over the stock cups. Cheers.

Will it bring out the upper mids detail like the MD5000 too?

 

[nuclear]

one thing i wanted to ask is does the ah-d7000 have the same disabilities attributed to the d5000 and d2000

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

At a Colorado meet on 11/1/08 I thought the D7000 sounded better than I remember a stock D5000 sounding, and the problem wasn't in the bass so much as needing slightly more sparkle in the treble. Everyone at the meet liked my APS V2 cabled D2000 slightly more.

 

[markl]

Quote:

one thing i wanted to ask is does the ah-d7000 have the same disabilities attributed to the d5000 and d2000

I'm probably not allowed to answer this question here any more, but "the truth is out there", if you search.

Quote:

Will it bring out the upper mids detail like the MD5000 too?

Yes.