[Ham Sandwich]

If you're willing and able to play with EQ you can get some life into the Denons for progressive rock, progressive metal, and similar music. The EQ can fix some of the dullness and flatness that you can get due to the Denons recessed midrange. Bump up the mids a little and the midrange comes more alive. Depends on the recording and the music. But sometimes that little bump makes all the difference between boring and fun.

I'm listening to Dream Theater "Images and Words" right now on my D2000. Without the EQ it is "meh" and somewhat dull. With the EQ I like it.

If you use Foobar or some other player that can use VST plugins you can try an EQ like Electri-Q or EasyQ to see if that gets the Denons more to your liking for your rock.

I'll attach a picture of the EQ curve I'm using with the Dream Theater. You can experiment with more or less EQ. Whatever sounds good to you. The EQ curve is all boost. It boosts by about 6 dB so I have to lower the overall gain on the EQ by about 6 dB to compensate. Otherwise you get clipping.

 

[SP Wild]

I had great results EQ of 2db boost at 1khz and 600hz gently curving back to flat at 170hz and 12 khz with overall gain down 2db.

What when I go back to CD on CD player?

 

[Mochan]

May I recommend the Audio Techncia m50 to Mr. Cohiba, it sounds tailor-made for what you are looking for.

 

[Brandon7s]

I'd say the DT990 600ohms would be perfect for him, except they are open. Probably the DT770 600ohms would be the next best option, but I haven't heard them myself.

I also love the M50 though. The most impressive price/performance ratio cans I've ever heard, no doubt. Just all round good fun closed headphones.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP Wild /img/forum/go_quote.gif What when I go back to CD on CD player?

Then you'd have to rely on a hardware EQ or no EQ at all. A 31 band graphic EQ would probably do the trick. A 15 band graphic EQ probably wouldn't. The EQing necessary for the Denon needs finer control of what frequencies get boosted than you can get with a 15 band EQ. If you don't have fine enough control of the frequencies or if the particular EQ is ill behaved, the EQing can actually make the D2000 sound funny, hollow, honky.

The EQ isn't absolutely necessary. I often listen to my D2000 with no EQ. It's just that the EQ sometimes makes it better for certain albums and certain styles of music.

 

[Cohiba]

aamefford: Sounds perfect! I am skeptical about them being supra-aural, though. I have already got the Grados to represent uncomfortable headphones.

SillyHoney: Nice! I have waited for my WA6 for a few weeks now. I know it is on its way, so you can imagine how excited I am!

Ypoknons: I know the DT990 would be almost perfect, but unfortunately they are open. I would really like to listen to the W1000X. I really do not want portable cans that are placed on the ears.
When it comes to the sound, the ESW10s seem to be spot on.

Ham Sandwich: I have made a couple of attempts at using the EQ in iTunes. I did not like the result. Foobar might have a better EQ, but I prefer phones that get it right in the first place.

Mochan: The AT M50 sure looks interesting. But are they as refined as more expensive headphones?

Brandon7s: I think I finally might have settled for the DT770 600ohm. I found this comment from Skylab in the archive:

"Be warned - everything you think you know about the DT770 (like it's some kind of bass monster) isn't true about the 2005 version. The 2005 DT770 is just a closed 880. It has noticably less bass than the DT990, for example. It's well balanced, with maybe just a bit of extra sparkle on top. The 600 ohm version is smoother than the 250 ohm version."

 

[Ypoknons]

That's good. Maybe afterwards you can consider upgrading the LDV or uDAC

 

[Cohiba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ypoknons /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's good. Maybe afterwards you can consider upgrading the LDV or uDAC

WA6 is on its way from New York. It will replace my LD MkIII at work where I also use the LD DAC_1. The LD MkIII will act as a pre amp for my stereo at home and an alternative to the MkV when I listen to headphones. I think the uDAC is such a great DAC that I need a seriously good upgrade whenever I eventually will upgrade my home rig.

I bought the DT770 600 ohm for $250 (+ shipping) on e-bay. I think that was a sweet deal.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cohiba /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ham Sandwich: I have made a couple of attempts at using the EQ in iTunes. I did not like the result. Foobar might have a better EQ, but I prefer phones that get it right in the first place.

I agree, it is much preferable to have a headphone that gets it right in the first place. The Denons have an Achilles heel in their recessed midrange. Relying on EQ to fix a fault is a PITA.

I hope the 600 ohm DT770 do it right for you.