[MaxMusic]

Some say D2000s Bass is muddy. Some say wait for burn in, it becomes tight. Others rave about DT990s. Some say DT990s bass is too much. Then you have 3 options for OHMs with the DTs, which I have read mixed responses about. We have people claiming it makes a HUGE difference, while others claim its not that big of a deal. Then we have DT880s which some say kill 990s. 
 
Bottom line is that i'm confused.
Here are the facts. 
 

1. If I buy an amp at all, It will be portable and most likely the new Fiio 11
2. I listen to primarily electronic music, specifically house and dubstep, but i also enjoy acoustic and rock
3. I also will need this headphone to function as a monitor for producing house and dubstep 

 
If anyone could help me gain a little clarity as to which would be my best option and why, it would be highly appreciated. Please be specific, (for example if you think DTs specify OHMs)
 
Thank you for any replies!

 

[Eric_C]

Can't comment on D2000, never heard.
 
Between 880 and 990, go for 880 because you want to use it for mixing. The 990 supposedly has exaggerated treble + bass, recessed mids--none of those are desirable in a pair of monitor headphones.
 
Can't advise on which Ohm-version to get--too much debate on that topic, and I have no stance on the matter.

 

[MaxMusic]

Ugh are any of these headphones even noticeably better than ATH-50s? This Audiophile world has me trippin. 

 

[Eric_C]

You're torn between 3 headphones, and now you want to add the M50 into the mix?

 

[MaxMusic]

Well we are already there, lets throw it in.

 

[Eric_C]

Well if that's the case, you stated a preference for bass in your other threads. So what happened to Ultrasone Pro 900 that you were considering previously?
 
And for Beyer, there's DT 770. 
 
And for general monitoring (but not praised for bass) there's Sony MDR-V6, and (with supposedly better bass than V6) there's Sennheiser HD 25-1.

 

[MaxMusic]

For the Pro 900s i just came to the conclusion that they would be too imbalanced. Eric, what im not totally understanding is when flaws are discussed about these headphones in the $300-400 range, are they still definitly going to be better quality than $100-$200 headphones which are said to hold similar flaws?. Is "recessed mids" in a $100 M50 the same as "recessed mids" in a AH-D2000? 

 

[Eric_C]

You're asking 2 slightly different questions there. One is in general, one is specific.
 
In general, there can be no conclusive answer regarding more expensive vs more affordable headphones in those 2 price ranges. What may be likely but not necessarily definite is that as a headphone gets more expensive, the flaws people talk about are only relative to its strengths. This is only a likelihood.
 
In particular, you're going to have to search for a direct comparison between the M50 and D2000. Ideally, you want to only trust a review from someone who compares a headphone you don't know with a headphone you do know; otherwise, even when people talk in percentages (e.g.: the bass in A is 20% more than B) they could just be putting a figure for the sake of sounding more objective, when really there was no measure of quantifiable difference.
 
On monitoring with headphones, I want to re-emphasize that you should definitely avoid "coloured" headphones--IF you are going to be monitoring primarily on headphones and not on speakers.

 

[MaxMusic]

For monitoring purposes, they just have to be able to be "good enough". Its more for playing around with synths than actually mastering, which should be done with speakers. 
 
You clarified my previous question very well, thanks

 

[misformatt]

I think the Denons would be the best to pull double-duty in your scenario.  They're relatively flat, with less extreme peaks (especially treble) than either of the Beyers.  As others have mentioned, there's certainly better options for straight monitoring purposes, but the Denons offer a balance of utility and listening pleasure (especially for your genre tastes).  The Denons are also the easiest to drive of the lot.

 

[wyffels]

All I can say is that you really need to try them out for yourself to really know. We all have our personal favorites and thoughts on all the others. I would suggest you buy them all and return the ones you don't like. Use Amazon and make sure to buy from them, not another dealer on their site. They have a great return policy for this. Returning each pair will only cost you $6-7. Personally, I thought the Denon AD-H5000 were incredible.  They are too big for work, but I think I will buy them for home. They were that good. I still dream about them.

 

[olegausany]

I totally agree that buying and trying them so u can compare them is the easiest way for you to find the right headphones. But can confirm that D2000 need some burn-in time to open their bass to make it punchy, but i personally prefer DT990 bass but be aware that DT990 highs are harsh straight from the box but harsh disappears after about 20 hours of burn-in but they are still bright (that's why my pair is in for sale forum now). DT880 on the other hand are neither harsh or bright but they are not as detailed as DT990 are.Pro900 have very unusual sound cause of their proprietary technology plus too much bass for me but because of comfort issue i didn't even try to find out if i can reduce the bass using EQ.

 

[manhattanproj]

Quote:

DT880 on the other hand are neither harsh or bright but they are not as detailed as DT990 are.

i agree that the DT880 is very neutral but i don't know about being not as detailed as DT990.