Need some help choosing between Sennheiser HD 600/650 or Denon AHD 2000
Aug 2, 2009 at 5:43 PM Post #16 of 42
[/QUOTE atothex;5898660] To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure that either the Senns or the Denons would be better than the OP's Grados from a portable amp. You know what would be really intriguing? The Symphones Grado upgrade.
wink.gif

Symphonies Grado...do tell.
 
Aug 2, 2009 at 5:47 PM Post #17 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent_Moler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
[/QUOTE atothex;5898660] To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure that either the Senns or the Denons would be better than the OP's Grados from a portable amp. You know what would be really intriguing? The Symphones Grado upgrade.
wink.gif

Symphonies Grado...do tell.



Sorry, I can't tell you much of anything. I'm not sure anyone's even heard them other than Rhydon. It's a hefty $400 for the upgrade, even though it's discounted from $600.
Symphones.ca - Home - Grado and Alessandro Upgrades
 
Aug 2, 2009 at 5:58 PM Post #18 of 42
geeze, way out of the budget! I've been reading about the Darth mod of the AHD 2000s, I can't seem to find any links of who sells it though...anyone know?
 
Aug 2, 2009 at 7:41 PM Post #19 of 42
Unlike many other headfiers here, I would always choose HD600/650 over D2000. To me, D2000 had boomy bass amped or unamped. I think that is why Markl mod which tames the bass and give more control is so popular around here. I have to note that I never tried the mod though. So stock vs. stock for all around can or for your music genre, I would choose HD600.
 
Aug 2, 2009 at 10:56 PM Post #20 of 42
anyone here with the Darth D2000s? Can you tell me how much you paid and if you consider it a worth while upgrade from stock...?
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 12:33 AM Post #21 of 42
IMO the full MarkL mod controls the Denons a tad TOO much for my taste. Part of their fun factor is their bass, and the way the housing resonances... stock D2000 with Metallica was one of those "wow" moments for me.

Agent_Moler, since you're after a portable amp/dac as well, I should let you know that I think the Pico synergises very well with the D2000. I tried the combo at the last meet and thought it was lovely, clean and powerful.

In your shoes, I'd invest in a Pico, and either a stock D2000, or a partially modded and recabled D2000 if you want to throw a bit more pocket change at them (perhaps an OCC copper recable and extra pads stuffing, and leave it at that).

Qusp of Twisted Cables does alot of Denon work, and uses them as his own reference headphones, might want to shoot him a PM and get his input on them.
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 5:05 AM Post #22 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif
IMO the full MarkL mod controls the Denons a tad TOO much for my taste. Part of their fun factor is their bass, and the way the housing resonances... stock D2000 with Metallica was one of those "wow" moments for me.

Agent_Moler, since you're after a portable amp/dac as well, I should let you know that I think the Pico synergises very well with the D2000. I tried the combo at the last meet and thought it was lovely, clean and powerful.

In your shoes, I'd invest in a Pico, and either a stock D2000, or a partially modded and recabled D2000 if you want to throw a bit more pocket change at them (perhaps an OCC copper recable and extra pads stuffing, and leave it at that).

Qusp of Twisted Cables does alot of Denon work, and uses them as his own reference headphones, might want to shoot him a PM and get his input on them.



Thanx Covenant, I'll do some research on that. What metallica song did you listen to btw?
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 5:53 AM Post #24 of 42
Ok. Great song. I checked out the pico and brand new its pretty steep, if I could find one used on the forum I might pick it up since I've read very good things about it. Have you ever listened to the corda 2move with the Denons? If so can you give some impressions? I'm gonna PM Qusp to see what he has to say about recabling.
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 7:49 AM Post #25 of 42
I think the Sennheisers would be a good choice for the jazz you like, however I don't know if they'd be a good choice for the rest of your music - I don't listen much to those genres.

A word of caution about the Sennheisers - they do not mix well with portable amps. You'll want at least 300mW fed into them to get them to tighten up and sound good. You can find more compact amps if you look around - desktop space doesn't have to be an issue.

As for aftermarket cables, I owned the Cardas and Blue Dragon with the HD-600 and HD-650 I had. I didn't think they made any difference over the stock cables. They were nicely built, but I don't think that justifies their price.

I wasn't terribly fond of the Denons, either. Not only is there a lot of bass, but I didn't think it was well-defined and it overpowered the rest of the spectrum. That's not what I look for in a jazz headphone - I prefer a more balanced headphone.
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 8:09 AM Post #26 of 42
Having owned and extensively listened to both the HD580 (very very close to the hd600...many say it has exactly the same drivers) and d2000, I'd say the d2000 is going to do much better with a portable amp. Also as stated previously, the senns will be better for the jazz you like, but I honestly find the d2000's VERY well rounded. Especially after partial markl mods (i didnt like the full mod when I heard them), so that it still has great bass but not overbearing or anything.

I my opinion...you should save up and get both haha. That's what I was going to do (i sold the hd580/600 and kept the d2000...but wanted the hd580/600 back because i love both), until I just got a good deal from some electrostats.
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 8:14 AM Post #27 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent_Moler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Ok. Great song. I checked out the pico and brand new its pretty steep, if I could find one used on the forum I might pick it up since I've read very good things about it. Have you ever listened to the corda 2move with the Denons?


No experience with the 2move sorry, however I can say that what you pay for the Pico is well worth it, more for the DAC section than the amp section, although for Denons the amp section is more than adequate. It just doesn't have *quite* enough power on its own for Sennheisers.

Quote:

A word of caution about the Sennheisers - they do not mix well with portable amps. You'll want at least 300mW fed into them to get them to tighten up and sound good.


What he said. The Pico puts out 200mW into a 300Ohm load.
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 12:57 PM Post #28 of 42
Why a portable amp? The D2000 and HD600/650 are not very portable. They aren't headphones that you are going to go walking around with. Even if you are using a portable as a source I can't really see those headphones being used as portable. Would a smaller desktop amp that is transportable work? A desktop will drive the Sennheisers better. I use an AV123 x-head with my D2000 and HD600. It's a $200 amp and is small enough and contained enough to be transportable from one place to another. I'm happy with the amp. It drives the HD600 and D2000 with power to spare. More expensive amps do do better, but the x-head gets you well into the playing field. I'd rather have the x-head than any $300 or less portable amp (based on the portable amps that I've heard which admittedly isn't a lot) especially if you have a HD600/650 in your future.

The D2000 is my choice for electronic and most rock and most metal. There is some 80s era hard rock or heavy metal that doesn't work so well with the D2000. The midrange vocals get sucked out due to the way the songs were mixed or EQed or something (I'm not sure what). Whatever it is, the problem has been limited to just certain songs of that style from that era (some Sammy Hagar, Scorpions, and the like). When that happens I switch to my HD600 and all is good. Otherwise the D2000 has been generally good for rock. I have "Lightbulb Sun" by Porcupine Tree and the D2000 does well, but the sibilance in the vocals can be a little more than some would like. I'd rather listen to "Lightbulb Sun" with the D2000 than the HD600, but either would do.

Jazz on the D2000 is a little hit and miss. Heavy Weather and anything with Jaco is wonderful. However, I have noticed that some jazz trumpet and some jazz sax can be a little too brassy. As if a brassy overtone is getting accentuated. So for jazz trumpet and jazz sax I tend to grab my HD600 over the D2000. I need to get into a jazz mood again and remember to write down what songs I notice the too brassy sound in. When I have noticed the too brassy sound I switched to my HD600 and the sound was good, I switched to my M-Audio monitors and the sound was good, switched back to the D2000 and it was "wrong".

My D2000 is unmodded. Cable mods and similar mods I think are silly unless you happen to have a budget that allows for that kind of playroom. I plan on doing the Dynamat mod to my D2000. I already have the Dynamat and the mod is inexpensive. I may also get the JMoney earpads. I just have to get the motivation to actually do the mod. I have no plans for cable mods. I'd rather put money towards another set of headphones.

I'd suggest getting the D2000 since it has the most bang for most of what you listen to (except for some of the jazz) and then plan on getting the HD580/600/650 later. And if you can manage with a smallish desktop amp the x-head will do ya well and is only $200. That's my setup (x-head, D2000, HD600) and I'm quite happy with it.
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 4:50 PM Post #29 of 42
Thanks everyone for the comments.

At the moment I'm really leaning towards the Denons. I'm gonna pick them up in september but I still havent figured out what amp I'm gonna use with them. I've read that the Pico is good with them and ham sandwich suggests the x-head. I personally am leaning towards the ibasso D10 since I want an amp that I can move around but is powerful. I'm not averse to hearing more comments about small desktop amps though.

What I think I might do is listen to the stock headphones for awhile after I buy them and if I'm displeased I will get a mod. Right now I'm hearing mixed reviews about the MarkL mod but good things about the "Darth" mod...which is really steep. Does anyone else have suggestions about other mods that might work well for me?
 
Aug 3, 2009 at 4:59 PM Post #30 of 42
Ham sandwich, I can't seem to find what kind of inputs the x head has. Can you tell me?
 

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