[nicholars]

Sounds good because the main reason I got rid of the D2000 was the sibilance and actual physical pain they caused my ear drums....
 
Hopefully the D600/D7100 are a bit smoother in the high frequencies with less sibilance.

 

[gonkulator]

Quote:

Sounds good because the main reason I got rid of the D2000 was the sibilance and actual physical pain they caused my ear drums....
 
Hopefully the D600/D7100 are a bit smoother in the high frequencies with less sibilance.

I don't find the D2000 sibilant, neither the D7100. However, to me the D7100 is a bit more detailed in the area where sibilance occurs, so... Funny how our individual ears react uniquely.

 

[nicholars]

I think it is because when I was younger I used to listen to a lot of loud music and play my headphones too loud, stand next to speakers at gigs etc.
 
Now my ear drums are very sensitive and I will get tinnitus or pain if I listen to anything remotely harsh or bright!

 

[WiR3D]

Quote:

I think it is because when I was younger I used to listen to a lot of loud music and play my headphones too loud, stand next to speakers at gigs etc.
 
Now my ear drums are very sensitive and I will get tinnitus or pain if I listen to anything remotely harsh or bright!

yeah front row centre, Infected mushroom, 1m away from 3 JBL subwoofers towering about 2m x 1.5m x 1.5m. Think its given me a sensitive treble hearing....

 

[lmswjm]

So, it’s because of my impulsiveness that I purchased the D7.1K. After the $960 price disappeared along with diminishing stock and intriguing reviews, I felt compelled to place an order to try to snatch up one of the remaining few. The rep couldn’t even confirm if it was in stock at the time. The next day AnakChan, whose opinions I value, posted some initial contradictory musings. This resulted in me trying to cancel my order to allow for more impressions. Too late. The rep informed me that they had already shipped. There were other fairly positive opinions since then that kept me somewhat optimistic.
 

 
I have two D7K’s. A 2009 version that I did the open-back mod on, and a 2012 untouched version I received this April. Tyll recently did an article on the improvements the 2012 versions enjoyed with measurements to go along:
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD7000.pdf[/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small]http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD7000B2012.pdf[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small]The 2012 D7K measures more flat and sounds more flat to me as well. [/size]
 
[size=x-small]Disclaimer: I mostly listen to baroque, folk and traditional jazz on my best gear, so it’s all acoustic music. Therefore I don’t know how electric and electronic music would fare. Also, none of my headphones are burned-in and have relatively low hours on them.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]2012 AH-D7000 : I haven’t heard it in a while, so here are some fresh impressions: Beautiful, natural tone. Treble boosted beyond neutral. Excellent clarity. Vocals and piano sound “right“ to me. Surprisingly good sound stage and instrument separation. Bass unobtrusive. Actually compared to the D7100 and TH900, the bass sounds anemic.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Music Maniac AH-D7100 : Amazing comfort. Sonically speaking, with tracks that had more bass content, the better seal resulted in more bass boost and also a more compressed sound stage. This also affected instrument separation and clarity negatively. It’s like the bass waves fill up the ear pad chamber and increase pressure accordingly with the sonic effects I described. This is true of many properly closed headphones. I prefer the semi open design of the traditional Foster lineage that allows leakage.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Vocals are more recessed. However, at moderate listening levels, vocals can have an occasional shrillness that suggests a treble spike or spikes that the others didn’t exhibit. This definitely resulted in fatigue. I did not encounter any sibilance however. Piano sounds more artificial to me as well.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Fostex TH900 : Just a couple of quick thoughts because for me, this really turned out to be about the two Denons. Though it is not without its faults, I prefer the TH900 handily over the D7K. This is extra bass done correctly for the most part. It allows a more realistic acoustic bass and percussion presentation. The treble is definitely more neutral as well which aids in transparency. Without going into any further detail, if I had to live with one “closed” phone, it would be the Fostex.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]If my impressions are correct, Denon should rethink the “Acoustically Transparent” badge it has bestowed upon the D7100 accordingly. There’s my 2 cents FWIW.[/size]

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

 
So, it’s because of my impulsiveness that I purchased the D7.1K. After the $960 price disappeared along with diminishing stock and intriguing reviews, I felt compelled to place an order to try to snatch up one of the remaining few. The rep couldn’t even confirm if it was in stock at the time. The next day AnakChan, whose opinions I value, posted some initial contradictory musings. This resulted in me trying to cancel my order to allow for more impressions. Too late. The rep informed me that they had already shipped. There were other fairly positive opinions since then that kept me somewhat optimistic.
 

 
I have two D7K’s. A 2009 version that I did the open-back mod on, and a 2012 untouched version I received this April. Tyll recently did an article on the improvements the 2012 versions enjoyed with measurements to go along:
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD7000.pdf[/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small]http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD7000B2012.pdf[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small]The 2012 D7K measures more flat and sounds more flat to me as well. [/size]
 
[size=x-small]Disclaimer: I mostly listen to baroque, folk and traditional jazz on my best gear, so it’s all acoustic music. Therefore I don’t know how electric and electronic music would fare. Also, none of my headphones are burned-in and have relatively low hours on them.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]2012 AH-D7000 : I haven’t heard it in a while, so here are some fresh impressions: Beautiful, natural tone. Treble boosted beyond neutral. Excellent clarity. Vocals and piano sound “right“ to me. Surprisingly good sound stage and instrument separation. Bass unobtrusive. Actually compared to the D7100 and TH900, the bass sounds anemic.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Music Maniac AH-D7100 : Amazing comfort. Sonically speaking, with tracks that had more bass content, the better seal resulted in more bass boost and also a more compressed sound stage. This also affected instrument separation and clarity negatively. It’s like the bass waves fill up the ear pad chamber and increase pressure accordingly with the sonic effects I described. This is true of many properly closed headphones. I prefer the semi open design of the traditional Foster lineage that allows leakage.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Vocals are more recessed. However, at moderate listening levels, vocals can have an occasional shrillness that suggests a treble spike or spikes that the others didn’t exhibit. This definitely resulted in fatigue. I did not encounter any sibilance however. Piano sounds more artificial to me as well.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Fostex TH900 : Just a couple of quick thoughts because for me, this really turned out to be about the two Denons. Though it is not without its faults, I prefer the TH900 handily over the D7K. This is extra bass done correctly for the most part. It allows a more realistic acoustic bass and percussion presentation. The treble is definitely more neutral as well which aids in transparency. Without going into any further detail, if I had to live with one “closed” phone, it would be the Fostex.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]If my impressions are correct, Denon should rethink the “Acoustically Transparent” badge it has bestowed upon the D7100 accordingly. There’s my 2 cents FWIW.[/size]
 

 

 
Nice impressions!
Seems they went overboard on all their variants with their "bass"??
 
 
Thanks!

 

[rx79ez08]

Imswjm, nice review, I am very interested in the comparison between D7100 and TH900.
I like my TH900 very much and is wondering how similar it is to the D7100.  As I want to buy one of them for the office, but I can't stomach the price of another TH900 (too precious to just leave in office).  So I am wondering does is the D7100 similar enough to the TH900 (i.e. in your opinion does the D7100 have most of the best characteristics of the TH900) to be worth my while or is it just a pipe dream.

 

[Katun]

Quote:

[size=x-small]Music Maniac AH-D7100 : Amazing comfort. Sonically speaking, with tracks that had more bass content, the better seal resulted in more bass boost and also a more compressed sound stage. This also affected instrument separation and clarity negatively. It’s like the bass waves fill up the ear pad chamber and increase pressure accordingly with the sonic effects I described. This is true of many properly closed headphones. I prefer the semi open design of the traditional Foster lineage that allows leakage.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Vocals are more recessed. However, at moderate listening levels, vocals can have an occasional shrillness that suggests a treble spike or spikes that the others didn’t exhibit. This definitely resulted in fatigue. I did not encounter any sibilance however. Piano sounds more artificial to me as well.[/size]

 
Yup, that's how I'd describe the D600. Except the D7100 probably deals with those issues better than the D600.
 
I hope to see a D600 vs D7100 someday. I'm intrigued to see how they differ and also to see them graphed.

 

[gonkulator]

Quote:

Surprised at the clamp force of the d7100...not that strong.
Quite light, the metal finish reminded me of the hd800.
The stiffness of the metal holding up well.

maybe a tube amp....

 

Didn't seem at all like the silvery part was metal. I would be shocked if it is. 
 
It didn't even cross my mind to hook it up to my Lyr. Oh well...

 

[grokit]

It's not metal on the HD800 either. 7100 = fiberglass edit: Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer, HD800 = plastic edit: High Impact Super Space Age Polymer.

 

[lmswjm]

Quote:

Imswjm, nice review, I am very interested in the comparison between D7100 and TH900.
I like my TH900 very much and is wondering how similar it is to the D7100.  As I want to buy one of them for the office, but I can't stomach the price of another TH900 (too precious to just leave in office).  So I am wondering does is the D7100 similar enough to the TH900 (i.e. in your opinion does the D7100 have most of the best characteristics of the TH900) to be worth my while or is it just a pipe dream.

Definitely a pipe dream. They bear no real similarites at all. The TH900 shares more attributes with the D7000 than any phone I know of. I have not heard the R10.

 

[AnakChan]

@lmswjm, great initial impressions. Would like your opinions on the mids cos the one that I tried with DonnyHifi, they were quite recessed.

I agree about the comfort, they are one of the most comfortable isolated & closed HPs I've ever tried.

I look forward to your post burn-in or long term impressions.

 

[Lorspeaker]

lol.....lets break one up to see if its metal...i guess it should be some special composite. ..or plain carbonfibre coated metal-like

the mids...instruments recessed?...vocals forward?...congested?..airy in between/behind?... this is getting wild for those who havent heard it. hahaha.
But i sort of gotten a sonic fix in my head of musical reference vs the other cans i hv heard.
say vs a hd800 it is congested....what isnt. but with other closed cans its up there.
its got alot of depth like a t5p, so instruments can sound recessed....but to me its deeeeeep.
the seperation is there...u can hear the various instruments positionally n with realism.
when the female vocal steps onto the stage, she is right upfront with me.

 
i think its a high end can for sure. just need to tweak it further with matching gears to get the best out of the d7100.
My d7000 can go from ..errr ok...to greaaaat from my bunch of cables n powercords.
Last night i just switched from a crimson cord to a LAT cable, and my can went from ok to woooooow...""this sounds like a hd7100 that i just heard in the morning.""
okok..i am just stretching it abit..to save my pocket

 
So there is alot of potential in a can like the d7100...clarity n depth..good quality bass..the rest can be modulated somewhat.
a matter of taste and what gears u have to find the sweetspot...or a sweeter spot..

 
my brief encounter with the d7100 was done thru a RSA Darkstar amp..
http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/dark-star

 

[lmswjm]

Quote:

@lmswjm, great initial impressions. Would like your opinions on the mids cos the one that I tried with DonnyHifi, they were quite recessed.

Agreed. Piano and vocals weren't as prominent as they should be.
 
The first thing I listened to was a Vivaldi opera excerpt with a soprano and minimal instrument accompaniment and thought that it wasn't too bad. The next track was a full concerto grosso and that's when the presentation fell apart as described before. I don't think burn-in will help much because I believe it to be an ear pad phenomenon. Maybe switching them could help. As is, I bet FR graph won't be pretty.

 

[lmswjm]

Updated impressions!
 
So I actually messed around with some different ear pads I had laying around and as expected they change the sound dramatically. BTW, the new ear pad system easily allows the pads to pull off. Surprisingly with the pads off, the drivers are right there in the open with no protection. One slip could have devastating results. The older Denons have a metal grille to guard them. The 7100 drivers have a cheapish look to me, not at all what the picture on the box looks like. I seriously doubt that Foster is the OEM. Just a feeling I get. Anyway, I tried Beyer velours, gels, and M50 pads. None of which I liked, but the amazing thing was that when I put the originals back in place, the sound was fixed!
 
The airtight seal was gone, and I got a much flatter response as advertised. No more ear canal pressure. Prior, the bass polluted the rest of the spectrum. Now, the sound is respectable. The soundstage was also fixed. They are not the bass monsters they were before.
 
With the bass in its proper place, mids are flushed out much better. Of the three headphones, the 7100 has the "hottest treble." I still prefer the D7000 over the D7100. but the margin is a lot smaller. Piano and vocals still sound better on the D7K. Potentially this gap could be closed with additional burn-in however.