ok kids, i have no idea what blogging is and if i'm posting this in the right place. i joined this crazy place because i became obsessed with headphones, (to my surprise.) anyway, as you know there are few, i mean no places, to try/audition headphones these days in the generic wasteland that calls itself america so, a girl just has to bite the bullet and buy these things and then be usually be disappointed. this is why i will now share my NON-AUDIOPHILE of everything i have bought and heard. it might be useful for bassheads and denon reaks (which is why i am lurking on this thread ~ the denon ahd600)
***first thing: important for denon ah-d600 lurkers and curiosity seekers, this headphone seems to be available for $339 at FUMFIE.com. i dropped $420 on it from ebay (new) because my curiosity got the better of me.
why was i so interested in the ahd600? because i own the ahd2000 and i do LOVE them. i never found them (d2000) to be bass heavy, which was widely reported. however, i found them to have good bass, not lacking. i'm getting tired of typing so i will cut to the chase and list headphones i have or had, the goods and bads without any audiophile jive, which i don't understand. i do this for the lurkers:
1- audio technica m-50: a girl should be able to get these for around $120 with some online shopping prowess. bass? YES. do they have good bass, you ask? yes, yes,...they do. are they every bit as good as their reviews? yes, yes,...they are. are they relatively cheap? yes. are they rugged as hell? yes (by the way, you can use these dj style and they fold into a half dozen great postions for storage). does the whole big ear fit in there? yes it does. should you buy them? NO. but why? they are not the most comfortable cans on this list. they clamp, the ear cup pleather is a bit rubbery and unforgiving. if you don't care, then i don't care either. enjoy them for years to come. a girl gets the standard storage bag with these. (also, choice of coiled wire or very long straight wire) these are great but they hurt me and i am a very weak person.
2- m-audio q40: i started my journey here because i appreciated their desktop speakers and i could not find my denon 2000's at that time (it could have all ended before it even started if i could've got those denons first - oops i'm giving away the ending). back to the q40's....good sound clean, tight, punchy, immediate. bass? yeah. i found them very much like their desktop monitor speakers. rugged, foldable, removeable cable, standard bag????yes. yes. yes. yes. price around $120 i believe for the online shoppers. the problem: these will literally crush your head. the whole big ear fits in the nice round cup but the clamping force was insane. i wrapped these around a tree for awhile in desperation. i re-earcupped these with the $40 beyerdynamic velour pads to see if i could live with the pain better. it did help, but the damage was done, i had moved on. it should be noted, i have a tiny head. children point at me and whisper, "there goes tinyhead"
3- denon ah-d2000: i finally found them, i bought them, i paid around $270, yeah that's right. this is probably the only thing i've ever owned that appreciated in price. i wish they made cars and houses. i already described these a bit but let's talk about something very important - comfort and quality. they have both. i wear these for hours. heat is a bit of an issue but this has only to do wearing ear muffs for hours and nothing to do with these headphones specifically. again, these are very comfortable. they are not pretend confortable, they are real comfortable. is this clear? to me they look like a true upgrade in quality and even at $330 (which is where they currently reside) worth the money. a good deal and all of that. you do get a useless bag, which is a bit sad (i have a nice little option which i will share pix of at a later date for those who are interested). anyway, back to the phones. not bass heavy, not beats, not even close. BUT, very good bass and to me, a smooth and agreeable sound. love these....alas, my doves, as you know these are discontinued. i think you can still buy them for awhile - so do it.
4- denon ah-d600: as i said, my curiosity and love for the d2000's led me to jump the gun and buy these for an okay price of $420. let's get into them. are they better or worse than the d2000's? (can't compare to 5000's, never had those, but let's assume they are slightly better than my beloved 2000's). they are described by denon as flat eq and as box speakers for you head. they are described by headphoners as bass heavy and v shaped, muddy and all that jazz. are they stupid looking or ugly? are they designed to capture the beats crowd? are they still for people who care - in other words, how do they sound? are they comfortable? are they more comfortable?. the answers from a regular guy: they are not ugly, however, they seem impractically designed relative to the d0000's series, which have a simple beauty - cups, band, quality - done. these seem obviously designed to contend with the current fashions, but they are rather large or protruding for me to consider running around town with them on. for you, the brave, the unflinching, maybe not. there is a bunch of plastic, no streetfighting with these, they are radically different from the look of the 000's. i was strangely attracted, but i felt shame. i think it was the stitching. yes, it was the stitching. are they a disaster? NO. to me, in my opinion, they sound very similar to the d2000, this is good news but not great news because i wanted them to make my d2000's into red headed child. i wanted these to be box speakers on my head. i secretly wanted them to have more bass then the beats. it's the bass we want, can't we just be honest. beats are stupid, i've never seen a pair that's not broken, but if they are going after the beats then go after them, teach them, show them you can have it all. maniacal laugh. okay, back to the actual cans: they are comfortable, i actually find the d2000's slightly more comfortable. the 600's have a hexagonal ear cup shape which houses the whole ear nicely but i find a tiny bit claustrophobic - can you allow that? i feel like they fit my tiny head a bit differently which i don't like ever so slightly. it's close, its probably a non-issue even. their plastically design makes them a bit more awkward as far as the quick head size adjustment. now back to the sound: they sound good, the bass is as good or powerful or deep or noticeable as the d2000 if not ever so slightly heavier. they possibly are a tad - a tiny bit - muddy for this. the mids seem a bit recessed it does seem sightly v shaped, but i'm okay with that and you are too. they don't sound antiseptic and born from a lab in zurich. they are kind of fun to listen to. in closing, these are my go to cans right now because they are new and i like new thing, but they also made me appreciate my 2000's more.
what to buy? let these go a few weeks and they will get even cheaper. trust me. or get you some d2000's wile you still can.
some honorable mention cheap cans i own:
5, 6, 7-creative aurvana, i got these for $60 from costco online of all places. the sound is great, they look pretty good, the problem: my big doesn't quite fit in there. gets to me after awhile. samson sr850 these little piggies can be got for $40. they look like cheap akg's and they are comfortable as hell. they sound pretty good too. i am not kidding. got these because i couldn't leve them behind and used them at work for long time. they take abuse and love it. bose triport. i only mention these because i know bose is hated by audiophiles and before all this started i thought i was making a big investment in $150 bose headphones. just want to say they had pretty good sound and the most comfortable headphones i've ever worn. these, i believe, got stepped on and my headphone journey began.
I know I should get an amp but I thought maybe to get new headphones first and then a good amp that's great with the headphones.I'll take a look at the HE-400.
