[Mudshark]

Hi, I have a stock and fully burned-in Denon D2000 that sounds great with my Grace Design m902, but I am wondering about a possible upgrade to achieve additional refinement across the frequency spectrum.

I could woody (Lawton) and/or recable (APS v3) my D2000, or I could step up to a stock D5000 or D7000.

I am looking for any opinions on the best route to take. Thanks!!

 

[twylight]

There are a lot of threads and opinions on this but mine is:

Full Lawton > Markl original mods > stock 7000 > stock 5000 > stock 2000

Have you done the DIY markl mod on the 2000? I would try that first as its cheap. I dont buy the cable thing AT ALL, but I have a 5000 and 7000 thing which already have "better" cables than a 2000.

 

[Mudshark]

Quote:

Originally Posted by twylight /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are a lot of threads and opinions on this but mine is: Full Lawton > Markl original mods > stock 7000 > stock 5000 > stock 2000 Have you done the DIY markl mod on the 2000? I would try that first as its cheap. I dont buy the cable thing AT ALL, but I have a 5000 and 7000 thing which already have "better" cables than a 2000.

Hi and thanks for the response. I haven't done the markl mod (or any other mods) to my D2000 because I thought that particular mod was aimed at reducing bloated bass and I do not find the D2000's bass to be bloated with the Grace m902. The bass is powerful, sure, but I do not think it is over the top.

In short, my question is: would a non-markl-modded but recabled/woodied D2000 beat a stock Denon D5000/D7000? Thanks!

 

[leeperry]

the d7k appears to have better drivers.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudshark /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi and thanks for the response. I haven't done the markl mod (or any other mods) to my D2000 because I thought that particular mod was aimed at reducing bloated bass and I do not find the D2000's bass to be bloated with the Grace m902. The bass is powerful, sure, but I do not think it is over the top. In short, my question is: would a non-markl-modded but recabled/woodied D2000 beat a stock Denon D5000/D7000? Thanks!

I think its very much a sound preference thing. There's plenty that find the stock Denon sound to be to their liking (and people who tried the MarkL mod and didn't like it).

I would recommend just giving dampening the cups a try, as it'll let you know if the reduced bass is to your liking or not. You might be surprised to find quicker, punchier, more controlled bass to your liking. Then again you might not, but its simple and cheap and completely reversible.

I've been interested in checking out the modded Denon's, as I liked the D2000, however I'm not sure that modding them can get them to compare to my reference (W5000) in areas like imaging, PRaT, and overall presentation which is "holographic". The modded ones have been compared favorably to Sony R10s (and not just by MarkL) which seem to excel in the things I love about the W5000, but I don't know in what respect these people liked them more. The stock Denon's were nowhere near it in those areas and I have yet to hear a mod that could completely change a headphone that much in a non-negative way, and I'm skeptical that it can gain those qualities.

 

[twylight]

I have posted this before, but I reach for the modded 5000 over the 7000 every time. Still debating on whether to mod the 7000 or sell it. I just want one nice rig and a mobile rig.

 

[AmanGeorge]

When I had my D5000, I listened to them side-by-side with a Markl-modded D5000 and significantly preferred the stock model - much more exciting, immediate, and engaging to my ears. I point this out just to make sure that you don't assume that you'll prefer the sound of the modded D2000 to the stock version.

I'd suggest that the two options you look at most closely would be modding your D2000 or purchasing a stock D7000 - between those two options, the D5000 feels less potentially useful to me. My personal recommendation would be to check out the D7000 - people who like the MarkL mod tend to be very bothered by the Denon bass... if you don't find yourself in that camp, it makes sense to me to try and get your hands on the most refined version of that sound possible rather than try and change the sound of the lower-end model.

 

[indydieselnut]

I've spent quite a bit of time with a stock 2000 and now have about a week on my stock 7000. For me, the 7000 is a significant improvement over the 2000. I'm answering your original question by way of suggesting that the price I paid for my 7000 from J&R is significantly less than I would have paid for modding/wood cup/cabling the 2000.

However, I can offer zero useful input regarding the sonic characteristics of the modded 'phones since I haven't heard a pair.

The bass on the 7000 shocked me. I though my GS1000i had great bass (and I still think it does) but the 7000 is in another league as far as I'm concerned.

 

[twylight]

I wish I understood why I like the 7000 unmodded less than the modded 5000 - it really doesn't make much sense. Midrange is better and a little more forward and they are more sensitive, but I take them off and put on the 5000s every time.

 

[tim3320070]

I would go straight for the best deal you can get (J&R probably) on the D7000. Just sold my D5000's that had some partial mods and the stock D7000 is a definite improvement over that IMO. You can try new wires and wood cups (DIY it if you can) on the D2000 but even with DIYing, you're pretty close to the D7000 price (which sounds really great stock).

 

[sugrhigh]

IIRC, the D2000 and the D5000 share the exact same driver just matched at a higher tolerance and the D5K has wood cups.

I plan to woody mine, but I no longer have my lathe (bearings broke and it all went to hell) so, I'm doing some precise measuring and CAD drawings to send out to someone... if you do decide to woody them, let me know and we can arrange to order you a pair when I get mine made!

 

[rjoseph]

I do not have a D2000 or any of the modded Denons but I do have the D7000. I initially was thinking of buying the D2000 and modding them but decided against them and went straight to the top for the D7000 at J&R. If you like the base of your D2000 then you will definitely like the stock D7000 even more. They are very refined and have such luscious bass that I doubt I will think of ever modding these. And it would probably be cheaper for you to get the D7000 at j&r than modding (and experimenting) with the D2000. And no more upgraditis feeling coz you are already at the top of the line.

 

[flame]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudshark /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi and thanks for the response. I haven't done the markl mod (or any other mods) to my D2000 because I thought that particular mod was aimed at reducing bloated bass and I do not find the D2000's bass to be bloated with the Grace m902. The bass is powerful, sure, but I do not think it is over the top. In short, my question is: would a non-markl-modded but recabled/woodied D2000 beat a stock Denon D5000/D7000? Thanks!

Ya should definitely stick with that you like, if you like the non-modded already, stick with it.

I have tried couple different cable and mods on the d2k, love the stock d5k cable the most, it gets warmer, but less forward. However i haven't attempted changing to a woodie.

Depends on the cable you are going after, i would suspect it will be on par with stock D5000?

I would not think recabled and woodied d2k will be better than d7k, i find d7k has a slightly different signature sound than the other D-series, it reminds me of hd650, which doesn't appeal to me that much.

 

[RushNerd]

Wow this thread hasn't been much in the way of real help to my situation yet...

SO Could someone tell me if buying wooden cups for my D2000 is worth it?! Does it effect the sound truly?

From everything I hear, I don't see why I shouldn't have a nice/quality recable on my D2K's seems to be they would only be better.

I don't know why everyone keeps throwing around "just buy d7000" I obviously went for the D2000 because i'm not rich and even modding them up would save me money over D5K.


Also i'd like to at the very least do the Markl pad-stuff mod to see how that changes thing up. I swear if you did a full Markl on D2000's you would lose most of your bass, but I could be wrong.

Ideas?

 

[hifidk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RushNerd /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow this thread hasn't been much in the way of real help to my situation yet... SO Could someone tell me if buying wooden cups for my D2000 is worth it?! Does it effect the sound truly? From everything I hear, I don't see why I shouldn't have a nice/quality recable on my D2K's seems to be they would only be better. I don't know why everyone keeps throwing around "just buy d7000" I obviously went for the D2000 because i'm not rich and even modding them up would save me money over D5K. Also i'd like to at the very least do the Markl pad-stuff mod to see how that changes thing up. I swear if you did a full Markl on D2000's you would lose most of your bass, but I could be wrong. Ideas?

People are saying that OP should go for D7000 because they are at around $550 (new) at the moment and getting D2000 wooded and recabled would be more expensive then going straight for D7000 and selling the D2000.