Skylab
Reviewerus Prolificus
I received a completely modded pair of Denon D5000 (“MD5000” henceforth) headphones for review from MarkL. Since there has been very extensive description of these mods in threads here on head-fi, I am not going to describe the mods themselves, just what I hear from them. I will note here that the cost of the mods on the pair I auditioned is $599, making the cost of a pair of these if one does not already own D5000’s $459+$599=$1058, making them fairly expensive.
I compared the MD5000 to the stock D5000 I own, as well as the Kenwood K1000 (@ $350), and the JVC DX1000 (@ $900). I primarily used the Purity Audio KICAS as the driving amp, as the Denons are a low 25 ohms, and Mark felt I should use a SS amp to do the evaluation. I listened to a wide variety of Rock and Jazz. Sources were an iMod iPod with VCap dock, and a Denon CD player. Levels were matched using a Radio Shack SPL meter set to 80dbA.
Pics:
Let me first discuss comfort. A significant item of the modding is the “puffing up” of the earpads. I felt that this very significantly reduced the comfort of the headphones. Compared to the stock D5000, which are so comfortable it’s almost hard to tell they are even on, the MD5000 are much, much less comfortable. I would describe the MD5000 comfort level as “fair to good”, whereas the stock headphones are “excellent”. So there is unquestionably a price to be paid for the mods in terms of comfort. I will say that the overall level of workmanship seems high.
So what about the sound? First and foremost let me say this. Taken on their own, with no comparisons, the MD5000s sound terrific. They are really enjoyable to listen to, and I enjoyed them a lot. If looked at in isolation, without regards to comfort, price, or comparison to other headphones, the MD5000 are terrific sounding cans.
But we don’t live in isolation, do we? The whole point of this exercise for me was the comparison. Let’s start with the comparison with the stock Denon. To begin with, the MD5000s sound VERY different from the stock D5000. There is no question about that. The difference is pretty surprising. The MD5000 are much brighter sounding. It makes the D5000 seem positively laid back by comparison. The mids are significantly more prominent with the MD5000. On some music, this was a benefit, but on some songs I preferred the stock Denon’s presentation. There is also a tiny bit of a “cupped hands” coloration with the MD5000’s mids that I could sometimes hear. It wasn’t a big deal, but it is there. I would not say that the MD5000 has the more neutral mids. I would say the stock D5000’s mids are slightly laid back, and the MD5000 are slightly forward. So with either, system matching will be the order of the day (as it always is), and one’s own preferences will of course also come into play.
Let me try to provide an example. On Eva Cassidy’s “Honeysuckle Rose” from Life At Blues Alley, the MD5000’s more forward sound brought Eva’s lovely voice out a little from the mix, and this made the track more enjoyable. However, on Dave Matthews’ “Gravedigger” from Some Devil, the MD5000 sounded forced and aggressive, and the stock Denon sounded more natural. The MD5000 have a “sound”. Some will love it – others may not.
In the treble, the MD5000 is the clear winner, although the difference is not huge. The D5000 seems a little “tizzy” in the treble compared with the MD5000. The MD5000’s treble comes across a little more naturally. I did not feel the difference was great, but it is a difference, and the MD5000 is better in this regard.
These differences in the midrange and treble result in some soundstaging differences as well. The MD5000 push the image forward, out in front of the listener. The soundstage is deeper than with the D5000, but it is also less wide. It’s not just the added depth – there is no doubt the stock Denon can has the wider soundstage. There is no free lunch, I guess. The soundstage with the MD5000 is slightly more defined. Overall I prefer the image presentation of the MD5000, but both were acceptable (and both were significantly behind the JVC DX1000 in this regard – about which, more later).
And then there is the bass. There is definitely less overall bass with the MD5000, but there is still plenty of bass on tap when called for, and the bass is definitely better defined sounding. I am not one of the people who feels the stock D5000 has sloppy bass, but the MD5000 has better bass control, no doubt. The overall bass impact is also less. Here again, I felt some songs sounded better on the MD5000, but some on the stock D5000. And here again also, the bass on the JVC DX1000 is significantly better than either. The DX1000 has better bass control than even the MD5000, and has the more even overall bass response.
So overall, would I say that the MD5000 sounds better than the stock D5000? Yes, I would, overall. It is an improvement. But now the tougher part – would I spend $600 to get this improvement? No. And in fact, for me, if the headphones were the same exact price, meaning a stock Denon D5000 was $600, and a complete, fully modded MD5000 was $600, would I chose the MD5000? Not if I planned to wear them for hours at a time. They are not comfortable enough. The stock Denon, the JVC and Kenwood cans are all very noticeably more comfortable.
And then there is the JVC DX1000. The DX1000 costs less than a fully-modded MD5000 if one were to buy a new pair. And at least for me, the JVC is better than the MD5000 in every way. Smoother and more detailed treble; better defined and deeper bass; more compelling, deeper and wider soundstage. Neither the DX1000 nor the MD5000 has completely neutral mids, but I prefer the mids on the DX1000. Then adding in that the JVC is much more comfortable, this is a pretty easy decision.
So where does that leave the MD5000? I think that as a stand-alone headphone, it’s in a pretty tough spot because of its cost. Enough so that it makes me wonder if the $159 mod that does not include the recable would be a better way to go (I have not heard that configuration, of course). It might be, since the Denon cable is pretty decent. The fully-modded MD5000 sounds excellent, but not good enough to justify its price compared to other things that are out there, in my opinion. If one already owns D5000’s, and isn’t happy with the sound, it is possible the $599 price of the mods might be better than spending the money on new cans – but it might not.
The MD5000 so have a “sound” that the listener may fall deeply in love with. But it’s not really a neutral sound, and as such, there will be people who do not love it. I don’t know where YOU, dear reader, will fall. I know that for me, while I did slightly prefer the MD5000 overall in terms of sound, I will not be modding my D5000’s – I will be keeping the stock D5000, but, as I do today, spend most of my time listening to the JVC’s. This is my preference. What yours will be, I will be interested to hear
I compared the MD5000 to the stock D5000 I own, as well as the Kenwood K1000 (@ $350), and the JVC DX1000 (@ $900). I primarily used the Purity Audio KICAS as the driving amp, as the Denons are a low 25 ohms, and Mark felt I should use a SS amp to do the evaluation. I listened to a wide variety of Rock and Jazz. Sources were an iMod iPod with VCap dock, and a Denon CD player. Levels were matched using a Radio Shack SPL meter set to 80dbA.
Pics:
Let me first discuss comfort. A significant item of the modding is the “puffing up” of the earpads. I felt that this very significantly reduced the comfort of the headphones. Compared to the stock D5000, which are so comfortable it’s almost hard to tell they are even on, the MD5000 are much, much less comfortable. I would describe the MD5000 comfort level as “fair to good”, whereas the stock headphones are “excellent”. So there is unquestionably a price to be paid for the mods in terms of comfort. I will say that the overall level of workmanship seems high.
So what about the sound? First and foremost let me say this. Taken on their own, with no comparisons, the MD5000s sound terrific. They are really enjoyable to listen to, and I enjoyed them a lot. If looked at in isolation, without regards to comfort, price, or comparison to other headphones, the MD5000 are terrific sounding cans.
But we don’t live in isolation, do we? The whole point of this exercise for me was the comparison. Let’s start with the comparison with the stock Denon. To begin with, the MD5000s sound VERY different from the stock D5000. There is no question about that. The difference is pretty surprising. The MD5000 are much brighter sounding. It makes the D5000 seem positively laid back by comparison. The mids are significantly more prominent with the MD5000. On some music, this was a benefit, but on some songs I preferred the stock Denon’s presentation. There is also a tiny bit of a “cupped hands” coloration with the MD5000’s mids that I could sometimes hear. It wasn’t a big deal, but it is there. I would not say that the MD5000 has the more neutral mids. I would say the stock D5000’s mids are slightly laid back, and the MD5000 are slightly forward. So with either, system matching will be the order of the day (as it always is), and one’s own preferences will of course also come into play.
Let me try to provide an example. On Eva Cassidy’s “Honeysuckle Rose” from Life At Blues Alley, the MD5000’s more forward sound brought Eva’s lovely voice out a little from the mix, and this made the track more enjoyable. However, on Dave Matthews’ “Gravedigger” from Some Devil, the MD5000 sounded forced and aggressive, and the stock Denon sounded more natural. The MD5000 have a “sound”. Some will love it – others may not.
In the treble, the MD5000 is the clear winner, although the difference is not huge. The D5000 seems a little “tizzy” in the treble compared with the MD5000. The MD5000’s treble comes across a little more naturally. I did not feel the difference was great, but it is a difference, and the MD5000 is better in this regard.
These differences in the midrange and treble result in some soundstaging differences as well. The MD5000 push the image forward, out in front of the listener. The soundstage is deeper than with the D5000, but it is also less wide. It’s not just the added depth – there is no doubt the stock Denon can has the wider soundstage. There is no free lunch, I guess. The soundstage with the MD5000 is slightly more defined. Overall I prefer the image presentation of the MD5000, but both were acceptable (and both were significantly behind the JVC DX1000 in this regard – about which, more later).
And then there is the bass. There is definitely less overall bass with the MD5000, but there is still plenty of bass on tap when called for, and the bass is definitely better defined sounding. I am not one of the people who feels the stock D5000 has sloppy bass, but the MD5000 has better bass control, no doubt. The overall bass impact is also less. Here again, I felt some songs sounded better on the MD5000, but some on the stock D5000. And here again also, the bass on the JVC DX1000 is significantly better than either. The DX1000 has better bass control than even the MD5000, and has the more even overall bass response.
So overall, would I say that the MD5000 sounds better than the stock D5000? Yes, I would, overall. It is an improvement. But now the tougher part – would I spend $600 to get this improvement? No. And in fact, for me, if the headphones were the same exact price, meaning a stock Denon D5000 was $600, and a complete, fully modded MD5000 was $600, would I chose the MD5000? Not if I planned to wear them for hours at a time. They are not comfortable enough. The stock Denon, the JVC and Kenwood cans are all very noticeably more comfortable.
And then there is the JVC DX1000. The DX1000 costs less than a fully-modded MD5000 if one were to buy a new pair. And at least for me, the JVC is better than the MD5000 in every way. Smoother and more detailed treble; better defined and deeper bass; more compelling, deeper and wider soundstage. Neither the DX1000 nor the MD5000 has completely neutral mids, but I prefer the mids on the DX1000. Then adding in that the JVC is much more comfortable, this is a pretty easy decision.
So where does that leave the MD5000? I think that as a stand-alone headphone, it’s in a pretty tough spot because of its cost. Enough so that it makes me wonder if the $159 mod that does not include the recable would be a better way to go (I have not heard that configuration, of course). It might be, since the Denon cable is pretty decent. The fully-modded MD5000 sounds excellent, but not good enough to justify its price compared to other things that are out there, in my opinion. If one already owns D5000’s, and isn’t happy with the sound, it is possible the $599 price of the mods might be better than spending the money on new cans – but it might not.
The MD5000 so have a “sound” that the listener may fall deeply in love with. But it’s not really a neutral sound, and as such, there will be people who do not love it. I don’t know where YOU, dear reader, will fall. I know that for me, while I did slightly prefer the MD5000 overall in terms of sound, I will not be modding my D5000’s – I will be keeping the stock D5000, but, as I do today, spend most of my time listening to the JVC’s. This is my preference. What yours will be, I will be interested to hear
