[oldmate]

  The Shure has a more neutral sound signature.  The Denon D600s mids and highs are recessed.  It sounds like you would be paying way too much for the D600s.  I think $200-250 is what you should aim for, for the D600.  That is unless you are finding the 1540s for much less than $500?

 
Reasonable price here ATM;
 
http://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/astore/Denon-Music-Manic-AH-D600-Over-Ear-Headphones.aspx#
 
I paid $285.00 for them only a few weeks ago. I'm still happy with them and I don't think they deserve the bashing they receive as for specific genres they are very good. I find the bass to be deep and powerful with no distortion to my ears. I am however mindful of the quality of the material they are fed ie, material with great production attributes for example Steely Dan and Donald Fagan. Daft Punk's Giorgio by Moroder sounds sensational on the D600's.

 

[HiFiKyle]

   
Reasonable price here ATM;
 
http://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/astore/Denon-Music-Manic-AH-D600-Over-Ear-Headphones.aspx#
 
I paid $285.00 for them only a few weeks ago. I'm still happy with them and I don't think they deserve the bashing they receive as for specific genres they are very good.

Man.. This is making it difficult. I need to just make a decision.. D600 is much cheaper.. just wonder if in the long run I would prefer to have the Shures. If the Shures have the same AMOUNT of bass as the denons then I will just bite the bullet for the Shures. I am confident the D600s are great too but like I said, I just want to try and get "the best I can" for my first pair. I'm basically looking for someone to honestly say "Shut up and get the 1540s.. they are better and have tons of bass" haha.

 

[oldmate]

 
Man.. This is making it difficult. I need to just make a decision.. D600 is much cheaper.. just wonder if in the long run I would prefer to have the Shures. If the Shures have the same AMOUNT of bass as the denons then I will just bite the bullet for the Shures. I am confident the D600s are great too but like I said, I just want to try and get "the best I can" for my first pair. I'm basically looking for someone to honestly say "Shut up and get the 1540s.. they are better and have tons of bass" haha.

I have never heard the Shure's myself however the general consensus is they are more "audiophile" then the D600's. The D600's are a lot of fun so I suppose you have to weigh it up. What sort of sound signature do you like?? What music will you be playing? How will you be driving them? Best go audition them both if possible but if you were to go the Shure's I don't think you would regret it based upon all the comments here on Head-Fi.
 
Mind you I read all the negative comments re the D600's and went ahead with them anyway. Call me a rebel or whatever but I don't regret the purchase. It would be safe to say the Shure's don't have the bass of the D600's.
 
The safest choice based on opinion however would be the Shure's but that price on the D600's is attractive. Retailers here in AU still have them at $599.00!!

 

[HiFiKyle]

I have never heard the Shure's myself however the general consensus is they are more "audiophile" then the D600's. The D600's are a lot of fun so I suppose you have to weigh it up. What sort of sound signature do you like?? What music will you be playing? How will you be driving them? Best go audition them both if possible but if you were to go the Shure's I don't think you would regret it based upon all the comments here on Head-Fi.

Mind you I read all the negative comments re the D600's and went ahead with them anyway. Call me a rebel or whatever but I don't regret the purchase. It would be safe to say the Shure's don't have the bass of the D600's.

The safest choice based on opinion however would be the Shure's but that price on the D600's is attractive. Retailers here in AU still have them at $599.00!!

I have no clue what kind of signature I like since these are my first real headphones :/ only way I can describe what I want is a cinematic sound.. I listen to a lot of metal and some electric music by artists such as fox stevenson.. I want the double kicker bass drum to be heavy and boomy but smooth and deep.. Guess I'll go for the shures and if they don't have enough bass with a fiio e17 I'll return them and try buying the denons.. Can't find anywhere around the phoenix Arizona area that has either of these or anything comparable to listen to!

Thank you for your continued help and advice

 

[oldmate]

I have no clue what kind of signature I like since these are my first real headphones :/ only way I can describe what I want is a cinematic sound.. I listen to a lot of metal and some electric music by artists such as fox stevenson.. I want the double kicker bass drum to be heavy and boomy but smooth and deep.. Guess I'll go for the shures and if they don't have enough bass with a fiio e17 I'll return them and try buying the denons.. Can't find anywhere around the phoenix Arizona area that has either of these or anything comparable to listen to!

Thank you for your continued help and advice

 
The D600's whilst marketed as an IOS/Portable device headphone they definitely benefit from amping. These things can go loud without distortion. 1800mw to be exact. I don't think boomy is what anybody wants with good bass. With say Daft Punk they are akin to having a high quality sub woofer strapped to your ears. Deep luscious bottomless bass!! I'm not a Metal aficionado but AC/DC absolutely pumps hard with the D600's. 
 
If you have the option of returning them for the Denon's then you cannot go wrong. That is unless you start the search for the perfect headphone only to find you wallet permanently empty as you start buying cans for specific genres and you find yourself standing up in a room of people saying my name is, and I'm a Head-Fi addict!! 

 

[Change is Good]

SRH1540 FTW...

 

[Byrnie]

Ah.. Thank you for the info.. Really the only place I have looked online is Amazon.. which is asking $350 new.. obviously that's a bloated price.. would you be able to give me your personal advice on whether the Shure's are worth their double price tag to the Denons? This is my first serious pair of headphones (Only have BW C5s right now) and I just want something very nice right off the bat and then get amps if necessary for different sounds. As long as someone can guarantee me that the Shure's have enough boom to them and are deep/rolling in bass I should like them.

Well to be honest if I had to do it over again I would have bought the NAD HP50 ($300). To me, it's the best sounding closed headphone for the price. If you're looking for something bassy rather than neutral, I would say go for the D600 bit I found the HP50 to be superior for overall sound quality. I hope that helps. That's not to say I don't love my 1540s either.

 

[Byrnie]

Reasonable price here ATM;

http://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/astore/Denon-Music-Manic-AH-D600-Over-Ear-Headphones.aspx#

I paid $285.00 for them only a few weeks ago. I'm still happy with them and I don't think they deserve the bashing they receive as for specific genres they are very good. I find the bass to be deep and powerful with no distortion to my ears. I am however mindful of the quality of the material they are fed ie, material with great production attributes for example Steely Dan and Donald Fagan. Daft Punk's Giorgio by Moroder sounds sensational on the D600's.

I wasn't bashing them in case that was aimed at me. I still have my D600. They are fun headphones and very impactful in the bass.

 

[oldmate]

Definitely not aimed at you. I was referring to the folks who were upset about the music maniac series after the fostex denon divorce.

Still, if it wasn't for those same folk the prices may have remained high as they were definitely not worth the initial price when released.

 

[kimvictor]

Well to be honest if I had to do it over again I would have bought the NAD HP50 ($300). To me, it's the best sounding closed headphone for the price. If you're looking for something bassy rather than neutral, I would say go for the D600 bit I found the HP50 to be superior for overall sound quality. I hope that helps. That's not to say I don't love my 1540s either.

+1
When I first demoed HP50, I was awed. For a neutralish sound fan, HP50 does it. Slightly bassy but remains overall natural. It felt like near field monitors.

 

[oldmate]

  +1
When I first demoed HP50, I was awed. For a neutralish sound fan, HP50 does it. Slightly bassy but remains overall natural. It felt like near field monitors.

They are brilliant headphones. Have mine paired with the X3 and +2db of bass. I find with that bass setting I get some very nice slam. D600's are way more comfortable however. Sure wish NAD had made the cups a little bigger.

 

[marts30]

Ended up selling my 1540, though I really liked them. They were a bit too bass focused for my taste and I wasn't reaching for them as much as my AD2000x.
 
Headband also became uncomfortable.

 

[Byrnie]

  They are brilliant headphones. Have mine paired with the X3 and +2db of bass. I find with that bass setting I get some very nice slam. D600's are way more comfortable however. Sure wish NAD had made the cups a little bigger.

yea I wish the cups were wider.

 

[Change is Good]

Had to change my avatar, It's only right....
 
<3

 

[halcyon]

I did purchase the Mad Dog pads as a replacement, at first didn't like them (the included 1540 pads are SO comfortable), but have gotten used to them, and I find the seal is better, leading to better bass, mids, more open, they sound like I had expected them to sound from what I had read now (this is variable, depending on head size/shape, imo.

 
Could you or anybody else with the Alpha Dog pads on 1540s comment on changes in isolation/leakage?

The 1540 are not the best in terms of isolation with the original stock pads.
 
Does this improve markedly with the Alpha Pads or is there very little difference?

Thanks!