[the wizard of oz]

This is Head-Fi, and Fi is like the Fi in Hi-Fi: Fidelity. Bloated, exaggerated bass in respect to other frequencies isn't fidelity. It isn't less respectable or enjoyable, it is just something else that most here on Head-Fi are not looking for, hence the little enthusiasm there is here towards the Monster Beats products.
 
Sell your Denon D2000's, you should be able to get most of your money back, since quite a few here think they actually are worth their retail price, especially considering their upgradability via modding, and buy Beats instead. They only will provide what you are after adequately, and since you actually had tried them and liked them, they should end your streak of disappointments.
 
Edit: I feel my post sound harsher than I intend it to be. Need to rephrase.

 

[skamp]

The XB700 will provide more than the beats in that department, for less money…

 

[Z06_Pilot]

To the OP

You are so right, It is truly maddening trying to choose headphones based on reviews paticularly on the head-fi site. I recently went through your torment trying to choose components withut hearing them.

Many of the folks here are true audiophiles that can hear coloring in components that i could never dream of picking up, so they have many more factors in determining what is a great piece of gear for them than i would ever use. That can also lead to many differing opinions of the same equipment. It's wonderful having access to that expertise but it can make buying decisions difficult for us mere mortals

When i chose my gear i looked for commonality in the reviews of the headphones i was interested in. Like a wide soundstage, lots of air, accuracy, bass extension, etc. that helped me determine what phones and amp i should be looking at and eventually purchase

 

[dgross0818]

This is just my opinion as I'm rather new on here and to higher quality headphones in general, however, around a week ago it did purchase the Beats Pros for $400 from Best Buy and my opinion was they were overpriced, overhyped pieces of well built poop . The bass is decent and you can certainly feel it, however, everything else is muffled, the soundstage is pathetic, and the bass isn't even well defined at times...more of an in your face bass at times... I have a Z5500 system for a computer so believe me I know the feeling of low quality copious bass haha. I ended up with a set of RP-21's from equation audio. They are more comfortable than the beats, still have a bit of bass, and sound much better overall. The soundstage is still too small for my taste but it's no where near as bad as the Pros, and with closed cans it is tough to find a pair with a wide open stage . Oh yea, they only cost $90 with tax vs $430 or so for the Beats. I plan to mod them soon with new pads and new foam over the drivers which should bring the mids and highs out even more (for $10 or so). If you love the overpowering bass sure, the Beats will get the job done, however, if you get the Pros make sure you like the fit...within 30 min of me having them on I wanted to take them off because my ears were killing me. I had also bought the Bose QC-15s that day expecting to test out the 'best' and return one... Needless to say they both went back in the end

 

[Magick Man]

I find the D2000 with more BOOMBOOM than the Ultrasone's THUMPTHUMP.

Then you didn't mod them right.

 

[Tequilasunriser]

Quote:

 
Ultimately, yea I should have bought the Beats but again, totally my responsibility. One thing is for sure though, I won't be buying headphones based on Internet reviews anymore!
 

Good to hear!
 
I see too many people that don't offer what they think you'll like based on your list of wants, but instead try to imagine what you want with their own tastes in mind and basically end up recommending something to you that they would find desirable. There are also too many bandwagoning people that will make suggestions and recommendations for gear that they don't even own. (people that recommend ATH M50s I'm looking at you.)
 
It's all subjective. Listen before you buy and buy whatever sounds good to you. 

 

[thund3rstruck]

Quote:

Good to hear!
 
I see too many people that don't offer what they think you'll like based on your list of wants, but instead try to imagine what you want with their own tastes in mind and basically end up recommending something to you that they would find desirable. There are also too many bandwagoning people that will make suggestions and recommendations for gear that they don't even own. (people that recommend ATH M50s I'm looking at you.)
 
It's all subjective. Listen before you buy and buy whatever sounds good to you. 

Great points. I thought my post was pretty clear. I already have Sennhesiers and I really wanted a new set of phones specifically for earth pounding bass thumping for this set. I heard some Dre Beats a few years ago and the bass they generated amazed me.  
 
I have no idea why anyone would recommend these Denons for bass, they have no sub bass! Judging these on their bass tones alone makes them no better than my Sennheisers (other than the enormous $350 price tag) 
 
I live in a very rural community and there isn't anywhere I can go to listen before I buy so I either have to stop into a shop while on travel/vacation or I have to rely on reviews and forums for sound advise. I bought the Sennhesiers because some idiot went on and on about their great bass and those things had no bass. Then I bought Denons because several people remarked about their excellent bass --on a headphone specific audiophile forum, yet... still no bass.
 
So either I'm imagining that headphones are capable of generating low bass tones or I've been played like a fool .... again
 
---
NOTE: the Denons are still excellent headphones overall; just want to point that out. They just aren't what I wanted (or needed). I already have a good set of overall phones.
 

 

[Tequilasunriser]

Quote:

I live in a very rural community and there isn't anywhere I can go to listen before I buy so I either have to stop into a shop while on travel/vacation or I have to rely on reviews and forums for sound advise. I bought the Sennhesiers because some idiot went on and on about their great bass and those things had no bass. Then I bought Denons because several people remarked about their excellent bass --on a headphone specific audiophile forum, yet... still no bass.

 
Make all purchases from amazon so you can return them no questions asked after you try them.

 

[arteom]

Having had owned the Denon D2k and listened to the beats I would say the Denons make short work of the beats, in the bass department (and everywhere else really). My guess is your source/amp just isn't pulling through. The Denons do need amplification, they won't sound good out of the box like the beats. I had first been using the denons out an audigy 4 pro, then a zero amp/dac, then a x-can v8. With the v8 I had sub bass I hadn't heard before on the Denons. Sub bass you won't hear through an ipod or your computers sound card, even that nicer sound card, no go.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

Great points. I thought my post was pretty clear. I already have Sennhesiers and I really wanted a new set of phones specifically for earth pounding bass thumping for this set. I heard some Dre Beats a few years ago and the bass they generated amazed me.  
 
I have no idea why anyone would recommend these Denons for bass, they have no sub bass! Judging these on their bass tones alone makes them no better than my Sennheisers (other than the enormous $350 price tag) 
 
I live in a very rural community and there isn't anywhere I can go to listen before I buy so I either have to stop into a shop while on travel/vacation or I have to rely on reviews and forums for sound advise. I bought the Sennhesiers because some idiot went on and on about their great bass and those things had no bass. Then I bought Denons because several people remarked about their excellent bass --on a headphone specific audiophile forum, yet... still no bass.
 
So either I'm imagining that headphones are capable of generating low bass tones or I've been played like a fool .... again
 
---
NOTE: the Denons are still excellent headphones overall; just want to point that out. They just aren't what I wanted (or needed). I already have a good set of overall phones.
 

Ok, well that actually sounds like there's something wrong. The D2000s have a nice, flat extension straight to 30Hz before there is any sort of bass drop off (go check out frequency response measurements). If you're listening to individual bass tones and they sound poor, that's just not right. I don't know if Denon changed the D2000 recently, if you got a bad pair, or if they're something wrong with your source components, but that sounds like a legitimate problem. 

 

[swbf2cheater]

Sell all your audio gear and buy kittens. 

 

[dgross0818]

Quote:

Sell all your audio gear and buy kittens. 

Haha, they also cost a lot more My kitten was a kitten 12 years ago and she still thinks she is one / wakes my parents up at 5:30AM every day.  On the other hand, my dad has some old Sony's from the '80s that still work great. 
 
Sony has a pair of headphones for $70 or so called the Extra Bass Over-the-Ear Headphones, model MDRXB500 that are all in-you-face head shaking bass, however, everything else sounds compressed and the soundstage is, like the beats, rather pathetic.  I feel like what you were asking Head-Fi to recommend was a set with over-exagerated disproportional bass...this by definition is no where near Hi-Fi, and thus out of the comfort zone of many people here who are looking for a very authentic, natural sound.  The Beats would work just fine for what you want though even then there are better choices for the money I'm sure.

 

[thund3rstruck]

Quote:

Ok, well that actually sounds like there's something wrong. The D2000s have a nice, flat extension straight to 30Hz before there is any sort of bass drop off (go check out frequency response measurements). If you're listening to individual bass tones and they sound poor, that's just not right. I don't know if Denon changed the D2000 recently, if you got a bad pair, or if they're something wrong with your source components, but that sounds like a legitimate problem. 

I doubt its a bad pair since the headphones sound amazing, well unless of course you want bass. I'm using the FiiO E7 DAC/Amp and my PC speakers sound mind-blowing using that amp so I'm positive it's not the amp, its the headphones.
 
You can show me all the charts and graphs you want to and I'll say the same thing. These Denons have no bass. I don't know how anyone can debate that unless maybe they've never actually heard or experienced the punch of a deep sub. Its been a few years since I heard the Beats but the one memory that sticks out in my mind is how the bass boomed and hit a wide range of low tones, like a subwoofer should. These Denons though, have no punch or boom at all.
 
 
 

 

[Tequilasunriser]

I wonder if you'd like the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (80 Ohms).
 
If you can somehow get an opportunity to audition them they might be more what you're looking for. I'm listening to mine now and can't imagine anyone craving more bass (these are my basshead cans), but again, like I said above, it's all subjective.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

I doubt its a bad pair since the headphones sound amazing, well unless of course you want bass. I'm using the FiiO E7 DAC/Amp and my PC speakers sound mind-blowing using that amp so I'm positive it's not the amp, its the headphones.
 
You can show me all the charts and graphs you want to and I'll say the same thing. These Denons have no bass. I don't know how anyone can debate that unless maybe they've never actually heard or experienced the punch of a deep sub. Its been a few years since I heard the Beats but the one memory that sticks out in my mind is how the bass boomed and hit a wide range of low tones, like a subwoofer should. These Denons though, have no punch or boom at all.

Dude, I have a 12" subwoofer in the back of my car, and a nice 8" one with my bookshelf speakers. I am no stranger to bass. Your Denons should not be lacking bass, hence my concern that there might be something wrong. I'm not saying something is absolutely wrong, but just that I believe you have strong reason to believe something is wrong (enough so to get it double checked). And just because a piece of equipment is technically nice, that does not guarantee it will synergize with everything else you have.
 
Sorry if you already mentioned this, but did you test the Beats with your own gear/music or did you use the demo station?