[benjjj6]

Hi

I'm looking to get some headphones just for casual listening at home, but I do want great quality. The Denon AH D2000 are obviously very highly rated and the reviews tell me everything I want to hear. However at the moment I would just be plugging them in to my laptop soundcard (nothing special) and only a quarter of the music I listen to is in a lossless format. Does this matter? How much does it affect the sound?

Would I be worth spending this much for the difference in audio quality between these headphones and say some £100 headphones? Considering I don't have much other equipment - I do have a TC Electronic Konnekt 8 its just not with me at the moment - I assume using the headphones through this soundcard would sound even better?

TC Electronic | Konnekt 8

Blues, Jazz, Rock is what I listen to.


Thanks in advance,
Ben

 

[Graphicism]

Hi Ben,

Unamped Denons aren't anything special. I compared the Denon D2000 with the $35 JVC HA RX700 and the JVC was clearly the better headphone unamped; better musical separation, sound stage, overall musical presence.

Welcome to Head-fi

 

[Force]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graphicism /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Ben, Unamped Denons aren't anything special. I compared the Denon D2000 with the $35 JVC HA RX700 and the JVC was clearly the better headphone unamped; better musical separation, sound stage, overall musical presence. Welcome to Head-fi

You shouldn't be generalizing "Denons" like that. Some Denon headphones do actually sound good unamped from what I've heard (ex. Denon AH-D1001K).

I'm not looking for any problems, I just wanted to correct you.



Kind Regards,
Force.

 

[bdr529]

They would probably sound fine out of a soundcard, but since they are low impedance you might hear noise depending on the quality of your computer's output.

 

[roker]

I've heard that the D2000s sound great from a stereo receiver or CD player headphone output.

 

[peanuthead]

I think the Denon D2000 would be more than fine for how you want to use it. It sounds pretty good even straight from my iPod Touch.

 

[RichieLitt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Force /img/forum/go_quote.gif You shouldn't be generalizing "Denons" like that. Some Denon headphones do actually sound good unamped from what I've heard (ex. Denon AH-D1001K). I'm not looking for any problems, I just wanted to correct you. Kind Regards, Force.

Well this is a topic about the d2000's so he's probably talking about high level Denons.

 

[Mink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graphicism /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Ben, Unamped Denons aren't anything special. I compared the Denon D2000 with the $35 JVC HA RX700 and the JVC was clearly the better headphone unamped; better musical separation, sound stage, overall musical presence. Welcome to Head-fi

You are clearly exaggerating, but it is true in a way.
Unamped my Audio Technica A500's sound more pleasant, bigger and easy on the ears with most music, and with more presence than my D5000's.
The Denons sound a bit strained unamped, but they clearly have a better soundstage and instrument separation.

 

[benjjj6]

Thanks for the feedback and the welcome!

The more I read the more I think jumping in with fairly expensive D2000's may not be the best choice, I don't know whether I would fully appreciate them and get the most out of them. I have read amazing reviews but as I'm coming from such cheap headphones I don't quite know what to expect and want them to live up to my expectations.

I've also read nothing but good things about the D1001's and at £100 cheaper they seem like the perfect idea. Apparently the quality is still excellent in all ranges and they definitely work well straight out of an iPod/computer soundcard. Also, people say they are just as compfortable and light which is great as through headphones is the only way I'll be able to listen to music, so they'll get a lot of use.

Does anyone want to persuade me to go straight to the D2000's or would starting with D1001 and then saving up for something better and an amp later down the line be a better idea?

 

[Ham Sandwich]

The Denon D2000 is a nice headphone. It has good points, some bad points (been listening to Talking Heads "cities" today and the Phish cover version).

The midrange in the D2000 has its unique flavor. Some will like that while some won't. In jazz recordings the midrange flavor can color the tone of some instruments on some recordings. For example a sax may lose a little bit of its body. If you're absolutely critical about tone being right all of the time you'll not like the Denon unless you are willing to mod and the mods you do happen to fix the problem.

The Denons don't need a fancy amp, but they do need an amp that is adequate for low ohm headphones. With an underperforming amp they will sound boring (loss of dynamic impact and range) a loss of bass control and a shrinking of the soundstage. A laptop headphone out or a portable player headphone out will fall in the underperforming category. But you can be surprised at times. Sometimes equipment happens to have a headphone out that works well with the Denon (for example some headphone outs directly on a home CD player).

I use an AV123 x-head amp with my Denon D2000 and Sennheiser HD600. It does the trick. It's a $200 amp. $200 is still not just pocket change, but it does show that you don't need an exotic expensive amp. There's getting to be more and more choices in the under $200 category for amps and amp/dac combos that will be suitable with the Denon.

I don't know if your Konnekt 8 will drive the Denon D2000 well or not. I have an M-Audio FW-410 which is also a FireWire bus powered interface and headphone amp. The Denon sounds fine through the FW410 but it just doesn't have the power to get the Denons loud enough, especially for CDs that aren't mastered loud to begin with. So jazz would not be loud enough unless you only want to do low volume listening. The Konnekt 8 may go louder, I don't know. I just don't think anything that is FireWire bus powered will be able to do a headphone out that is proper for a full size headphone. With bus power you're getting a headphone amp designed for low power use similar to a battery powered portable amp. Full size headphones typically don't do well with battery powered portable amps. A headphone that is more portable amp friendly would do better with something like my FW410.

If you have plans for a $200ish amp in the future you could consider the HD600. Very nice for blues and jazz. Also does rock but misses out on some impact compared to the Denon. The HD600 properly amped doesn't have any of the tone problems that the Denon has. If you want the instruments to sound right the HD600 is a good choice.

If you're going to stay ampless then the Grados or Alessandro headphones would be good. They're great on blues, jazz and rock. The Grados are great for blues guitar.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Denons don't need a fancy amp, but they do need an amp that is adequate for low ohm headphones. With an underperforming amp they will sound boring (loss of dynamic impact and range) a loss of bass control and a shrinking of the soundstage.

I'm under the impression that the Denons are possibly one of the most source revealing headphones, where the more you scale up the better it will sound. Whether this would include the amp or just source/DAC I'm not sure... I can say they sounded quite full yet colored on a Singlepower PPX tube amp and empty and warm on a Headfive that I had at the time. Running directly from a soundcard showed an obvious lack of power with the sound breaking up and distorting at decent listening levels.

 

[Mink]

If the D2000's are anything like the D5000's then you are right.
"Source Direct" on my Marantz amp, I never used it because it didn't make a difference...well apparently it does, for the better.

 

[Kobra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjjj6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone want to persuade me to go straight to the D2000's or would starting with D1001 and then saving up for something better and an amp later down the line be a better idea?

As this is your first dip in the headphone waters I'd go in gently if I were you... if you like it, you can always blow your cash later on

I'd recommend you to start out with the Denon AH-D1001K. I have a pair myself, love them! They sound great unamped, but will benefit from a amp, I'm currently using mine either with a NuForce Mobile Icon and my MacBook Pro or directly with my iPhone 3GS.

The Denon AH-D1001K has a sound signature that's very close to the AH-D2000, but they lack a little in soundstage (compared to the D2000) and the last oomph in bass. The D1001 has a "better" cord to use with laptops and portable players, the D2000 is intended for use at home. Both headphones are very comfortable and can be used for long sessions without head/ear discomfort.

 

[Baines93]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but Kobra, how do you find the synergy with the D1k's and the Icon Mobile?

Looking at upgrading my USB-input-only DAC/amp, the Behringer, and the Nuforce will give me a better amp than the FiiO E5, that I can also use with my iPod etc. when at home with an LOD. I think I remember reading good things about the pairing too?

Are they much better amped than just straight out of the headphone out? Maybe I could keep my crappy Behringer, and just live with the h/p out of the iPod too, but i'm anticipating upgrading to 2000's soon after getting my 1k's, so maybe upgrading my DAC to an Icon Mobile is a wise idea? Are the 2k's as good-a pairing with the Icon Mobile as I read the 1k's were (if I remember correctly)

Thanks in advance,

Matt.