[RPGWiZaRD]

Another thing about the D1100 which is kind of weird, they are like warm but at same time it sounds like the sound would be quite "far away" and also have a slight "reverb" effect to it. The drivers themselves sits pretty deep inside the cups where there seems to be a lot of space around the drivers so that might be part of the reason for it. I remember one guy commented something similar about them and he was a bassguitar player I think that wanted something more forward sounding...
 
Usually warm headphones are "forward" sounding but I don't think D1100 can be called quite forward sounding but it's definitely on the warm side and smooth sounding from the somewhat excessive upper bass vs slightly rolled off highs. It's like very warm sound + slight laid-back sound mixed into it at same time, very strange. ^^

 

[Farmer Giles]

hmm, would probably agree with that last post by rpgwizard.
No such issues with the D2000's though. Just had an evening watching TV, and settled down a few mins ago in front of the fire - glass of port, D2000 headphones on and an end to end run through of Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd.

Pure Magic.

I still think the D1100's are good. Not as good as the D2000's and with a decent amp, you'll be spending a lot of money to get any better than that combination..
I don't think we can be much more help here on choice.

Knowing what I know now - I'd have probably gone straight to the D2000"s and also straight to a quality Amp that works well with the phones - there must be 10 opinions here at least that will choose an amp for you. My recommendation is the Voyager.

The setup just works for me and gives a great sound. Not 'break the bank expensive' either.

I guess now is the time you get to decide whether you'll take the next step into the Head-Fi world of doubt and the quest for perfection... It's a drug that mostly I resist.!

Good luck

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Yep, after having tried D1100 myself I'd also start believing it's probably worth spending the extra for D2000 + decent amp. Besides the unbalanced sound in the D1100 the sound quality itself wasn't quite mindblowing for a headphone in this priceclass, I actually think XB500 could possibly have better sound quality when the unbalanced frequency response is put aside. In short the D1100 was somewhat of a letdown, it performed worse than I had expected.
 
Currently I'm listening to the Sennheiser HD 212 Pro that benefits with a quite similar shape of the curve as D1100 did except it can take more upper bass without overpowering it and doesn't need quite as much boost in the highs but it's also got similar recessed mids but I have a hard time deciding which of them actually sounds better and I've concidered HD212 Pro like having quite poor sound quality and wasn't worth even 50€ IMO but this is the first time I'm listening to them with the FiiO E5 amp and they seem like a very good combo cuz of the added warmth which HD212 Pro lacks and I prefer warm sound but unamped the D1100 definitely sounds better then those though. D1100 are definitely louder at same volume between those two at same volume setting so they aren't any demanding.
 
I have to promote the XB500 though as yet again they've beaten another far expensier headphone and I paid only 43€ for these *** compared to 130€ for D1100 or 142€ for ATH-M50 or 147€ for DT770 Pro/80 and the weirdest thing is that XB500 sounds best ampless and worse with any amp that isn't completely neutral sounding probably, E5 and Gary's PA2V2 amp that colors the sound a bit by adding more warmth/bass ruins the sound for them for example, the fine details are lost and the result is a muddy mess. Guess I've already found the holy grail of headphone for myself. xD LCD-2 with some bassboost would be the only headphone I think that I'd like more but I'm not willing to take such a step for now and I don't like very heavy headphones either so.

 

[rainBRO]

Looks like I'll be going with the D2000 then. Unless I convince myself that the DT770 is better for my uses (probably the 250 Ohms).

 

[soundeffect]

I say go for the d1100 if you want to save money have tones of bass.
 
go for the d2000 if you are wanting something more balance and refine than the d1100 and are going to buy a decent amp for it atleast in the future.  I think the d2000 are better in pretty much all area.  They just don't have a strong emphasis on bass as the d1100. 
 
are they worth it? well the higher in price you go in headphones the deminishing in return you will get.  It's just the nature of headphones.  For some it's worth it, while other they are okay with what they have as it's just enough to enjoy.
 
I like the d2000 more. 

 

[shorty920]

Just curious, but what is your EQ settings on the D1100s? I find that after a good EQing, I cannot go back to the unEQ'd D1100s. With the EQ on, it really opens up the D1100 sound and sounds more rich and dynamic. I hear much more instrumental clarity and detail. For hip-hop and rock, they both sound very good.
 
Quote:

Yep, after having tried D1100 myself I'd also start believing it's probably worth spending the extra for D2000 + decent amp. Besides the unbalanced sound in the D1100 the sound quality itself wasn't quite mindblowing for a headphone in this priceclass, I actually think XB500 could possibly have better sound quality when the unbalanced frequency response is put aside. In short the D1100 was somewhat of a letdown, it performed worse than I had expected.
 
Currently I'm listening to the Sennheiser HD 212 Pro that benefits with a quite similar shape of the curve as D1100 did except it can take more upper bass without overpowering it and doesn't need quite as much boost in the highs but it's also got similar recessed mids but I have a hard time deciding which of them actually sounds better and I've concidered HD212 Pro like having quite poor sound quality and wasn't worth even 50€ IMO but this is the first time I'm listening to them with the FiiO E5 amp and they seem like a very good combo cuz of the added warmth which HD212 Pro lacks and I prefer warm sound but unamped the D1100 definitely sounds better then those though. D1100 are definitely louder at same volume between those two at same volume setting so they aren't any demanding.
 
I have to promote the XB500 though as yet again they've beaten another far expensier headphone and I paid only 43€ for these *** compared to 130€ for D1100 or 142€ for ATH-M50 or 147€ for DT770 Pro/80 and the weirdest thing is that XB500 sounds best ampless and worse with any amp that isn't completely neutral sounding probably, E5 and Gary's PA2V2 amp that colors the sound a bit by adding more warmth/bass ruins the sound for them for example, the fine details are lost and the result is a muddy mess. Guess I've already found the holy grail of headphone for myself. xD LCD-2 with some bassboost would be the only headphone I think that I'd like more but I'm not willing to take such a step for now and I don't like very heavy headphones either so.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Well I boosted the mids a bit further and deep bass also and highs slightly more and it starts sounding very good, this headphone sure needs some heavy EQing, none of the headphones I've tried needed such drastic EQing. Maybe I'll have some use of it after all.

 

[tuanhung303]

go for d2000, markl mod it, recable it and reach to the sound of d7000 (almost )

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

BTW here's my current EQ settings shorty920 
 

 

 

[soundeffect]

hey rainbro,
 
 I just got my amp.  Don't get the d2000 if you don't have an amp.  To my ears, they are unacceptable without an amp.  I was heavily unsatisfied with the bass.  I just plugged my amp on with the d2000 and everything came alive.  The bass are very satisfying for me.  Without an amp, the d2000 will sound hollow, bass deep, but slow flabby in the back room somewhere, mids are recessed, highs are borderline harsh.  An amp will fix all of that. 
 
To me, I think the d2000 are a step better than the d1100.

 

[Clincher09]

For you guys that have used the 1100, how detailed were they? I can deal with a ton of bass, and I've been considering getting these cans if the only problem was too much bass.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

For you guys that have used the 1100, how detailed were they? I can deal with a ton of bass, and I've been considering getting these cans if the only problem was too much bass.

Out of stock without equalizing I think they aren't very detailed for the price, with optimal configured EQ they sound quite good though. My main issue is how the sound seems somewhat distant, I'd want my music to surround me like they do on XB500 so I'd be the center of the music, on D1100 it feels like you were listening it from a very slight distance like sitting on the front row on a concert as opposed to standing on the scene with the XB500 (boosting all values on EQ more helped to bring it more "forward though) and the bass is quickly rolled off after 100Hz downwards so for my taste I have to boost the deep bass quite a lot to get that balanced deep/upper bass ratio I want. Mids also needs a big boost (the mids are lot more recessed compared to the 3x cheaper XB500). This is a headphone you shouldn't pick up IMO unless your device you're gonna use it with will have a decent EQ, preferable 10-band EQ or better so for computer use it should be fine or if you have a Cowon mp3 player for example. Even cheap amps like the FiiOs seems to bring an improvement but I was able to EQ it to pretty much same results as using FiiO E5 using kX Audio driver's EQ by boosting some frequencies a bit more instead but they probably benefit from amps that colors the sound a bit. XB500 is a similar sounding headphone but better IMO for cheaper if you don't mind the slight sound leaking. Of course EQing can't quite fix the sound quality of the D1100 completely anyway, I really have hard time finding anything that it would do better than the 3x cheaper XB500 (perhaps some songs with punchy and not sloppy bass sounds pretty good like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMg5cQd5f50) but I hope it's only cuz of the worse sound card Audigy 1 vs Audigy 2 ZS but I'm doubtful that will bring a night and day difference.

 

[Clincher09]

Yeah, unfortunately my Zune doesn't have a custom EQ. I might just go with the AHD2000.

 

[rainBRO]

Quote:

Yeah, unfortunately my Zune doesn't have a custom EQ. I might just go with the AHD2000.

I have the D1100's now with an E5 and I am enjoying them a lot. Unless you plan on getting a better amp I think I would stick with the D1100s. Get an E7, or even better the E7/E9 combo and then go for the D2000s.

 

[Adamek]

I'm using this thread as I've got quite similar problem, sorry for that
 
My current headphones are Denon D1100 (I'm satisfied with them), but I'm in love with D2000 (their appearance, dunno about sound, no chance to listen to them).
I'm listening to eletronic music (house, electro), my player is Cowon J3 (when using D1100 I set bass to -2) and (currently unused) Fiio E6. I hate (constantly) overwhelming bass, but I love when bass sometimes punches. Is it worth to buy D2000 in my situation? If I buy D2000 will amp be necessary?
 
Best redards and hope you understood me,
Michał