Looks like you just discovered what it is about the D2000 sound that can be sooo good. That's why people like them. When they're good they can be oh so good. It is recording dependent though. Some recordings and some styles of music just don't agree with them. That's the case with most any headphone (or speaker) that has color, and the midrange character and the recessed midrange is color. When the music doesn't happen to agree with the color of a particular colored headphone it is not going to sound good. When the music agrees with the color then you get something special.
A proper amp will tighten the bass and let the bass appear to go deeper. You'll get some better control of the driver which improves the bass. A proper amp will also give the music a little more punch and dynamics. A proper amp will also expand the soundstage so the sound will seem to be slightly further from the ears and with more space.
If you want to get an idea of what a better amp can do with the D2000 try taking your D2000 around to different home CD players that have a headphone out and some home receivers that have a headphone out. Some of those can drive the D2000 nicely (and some won't so if it doesn't sound noticeably better than straight out of your iPod you've got a bad match). When you find a good one compare it to your iPod. You'll hear the improvement in bass control and soundstage. If the headphone amp section happens to be a particularly good match you'll also get a smoothing of the highs, less harshness, and less sibilance. That will give you an idea of what to expect from a proper dedicated headphone amp.
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Originally Posted by skidu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I was strongly considering the HFI-780, but could imagine them sounding like my 1001's but harsh highs. Also after hearing the soundstage on the 2k's, i wouldn't want to go any smaller. Just out of interest, whats the bass on the HD600's like compared to the Denons? I assume the Sens have a more smooth, darker sound, or is that the HD650?
In an ideal world i would love a full sized pair of IE8's.
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The D2000 bass goes deeper and is fuller and fills out the music better. The D2000 also has more punch in the kick drum. The HD600 is rather light and polite in its treatment of the kick drum.
The HD600 bass is tighter which lets you hear more detail in the bass. For example you can better hear how a jazz bass guitar player is plucking the strings.
The D2000 is a bit slow. It is slow to decay and a little slow on the attack. Bass notes linger longer than they should and that extra lingering smears the details for the attack of a note and other details in the bass. As a result the HD600 bass is faster and more detailed in comparison. The dampening mods for the D2000 attempt to fix some of that slow decay in the D2000.
Ultimately I find the D2000 more satisfying. I'll use the HD600 at times when I want to focus on the bass technique of a player. But then I'll go back to the D2000 for the fun factor.
The D2000 goes noticeably deeper than the HD600 and that can be noticed in some pipe organ pieces that make use of a 32 foot pipe. The D2000 will play notes that the HD600 just doesn't know are there. Bela Fleck's "
Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" just tickles with the D2000. It's a good listen with the HD600, but not the same.
And yes, I may be a bass head.
