[Fail]

I've never posted here before, much less leaving a review. I'm a newish member, but I've been lurking head-fi since 2007. With that said, I was compelled to post because before getting my own pair of the Denon AH-D600, I was a little concerned they would be another set of cans that I ended up using a return policy for. The only reason I took the plunge was because I got such an awesome deal, and due to how much I love my AH-D2000. 
 
Well, I must say that I'm really liking these headphones. I like them more than my D2000 (although these a slightly more comfortable, but also require constant adjustment) in almost every way. I'm not going to throw around a lot of technical jargon, because quite frankly, all of that is subjective anyways, but I can say that these are definitely bass heavy. However, I actually appreciate that about them. I've always felt that if headphones could produce decent sound in the mid and high range but lacked a lot of bass, there wasn't much you could do with an EQ to really bring that bass back. With headphones like these with plenty of power at all ranges you can EQ out or in the stuff you personally find most pleasing. For me, I appreciate good bass. I wouldn't say I'm a bass head, but I do appreciate some punch, and that is something that these cans are not lacking in. Also, they are incredibly easy to drive to the point that my Nexus 4 has no issue producing great sound using the Google Play Music app. 
 
With all of that said, why is it that these headphones seem to get such a bad reputation on these boards? Especially when people then follow their statements by touting how much better the D2000/D5000 were by comparison? I have the D2000, and I don't see them as superior. Obviously sound preference is just that, and these sound great.
 
For reference, I have the Denon AH-D2000, Denon AH-D600, Sony MDR-XB500, Sony MDR-XB600 (the XB500 sounds way better and is more comfortable), Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10, and previously owned the Sennheiser HD-595.

 

[ethan7000]

People say the D600 has less bass, especially sub bass, than the D2000, possibly owing somewhat to a looser clamp.  Is that not the case?

 

[Fail]

Not at all. The D600 for sure has more bass. I verified this just the other day doing a side by side comparison of the same FLAC (I don't think this matters much, but for the self-proclaimed audiophiles here it might) track using Foobar2000 and HDMI PCM pass through to my Denon AVR-1611 home theater receiver. I then proceeded to check many other songs, and the D600 has a noticeable amount of bass over the D2000 (these are totally stock BTW). 
 
Also, I did take the time to burn in the D600 for at least 24 hours prior to the side by side using a 320kbps pink noise track on a constant loop.

 

[ethan7000]

What if you were just comparing bass around 30Hz?  Still the 600 that takes the cake?

 

[Fail]

Hmmm... Do you have a specific track in mind? I can test it for you and get back to you with my thoughts tomorrow.
 
Also, if you're a bass head, I'll be honest, for the money, the previously mentioned Sony MDR-XB500 would probably be your best bang for the buck. Is that what you're interested in mostly?

 

[ethan7000]

Haha, no not a bass head, I just like testing sub bass on cans mostly, it intrigues me.  My X1's have plenty of bass for my needs.  But if you want to test the sub bass on those two and let us know, there's a nice sub bass run at 2:18 on this track:
 
https://soundcloud.com/trapmusic/castle-of-affair-by-candyland
 
I like this run because it sounds really distinct on fast drivers, yet pretty sloppy on slow.  Let me know your impressions with the Denons if you have time.

 

[Fail]

Alright, I'll give impressions on that track using both Denon cans as well as the MDR-XB500 and even my little UE IEMs! 

 
Of course I'll make my main focus the Denon comparison. I'll post my thoughts tomorrow.

 

[ethan7000]

Thanks man!

 

[Chris_Himself]

They're great as just plug-in headphones but they don't tend to scale very well when exploring the depths of wallet depravity that head-fi routinely visits. Hell, they're marked as "iPod capable" right on the box I believe.
 
I think they're good though FWIW

 

[Alfonsomac]

Hi guys.
 
I need some advices. I'm not an expert, but i like to enjoy music with a good pair of cans.
In the past i had -and tried- the Sennheiser HD598, which i replaced with the closed cans Ultrasone HFI 780. They are really good, very well balanced i may say. I also have the FiiO E10 to enjoy them more.
Though i do not define them a "wow headphones", i didn't want to replace them; then i saw the AH-D600.
 
In the past, i was very curious about the AH-D2000, but for some reason i went on the 780.
Now the AH-D600 costs only 232 euros on Amazon, and i may buy them. But what i want to know, it's if i get some benefits (isolation, bass, mids, treble, ecc) from the actual HFI 780. 
To let you know, i mainly listen post rock, psychedelic, electronic, trip hop, experimental and ambient music [Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Portishead, Sigur Rós, James Blake].
 
What do you say on the switch? Do i make a breakthrough or a step back (considering the less ohms comparing to 780)?
 
And are the AH-D600 better than Sennheiser Momentum?
 
P.S. Oh, for what's worth, i'm a little bit concerned about the iOS reference on the box. Even if i'm a Mac and iPhone user, it's sound so Beats style.
 
Thank you

 

[Fail]

Quote:

Haha, no not a bass head, I just like testing sub bass on cans mostly, it intrigues me.  My X1's have plenty of bass for my needs.  But if you want to test the sub bass on those two and let us know, there's a nice sub bass run at 2:18 on this track:
 
https://soundcloud.com/trapmusic/castle-of-affair-by-candyland
 
I like this run because it sounds really distinct on fast drivers, yet pretty sloppy on slow.  Let me know your impressions with the Denons if you have time.

 
Alright, sorry I didn't get to this yesterday. I ended up falling asleep while putting my daughter to bed, haha.
 
Anyhow, I've so far tested the AH-D600, the AH-D2000, and the MDR-XB500. The results are actually pretty interesting to me given the price that I paid for each. I used my Denon AVR as my amp for the song you wanted me to test.
 
Let me clear the question between sub bass ability of the D600 vs the D2000... Hands down, without even a small question as to who the winner between these two is, the D600 is far superior to the D2000 in terms of sub bass. In fact, the MDR-XB500 was able to cleanly deliver bass that the D2000 was unable to push.
 
Quite frankly, if I had to choose to purchase any of these headphones at their retail price, the MDR-XB500 would get my vote any day of the week. I don't mean this to say that the D600 and D2000 don't sound better (although the D2000 wouldn't sound better to a bass head), but dollar for dollar, I can't hear the difference that the retail price says should exist.
 
Now back to the D600. These not only sound better in cleanly producing hard hitting bass, but they sound great in the mid and high range too. I noticed that the D2000 by comparison does almost as well in the mids and highs, but is not able to produce the same punch down low that the D600 can produce seemingly without effort.
 
A buddy of mine tried the X1 and now owns the D600, and he said he likes the X1 better (I don't remember what it was about the X1 he liked better). However, considering we paid less than half the cost of the X1 for our new D600, the benefit doesn't outweigh the cost difference.
 
Hope this is helpful.

 

[ethan7000]

Hey thanks so much, that's really helpful. I own the X1 and love them, but am interested to hear the D600. The D600 is more expensive right now by almost $100, that's odd that they were less than the X1 before.

 

[Oregonian]

To answer your main question about why they get a bad reputation, that is in a nutshell what Head Fi is like....... Doesn't mean the merits of the headphone are there or not sometimes people just don't take a liking to them and therefore they get bashed. Heck, many times people don't even know what they sound like and still bash them. Denon D7100 is a perfect example as is the D600. Seems the new Denon line suffers from its reputation of its predecessor built by Fostex. Wildly successful, great rep and the new models can't be good! Lol

By the way, I have the D600 and love it, as I do my D7000 and D2000.

 

[Oregonian]

Hey thanks so much, that's really helpful. I own the X1 and love them, but am interested to hear the D600. The D600 is more expensive right now by almost $100, that's odd that they were less than the X1 before.

Try Amazon for a price check on the D600. They regularly sell them used and refurb for around $250ish. I paid around $252 and they appeared to be new with all accessories, which by the way the packaging and options are first rate.

 

[HiFiRobot]

B&H Photo had the price $258 a few weeks ago instore, might still be valid. Their online price was $499 at the same time, I checked.