Denon AHD 2000 and Audi Technica ATH700 comparison and short review

A

Andyk5

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
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Hey guys, after reading forums for a couple months I ended up with 3 headphones at home.
The Razer carchairas, ATH AD 700 and Denon AHD 2000.

Razer went right back, Audio Technica are still here and i am listening to the Denon's right now.
First Audio Technica
Pro's
Light, open, good workhorse headphones. Can hear phone and others while listening to music, playing games, talking on skype. Especially good while in a room with multiple people but not to isolate yourself. Good highs, ok mids

Con's
Ok mids, no lows at all, creaking sound while moving head left and right, cheap build, weird padding material which feels old and used up right from day one.

Denon's
Pro's
Much better than Audio Technica in every way. Better highs, mids and lows. Low frequencies are especially great, mids are so clear that you can understand each and every word of the lyrics, highs are there but never annoyingly loud.
I do not know how to rate a headphone with respect to the soundstage, warm, cold etc... but I can easily say that I can definitely hear a whole lot more detail and clarity with Denon's than I can with Audio Technicas.

Cons
Mine arrived with a factory defect on one of the cups, but I cant really take anything away from these headphones for that.

Overall Denon's rock big time. I am a hard to please person and I return more than %50 of everything I purchase for one reason or another. These headphones are perfect for me and returning them never crossed my mind. Audio Technica's are going back.

I am aware that this is not apples to apples, Audio Technica's are open and $130 cheaper than the Denon's but consider this. The price difference between the two and giving up the openness of the AD700 is very well justified by built quality, sound precision and comfort of the Denon's. Also consider that my amp ( Maveric D1) is still somewhere in East China in a DHL truck. When these babies get amplified, I am pretty sure that the difference is going to be even more pronounced.
It is hard for me to say this but there is absolutely nothing wrong with these Denon's.
As you can see that this is not an official write up but I was so happy with my purchase, I wanted to share my experience with you guys and you never know, maybe someone in my situation will find this post later down the line make use of it.
 
The Denon's are nice in that you dont need to amp them. I've used them quite satisfactorily off my iPod with no complaints. When I do use my headphone amp its even better. Not by leaps and bounds, but there is still a subtle difference. Glad enough I bought a headphone amp, but not pissed that I spent (only) $150 on it.

Never had a chance to listen to the ATH AD 700s.
 
I am getting the headphone amp mainly for volume. I am hoping that I can get at least %30 increase in volume without getting the sound distorted.
 
I love the Denon's paired with the Xonar Essence. Fully agree with your review. AD700's are great for the money but the Denon's are worth the extra dollars. I've compared about a dozen headphones around the 250-400 dollar range and they are still my favorite.
 
I think you should probably compare the D2000s to the A700s, not the AD700s. First, and most importantly :p, the pads are far far more comfortable and fit your head much better. Second, it's a closed headphone like the D2000 and sounds much closer.

I also am a big fan of the D2000, but I think it's a mistake for everyone to forget the A700 exists as I love the way they sound. My next purchase will either be D2000s or Ultrasone Pro 900s and honestly I hope I like either of them, long term, as much as I do my A700s.
 
wadec22 said:
I love the Denon's paired with the Xonar Essence. Fully agree with your review. AD700's are great for the money but the Denon's are worth the extra dollars. I've compared about a dozen headphones around the 250-400 dollar range and they are still my favorite.
Click to expand...

Love my Denon's wiht the Xonar Essence also.. my favorite cans.
 
Thanks for the insight. Looking to pick up the Denon's when the drop back to sub $250.
 
guitarslingerchris said:
I think you should probably compare the D2000s to the A700s, not the AD700s. First, and most importantly :p, the pads are far far more comfortable and fit your head much better. Second, it's a closed headphone like the D2000 and sounds much closer.

I also am a big fan of the D2000, but I think it's a mistake for everyone to forget the A700 exists as I love the way they sound. My next purchase will either be D2000s or Ultrasone Pro 900s and honestly I hope I like either of them, long term, as much as I do my A700s.
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I previously owned an ATH-A700; currently one of my friends owns a pair. I cannot directly compare them to the AH-D2000 because I only own the AH-D5000, but it is absolutely alarming how superior the Denon is - and I think that says a lot because I loved my ATH-A700 while I owned them and I still believe they are very respectable headphones.
 
LOLANG said:
Thanks for the insight. Looking to pick up the Denon's when the drop back to sub $250.
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I am actually selling mine in the for sale forum for much less then that, need the money for the U3011 PLP setup, check it out if ya wanna buy them.
 
AD700s are a pair of great headphones. I sold mine because they were just too big. I rarely game with headphones too :p
 
guitarslingerchris said:
I think you should probably compare the D2000s to the A700s, not the AD700s.
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Wouldn't the more appropriate comparison be with the A900s?

Interesting comparison anyway. A friend of mine did a similar test between Denon D2000 and A-T A900 and very much preferred the A-Ts. I think the take home message is everyone should try before they buy as everyone has different preferences.
 
alco23 said:
I think the take home message is everyone should try before they buy as everyone has different preferences.
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Stellar advice. I've greatly disliked some headphones that others have loved, and vice versa. Not all headphones feel the same on your head, and very few headphones try to make as flat and neutral a sound as possible - you're naturally going to like some approaches to headphones and dislike others, and you cannot really know for sure what you like until you've tried some.
 
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