Great closed set for an even greater price | Denon AH-D1000K Headphones (Black)

Best In Class Under $150 | Denon AH-D1000K Headphones (Black)

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	• Denon AH-D1000K Headphones (Black) Denon Denon, 2007 average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Loving these headphones, no doubt

If you're looking for some good headphones at a good price, I suggest these hands down. I don't think I've ever been happier with headphones so far. You get great sound, good noise cancellation, as well as an extender and a bag for it all!

If you buy these hopefully you'll be as happy with them as I am. :)

5/5

Great closed set for an even greater price

First of all, I normally write a detailed review (and normally make it independent of other reviews to be as objective as I can) but I found J. Gu's excellent review to describe better all I could say about it, so I'll keep it short and simple. I recently got Grados and I love their sound, but the open design allowed me to hear every bit of the window A/C in my room. However, I didn't really have the money for a really high end closed set and I'm starting to find IEMs to be too uncomfortable to be worth it so these days I just use my IEMs when on the go. I also did a little investigating and originally was kind of leaning towards the Sennheiser HD-280, but didn't like the idea of some of their sound response (though undoubtedly they'd still be amazing for a closed set at their current price.)

When I looked these up though, I found their sound response curve to be amazingly consistent (normally there are a lot more peaks and valleys and normally they go further from the main curve -- for example, Grados have a sudden extreme response increase in a small area of the upper ranges then drop off quickly after that for a sound that many call "sparkly") and thought this described what I was looking for in a set.

It turns out that I was right. In fact, I do believe I'm liking these better than my Grados, though they do have a rather unique sound that does appeal to me as well. The bottom line is that these have a very even clean response with little coloring to the sound (and by the same token can be boring) but to some such as myself this can actually be ideal. Certainly you can do better no matter what your preferences, but at the price tag that was on these when I snatched them up they can't be beaten by any closed set -- in fact, even now that they've gone back up to a more normal price range they are still hard to beat for a closed set without spending a pretty fair bit more... I've been completely surprised given their cost. Very pleasantly surprised. Don't get these if you're looking for a more "colorful sound" though.

As for the isolation, it's roughly 10dB according to a somewhat official test not done by myself. I can't give you exact numbers. I can still hear my A/C droning on a bit in quieter moments, but these isolate enough that now it no longer truly distracts me from my music if I'm not concentrating on it. In particular, the isolation is enough to block out some of the worst of the extra noises it makes so that I mostly just get a regular sound that is easy to ignore. I wanted to compromise somewhat on the isolation and not try to get something too extremist at the cost of sound quality while still being able to block somewhat out and I think these Denons did the job nicely.

Oh, and Denon rates these at 32 ohms. I've found that a GOOD DAP (that's digital audio player -- aka MP3 player though most these days are capable of so much more than just MP3s) can actually drive these pretty well. They still sound a bit better with an amp, but my Cowon D2 is able to get not just good highs, but good lows even out of these, which isn't bad for a portable player and headphones of this level.

Note that the AH-D1001S is the same thing as the AH-D1001K, it's just in a silver/black color rather than all black.

EDIT: Sorry, I accidentally posted a review for the AH-D1001S I bought on here. HOWEVER, I leave this review up because the AH-D1000S is just the consumer version of the AH-D1001S. There is no real difference between the two models other than that the 1001 comes with an extra carrying pouch (and believe me, the pouch is nothing special. I'd recommend something far more solid if you want to carry these around a lot.)

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Best In Class Under $150

The last time I went shopping for hi-fi headphones was back in 1982, when I purchased the at-the-time mid priced leader Yamaha HP-1, an on-the-ear open back headphone. I still have them. Compared to the Denon AH-D1001S they sound muffled, veiled, and ill-defined in the bass. The only attractive aspect of the HP-1 is a natural lower midrange, but nothing else about them can compete with the Denon in terms of clarity, accuracy and neutrality. At nearly the same time I owned the Stax SR-84 (SR-80 headphones plus SR-4 partnering amplifier), an electret design that represented very high quality in headphones at the time. Compared to the Stax's, the Denon has nearly the same level of transparency across the frequency range but much more satisfying - and accurate - bass. It's mainly about "balance" and the Denons show this to be its trump card against other headphones.

The Denon AH-D1001S (and the other D1001 versions that are simply color scheme changes) quickly gets your attention with a transparent and fast sound. It has the ability to follow complex music passages and at the same time is revealing of subtle details within the mix. The upper midrange is very slightly forward sounding, giving a lighter sound when balanced against the bass, but this is not a detraction from the overall enjoyment of music and does not depart too far from accurate balance. If, like me, you want accuracy (and not on-the-go pop-flavored "fun" sound that becomes fatiguing) for which to gain the most your recordings have to offer, the bass from the Denon AH-D1001S will have you grinning. Like most around-the-ear sealed back headphones these will give good reach into the lowest octave but without the uneven, tubby quality typical of this type of 'phone.

Recording after recording I appreciate the highly revealing nature and transparent quality in the bass. It is easy to distinguish between Bass Viola and Cello. Want to follow the seismic bass at high volume from rock band Tool? The Denons will put you there. Want to savor the turgid pulsing keyboard lows from Laurie Anderson? You'll find them glorious through the Denons. The highs are appropriately delicate when the music calls for it and give good sense of air and transparency and are well balanced against the rest of the frequency range.

While overall you can't say the Denon AH-D1001S sounds as transparent, lithe, fast and detailed as say, a high end Stax electrostatic headphone at 5 times the cost, the Denon does a very respectable job of allowing a close look at the music artist's and recording engineer's intent without missing important recorded detail.

If anything leaves me questioning the Denon's ability, it is a minor veiling of the midrange that doesn't allow one to explore, say, the finger skin rubbing on stringed instruments. However, I never feel wanting for more musical involvement - I enjoy all my recordings and have no urge to run out and find a better set of headphones.

The Denon AH-D1001S is involving, natural and detailed with an extended, robust (though neutral and controlled) bass. One caution - the Denon needs at least 60 hours of break-in time to eliminate a somewhat dimensionally flat and un-dynamic sound.

Comfort has been the reason I have never joined the hard core headphone listener's camp. It seems no headphone has been comfortable enough to listen for more than an hour or so. While the Denons took a little tweaking for me to find "the right spot" for comfort on my head (the top band needs to be slightly toward the front of my crown) and I needed to bend the top band slightly to remove pressure on the top of my head, they are nearly comfortable enough to forget I am wearing them. I find them very comfortable. Some may find them slightly confining around the backs of the ears (like me) yet it is possible to find a position to accommodate. (My solution was the forward-position of the band on top of my head.)

I can't speak to their portability for use as high-activity headphones, but they appear robustly built and will be an easy amplifier load for small battery powered music devices. These Denons will play very loudly with minimal power. Those with smaller heads may find it a challenge to keep these on while running.

I also appreciate the included 11.5 ft. extension cord included and 1/8 in. female-to-1/4 in. male adapter.

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Great Headphones!

Note: If you don't feel like reading the whole review, just read the notes after each paragraph.

After doing a few days of research on audiophile forums, and reading across headphone reviews, I decided to get the Denon AH-D1000K headphones. http://www.head-fi.org/ does a great job on comparing the Denons to other headphones, so definately take a look over there to make sure these are what you're looking for. Many people might find it confusing that Denon also makes a D1001 model. I have seen both in person, and they are physically identical (except the D1001 is labeled D1001 of course). The only difference is that the D1001 comes with a nice carrying pouch.

On to the review.

Overall Sound Quality:
Straight out of the box, the Denons sounded decent, very mellow tones overall, with superb trebel, but the bass was a bit lacking, and the soundstage was confined. However, they do blow just about every other closed pair of headphones in this price range clear out of the water.

However, after a good 60 hours of listening at moderate volumes, the difference was remarkable. (You may find that most people who have reviewed these headphones wrote their reviews from initial out-of-the-box impressions, and therefore misjudge the sound.) The soundstage opened up, the trebel became even more detailed, the midrange was perfect, and the bass was stunning. Tests were conducted across a broad range of music: Etro Anime, Weezer, The Flashbulb, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Cut Copy, and other good quality rock and electro sounded the best, and allowed for the headphones to produce the widest range of frequencies. All of the music I tested the Denons with is encoded in lossless FLAC, and played un-amped through my laptop, which has a pretty decent sound card. I must stress how important it is to use good quality music (i.e lossless, or above 192kbps), when assessing sound quality for headphones.

Cliff's notes version: Denons sound great for Rock/Electro. Use FLAC.

I also have a pair of Bose Triports to give a good comparison for what most consumers would consider "good sound". (Don't buy Bose by the way, they are overpriced, and as proven here, better sound can be had at cheaper prices.) Both heaphones are closed and circumaural, and roughly in the same price range, so I thought the comparison would be helpful to people who are shopping around. For this test, I used the same source (laptop), with the same music at equal volumes. The Bose Triports had thumpier bass, but the trebles were a bit muddied, and the overall soundstage felt a bit cramped. The Denons had much smoother bass (I guess you could describe it as less distracting?), but by no means flatter, and the trebels were much more detailed and clear. The Denons also had a much larger soundstage. In a few tracks there were sounds that I thought were coming from behind me, which made me instinctively look back, even though I knew the sound came from my headphones.

Cliff's notes version: Denon > Bose.

For most closed headphones, the sound is described as tinny, or as if you were listening from inside a bucket. This is not true for the Denons. For most closed headphones, the sound attenuation is quite good, and you can't hear much from the outside. The Denons aren't great for blocking sound from coming in, but little sound leaks out. This is where you, as the consumer, should think a bit about what you'll be using the headphones for. I use the Denons mostly at work, so I really appreciate that no sound leaks out. I don't really mind the sounds coming in either (which are only noticeable at low volumes, or when no music is playing.) If you really don't like hearing outside sounds, or primarily want to listen to music say, on public transportation, or in other loud environments, the Denons are not for you (or any open headphones either for that matter). For those users, I would recommend browsing through some in-ear-monitors (Shure, Ultimate Ears, are good), as they block out sound by literally not allowing it to pass through to the ear drum. I personally don't like noise cancelling headphones, as they cancel noise by emitting counter frequencies, that for some reason give me a headache after prolonged use.

Cliff's notes version: Denons don't block out sound very well, but neither do most closed headphones. If this is a must for you, go look for In Ear Monitors, as these are the best compromise.

Overall sound quality: 9/10.

Comfort:
You will not find a single review anywhere that describes the Denons as uncomfortable. Simply put, the Denons are the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn. I wear them to work, listen about 5 hours a day continuously there, and I barely feel that they're there at all. The earpads are made of soft pleather that envelopes your ears with soft squishy goodness. I have a pretty average sized head, and the Denons fit perfectly (even without adjusting the size).

Cliff's notes version: Your ears will thank you.

Comfort: 10/10.

Build Quality:
Overall, I would put the Denons on the more fragile side, as I wouldn't feel comfortable throwing these into a bag to carry somewhere. The size adjustment mechanism works well and the overall build is great, but as I noted before, they would probably break if thrown around. On the other hand, the connector is superb, and the cable looks like it would withstand heavy use quite well. As with any good piece of equipment however, as long as you take good care of it, it should serve you faithfully.

Cliff's notes version: Will break if sat on.

Build Quality: 8/10.

So there you have it. The Denons are a great pair of headphones if you are looking for closed circumaural cans to be used in a quiet setting. You will not regret buying them. You will have happy ears. I hope this review was helpful.

Total Score: 27/30

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Best cans at this price point

I bought these after reading many reviews on the Bose Triports, Sennheiser HD-280 Pros, and Grado SR80s. The Denons offer the best sound according to nearly every review I read as well as have a comfortable fit and durable construction.

It definately took a few weeks of solid listening for these to break in. Out ofthe box the bass was twangy and weak, but after given ample time to break in the low end filled out nicely. The AH-D1000s play very low and accurately, but they will not provide the excessive amount of bass that most young people like.

I have no complaints on the midrange or highend performance of these cans, they are clear and precise to my ears for all music genres.

What I do like is the hybrid design that Denon came up with for the enclosures, it's as if you get open-canned sound with the dampening and privacy of closed headphones. They don't block out as much sound as other closed designs seem to, but they do enough to make a difference. They are also very comfortable. The leather is soft, thick, and supple and the padding is firm and relaxing. Some have said the grip is too strong, but I have found after about ten minutes with them on, I forget they are there. The extra long cable extender and 1/4" adapter are a great bundle to make this a great deal for the best sound, comfort, and affordability out of any other headphone out there. Denon hit the bullseye on the AH-D1000s in my opinion.

I listen using my computer with an Auzentech X-Fi Prelude (National LM4562NA op-amp) and from my Zune when traveling (volume levels are adequate).

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Sound is conveyed to people's ears as waves that occur when vibrations from a sounding body causes the air to vibrate. Have a more intimate experience with Denon engineering with the AH-D1000 closed-type stereo headphones. Microfiber has been used to form the diaphragm so that it faithfully reproduces the sonic details and delicate reverberations that occur in concert halls. An acoustic optimizer brings out the optimum acoustic characteristics by adjusting the sound pressure balance in front of and behind the diaphragm. High-quality OFC cables of equal length for the left and rights channels are used to maintain optimum sound quality. A 1.5-meter cable is provided for use when enjoying music with high-quality sound from a digital audio player carried in a pocket and an extension cable of 3.5 meters is also provided for when the headphones are used at home. Playback Frequencies - 8 - 37000 Hz 3.5mm (9/64-inch) Gold-Plated Stereo Mini Plug Cable Length - 1.5 Meter (4 Feet 11 inches) OFC Cable, 3.5 Meter (11 Feet 5-25/32 inches) OFC Cable Weight - 180 grams (6-3/8 ounces) not including cable

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