Denon AH-D1000S Headphones (Silver)

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...Read more

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...Read more

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...Read more