Denon AH-D9200 musings

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For what it's worth: today I had a quick listen to these and the D7200 to see if they might offer something that the 800S does not.
(At home I listen to the 800S with Amir EQ from the 800S review.)
The Denons I listened to without EQ.
First up was the D7200 which was quite underwhelming. The bass seemed good and deep but the halfway from the mids upwards sounded too recessed. One song was enough to lay them aside.
Then the D9200: the sound is very satisfying and quite smooth, not forward or in your face but still very detailed. I was impressed by the open sound of them and did not realize until reading this thread that they are closed backs. This makes it even more impressive.
Compared to the EQ-ed 800S the D9200 seemed a bit more elevated in the bass region. There is some peaking somewhere in the highs which indeed can be a bit harsh sounding in certain songs but it does seem to add livelyness & detail to the sound. This sound feels like the mids do not get as much attention as the rest, maybe you could call it slightly V-shaped.
Both Denons are quite light and very nicely built. The size adjustment mechanism feels robust (all metal) and clicks nicely in the steps you can set. I had to set them just about the largest size to fit my head. Earcups are not very large but fit perfectly.
The cable simply plugs into each earcup and was very easy to switch from one HP to the other.

Nice review. I had similar impressions comparing my D9200 to my Hd800 SDR. My opinion is that both cans benefit from a little eq to specifically target a 1 or 2 treble peaks. Makes a huge difference. My other observation was that the D9200 tolerates a lot of bass eq without audible distortion, whereas the HD800 does not. So you can achieve near-subwoofer bass with the D9200, but not with the Senns. This adds to the overall performance of the Denons.

 

[MalinYamato]

time to write some impressions about this phone. I own and enjoy Sundara and Argon T60RT with suede pads as plannars and I use ifi zen DAC signature V2 HFM specially made for planners HFM that lack base. I use closed backs because I travel a lot between Europa and Japan - I am a systems engineer but don't much know about audio tech, yet my ears are very musical. I have owned D5000, D5200, D7200, and now D9200. I have listened to most Fostex and to Aeon Flow 2 closed as well Focal Stelia and other lower-ranked Focal closed. The only phone that beats a D9200 is Focal Stella. If you are not made of money then AH-D9200 is your end game but if you always spend time at home you may consider open-back planners and EQ the bass getting a Susvara, yet there is no planner that may produce that incredible and natural bass. HFM makes it easy for themselves by mostly using planar tech but Denon went the very hard way dealing with dynamic drivers, and in the case of D9200, it is made in Japan by their level of craftsmanship not seen anywhere else in the world. Consider this, to use a AK47 is easy and you may kill many, but using a well-crafted katana requires much skill and if you are a master you may kill more.... In Japan they are not going the easy way, they are doing all the efforts in order to gain the ultimately skill -- blood sweat, and tears -- perfection and purity is the way.

My preferred listening to AH-D9200 is by Using the incredible Khadas Tone Pro 2 DAC feeding into a Singxter Amp SA1 through balanced RCA to XLR Get this and balanced cables from GU. Craftsman 古工匠 and ure set with this phone for life.

 

[Overseas]

Got my Denon AH-D9200. Wonderful. They come after ATH M50X and Meze 99 Classics. Phone streaming Tidal via Fiio KA11, with Wavelet preset EQ for 9200. I am not a technical guy, I can only give an overall subjective impression. These headphones are all about finesse and subtlety, in my opinion. I would not recommend them to anyone, as they did not blow me away in some flashy way.

 

[onethreetwowaitthatswrong]

What balanced Dac/hp Amp with 4.4mm out would you get for this headphone ? Considering he's easy to power, most of the material that amir reviews seems more than powerful enough, which leaves sound quality (transparency all around), features (would like a good manual volume wheel mostly) and build quality. And many SMSL devices seemed to have more issues than others, like the C200 here. Offerings from Fiio at around the same price (~200€) don't seem to measure that well and my other local offerings have not been tested. Feels like what's left would be the Topping DXII balanced and the new Fosi ZH3, which are at respectively 300 and 200 bucks where I live. But is that really the cheapest there is when it's purely intended for a desktop dac/hp amp ? The Fosi got decribed in that thread as "the balanced Dx3pro+", which would be awesome. And between the two, would the topping extra features (like the PEQ and built-in power) justify the extra price in your opinion ?

 

[Malaj]

How is the isolation on these? More concerned about leaking out then leaking in? I assume quite a bit less then dca headphones like ether c flow and noire?

 

[onethreetwowaitthatswrong]

How is the isolation on these? More concerned about leaking out then leaking in? I assume quite a bit less then dca headphones like ether c flow and noire?

I've read reviews saying they were leaky, but at the volume I listen to (not very loud), unless the room is completely silent, it's barely perceivable and far from disturbing imo. Haven't had the other headphones you talk about in my hands, so can't give you a comparison with those.

 

[Malaj]

I've read reviews saying they were leaky, but at the volume I listen to (not very loud), unless the room is completely silent, it's barely perceivable and far from disturbing imo. Haven't had the other headphones you talk about in my hands, so can't give you a comparison with those.

Got mine and yes it does at least have some isolation.

It do kind of what I wished it would. A closed back HD 800S. However my HD 800S have more bass. D9200 make the bass disappear trick actually better then the hd 800. I may try to see what can be done with eq but I am sure I will loose some of the qualities I was after doing so. Like that open air feel you know and ultra clarity for voices etc. I do understand the tuning of them however dramatic movie scores like gladiator and titanic, nightwish or classical pieces the d9200 is not really capable of showing any kind of scale for despite it can feel quite dynamic in the upper regions.

Also running various bass tests is really underwhelming. you can here it´s there but there is no physicality and low volume at the regulated general listening levels. That said it´s sure is 110 % controlled bass

 

[Malaj]

Is anybody using tube amps with this. My transformer coupled trafomatic audio head one give some crazy distortions in the bass. Protector of time 3rd track from more music of gladiator have some big bass drops. I heard before that these drivers is really sensitive. Emu teak does the same.

Hd 800s and ether c flow sound correct through it and like my master18.

Hd 800s have bigger bass than the d9200 as well on par with the ether c flow though that one has kind of more weight behind it so to speak.

But there is something in the d9200 that makes you happy Though I dont find it overly bright

 

[A Surfer]

That seems almost impossible that the HD800 could produce more bass. The D9200 must be literally a bass crippled design then.

 

[Curupira]

However my HD 800S have more bass. D9200 make the bass disappear trick actually better then the hd 800.

The D9200 should have more bass both un quantity and extension. You may be experiencing leakage problems. Are you using glasses? If so, try seating them above the earpads (or try thinner builds or not using any it you can help it).

 

[Malaj]

That seems almost impossible that the HD800 could produce more bass. The D9200 must be literally a bass crippled design then.

Actually I struggle finding any closed headphones offering more bass than the hd 800 and 800s. For me they are just superbly good of making the bass missing the eardrums by the halo driver design? 800 in particular hd 800s they intentionally worked on making the bass more tactile.

I found lcd-2, dx 1000 for example also having less bass which is not the consensus at the time.

As for sub bass I am not 8 anymore and dont know how low my ears go but take 50 hertz notes. Intro to also sprach Zarathustra few headphones play the organ like the hd 800.

For me the d9200 is there but less db for sure but I been so impressed bt the control and then out of the blue sound way more distorted then ever.

 

[A Surfer]

Interesting, but it really seems quite odd. I owned the HD800S and LCD 2 at the same time and the LCD was clearly the bassier of the two, by a wide margin. You seem to be a statistical outlier. Likely some kind of fitment issue.

 

[Malaj]

Interesting, but it really seems quite odd. I owned the HD800S and LCD 2 at the same time and the LCD was clearly the bassier of the two, by a wide margin. You seem to be a statistical outlier. Likely some kind of fitment issue.

You can have litterary a hundred different fits with the hd 800:s it´s really annoying. LCD-2 I had the Rev 1 and Rev 2 pre Fazer for me is perceived more bassy but whenever I really compare particularly for classical I am shocked by the results. And I owned a lot of "basshead headphones". DX 1000, D5000, D7200 also tried before though that should probably be more on level I believe. D9200 is veeeery different from how I recall the 7200 but in line with a lot of reviews.

Also sprach zarathustra organ intro you can try and see what you find. The organ was very subdued on the lcd-2 in comparison. Even when I used it from speaker taps from a speaker amp. I did find it really loved watts.

 

[Malaj]

With an ADI-2 anyone has a eq profile to make a d7200 out of the d9200? Would be kind of interesting

 

[Malaj]

Interesting, but it really seems quite odd. I owned the HD800S and LCD 2 at the same time and the LCD was clearly the bassier of the two, by a wide margin. You seem to be a statistical outlier. Likely some kind of fitment issue.

I found a Fostex TH-900 MK II locally for a decent price. Used pair but great condition it seems. It did really solve the "bass issue" I have with the 9200 so to speak. Has other issues of course but would be awesome if you could have it all lol

 

[Hemi-Demon]

With an ADI-2 anyone has a eq profile to make a d7200 out of the d9200? Would be kind of interesting

index/list_of_presets_rme_adi-2 - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

Scroll down, or search the page for 9200.

It's a nice starting, but you will need to adjust to your personal taste

 

[Malaj]

index/list_of_presets_rme_adi-2 - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

Scroll down, or search the page for 9200.

It's a nice starting, but you will need to adjust to your personal taste

Thanks. I am lazy will see if I get to it. Getting the distortion so early in my first attempts was discouraging. I have no audible distortion running stock at least.

That said there is an insane difference in bass output and dynamics versus the th900. That one get bass so right its amazing what it achieves without interfering with the midrange.

Still preferr d9200 midrange and timbre though the articulation on the th900 is great but for anything intense like action games and movies you really really feel the lacking bass quality. Its just not correct down low. Bass shy.

 

[Overseas]

For the record, I returned the 9200 and got the 7200 that make me very happy.