Have you checked out Meze 99 Classics? I haven't heard them myself, but I know some people like them especially with harsh metal.

Loving the new Kerry King single, the first one was good too but this one made me really interested in the upcoming album Also really digging the new Cypecore and Tombstoner albums.

The D7200 is quite intimate sounding yes, but I think they're kind of opposite to being "laid back" because they sound a bit recessed in the mids while having quite prominent treble, to me at least. Combine this with a very punchy mid-bass, and you have a very energetic sound.

New Fractal Gates and Inter Arma!

I've just used standard Ikea resealable bags, pad name written with a sharpie on the bag. If there's a chance I'll mix up which headphone has which pads at the moment, I put a post it-note inside the empty bag with the headphone name that has them on. I tend to forget quite quickly which pads...

Do you know if there are any hifi stores close to you where you could do some testing? At least Helsinki, Turku and Tampere got those, it's hard to give recommendations without any reference points such as previous headphones. With that said, I listen to a lot of metal, including the bands you...

Withering Surface - Finish What You Started, new MDM release from upcoming album, gives me Hypocrisy vibes! The new In Vain album is insanely good btw.

You can use the Topping as a pre-amp before the A20 if you want, I don't think there's much benefit in doing that though, unless you want to use the Toppings remote.

Exited for this album!

The Auteur is the safest choice considering your current headphones, and will still give you a quite different sound. The Aeolus is a lot warmer sounding, for better or worse, so it's a riskier purchase without trying first.

ADI-2 DAC > Atrium, very grateful for being able to call this amazing setup my daily driver.

To add to @Garney, here's a few random suggestions from glancing at my playlists, I really like how these sound. Fires In The Distance - Wisdom Of The Falling Leaves Sodomisery - Mazzaroth Havok - Conformicide Horrendous - Anareta Rimfrost - Expedition Darkness Witherscape - The Northern...

I would look at trying some different pads first, they have a rather big impact on the sound and might be just the thing you're looking for. What pads are you using now? Stock?

I really like Nightrage, "The Venomous" and "A New Disease Is Born" are up there among my favorite MDM albums, and I've enjoyed their later releases as well. However, the last two singles they released have really bothered me, I need a sanity check from other people. The singles "Euphoria Within...

Some ZMF headphones are pretty dark sounding with certain pads. I would not consider the Bokeh dark though, at least if you remove the mesh and use hybrid/suede pads, it's quite energetic up top in that configuration.

Equalization (EQ) is just decreasing or increasing the gain of certain frequency bands. Tube amps add distortion, as in it adds content to the signal that wasn't there before. You can't do that with EQ, but you can do it with DSP software. What software, and how well it works, I don't know, I...

If you swap the left and right pads - do the seams align with the jacks now? Anyway, I don't think having them aligned is important, what matters is that the thick part is behind the ear.

The Bokeh is a great option if you want closed backs. I did a comparison to my D7200 here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-bokeh-closed-back-semi-portable.969961/post-18049164 I've listened to the D9200 as well but personally preferred the 7200 between the two. The pads are bigger, and...

I doubt you can make the Meze sound like the HD-800S with EQ, or I guess it depends on what you consider to be close enough. That said, you won't get distortion by lowering the gain of certain frequencies, they will just become inaudible when you lower enough. Hardware EQ is not in any way...

Glyph released a power metal album with all the usual ingredients, it works though.

A few people were asking for a Denon AH-D7200 vs Bokeh comparison, so here goes. The Bokeh impressions are mostly from using the stock mesh/no mesh and hybrid/suede pads. I did most comparisons on my ADI-2. I tried to keep it short. Build quality, comfort Both have a really nice build quality...

I'm still on the Caldera ultra pads too, I agree that they add some bite and intensity to the sound without sacrificing too much of the stock "magic". I'd say that especially for people who like the Auteur sound, the Atrium + Caldera ultra pads is a pretty straight upgrade.