I'm looking for something where the placement and stage / imaging is such that I can close my eyes and it sounds like the person is singing in front of me in the room, rather than inside my head.   My experience is limited to the Denon D5000 and "lesser" headphones, so I haven't heard HD800s...

Just wanted to contribute that I have the 450 and it sounds amazing with my Denon D5000s. This is my first "sorta" high-end DAC, and there is a legitimate difference between my previous DACs and this one. I'm comparing it to the Audioengine D1, Audioengine D3, Dragonfly 1.2, Cowon X9, etc.  ...

Geek Out 450 is 0.47Ohm and sounds amazing with my D5000s. Much better than the Dragonfly 1.2 (which doesn't have good synergy with D5000s due to fatigue) or the Audioengine D1 / D3.

Just picked up a Geek Out 450 from Amazon and after listening to it for a few hours today, I can definitely say that it sounds noticeably better than both he Audioengine D3 and Dragonfly 1.2 in all categories.   Better separation, imaging, detail, no fatigue, etc. Quite warm, but not rolled...

Google Play store would be amazing on a DAP. The only thing keeping me from getting something like this is that I'd still spend the majority of my listening time at the office on my laptop, through the Google Play Store. If I had a player that had wifi / Google Play with this level of sound...

EDIT: This was supposed to be posted in the Astell & Kern April Fools thread, but was created as a new thread for some reason.   All jokes aside, please make your next player look like this. It looks like something Heimdall would use.

Burn-in = not real. But this thing should definitely sound leaps and bounds better than an iPod Classic. Just about anything sounds better than an iPod Classic.

Cowon uses odd numbers for JetEffects iterations. 3, 5, 7, etc.

Unless I'm completely wrong about this, I just don't see Cowon pricing this thing anywhere near $1,000. That would be a huge leap in their product line. There's not really a precedent for that type of move from them, especially since they're using the exact same marketing materials they usually...

Exactly. My X9 isn't an audiophile DAP, but it's much better sounding than my iPod Classic and it costs less. The only problem I see with this is being underwhelmed at the sound quality. If you have a truly great sounding player, you don't need things like JetEffect at all. The fact that they're...

This is why we take everything with a grain of salt.

Yeah, I really hope we don't have to wait months and months for this.

Ha, I'm not even interested in reading about the DX90 anymore after hearing about this. Thanks OP! Like mentioned earlier, if the sound is neutral and resolves detail (unlike my Cowon X9) I'll get this in a heartbeat. Look at those specs! Cowon actually has usable UI, too.

That will hopefully include my 32ohm Denon D5000s. That will hopefully include my 32ohm Denon D5000s.

Does this DX90 have the potential to compete with the HM-901, based on the DAC chips used. Or is this more in competition with the HM-802?

This is the first I've heard of "crosstalk," or that it's a desirable sound characteristic. Is that basically where something intended to be placed in the right channel "bleeds" over into the left channel, and vice versa?

Why would they not include a headphone amp in this like the Dragonfly, D3, etc.?

What I don't understand is how every CD you buy, even the ones in the $5 bin at Walmart show the year of the release, as well as who mastered / produced it, etc. Yet we're to believe that it's all but impossible to get that information on these 24/96 versions from HDTracks. That doesn't make any...

  Wait, is this something that actually happens? Because that's literally synonymous with a gas station taking 87 octane unleaded, putting it in the 93 octane side of the pump and selling it as 93 octane.

What makes it so difficult to get the info from the record label? Do they just send you an automated email with a download link or something like that? Some type of proprietary distribution software?   Just based on my ignorance, I would assume that if a live person puts you in contact with...

  If you weren't told, why not just send them a quick email and ask? It's a reasonable question.

Man, talk about a niche product.

Right, but can you specify which version of the remaster this is? Is this based on the 2014 remasters, the 2003 SACD remasters, etc.? That will at least give us an idea of how they were mixed.

Jamato, since you seem to have similar gear to a hypothetical setup I might check out (Your TH900's being similar to my D5000s) which of your DAPs has had the best synergy with those cans so far? I'm eyeing the DX90, X5 and HM-802 at the moment...

What's the output impedance? Less than 1ohm?