[Redragon]

The right DAC and tubes with EQ and the Yaxi Alcantara TH610 pads

I guess I'll try these Yaxi Alcantara TH610 pads out of curiosity . If your experiences were confirmed, I would be very pleased, because the bass is lame in 5200 compared to ZMF

 

[nraymond]

I prefer the D5200 ever so slightly over the Elegia..but I still wouldn’t put too much stock in Amir’s reviews outside of a good frequency response measurement.
They’re way too fond of the Harman target over there and use it in a way that superseeds it’s inherant value and what it indeed means. The Harman target is a preference curve, nothing more and nothing less. Of all the people that participated, this was their prefered target.
If you look at music in the same way, you could say that the prefered music target of the lager population is that of Taylor Swift or something along those lines. It does not mean that it is the “best” or most “ideal” music.

Anyhoo..back to Denons I really dig all of these models but not exactly in the order they appear pricewise. My favourite is the D7200..and I wouldn’t really know which one to chose over the other between the 5200 and 9200. The 7200 though is kinda special to me as it is the ‘original 9200 tuning’ whereas the flagship reigns back the wild gestures and feels more mature. The two headphones basically follow the same curve but the 7200 is more bolsterous and meaty in it’s delivery almost giving the impression that all music played through it receives some kind of steroids. There’s a distinct ‘punch’ to music over the 7200 that I haven’t come across in any other headphone.
The D5200 though is more of a ‘traditional’ tuning and sounds more realistic than any of it’s pricier brethren..and on paper most likely the one I’d prefer.

You can do a personal offset/calibration to measurements or a review with objective data based on your own experiences with a headphone. For instance, you've heard the D7200 and the D9200, and Oratory has measurements for those:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kby7l5lcmmzta92/Denon AH-D7200.pdf

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r85rbt030d4uxr8/Denon AH-D9200.pdf

You can tell from that just how much more elevated in treble and reduced in bass the D9200 is compared to the D7200. Then, if you haven't heard the Focal Elegia, but have heard the D9200, you can do a reasonable estimation of how the Elegia would sound for you:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ialbitfdqmx2jr4/Focal Elegia.pdf

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

^When headphones have the same design and fit I prefer to ‘blindtest’ them. -I sit with my back to a friend who then pops the headphones on my head. I wear mits or something to that effect so as I can’t feel the headphone when adjusting the fit. That’s basically how I judge sound quality between headphones of the same design.
EQ’ing headphones with different tunings in order to make them sound identical..and then a/b’ing them kinda defeats the purpose for me.
I tend to pick the headphone with the best sound and go from there. If folks are into the Harman target, it’s probably the D5200 that will work out best for them because it’s the one closest to the target ie the one you need to EQ the least in order to conjure up the sound you want.

 

[WilcoRoger]

EQ’ing headphones with different tunings in order to make them sound identical..and then a/b’ing them kinda defeats the purpose for me.

I'm with you all the way on this! "Let's taste all these different soups, but first, we need to make sure they taste the same!"

 

[ZOSMANOVIC]

I guess I'll try these Yaxi Alcantara TH610 pads out of curiosity . If your experiences were confirmed, I would be very pleased, because the bass is lame in 5200 compared to ZMF

Yaxi pads are brilliant, however I found them to be too big for the D5200. Dekoni pads fit better.

 

[nraymond]

I'm with you all the way on this! "Let's taste all these different soups, but first, we need to make sure they taste the same!"

But like people say, measurements aren't everything, so if you EQ headphones so they measure the same, they won't sound the same. There's nothing wrong with a good 64-bit parametric EQ.

 

[chris the man]

LOL damn now I might have to try TH610...... but also want to try ZMF too...... too many headphones on the list now......

And YES I remember the Black Friday deals for D5200. I wanted to buy one but it was USA only and does not ship outside.

I was so sad at the time but luckily I found someone selling one in Canada for $360 CAD (about $285 USD) at a later time and it's still a very good price haha. Though considering the price it make sense that we'd pick D5200 over TH610 LOL.

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/a5rk02/warmth_to_combat_this_cold/

But this post always gets my curiosity since it sounds like TH610 is better according to this guy. But the weird thing is most other review says TH610 sounds too neutral / boring, so I don't know...

Damnnnnnn everywhere I checked the price is wayyyyyy higher, that's such a good deal!

I'll be honest, when I first got it I thought it was fuzzy / bloated but now I don't notice it anymore. Not too sure if it's burn in with the driver or my brain just got used to it LOL.

But yes I do really enjoy the warm bass!

Hahaha same man!

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I prefer listening to headphones the way they were intended to sound..nothing wrong with a few EQ touches here and there, but completely altering the frequency response in order to turn a fish into a pork roast is nuts, but that’s just me.

Finding out about one’s prefered sound signature is a great thing. It can immensely help you when purchasing new headphones if you know your way around a frequency response.
…but using the very same frequency response in order to EQ anything higher up than say 1k will depend on the individual and the shape of their ears.
Plus some times headphones can surprise you!
Like earlier mentioned: strictly on paper I would have bet all my money on the fact that I’d love the D5200 the most out of the new line-up. It is without a doubt the most realistic measuring headphone of the three….and sure enough also the most realistic sounding when I auditioned them.
Now I prefer a neutral/realistic sound, yet surprisingly I ended up prefering the D7200 - hands down the most coloured of the lot.

Edith: I obviously can’t spell..and let’s get back to the main dealio: the D5200

 

[plakat]

I prefer listening to headphones the way they were intended to sound..nothing wrong with a few EQ touches here and there, but completely altering the frequency response in order to turn a fish into a pork roast is nuts, but that’s just me.

Finding out about one’s prefered sound signature is a great thing. It can immensely help you when purchasing new headphones if you know your way around a frequency response.
…but using the very same frequency response in order to EQ anything higher up than say 1k will depend on the individual and the shape of their ears.
Plus some times headphones can surprise you!
Like earlier mentioned: strictly on paper I would have bet all my money on the fact that I’d love the D5200 the most out of the new line-up. It is without the most realistic sounding headphone of the three….and that certainly proved to be right when I auditioned them.
Now I prefer a neutral/realistic sound, yet surprisingly I ended up prefering the D7200 - hands down the most coloured of the lot.

Exactly. I also don't see much utility in trying to EQ every headphone to just sound like every other headphone I own -- its the different tunings that attract me. Otherwise I'd already have seen the light and reduced to one model

I've never heard the D5200 unfortunately and, given my quest to reduce my collection, I could not convince myself to order one. I once owned the D7200 when that was the only one available, sold it later in part due to comfort issues (the headband left me with a hot spot unfortunately) and a slight non-compatibility with its tuning (can't even remember the exact problems now). About 1 year ago I got the D9200 and I'm more than happy with that one. Sold my Master-1 and kept the D9200 as my only high-end headphone. The D5200 is a tempting offer, with a beautiful design and a very reasonable price... but I don't want to own two of the series -- while in the past I'd have to have all three

 

[reivaj]

Yeah...I don't plan on selling them.

Have typically liked Denon over the years and lately been lucky on my purchases of their current lineup; recently got the 7200's from Amazon.de (posted on the Europe Deals Thread) for $553.05 including shipping from Germany.

Am keeping my eyes/ears open for a great deal on the 9200's but think this may be pretty unlikely. I'm a patient bargain hunter but am starting to lean toward spending the $1599 and finding an authorized dealer that doesn't charge sales tax in my state...at least will save ~120 bucks.

I am the same type of shopper. I don't think I have paid retail for a headphone but most of the time I just buy secondhand. Though I am fully intrigued with the idea of shopping for the 9200. Though currently satisfied with no desire to upgrade or pursue another headphone.

I think the D5200 was my first headphone with actual subbass. Not the bass that bleeds into other frequencies and ruins the sound. Also love how it comes out when the music demands the frequencies. It is a great headphone for sure.

 

[GearMe]

I prefer listening to headphones the way they were intended to sound..nothing wrong with a few EQ touches here and there, but completely altering the frequency response in order to turn a fish into a pork roast is nuts, but that’s just me.

Finding out about one’s prefered sound signature is a great thing. It can immensely help you when purchasing new headphones if you know your way around a frequency response.
…but using the very same frequency response in order to EQ anything higher up than say 1k will depend on the individual and the shape of their ears.
Plus some times headphones can surprise you!
Like earlier mentioned: strictly on paper I would have bet all my money on the fact that I’d love the D5200 the most out of the new line-up. It is without a doubt the most realistic measuring headphone of the three….and sure enough also the most realistic sounding when I auditioned them.
Now I prefer a neutral/realistic sound, yet surprisingly I ended up prefering the D7200 - hands down the most coloured of the lot.

Edith: I obviously can’t spell..and let’s get back to the main dealio: the D5200

Same here...

I enjoy the variety of "listening rooms" that I can hop into/out of as the music, mood, etc. moves me!

 

[WilcoRoger]

But like people say, measurements aren't everything, so if you EQ headphones so they measure the same, they won't sound the same. There's nothing wrong with a good 64-bit parametric EQ.

Sure thing, EQ them to your heart's desire. It's just comparing cans should be in their vanilla version, IMO.

 

[nraymond]

Sure thing, EQ them to your heart's desire. It's just comparing cans should be in their vanilla version, IMO.

You can compare them both ways, both not EQ'd, and EQ'd, because some headphones EQ better than others. When you EQ some headphones you can expose driver limitations that result in audible distortions, so some headphones are just better at being EQ'd than others.

 

[Hyde00]

I prefer listening to headphones the way they were intended to sound..nothing wrong with a few EQ touches here and there, but completely altering the frequency response in order to turn a fish into a pork roast is nuts, but that’s just me.

LOL this is the best analogy so far.

For me personally I try not to EQ if I can (mainly because I'm lazy). But it is a bit expensive hunting down the perfect sounding headphone (to me) without EQ through trial and error.

If you can pick something that's close to what you want then EQ it to your taste then it's a bit more cost effective.

That being said I'm still trial and error the brute force way LOL.

 

[Terriero]

. but I don't want to own two of the series -- while in the past I'd have to have all three

In the past you were in the Abyss, now you are a wise guy