[chrisr34000]

I still consider them bright, visible on measurements, too, and compared to other headphones.
But the D9200 treble depends also on the earpads (everything else, too, but treble is a bitch and not all pads will affect the treble).
For instance, these (the leather version, not the protein ones) are very good earpads to start with, even in stock form.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000908305455.html




In addition, if you dare to mod them, they become quite stunning, much better than the original pads, and far cheaper. Kind of different take than the Stax 007 or 009 pads (which are still better), but with these Chinese pads the treble is less of a problem. The mod is the same as with nearly all other pads: trimming the internal foam, all 4 circular edges (so it becomes more of a toroidal form) and some of the height in the back, about 20-25% of the mass. Resewing is not strictly needed, as the leather folds over the foam completely. Attach to the frame with double sided adhesive patches, not with the plastic mounting rings. Worth a try.

What are in your opinion the best earpads to fix the "brightness" of the D9200? The Stax pads? Do they fit without modding?

 

[Mhog55]

What are in your opinion the best earpads to fix the "brightness" of the D9200? The Stax pads? Do they fit without modding?

I'd like to know this as well. I don't particularly want to modify the pads, but I have no problem modding the cans themselves. Speaking of mods, are there any sure fire mods that will increase the sub and mid bass a touch or two? Is anyone messing around with the hole in the back of the magnets, like people have with the 7200? Anyone stuffing or adding materials inside the cups?

 

[Exekuhtor]

Goddamnit what a fantastic pair of cans.
I will take more time to A/B them with the VC but i think i like them better. The Denon not only has the air frequencies i love but it also has more impact and more slam to it, it is also a bit brighter but i like that.
The intro of Eminem's Drug Ballad is SO TIGHT and has SO MUCH SLAM, more than on the VC.
Vocals are different but i can't pick a winner between the VC and the Denon (which says a lot since the VC is famous for rich vocals). If you put a gun to my head i'd probably choose the VC, the timbre of the vocals is a bit more realistic.
Soundstage is smaller, but it's not HD6XX intimate (thank god), imaging is on par with the VC, both superb.
The highs are more enjoyable to me, the intro of DragonForce's Through The Fire And Flames is a BANGER with the Denon, on the VC it sounds good but not as fast, sharp, airy and exciting.
I think it's slightly less detailed than the VC. Who cares, both are not Sus level and it's probably a 5-10% difference.
The VC is a bit shouty in some cases: Avicii Addicted to you 0:45-0.51 is a bit painful on the VC, on the Denon it's sounding fantastic, not a hint of shout. I love that.
The bass is where the VC wins over the Denon. Both are fantastic but the VC has more authority. In the middle of Yosi Horikawa's Starlings the bass of the VC almost lets me suffocate and i am trapped with this alien entity from H.P. Lovecraft, it's still not 1266 level but it gets there. The Denon displays the monster a bit less scary and further away. It's very controlled and still on a high level though.
Comfort is very good, it's very light and the clampforce is not too much, i feared it would have been the case.
Isolation is a bit better on the VC but they are both only "ok", not reaching Focals or Beyers closed back headphones, it's also a bit different since they filter out different frequencies more or less.

Yeah, i probably sell the VC, it's still fantastic but i prefer the Denon.

 

[godmax]

Goddamnit what a fantastic pair of cans.
I will take more time to A/B them with the VC but i think i like them better. The Denon not only has the air frequencies i love but it also has more impact and more slam to it, it is also a bit brighter but i like that.
The intro of Eminem's Drug Ballad is SO TIGHT and has SO MUCH SLAM, more than on the VC.
Vocals are different but i can't pick a winner between the VC and the Denon (which says a lot since the VC is famous for rich vocals). If you put a gun to my head i'd probably choose the VC, the timbre of the vocals is a bit more realistic.
Soundstage is smaller, but it's not HD6XX intimate (thank god), imaging is on par with the VC, both superb.
The highs are more enjoyable to me, the intro of DragonForce's Through The Fire And Flames is a BANGER with the Denon, on the VC it sounds good but not as fast, sharp, airy and exciting.
I think it's slightly less detailed than the VC. Who cares, both are not Sus level and it's probably a 5-10% difference.
The VC is a bit shouty in some cases: Avicii Addicted to you 0:45-0.51 is a bit painful on the VC, on the Denon it's sounding fantastic, not a hint of shout. I love that.
The bass is where the VC wins over the Denon. Both are fantastic but the VC has more authority. In the middle of Yosi Horikawa's Starlings the bass of the VC almost lets me suffocate and i am trapped with this alien entity from H.P. Lovecraft, it's still not 1266 level but it gets there. The Denon displays the monster a bit less scary and further away. It's very controlled and still on a high level though.
Comfort is very good, it's very light and the clampforce is not too much, i feared it would have been...
Isolation is a bit better on the VC but they are both only "ok", not reaching Focals or Beyers closed back headphones, it's also a bit different since they filter out different frequencies more or less.

Yeah, i probably sell the VC, it's still fantastic but i prefer the Denon.

... also sold my VC after I had the D9200, but not so sure about perceived detail retrieval: I am still under the impression the D9200 is at least on par with the VC

 

[zolkis]

What are in your opinion the best earpads to fix the "brightness" of the D9200? The Stax pads? Do they fit without modding?

So far these Chinese pads have been the best to reduce the brightness. Stax pads, if anything, didn't change that part much.

 

[Mhog55]

So far these Chinese pads have been the best to reduce the brightness. Stax pads, if anything, didn't change that part much.

Any other notable differences between these and the stock pads, other than the treble? They look similar to the Dekoni Th-900 pads.

 

[bluex]

Could anyone, please, compare the Beyerdynamic T5 3rd gen. with Denon D9200 ?

 

[Exekuhtor]

... also sold my VC after I had the D9200, but not so sure about perceived detail retrieval: I am still under the impression the D9200 is at least on par with the VC

Can be absolutely true, i focused hard on the details of vocals, and that's where the VC really shines. Listening for details can be hard if the headphones are already very good and close in terms of resolution, it's way more noticable when there's a whole leap in difference like to the Sus.
Also the Denon is a bit brighter and i find it very hard not to cloud the perception of details on a brighter sound signature headphone, i tried to ignore that. Most people see brighter = more details but that's certainly not the case. Maybe (falsely) perceived details, it gets very hard to judge (for me)...

Could anyone, please, compare the Beyerdynamic T5 3rd gen. with Denon D9200 ?

I heard the Beyer T2p 2. Gen which didn't stun me (too much treble peak, V-shaped but not that enjoyable for me).
I also have the DT1990 here which is in my opinion the best Beyer by far, though you (may) need to tube it to take out the aggressiveness and enhance the soundstage, it has so much clarity and details for the money...
The Beyer is an open back, so easier to achieve better technical performance, that being said, the Denon is a leap ahead (no wonder cuz its 3x the price). Maybe not for all people, but for most. I can post a comparison between them later if you want, though that won't help you if you have not heard the DT1990 (which i highly recommend).

I already posted a detailed impression of the DT1990 in comparison to the DT1770 in the DT1990 thread...

 

[Mhog55]

Could anyone, please, compare the Beyerdynamic T5 3rd gen. with Denon D9200 ?

I'm curious as well. I'm thinking about selling my 9200 to try the T1 3rd, but I'll likely regret it. I just prefer a slightly darker signature than the 9200.

 

[msing539]

I'm curious as well. I'm thinking about selling my 9200 to try the T1 3rd, but I'll likely regret it. I just prefer a slightly darker signature than the 9200.

Have you heard the D7200?

 

[Mhog55]

Have you heard the D7200?

Yep. Owned it for a while. Pretty good headphones, but the mids were a little too recessed for my liking, and there was a bit of grain compared to the 9200.

 

[msing539]

Yep. Owned it for a while. Pretty good headphones, but the mids were a little too recessed for my liking, and there was a bit of grain compared to the 9200.

I agree with you on both points, just curious. I've owned the 7200 three times... the second went to a friend here who modded them. He was able to remove the grain with mod tape, which also tightened up the bass.

 

[Mhog55]

I agree with you on both points, just curious. I've owned the 7200 three times... the second went to a friend here who modded them. He was able to remove the grain with mod tape, which also tightened up the bass.

Dougms3? We chat frequently, and that furniture tape he uses really works. I purchased a 58X from him that he modded. It's pretty much grain free now.

 

[msing539]

Dougms3? We chat frequently, and that furniture tape he uses really works. I purchased a 58X from him that he modded. It's pretty much grain free now.

Yep, it's @dougms3 -- he has my old 7200. He also modded the Ultrasone 750i I have listed. Tape and mesh tamed all the treble on those.

I have yet to hear his 7200 but probably at Canjam.

 

[Exekuhtor]

This was by far the hardest comparison so far, but it was goddamn enjoyable!

Beyerdynamic DT1990 versus Denon AH-D9200

DT1990 with analytical pads on my Feliks Echo MKII with upgraded tubes, AH-D9200 on my Ferrum (unbalanced, it needs NO power whatsoever and in my opinion doesn't benefit from tubes AT ALL, it looses a bit of dynamics). Also because i can swap very quickly which was necessary.

The Denon is a bit less bright than the DT1990. It's still a bright headphone but that's probably the first difference that you notice.
The Denon is WAY more natural. The DT1990 sounds artificial in some cases. After hearing the Denon for a while and swapping to the Beyer, the DT1990 feels a bit too bright, like the brightness gets in the way of the natural timbre and overall sound quality, the Denon is perfect (for me, i LOVE the Hifiman open and airy sound signature).
The leap in details is not huge, the clarity of the Beyer is already very high. It's just that the Denon delivers the same (or more) details in a way more natural way. I would say the Denon is about 20% more detailed, don't be mad if i'm wrong here.
The Denon can deliver vocals in a very natural and intimate way if the song calls for it, the Beyer has problems with that, it always retains a bit of a "detailed view from above for the purpose of analyzing the music" character.
Imaging on the Denon is better, both have almost the same soundstage size, maybe the Denon is a tiny bit bigger. Sometimes sounds on the Beyer sound staggered (the sounds are at the same distance from your head away) while the Denon can visualise a more nuanced imaging, as i said voices can get more personal.
Lets get into examples:
String instruments sound incredible similiar. "The Intro (feat. Apocalyptica)" from Bullet for My Valentine's Poison sounds EXTREMELY similiar. You notice very tiny details like the imperfections from pulling the string at 0:54 easily with both. The difference is in the imaging, the Denon pulls ahead, but it's a tiny amount and you have to focus hard.
Voices are as i said a pure win for the Denon, "The Spine" from the Transistor OST by Darren Korb sounds VERY good with the Beyer, but with the Denon i almost melt, the female voice sounds so rich and natural and lovely. I pulled out the big gun - the Susvara - and honestly the difference is there but i would not say that it's huge. That fact shocked me. The Sus brings out the instruments in a more livelier way, but the female voice is almost goddamn perfect on the Denon too. I love it.
The "S" and "T" noises of any singer are more natural and way more pleasing on the Denon, but everyone that ever heard a Beyer probably expected that.
Both the DT1990 and the D9200 have excellent dynamics and a very similiar punch. The start of both Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole" and Eminem's "Drug Ballad" have a very nice kick and punch to it. EXTREMELY similiar. They both slap hard.
Both headphones are not shouty (as you would expect from their graph), they pass the 0:46-0:51 from Avicii's "Addicted to You" test with flying colours and neither of them hurt (like the VC did).
Lets get into the bass. Leprous' "Have You Ever?" bass vibrates and should wrap up the listener. The DT1990 does that a bit better than the Denon, but neither of them are world class in that regard. The quality is the same, the Beyer has a tiny bit more quantity, i would say about 10%. The same goes for the Lovecraft entity that starts to appear at 0:45 and gets unnervingly close in Yosi Horikawa's Starlings, it's not scary with either of them, the VC did a better job here.
Eletronic music is a bit more preferably on the DT1990, because the Beyer has a bit more bass quantity. Dance With The Dead or Carpenter Brut sounds a bit more engaging, but again, it's not a big difference. You may even prefer the Denon because it's a bit less bright. Honestly the difference is incredibly small.

All in all:
I would say the Denon AH-D9200 is an overall upgrade from the Beyerdynamic DT1990. It can engulf you more into the music and has better imaging, you get way better vocals without sharp "S" and "T" consonants. Honestly these headphones sound VERY similiar. The clarity, the details, the soundstage and the dynamics are very similiar. Timbre is better on the Denon. The bass quality on both is excellent and the same and - the only thing where the Denon loses a bit - the quantity of it, which is a bit better on the Beyer, but not by much.
I think the main selling point are the vocals. The only time i can see someone prefering the Beyer is on electronic music where it sounds fuller. If you're a basshead neither of them are for you as they don't have enough quantity in the lower region.

Both are comfortable for me, with the Denon pulling ahead slightly. Sound isolation on it isn't great but it's at least a bit, while the Beyer is totally open.
The DT1990 needs in my opinion a tube amp which makes it great, you take it from "only for getting fed details" to "enjoying the music". The Denon sounds perfect on everything.
Very short comparison D9200 vs Grado Hemp: Hemp is brighter, has more midbass (which let it sound fuller) and a way bigger soundstage but a lot less clarity and details.

Thanks for reading!


:edit:
Small note: The Denon sounds a bit sharper and precise and clinical (but far away from "dead") on the Shanling UA5 compared to the Ferrum but it's not a big difference. You enjoy it a lot whether you have a source that is a bit warm or not. A solid state is very fine. The more warmth gets added the more dynamics you may lose so i would not run this on an OTL tube. Also this needs IEM levels of power and i can hear music playing on low gain with 0 volume on the Ferrum.
If you like the Hifiman sound signature you'll like the Denon.