[Slim1970]

So, D7100 and 7200 share the same driver, and D9200 is the newest Denon driver different from those?

Yes, the D7100 and the D7200 utilizes the same drivers. Denon went back to the wood cup design on the D7200 as well. Even though they had the same driver, the D7100 was tuned much differently. It had more energy than the D7200's, which went for more of a reference tuning it seemed. I actually liked the D7100's more than the D7200's because it had more treble presence. The D7200's lacked treble clarity to my ears but was great in the mids and bass regions. The treble issue seemed to have gotten fixed with the D9200's.

 

[musickid]

microsoft uk is selling the d7000. is it a step up from d9200?

 

[Slim1970]

microsoft uk is selling the d7000. is it a step up from d9200?

I wouldn't say it's a step up but it definitely sounds different. The D9200 is more refined sounding. Bass is tighter, mids are clearer, and treble is has more clarity. The D7000 is more musical and the notes are more rounded if that makes sense.

 

[jmills8]

Yes.............Mark Lawton modded both himself as far as the internals go, both had his angle pads and both had Q French Silk cabling. Only difference was the deeper than stock cups on the Denon unit. Loved them both but the Denon's deeper bass and my nostalgic feeling for them won out. They were my first really good headphone that I bought in early 2013.

I liked both myself. But my Denon I kept it stock.

 

[kiling92]

Resolve & detailing faster on Denon.
Soundstage bigger on HEKSE
They both great as closed & open cans.


I have news.

The Sony WM1A & WM1Z has had breakthrough in firmware mods.

They now are extremely revealing and jaw-dropping...
dare I say at Chord Dave level performance(!)

The reason I mention this, is because the Sony and Denon9200 combo are END GAME..

You can modify and tune the player to match closer your sound signature preference, while having a polished sound/performance of a DMP-Z1 in portable form.

You can get a used sony 1a for $600 and be done with "the game", with the latest firmware mods...

Man,which custom firmware do you use for your wm1a to work better with your 9200? Venus,solis,mercury,mars or Jupiter?and for you the denon 9200 deserve a artigianal cable?if yes Is better pure silver or copper?i suffer a bit the highs frequencies

 

[jmills8]

Man,which custom firmware do you use for your wm1a to work better with your 9200? Venus,solis,mercury,mars or Jupiter?and for you the denon 9200 deserve a artigianal cable?if yes Is better pure silver or copper?i suffer a bit the highs frequencies

Needs Mws , lack punch.

 

[slsmaster]

Just wanted to give you my impressions about the Denon AH-D9200:

At first I didn't like the headphone nearly as much as originally anticipated and I was very close to selling it and getting a Focal Stellia. The Denon 9200 sounded to bright and lacked "soul". I came from an Focal Clear, which doesn't sound colored either, but wasn't nearly as bright as the Denon with my Denon DA-300USB AMP/DAC. I therfore upgraded to a Marantz HD-DAC1, which made the 9200 better but still not life-like sounding. Also the HD-DAC1 has that notorious Marantz mid-bump, which sounds pleasing at first but can get quite fatiguing after a while. The stereo image also was quite narrow, but better as with the Denon DA-300, more inline with what I remebered with my original Focal Clear+DA-300 combo.

Last month a friend of mine has bought himself a Cocktail Audio HA500H (also known as Novafidelity HA500H) for his Meze Empyrean and I had the chance to demo it with the Denon AH-D9200. OH MY GOD! What a difference! It literally blew my mind what abilities this headphone has when paired with a matching DAC/AMP! I really don't want to overhype a particular setup, as preferences tend to vary quite a bit. But this Combo is the endgame for me!

Very good stereo image (wide and deep), "airy" sound with no sharpness (with tubes engaged), brutally detailed and very fast+punchy while staying neutral!
After one evening at my friends house I ordered a HA500H. It completly transformed my opinion of the Denon 9200, it is now my favourite headphone!

Headphones that I have also tested: Meze Empyrean, Focal Clear, HD 800 (stock), Fidelio X2, DT990 Pro 250 Ohm

Have a good one my friends and enjoy this masterpiece from Denon!

P.S.: I found the Meze quite lacking in punch/speed when compared to the Denon. Also the Denon is way less colored in sound signature compared to the Meze, making it a better match to the sound of the HA500H when tubes are engaged. Also it is way cheaper

 

[SilverEars]

Just wanted to give you my impressions about the Denon AH-D9200:

At first I didn't like the headphone nearly as much as originally anticipated and I was very close to selling it and getting a Focal Stellia. The Denon 9200 sounded to bright and lacked "soul". I came from an Focal Clear, which doesn't sound colored either, but wasn't nearly as bright as the Denon with my Denon DA-300USB AMP/DAC. I therfore upgraded to a Marantz HD-DAC1, which made the 9200 better but still not life-like sounding. Also the HD-DAC1 has that notorious Marantz mid-bump, which sounds pleasing at first but can get quite fatiguing after a while. The stereo image also was quite narrow, but better as with the Denon DA-300, more inline with what I remebered with my original Focal Clear+DA-300 combo.

Last month a friend of mine has bought himself a Cocktail Audio HA500H (also known as Novafidelity HA500H) for his Meze Empyrean and I had the chance to demo it with the Denon AH-D9200. OH MY GOD! What a difference! It literally blew my mind what abilities this headphone has when paired with a matching DAC/AMP! I really don't want to overhype a particular setup, as preferences tend to vary quite a bit. But this Combo is the endgame for me!

Very good stereo image (wide and deep), "airy" sound with no sharpness (with tubes engaged), brutally detailed and very fast+punchy while staying neutral!
After one evening at my friends house I ordered a HA500H. It completly transformed my opinion of the Denon 9200, it is now my favourite headphone!

Headphones that I have also tested: Meze Empyrean, Focal Clear, HD 800 (stock), Fidelio X2, DT990 Pro 250 Ohm

Have a good one my friends and enjoy this masterpiece from Denon!

P.S.: I found the Meze quite lacking in punch/speed when compared to the Denon. Also the Denon is way less colored in sound signature compared to the Meze, making it a better match to the sound of the HA500H when tubes are engaged. Also it is way cheaper

So, you prefer sound of the tubes with the HA500H? I preferred solid-state with incisiveness and dry with it. lol This was weird, but when I used Mac Mini usb output, the sound became dry compared to Windows PC usb output. I just found it to provide the perception of higher resolution at least. Wetness blends the sounds.

Can you tell us a bit more about why you find Empy more colored? I wonder if it has the planar linear bass that the punch isn't quite there like the newest Hifiman planars?

 

[Slim1970]

Just wanted to give you my impressions about the Denon AH-D9200:

At first I didn't like the headphone nearly as much as originally anticipated and I was very close to selling it and getting a Focal Stellia. The Denon 9200 sounded to bright and lacked "soul". I came from an Focal Clear, which doesn't sound colored either, but wasn't nearly as bright as the Denon with my Denon DA-300USB AMP/DAC. I therfore upgraded to a Marantz HD-DAC1, which made the 9200 better but still not life-like sounding. Also the HD-DAC1 has that notorious Marantz mid-bump, which sounds pleasing at first but can get quite fatiguing after a while. The stereo image also was quite narrow, but better as with the Denon DA-300, more inline with what I remebered with my original Focal Clear+DA-300 combo.

Last month a friend of mine has bought himself a Cocktail Audio HA500H (also known as Novafidelity HA500H) for his Meze Empyrean and I had the chance to demo it with the Denon AH-D9200. OH MY GOD! What a difference! It literally blew my mind what abilities this headphone has when paired with a matching DAC/AMP! I really don't want to overhype a particular setup, as preferences tend to vary quite a bit. But this Combo is the endgame for me!

Very good stereo image (wide and deep), "airy" sound with no sharpness (with tubes engaged), brutally detailed and very fast+punchy while staying neutral!
After one evening at my friends house I ordered a HA500H. It completly transformed my opinion of the Denon 9200, it is now my favourite headphone!

Headphones that I have also tested: Meze Empyrean, Focal Clear, HD 800 (stock), Fidelio X2, DT990 Pro 250 Ohm

Have a good one my friends and enjoy this masterpiece from Denon!

P.S.: I found the Meze quite lacking in punch/speed when compared to the Denon. Also the Denon is way less colored in sound signature compared to the Meze, making it a better match to the sound of the HA500H when tubes are engaged. Also it is way cheaper

Nice post. I briefly considered the Cocktail Audio HA500H before settling on the Burson Conductor 3X. I couldn't find a lot of info on the Cocktail Audio HA500H but I did like specs. I'm glad to read that the D9200's pairs well with it.

 

[Brando]

microsoft uk is selling the d7000. is it a step up from d9200?

any chance you could pm me a link?

 

[musickid]

https://microsoftstore.org.uk/denon...MInZvl3oHL6AIVhtDeCh17jwZXEAQYASABEgLPyfD_BwE

 

[Brando]

https://microsoftstore.org.uk/denon...MInZvl3oHL6AIVhtDeCh17jwZXEAQYASABEgLPyfD_BwE

Holy crap $1222. I guess I got lucky when I got my pair for $550 back in the day. Oh well thanks.

 

[slsmaster]

So, you prefer sound of the tubes with the HA500H? I preferred solid-state with incisiveness and dry with it. lol This was weird, but when I used Mac Mini usb output, the sound became dry compared to Windows PC usb output. I just found it to provide the perception of higher resolution at least. Wetness blends the sounds.

Can you tell us a bit more about why you find Empy more colored? I wonder if it has the planar linear bass that the punch isn't quite there like the newest Hifiman planars?

Have you also installed the dedicated drivers, when using the HA500H with Windows? If the driver is installed correctly, you get a little "Novatron" Control Panel in the task bar. Maybe this makes a sound difference, I only tried it with drivers installed.

I would say the Denon 9200 also sounds good with tubes off, it is definitely a little more detailed, more dry sounding and slams a little "harder". This goes really well with some genres, but in general I prefer the smoother, slightly more relaxed sound that you get with the tubes engaged. It is still very engaging but right on the edge for me.

The Empy is a fantastic headphone, don't get me wrong. But it has one mayor "weakness" that is also it's biggest strength: its very laid back character.
The base is definitely there and scales very well with volume levels, but it never "slams". You don't get that "kick" from both sides, that you get when using the Denon 9200. It however is very present, for example "Traust" from "Heilung" sounds incredible with the Empy, it even starts to move on your head from the frequencies it can reproduce.
But where the Denon 9200 really excels is tonal neutrality and speed. When listening to fast paced songs (e.g. Abba - Summer Night City), the rythmic disco beats really engage you and let you move to it! The Empy on the other hand is so "pillowy" and therfore slow sounding, that you don't get that "hectic" feeling (hectic in a positive way) you should get. Another example in favour for the Denon 9200 is "Vouge" from "Madonna": You are really scared at first when Madonna shouts: "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!?" with the Denon, exactly how she intended it. With the Empy her shouting is so soft, that you dont get hit by it at all. Also the upper low-range to lower mid-range base that is present in this song just sounds "wrong" with the Empy, as it is definetly elevated in this region. This leads to base in the upper low-range to blead into the mid-range a bit. However I found this to be the case only in very few songs (like Vogue). The Empy is a fantastic headphone for slow paced, vocal music. But definitely not as good for more fast paced music with lots of effects (e.g. synthesizer, modern pop beats, hip-hop...). The Denon just destroys the Empy in this category.

To conclude: both headphones have a very differnt nature, the Empy is the headphone you want to listen to in the evening after a long day to "chill out" with Sara K. or Sinatra.
The Denon is a neutral and engaging studio headphone, that paired with the right amp, gives you very engaging but not overly fatiguing sound. Although of course it is more fatiguing then the Empy is. But when comparing both price wise, I really would go for the Denon 9200 first. It doesn't do anything wrong and delivers true flagship performance for half the price.

One thing to point out: The Denon 9200 is picky about what AMP/DAC combo you use, so thats one gripe about it.

 

[Babbage78]

Have you also installed the dedicated drivers, when using the HA500H with Windows? If the driver is installed correctly, you get a little "Novatron" Control Panel in the task bar. Maybe this makes a sound difference, I only tried it with drivers installed.

I would say the Denon 9200 also sounds good with tubes off, it is definitely a little more detailed, more dry sounding and slams a little "harder". This goes really well with some genres, but in general I prefer the smoother, slightly more relaxed sound that you get with the tubes engaged. It is still very engaging but right on the edge for me.

The Empy is a fantastic headphone, don't get me wrong. But it has one mayor "weakness" that is also it's biggest strength: its very laid back character.
The base is definitely there and scales very well with volume levels, but it never "slams". You don't get that "kick" from both sides, that you get when using the Denon 9200. It however is very present, for example "Traust" from "Heilung" sounds incredible with the Empy, it even starts to move on your head from the frequencies it can reproduce.
But where the Denon 9200 really excels is tonal neutrality and speed. When listening to fast paced songs (e.g. Abba - Summer Night City), the rythmic disco beats really engage you and let you move to it! The Empy on the other hand is so "pillowy" and therfore slow sounding, that you don't get that "hectic" feeling (hectic in a positive way) you should get. Another example in favour for the Denon 9200 is "Vouge" from "Madonna": You are really scared at first when Madonna shouts: "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!?" with the Denon, exactly how she intended it. With the Empy her shouting is so soft, that you dont get hit by it at all. Also the upper low-range to lower mid-range base that is present in this song just sounds "wrong" with the Empy, as it is definetly elevated in this region. This leads to base in the upper low-range to blead into the mid-range a bit. However I found this to be the case only in very few songs (like Vogue). The Empy is a fantastic headphone for slow paced, vocal music. But definitely not as good for more fast paced music with lots of effects (e.g. synthesizer, modern pop beats, hip-hop...). The Denon just destroys the Empy in this category.

To conclude: both headphones have a very differnt nature, the Empy is the headphone you want to listen to in the evening after a long day to "chill out" with Sara K. or Sinatra.
The Denon is a neutral and engaging studio headphone, that paired with the right amp, gives you very engaging but not overly fatiguing sound. Although of course it is more fatiguing then the Empy is. But when comparing both price wise, I really would go for the Denon 9200 first. It doesn't do anything wrong and delivers true flagship performance for half the price.

One thing to point out: The Denon 9200 is picky about what AMP/DAC combo you use, so thats one gripe about it.

I totally agree with what you're saying about the 9200 being very picky about what amp/dac it's plugged into. I'm currently using a Monoprice THX 887 as my amp and a Metrum Amethyst as the dac. The THX 887 is so insanely clean that it's insane just how much clarity and detail you can pick out in songs you've heard a million times. I also have a Monoprice Monolith Tube Amp that is pretty much unusable with the 9200 because it makes the highs almost painfully sharp, and that was my favorite amp to use with my ZMF Aeolus.

I think the Metrum Amethyst supplies a nice organic sound free of any digital glare. I currently have a Topping D90 on the way because I've heard so many great things about it and I really wanted to try out a higher end Delta Sigma dac vs R2R, so I'll post an update here once I've had some time to listen to it and give my opinions on it vs the Amethyst for my preferred Denon 9200 dac.

 

[jmills8]

I totally agree with what you're saying about the 9200 being very picky about what amp/dac it's plugged into. I'm currently using a Monoprice THX 887 as my amp and a Metrum Amethyst as the dac. The THX 887 is so insanely clean that it's insane just how much clarity and detail you can pick out in songs you've heard a million times. I also have a Monoprice Monolith Tube Amp that is pretty much unusable with the 9200 because it makes the highs almost painfully sharp, and that was my favorite amp to use with my ZMF Aeolus.

I think the Metrum Amethyst supplies a nice organic sound free of any digital glare. I currently have a Topping D90 on the way because I've heard so many great things about it and I really wanted to try out a higher end Delta Sigma dac vs R2R, so I'll post an update here once I've had some time to listen to it and give my opinions on it vs the Amethyst for my preferred Denon 9200 dac.

I too experienced the 9200 can easily change with amps , dacs , cable's etc.