[Malevolent]

So I had the chance to try out both the Fostex TH900 Mk II (stock pads and cables) vs. the Denon AH-D9200 (also stock pads and cables). I intentionally kept both at stock configurations because I figure if you're going to be spending over $1000 on headphones, they should be designed well enough without having to mod the hell out of them for a good sound. Thankfully, both sound great with their stock cables and pads. I didn't use a fancy amp/DAC to be honest (Sound BlasterX G6 since I'm more into gaming than music), but again, I found these headphones very easy to work with.

I managed to snag a new Mk II for about $1200, and I got the Denons for about $1600. The two headphones are very comparable, but here's the TLDR version: The Denon 9200's are great - but their price tag vs. the TH900 doesn't justify the purchase.

I tested both headphones for both music (mainly movie soundtracks and 70's/80's/90's/early 00's Rock music) and gaming (RPG's, FPS, RTS's, atmospheric games, etc.)

Some specifics:

Bass - The Denons have very tight and controlled bass, can really handle the lows very well, but I just found the Fostex to be deeper feeling and just more fun. You FEEL more with the Fostex vs. the Denons. Both headphones handle deep bass like champs.

Midrange - Both perform well in the midranges. I think the Denon is bit more technically precise, given that they're closer to reference headphones (as others have stated) than the TH900, but I didn't notice a massive difference (again - it doesn't justify paying $400 more). Neither headphones' bass frequencies bled into the midrange.

Treble - I will admit, without proper EQ, the TH900's treble is exhausting. The Denon's are better out of the box when it comes to those piercing highs. However, with the right EQ, I was able to control the massive V shape of the Fostex's and bring them more in line so that the highs don't assault the ears. For gaming, the V shape is better - for music, not as much depending on what kind of musical experience you're looking for.

I agree with your impressions. The D9200 is a more balanced take on the TH900's sound - it is basically a continuation of the D7000's legacy, IMO.

However, whilst others have issues with the treble on the TH900, I'm very much a huge fan of it. I can acknowledge that its brighter than most of my other headphones; however, I simply love its implementation of a "V-shaped" sound.

In any case, I'd take the TH900 Mk2 for dance music, and the D9200 for everything else.

Will you be keeping the Denon?

 

[Wishmaker]

Man that sucks. To pay that much cash, in store, and yet they arrived damaged and the store won't make good, would just bum me out. Fell your pain. Sound wise they are worth it, that's for sure. Enjoy the Stellia's when you get em.

I am giving the store a second chance to send me a pair that has decent quality.
Should they fail to do so, I will ask for a refund and then look at Focal.
Which is a shame because Denon was my go to for Headphones and Focal for full sized.

I suggested on the phone that if a few pairs arrive in stock, they should check for damage before sending one to me.
I got an irritated answer 'do you think we check all equipment we receive?'
I said 'no, but you already sent me a pair which is not how I expect, so I am asking you to check the headphones before you send them'.

Suffice it to say they were not impressed with my suggestion even if I asked them nicely.

 

[RoyGB]

So I had the chance to try out both the Fostex TH900 Mk II (stock pads and cables) vs. the Denon AH-D9200 (also stock pads and cables). I intentionally kept both at stock configurations because I figure if you're going to be spending over $1000 on headphones, they should be designed well enough without having to mod the hell out of them for a good sound. Thankfully, both sound great with their stock cables and pads. I didn't use a fancy amp/DAC to be honest (Sound BlasterX G6 since I'm more into gaming than music), but again, I found these headphones very easy to work with.

I managed to snag a new Mk II for about $1200, and I got the Denons for about $1600. The two headphones are very comparable, but here's the TLDR version: The Denon 9200's are great - but their price tag vs. the TH900 doesn't justify the purchase.

I tested both headphones for both music (mainly movie soundtracks and 70's/80's/90's/early 00's Rock music) and gaming (RPG's, FPS, RTS's, atmospheric games, etc.)

Some specifics:

Bass - The Denons have very tight and controlled bass, can really handle the lows very well, but I just found the Fostex to be deeper feeling and just more fun. You FEEL more with the Fostex vs. the Denons. Both headphones handle deep bass like champs.

Midrange - Both perform well in the midranges. I think the Denon is bit more technically precise, given that they're closer to reference headphones (as others have stated) than the TH900, but I didn't notice a massive difference (again - it doesn't justify paying $400 more). Neither headphones' bass frequencies bled into the midrange.

Treble - I will admit, without proper EQ, the TH900's treble is exhausting. The Denon's are better out of the box when it comes to those piercing highs. However, with the right EQ, I was able to control the massive V shape of the Fostex's and bring them more in line so that the highs don't assault the ears. For gaming, the V shape is better - for music, not as much depending on what kind of musical experience you're looking for.

Surround sound - The TH900 sounds more *open* and a bit more clear than the Denon's do. Perhaps this is because of the semi-closed design, but the sound just sounded "bigger" with the Fostex's than the Denon's. In FPS games like Call of Duty, I found that the Fostex was more accurate in positioning than the Denon's. They seem to be better designed for surround sound than the 9200's. I was able to tell the location of people above me or behind me more often with the TH900 than with the Denon. I tested both pairs of headphones' surround sound capability using Dolby Atmos for Headphones, and DTS Headphone X. In a game like Jedi: Fallen Order, the clarity of the TH900 brought out the ambience slightly better than the Denon 9200. I felt slightly more immersed with the TH900 than the 9200.

Portable devices - Both are very easy to drive. I was able to play each of them on a regular Sony mp3 player with no issues. No amp needed. For the Fostex, however, I needed an 1/8" adapter to plug it in, while the Denon conveniently had a dual plug in at the end of the cable. You can simply remove the 1/4" plug and the 1/8" is under it. Very convenient.

Comfort and looks - The TH900 wins hands down. They're more comfortable to wear, and I guess I'm just partial to red, lol. The bamboo of the Denon was nice, but the TH900 just looks and feels better in my opinion with that red birch cherry wood. My main gripe is that the cable length of the Fostex is too damn long, while the Denon's are much more reasonable.

Overall: The Denon AH-D9200 sounds really good, and if you're looking for a very precise and controlled sound, it may edge out a tiny bit over the TH900, however, I just don't think that little bit extra precision is worth the extra $400 you would pay vs. the TH900 Mk II's, especially because you can rein in the TH900's treble with the proper EQ. That's just my opinion, and I know these things are really subjective, but I hope this helps. I wanted to give back after asking so many questions on this board about all the different headphones out there Thanks everyone for all the help and advice!

That is the thing about high end audio. Especially headphones. There the price to performance goes out the window to some extent after $500-1000 depending on who you ask and subjectivity starts playing a much greater factor.

I recently demoed my brothers pair of ATH-M40X's and was thoroughly surprised at how good they sound being a $100 headphone. From my experiences with everything from the very cheapest, to a handful of midrange ~$500, to high end. It seems like the advantage starts to become the lack of compromise that you get with lower end headphones. Everything is just a touch better, a tiny bit cleaner and more detailed, a bit better extension in the extremes of the ranges. The question always is is that ever deminishing return worth it. How much better is a $1000 ADI than a $100 atom. And how much better is that atom than what you already have in your device? We are dealing with the 95th and 99th precentile here. The thing always is, that those tiny bits of better often make a pretty big deal. I can once again relate it to the percentile analogy I was just using. 50th percentile and 84th percentile is a standard deviation. But then again so is 97% to 99% or something therabouts. Granted not the best rhetorical argument ever employed but it may help add some substance to the intent of my argument.

As the age old audio advice goes, differences are not made entirely clear until you go back and listen to something worse sometimes. There are days that I think my HD650's sound incredible, lush, warm, and full, and just as many days where I think they sound like hot garbage, way warm to a fault, and no where near enough detail retrieval. Usually the difference is if I had been listening to my 9200's before hand.


Also, give both pairs time to burn in. From my experience the 9200's only get better as they get some hours under them.

 

[Malevolent]

I am giving the store a second chance to send me a pair that has decent quality.
Should they fail to do so, I will ask for a refund and then look at Focal.
Which is a shame because Denon was my go to for Headphones and Focal for full sized.

I suggested on the phone that if a few pairs arrive in stock, they should check for damage before sending one to me.
I got an irritated answer 'do you think we check all equipment we receive?'
I said 'no, but you already sent me a pair which is not how I expect, so I am asking you to check the headphones before you send them'.

Suffice it to say they were not impressed with my suggestion even if I asked them nicely.

If it's any consolation, I found the bass on the D9200 to be a bit more textured than the Stellia. Mind you, I haven't been able to compare them side-by-side, but I'm basing this on memory. The Stellia is a great headphone, no doubt, but I found the Denon to have a better presentation in the lower registers - it has very good rumble, slam, and impact, without bleeding into the mids. It sounds a touch cleaner than the Stellia, too. The Focal is the thicker sounding headphone, with a lush, rounded signature. Underneath all that warmth, however, the Stellia is the more resolving headphone. Both are great cans, and I hope to add a Stellia to my collection in the near future.

With that said, I'm still very much a fan of the D9200's sound.

 

[duranxv]

I agree with your impressions. The D9200 is a more balanced take on the TH900's sound - it is basically a continuation of the D7000's legacy, IMO.

However, whilst others have issues with the treble on the TH900, I'm very much a huge fan of it. I can acknowledge that its brighter than most of my other headphones; however, I simply love its implementation of a "V-shaped" sound.

In any case, I'd take the TH900 Mk2 for dance music, and the D9200 for everything else.

Will you be keeping the Denon?

Yeah, they're both really solid headphones, and I don't think you'd go wrong with either one. It's a matter of preference, since they're so close in terms of audio quality and performance.

I returned the Denon's. I got them off Amazon because their return policy is more generous, so it gave me more time to burn them in along with the TH900 Mk II. The TH900 I got off of Reverb, and thankfully the seller was also very reasonable in terms of the return window. Gave me a good amount of time to properly test each and burn them in. Again, given that the two headphones are so close in terms of quality, keeping the Denon's would almost be redundant in my opinion. The 9200's are great, but not $400 more great than the TH900 Again, these things are so subjective at the end of the day, lol

 

[duranxv]

That is the thing about high end audio. Especially headphones. There the price to performance goes out the window to some extent after $500-1000 depending on who you ask and subjectivity starts playing a much greater factor.

I recently demoed my brothers pair of ATH-M40X's and was thoroughly surprised at how good they sound being a $100 headphone. From my experiences with everything from the very cheapest, to a handful of midrange ~$500, to high end. It seems like the advantage starts to become the lack of compromise that you get with lower end headphones. Everything is just a touch better, a tiny bit cleaner and more detailed, a bit better extension in the extremes of the ranges. The question always is is that ever deminishing return worth it. How much better is a $1000 ADI than a $100 atom. And how much better is that atom than what you already have in your device? We are dealing with the 95th and 99th precentile here. The thing always is, that those tiny bits of better often make a pretty big deal. I can once again relate it to the percentile analogy I was just using. 50th percentile and 84th percentile is a standard deviation. But then again so is 97% to 99% or something therabouts. Granted not the best rhetorical argument ever employed but it may help add some substance to the intent of my argument.

As the age old audio advice goes, differences are not made entirely clear until you go back and listen to something worse sometimes. There are days that I think my HD650's sound incredible, lush, warm, and full, and just as many days where I think they sound like hot garbage, way warm to a fault, and no where near enough detail retrieval. Usually the difference is if I had been listening to my 9200's before hand.


Also, give both pairs time to burn in. From my experience the 9200's only get better as they get some hours under them.

Yep, definitely. The law of diminishing returns definitely applies, where only a critical ear will appreciate the tiny improvements. I will say though, to my ears at least, there is a significant difference between the TH900 and 9200 and my old $160 Sennheiser 598Cs, haha. Even before burning them in, I could immediately see the TH900 and the Denon 9200 were leagues better vs. my old 598's. Then again, I would hope so since they're almost 10x the cost, lol.

I made sure to give time to burn in both pairs - because you're right, the actual burn-in and especially the "mental burn-in" is important too. They both got better with time for sure.

 

[Malevolent]

Yeah, they're both really solid headphones, and I don't think you'd go wrong with either one. It's a matter of preference, since they're so close in terms of audio quality and performance.

I returned the Denon's. I got them off Amazon because their return policy is more generous, so it gave me more time to burn them in along with the TH900 Mk II. The TH900 I got off of Reverb, and thankfully the seller was also very reasonable in terms of the return window. Gave me a good amount of time to properly test each and burn them in. Again, given that the two headphones are so close in terms of quality, keeping the Denon's would almost be redundant in my opinion. The 9200's are great, but not $400 more great than the TH900 Again, these things are so subjective at the end of the day, lol

Well, as much as I love the Denon for its general musicality, and an effortless ability to play well with myriad genres, the TH900 Mk2 is actually 1 of my 2 favorite headphones, the other being the Sony MDR-Z1R. I listen to a lot of dance music (70% of my collection), so I need a headphone that is generally "v-shaped", but doesn't sacrifice detail for overwhelming bass. For me, the Fostex is the headphone that best encapsulates my ideal sound; it is the best in the business for dance music, IMO.

Still, as you've said, you can't go wrong with either headphone.

 

[godmax]

Here is my small subjective impression after owning the D9200 for about 3 month:

Preface: The first contact with Denon headphones was many years ago when I orded a pair of D2000 directly from Japan, but sold them because I rarely used them and had no proper DAC or amplification at that that time. I do regret this to some extent!

The D9200 feels very light and comfortable. Build quality is good, but not exceptional, e.g. the wooden cups are less adorable than the E-MU Teaks or the ZMF VC.
They are not as much DAC and/or AMP depended as my other headphones, that means they sound almost equally enjoyable regadless what "pipepline" I use. That also means its sonic presentation does not gain much more additional low-end energy even with my more "fun" setups or respond exceptionally well to EQ.
Very detailed and neutral non-sharp trebble is on par with the ZMF VC and Stellia with great low-end. Low-end is very precise and impactful, but not thumpy as the E-MU Teaks or omnipresent as the Focal Stellia.
It can reproduce three dimensional layering when the recording was mastered that way and does not create some artifical holographic effects (like the VC). The mids follow a more neutral approach, no exaggeration or special emphasis (like the Stellia does, but that can be also desirable). The perceived soundstage also depends very much on the recording, it can sound very wide, but generally leans to a more intimate presentation.
The D9200 has many of the technical capabilities of its competitors while producing an enganging and enjoyable sound. In my opinion one of the more underated closed-back top tier headphones.

Three "pipeplines" I use my headphones on:

"neutral"	RME ADI-2 DAC FS with Geshelli Archel 2.5 Pro	most neutral of my setup, king of measurements that is still a pleasure to listen to
"fun"	Questyle CMA 400i [DAC/AMP]	pinpointing vocals in the center with class A meatiness
"more fun"	Denafrips Ares II with HeadAmp GS-X mini	expanded soundstage of R2R goodness combined with class A heft

Music source:
TIDAL and FLAC

Cables used:
Hart Audio Custom Cables

Headphones for comparison:
Focal Elegia, Focal Stellia, E-MU Teak, ZMF Verite Closed [sold], Focal Clear [sold]

 

[Malevolent]

Here is my small subjective impression after owning the D9200 for about 3 month:

Preface: The first contact with Denon headphones was many years ago when I orded a pair of D2000 directly from Japan, but sold them because I rarely used them and had no proper DAC or amplification at that that time. I do regret this to some extent!

The D9200 feels very light and comfortable. Build quality is good, but not exceptional, e.g. the wooden cups are less adorable than the E-MU Teaks or the ZMF VC.
They are not as much DAC and/or AMP depended as my other headphones, that means they sound almost equally enjoyable regadless what "pipepline" I use. That also means its sonic presentation does not gain much more additional low-end energy even with my more "fun" setups or respond exceptionally well to EQ.
Very detailed and neutral non-sharp trebble is on par with the ZMF VC and Stellia with great low-end. Low-end is very precise and impactful, but not thumpy as the E-MU Teaks or omnipresent as the Focal Stellia.
It can reproduce three dimensional layering when the recording was mastered that way and does not create some artifical holographic effects (like the VC). The mids follow a more neutral approach, no exaggeration or special emphasis (like the Stellia does, but that can be also desirable). The perceived soundstage also depends very much on the recording, it can sound very wide, but generally leans to a more intimate presentation.
The D9200 has many of the technical capabilities of its competitors while producing an enganging and enjoyable sound. In my opinion one of the more underated closed-back top tier headphones.

Three "pipeplines" I use my headphones on:

"neutral"	RME ADI-2 DAC FS with Geshelli Archel 2.5 Pro	most neutral of my setup, king of measurements that is still a pleasure to listen to
"fun"	Questyle CMA 400i [DAC/AMP]	pinpointing vocals in the center with class A meatiness
"more fun"	Denafrips Ares II with HeadAmp GS-X mini	expanded soundstage of R2R goodness combined with class A heft

Music source:
TIDAL and FLAC

Cables used:
Hart Audio Custom Cables

Headphones for comparison:
Focal Elegia, Focal Stellia, E-MU Teak, ZMF Verite Closed [sold], Focal Clear [sold]

Thanks for your impressions, especially the points concerning the sound quality of the D9200 vis-à-vis the Stellia and the Vérité Closed (VC). I like the Stellia a lot myself; they have a distinct ability to generate a lot of detail without sacrificing any of the warmth and bass presence that I so greatly crave.

On the other hand, my time with the VC was less than enjoyable. It is supremely detailed, but it doesn't bring a lot of the "fun" factor to the table, IMO. What it gains in technicalities, and it has them in spades, it loses in musicality.

 

[Wishmaker]

I learned my lesson with Thomann as a music store. First they lie about the stock. So I buy based on that. Then they tell me August. They find a pair of headphones for me because someone cancelled their order and I was next in line.

They send me the earlier mentioned damaged headphones. When I contact them to show my displeasure at this they don’t bother to reply. I then call them to see what is going on and they tell me it’s normal for them to be like this.

I explain that for the price I cannot accept this and I want a replacement the guy from Thomann is upset with me because I don’t keep the headphones. We then arrange a UPS pick-up and he agrees to send me in August a new pair. I said fine just make sure they are not damaged. He complains that he cannot open all boxes.

UPS delivers the headphones to them in one day and they confirm receipt. Two days later they reimburse me contrary to our agreement. I told them thank you very much and I shall order from another store.

I found a pair and if this is not in good condition, I already have a pre-reserved Stellia in a local shop.

 

[iamalex]

I learned my lesson with Thomann as a music store. First they lie about the stock. So I buy based on that. Then they tell me August. They find a pair of headphones for me because someone cancelled their order and I was next in line.

They send me the earlier mentioned damaged headphones. When I contact them to show my displeasure at this they don’t bother to reply. I then call them to see what is going on and they tell me it’s normal for them to be like this.

I explain that for the price I cannot accept this and I want a replacement the guy from Thomann is upset with me because I don’t keep the headphones. We then arrange a UPS pick-up and he agrees to send me in August a new pair. I said fine just make sure they are not damaged. He complains that he cannot open all boxes.

UPS delivers the headphones to them in one day and they confirm receipt. Two days later they reimburse me contrary to our agreement. I told them thank you very much and I shall order from another store.

I found a pair and if this is not in good condition, I already have a pre-reserved Stellia in a local shop.

Bought my D9200 at Thomann too, because it was a good deal. I guess Thomann is such a big company that you can make various experiences with them.

 

[Wishmaker]

Bought my D9200 at Thomann too, because it was a good deal. I guess Thomann is such a big company that you can make various experiences with them.

I completely understand. Hence I referred to “my lesson”. My father had a great experience with them on his Stratocaster accessories. Based on that I decided to go with them.Imagine my surprise with the whole situation.

 

[iamalex]

I completely understand. Hence I referred to “my lesson”. My father had a great experience with them on his Stratocaster accessories. Based on that I decided to go with them.Imagine my surprise with the whole situation.

A friend of mine has a small recording studio and almost always orders at Thomann, and his experiences are a mixed bag too. It's crappy in every case when something happens like in your case, and probably I would avoid a dealer too if it happened to me.

 

[jmills8]

A friend of mine has a small recording studio and almost always orders at Thomann, and his experiences are a mixed bag too. It's crappy in every case when something happens like in your case, and probably I would avoid a dealer too if it happened to me.

 

[iamalex]

Haha, in fact he invested quite much and does pretty nothing with it