Denon AH-D9200 - 2018 Flagship - Impressions Thread
Jul 7, 2020 at 10:27 AM Post #1,306 of 4,360
Pair number two arrived in 24 hours from the moment I did the order.
4 different boxes were opened to check for quality.
All of them had tiny wood blemishes. I chose the one with the least prevalent ones.
I understand wood cups are not perfect but this one does not have impact damage.

Source : Foobar Flac / Daft Punk Alive
DAC: Topping D50s
AMP : Topping A50
PSU : P50
30 minutes listening (still burning them in) comparison with Denon D2000 ML mods :

1. Bass :
Denon D2000 ML hits those Daft Punk mixes in a very woofer like manner covering some of the accompanying instruments but making your head thump and wanting more volume while you reminisce of the good old days.
Denon D9200 has yet to unleash the bass and sub bass potential but Daft Punk hits hard with a twist : superior quality. Less grunt than the D2000 but precision and impact cannot be compared. The low frequencies are on a new level and you have a similar sound reproduction like on my Focal Arias where the each speaker does its job without bothering the other.

Mids and treble?

No comparison between the two. The 9200 cannot be compared with the D2000 in this regard.
 

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Jul 7, 2020 at 12:03 PM Post #1,307 of 4,360
Over 2 hours of listening now.
Various songs from:
Meduza --> David Guetta & Steve Aoki B2B --> Maroon 5 -->Tiesto-->Mike Williams--> Dire Straits --> Deep Purple --> Eric Clapton --> Kygo ---> Yngwie Malmsteen-->Metallica -->Trivium-->Daft Punk --> Classics such as Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.

I will not open the 'audiophile dictionary' and use poetry combined with juxtaposition to describe this product.
I will leave that to the experts.
I will say this though : PERFECT!
If you can afford this, buy it. Every note you will hear will make you a smile because of the effortless reproduction and perfect separation between sub-bass, bass, mids and treble.

I am at a loss of words how underrated this pair is.
I am happy I did not go for Focal.
Denon deserves some praise for this.

Well done!
 
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Jul 7, 2020 at 12:12 PM Post #1,308 of 4,360
I will not open the 'audiophile dictionary' and use poetry combined with juxtaposition to describe this product.
I will leave that to the experts.
I will say this though : PERFECT!
What do you mean with "Perfect"?
Just kidding :)
Good to read you're enjoying your Denons so much
 
Jul 7, 2020 at 12:18 PM Post #1,309 of 4,360
Over 2 hours of listening now.
Various songs from:
Meduza --> David Guetta & Steve Aoki B2B --> Maroon 5 -->Tiesto-->Mike Williams--> Dire Straits --> Deep Purple --> Eric Clapton --> Kygo ---> Yngwie Malmsteen-->Metallica -->Trivium-->Daft Punk --> Classics such as Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.

I will not open the 'audiophile dictionary' and use poetry combined with juxtaposition to describe this product.
I will leave that to the experts.
I will say this though : PERFECT!
If you can afford this, buy it. Every note you will hear will make you a smile because of the effortless reproduction and perfect separation between sub-bass, bass, mids and treble.

I am at a loss of words how underrated this pair is.
I am happy I did not go for Focal.
Denon deserves some praise for this.

Well done!
Yeah, the new Denon series of headphones, starting from the D5200, range from good to excellent. Like you, I also wonder why they seldom appear in circles of discussion; they ought to be. In the high-end headphone scene, the Denon D9200 deserves a place at the table. They are especially relevant if it is just closed-back cans that you are shopping for.

Anyway, enjoy your D9200! :)
 
Jul 7, 2020 at 12:50 PM Post #1,310 of 4,360
It is time to take out the big guns:

In the red corner: FOCAL ARIA 948 WITH NAD C388 & NAD C568
In the blue corner : Denon AHD9200 with NAD C388 & NAD C568

In a galaxy far far away ....after I burned in my Focal and purchased some music of Qobuz I found myself with a high quality Maroon 5 album. One of the songs I played off this album was “I don’t wanna Know”.

When I first heard it on my Arias I was stunned because of the sublime transitions and dynamic reproduction of the sound. There are parts of this song where everything stops and then the amp and arias attack the notes without muddyness or shyness.

So I picked the same song to test a bit the headphones vs my speakers. They sound so much better on the NAD. Nothing against topping because for the price I paid it holds its own but my NAD gives these headphones a new level of quality.

I will let you guys in on a secret. On this Maroon 5 song, my Aria 948 are a bit more refined. It’s difficult to explain but there is a bit of a difference.

As I did not want to have a sample of one, I started playing a few other songs. I am in love with my Denon headphones and the sound stage is beautiful but ... Focal wins by a tiny margin due to their ability to handle sound in such a harmonious way without compromises. The 9200 are not far but I feel the Denon is a tad under by a fraction.
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 5:50 AM Post #1,311 of 4,360
Got some protection now and all is juicy !
4ab94e26d6fae032e811e38b42f73912.jpg
 

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Jul 9, 2020 at 8:21 AM Post #1,312 of 4,360
Over 2 hours of listening now.
Various songs from:
Meduza --> David Guetta & Steve Aoki B2B --> Maroon 5 -->Tiesto-->Mike Williams--> Dire Straits --> Deep Purple --> Eric Clapton --> Kygo ---> Yngwie Malmsteen-->Metallica -->Trivium-->Daft Punk --> Classics such as Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.

I will not open the 'audiophile dictionary' and use poetry combined with juxtaposition to describe this product.
I will leave that to the experts.
I will say this though : PERFECT!
If you can afford this, buy it. Every note you will hear will make you a smile because of the effortless reproduction and perfect separation between sub-bass, bass, mids and treble.

I am at a loss of words how underrated this pair is.
I am happy I did not go for Focal.
Denon deserves some praise for this.

Well done!
I was also very surprised how good the D9200 sounds, judging only by its look and its small recognition within the head-fi world. I too think that its separation capability together with its very agreeable sound-signature makes a marvelous pair of headphones. The bass can even be thunderous at times without affecting the midrange - quite a feat for a closed headphone. It has some traits of a studio headphone, with all the technicalities it gets right, but I fear it is way too fun and pleasing to the ear to use it as a reference-headphone in mixing or what else.
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 8:42 AM Post #1,313 of 4,360
I was also very surprised how good the D9200 sounds, judging only by its look and its small recognition within the head-fi world. I too think that its separation capability together with its very agreeable sound-signature makes a marvelous pair of headphones. The bass can even be thunderous at times without affecting the midrange - quite a feat for a closed headphone. It has some traits of a studio headphone, with all the technicalities it gets right, but I fear it is way too fun and pleasing to the ear to use it as a reference-headphone in mixing or what else.

You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. There are certain brands people have grown accustomed too these past decades. I am sure had this been made by Senn it would get better traction.

Denon does not have enough influencers in the headphone world. The forum favourites are also quite trendy and attract more clicks, views and hits when presented / reviewed.

I think I have 10 hours of listening already with these pairs of cans. I simply don’t want to take them off. I do have a bit of pain in the headband area but I am sure once the materials break in this will go away.
 
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Jul 9, 2020 at 12:44 PM Post #1,314 of 4,360
I was also very surprised how good the D9200 sounds, judging only by its look and its small recognition within the head-fi world. I too think that its separation capability together with its very agreeable sound-signature makes a marvelous pair of headphones. The bass can even be thunderous at times without affecting the midrange - quite a feat for a closed headphone. It has some traits of a studio headphone, with all the technicalities it gets right, but I fear it is way too fun and pleasing to the ear to use it as a reference-headphone in mixing or what else.
And that is precisely why the D9200 is a class leader, IMO. It has the technical abilities inherent to flagship products, but it doesn't sound boring or sterile. Quite the opposite, actually; it is a fun, musical, and utterly engaging headphone for enjoying your music.
 
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Jul 9, 2020 at 11:07 PM Post #1,315 of 4,360
You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. There are certain brands people have grown accustomed too these past decades. I am sure had this been made by Senn it would get better traction.

Denon does not have enough influencers in the headphone world. The forum favourites are also quite trendy and attract more clicks, views and hits when presented / reviewed.

I think I have 10 hours of listening already with these pairs of cans. I simply don’t want to take them off. I do have a bit of pain in the headband area but I am sure once the materials break in this will go away.

Try an extra click to the adjustment
 
Jul 11, 2020 at 12:34 PM Post #1,316 of 4,360
Try an extra click to the adjustment

Thanks for the advice.
I am on notch 3 on both sides.
It is more comfortable.
It seems the D2000 were bigger and never had to be extended.

I am running a trial version on TIDA for their HiFi subscription.
Some of these Master recordings are stunning.
I won't knock a few HiFi ones either (Chainsmokers - It Won't Kill you for example) but the majority seem to have flaws because the headphones show this *haha*.
 
Jul 11, 2020 at 12:59 PM Post #1,317 of 4,360
Thanks for the advice.
I am on notch 3 on both sides.
It is more comfortable.
It seems the D2000 were bigger and never had to be extended.

I am running a trial version on TIDA for their HiFi subscription.
Some of these Master recordings are stunning.
I won't knock a few HiFi ones either (Chainsmokers - It Won't Kill you for example) but the majority seem to have flaws because the headphones show this *haha*.

Same of prince's albums make me cringe hard now
 
Jul 14, 2020 at 12:03 PM Post #1,318 of 4,360
Haven't been here in a while, Covid and stuff...

Anyways, a recommendation for the new owners: get a balanced, hybrid cable.
You think you love the 9200's, then just wait until you listen to them with a good non-ootb cable...

The difference in imaging and soundstage is worth the investment... In the meantime, enjoy!
 
Jul 14, 2020 at 12:45 PM Post #1,319 of 4,360
Haven't been here in a while, Covid and stuff...

Anyways, a recommendation for the new owners: get a balanced, hybrid cable.
You think you love the 9200's, then just wait until you listen to them with a good non-ootb cable...

The difference in imaging and soundstage is worth the investment... In the meantime, enjoy!

With the side comment that on my FiiO M15 combined with a Hybrid cable and the Denon the highs actually became a little to bright to my taste... Instead I ended up with the Forza HPC Noir MK2.. Beautiful match...
 
Jul 14, 2020 at 3:19 PM Post #1,320 of 4,360
Argh. Just as I was about to pull the trigger on a D9200, I was told that the next shipment has been delayed, and stocks will only arrive at the end of August, at the earliest.
 

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