[djdunn]

What AMP do you use with the D9200? I am using a PC as a source (Asus Xonar D2X), would see benefits in adding a DAC?

I use an ibasso dx220, plug in amp for computer on dac mode and can unplug it for an dap.

If you want something smaller, zorloo ztella is a great little dongle if you like the sound of the ess sabre and mqa support

 

[djdunn]

It's still 1 week away (next Saturday) until I go in to demo the D9200 so maybe jumping the gun here.

Probably should demo the headphone before researching into dac/amp options LOL.

But here we go...

I'm in the same boat in the sense that I'm also looking for something with small footprint even though I'll be using it at home on my PC.

I just like having more space on my desk that's all LOL.

Another weird thing for me is that I actually prefer one without hardware volume (i.e. dongle dac) so I can just adjust volume from keyboard shortcuts (mapped to right ctrl + up/down arrow). As oppose to actually reach out to turn the volume at where the amp is.

I guess you could say I might be sacrificing sound quality over convenience.

What I have at hand are:

Dragonfly Red: Is actually quite warm sounding.
M9XX: Neutral with hint of warmth.

So I might be ok to start with those first before spending more money.

Though at the store where I'll be demoing D9200 also carries Astell & Kern PEE15 dongle and Luxury and Precision W2. Can't find much info regarding the W2 but anyone know much about the Astell & Kern house sound?

And yes the store also carries Chord Mojo (sounds like good alternative) and all of Mojo's bigger brothers (though not in my budget yet lol).

If you like the dragonfly red, it's kinda old-school and last generations tech. Zorloo makes a little dongle called the ztella that's a sabre chip, a newer one I believe than the dragonfly uses.

It's a little cheaper 99USD. And their customer service is amazing.

I had one of the channels go out, broken wire I think. I emailed their customer service, said it goes it and out when the wire bends. They are like oh it's probably broken we'll send you a new one. I had already ordered a 2nd and they just threw in another for free right in the package.

 

[Hyde00]

How did your demo go? One of the great things about the 9200 is such high sensitivity. L&P is overkill, by a LOT, if you're just talking about power. I use a Meizu HiFfi non-pro or iBasso DC03. With the DC03+9200, I'm pretty sure I could give myself hearing damage.

L7AudioLab measured DC03 and L&P, Google translate works well enough to understand the review.

LOL yes the demo, wellllllllll how do I put this. It was only 15 min demo so I'm pretty sure there might've been things that I missed or things that I won't find say if I were to live with it for 2 weeks. But here is my 15 min impression.

First the source, I left the house in a rush I forgot to bring my Dragonfly Red, SAD! The source they use at the store is my phone -> RME ADI-2-DAC -> D9200. Which under normal situation I'd say RME ADI-2-DAC is a respectable unit (my first time hearing it too LOL). Which presents 2 problems which is 1 I think I'm not familiar with the unit and 2 I THINK D9200 benefit better from warmer sources and ADI-2-DAC is kind of too lean......?????

On the contrary I'm used to Dragonfly Red sounding very warm so maybe I'm just not used to the lean sound (maybe I have skewed taste now LOL)?

I've previously owned Modi Multibit + Vali 2+ + Telefunken Black Diamond E88CC Tube, and I thought at the time that Dragonfly Red sounded 90% similar to it without all the extra heat / warm up issue come with R2R dac and tube amp. Also free up a billion USB plug / power outlets so in the end I just stuck with Dragonfly Red. So I'd say Dragonfly Red is warm sounding.

Ok back to D9200, though I have to say the tuning is VERY refined. Like I literally can't pick on anything that stood out to me as wrong. It was perfectly balanced. But because it was only 15 min demo maybe I was looking for that immediate wow factor? I thought everything sounded right at the same time nothing stood out to me and as a result I felt slightly.......... bored? (again could be not the best source pairing) Funny how when I demoed Focal Clear at the same store I had the same feeling too. Everything is perfectly balanced and as such nothing stood out for me???

My comparison point is D5200 + Dragonfly Red so it could also be that my brain is used to the coloured sound need some time to get used to the more "correct" sound maybe?

Might need to go back in store to demo it again the 2nd time. It won't be in stock until mid October anyway so I have some time to think about it (though demo unit is always available). But under 15 min it didn't wow me that much compare to D5200.

OH I went in thinking it will sound "bright" and low in bass (since it's suppose the least bassy of the 3). The bass extension HITS I was like wowwwwww, did not expect that lol.

That was a fun moment.

If you like the dragonfly red, it's kinda old-school and last generations tech. Zorloo makes a little dongle called the ztella that's a sabre chip, a newer one I believe than the dragonfly uses.

It's a little cheaper 99USD. And their customer service is amazing.

I had one of the channels go out, broken wire I think. I emailed their customer service, said it goes it and out when the wire bends. They are like oh it's probably broken we'll send you a new one. I had already ordered a 2nd and they just threw in another for free right in the package.

I think overtime out of all the dongle dacs I tried I realize I like Dragonfly Red because of sound signature.

As I mentioned above it sounded like Modi Multibit + Vali 2+ + Telefunken Black Diamond E88CC Tube in a miniature form. Despite it not having the resolution of the newer dacs.

For example I also tried Dragonfly Cobalt (ES9038Q2M) which is more detailed dac but didn't sound as musical to me, so I returned it. The closest sounding unit I find is M9XX but even so it's still more neutral compare to Dragonfly Red.

Which might explain why I had such a hard time replacing it LOL. All the newer gear tend to focus more on "accurate" and "neutral" which isn't to my taste. I guess I was leaning more towards sound signature over resolution.

Was looking at Astell and Kern dongle dac but wasn't sure if I'll like the sound signature. How is Ztella (sounds like Nutella) in terms of sound signature?

 

[LightBlue77]

What AMP do you use with the D9200? I am using a PC as a source (Asus Xonar D2X), would see benefits in adding a DAC?

i use it with Fiio M15 and tried it with Topping A90, couldn't hear any difference in terms of quality even if the DAC is matrix x-sabre pro mqa which is obviously superior compared to m15.

 

[jmills8]

9200 + N8 dap + Romi 5 watt portable amp then 9200 scaled.

 

[SURF3R]

LOL yes the demo, wellllllllll how do I put this. It was only 15 min demo so I'm pretty sure there might've been things that I missed or things that I won't find say if I were to live with it for 2 weeks. But here is my 15 min impression.

First the source, I left the house in a rush I forgot to bring my Dragonfly Red, SAD! The source they use at the store is my phone -> RME ADI-2-DAC -> D9200. Which under normal situation I'd say RME ADI-2-DAC is a respectable unit (my first time hearing it too LOL). Which presents 2 problems which is 1 I think I'm not familiar with the unit and 2 I THINK D9200 benefit better from warmer sources and ADI-2-DAC is kind of too lean......?????

On the contrary I'm used to Dragonfly Red sounding very warm so maybe I'm just not used to the lean sound (maybe I have skewed taste now LOL)?

I've previously owned Modi Multibit + Vali 2+ + Telefunken Black Diamond E88CC Tube, and I thought at the time that Dragonfly Red sounded 90% similar to it without all the extra heat / warm up issue come with R2R dac and tube amp. Also free up a billion USB plug / power outlets so in the end I just stuck with Dragonfly Red. So I'd say Dragonfly Red is warm sounding.

Ok back to D9200, though I have to say the tuning is VERY refined. Like I literally can't pick on anything that stood out to me as wrong. It was perfectly balanced. But because it was only 15 min demo maybe I was looking for that immediate wow factor? I thought everything sounded right at the same time nothing stood out to me and as a result I felt slightly.......... bored? (again could be not the best source pairing) Funny how when I demoed Focal Clear at the same store I had the same feeling too. Everything is perfectly balanced and as such nothing stood out for me???

My comparison point is D5200 + Dragonfly Red so it could also be that my brain is used to the coloured sound need some time to get used to the more "correct" sound maybe?

Might need to go back in store to demo it again the 2nd time. It won't be in stock until mid October anyway so I have some time to think about it (though demo unit is always available). But under 15 min it didn't wow me that much compare to D5200.

OH I went in thinking it will sound "bright" and low in bass (since it's suppose the least bassy of the 3). The bass extension HITS I was like wowwwwww, did not expect that lol.

That was a fun moment.

Thanks for your impressions
In my case, I can buy 9200 only blindly, any comparison is important for a general understanding of sound picture
Compared to 5200, is there a noticeable difference in the tighter of bass, do vocals feel closer and richer?
About bass, I don’t know how to say it in words
For example, If you listened
Green Day - boulevard of broken dreams 1:40-2:30
Do kick drums feel closer? as if it's near you, so that you can feel size of the drums, feel its recoil

 

[djdunn]

LOL yes the demo, wellllllllll how do I put this. It was only 15 min demo so I'm pretty sure there might've been things that I missed or things that I won't find say if I were to live with it for 2 weeks. But here is my 15 min impression.

First the source, I left the house in a rush I forgot to bring my Dragonfly Red, SAD! The source they use at the store is my phone -> RME ADI-2-DAC -> D9200. Which under normal situation I'd say RME ADI-2-DAC is a respectable unit (my first time hearing it too LOL). Which presents 2 problems which is 1 I think I'm not familiar with the unit and 2 I THINK D9200 benefit better from warmer sources and ADI-2-DAC is kind of too lean......?????

On the contrary I'm used to Dragonfly Red sounding very warm so maybe I'm just not used to the lean sound (maybe I have skewed taste now LOL)?

I've previously owned Modi Multibit + Vali 2+ + Telefunken Black Diamond E88CC Tube, and I thought at the time that Dragonfly Red sounded 90% similar to it without all the extra heat / warm up issue come with R2R dac and tube amp. Also free up a billion USB plug / power outlets so in the end I just stuck with Dragonfly Red. So I'd say Dragonfly Red is warm sounding.

Ok back to D9200, though I have to say the tuning is VERY refined. Like I literally can't pick on anything that stood out to me as wrong. It was perfectly balanced. But because it was only 15 min demo maybe I was looking for that immediate wow factor? I thought everything sounded right at the same time nothing stood out to me and as a result I felt slightly.......... bored? (again could be not the best source pairing) Funny how when I demoed Focal Clear at the same store I had the same feeling too. Everything is perfectly balanced and as such nothing stood out for me???

My comparison point is D5200 + Dragonfly Red so it could also be that my brain is used to the coloured sound need some time to get used to the more "correct" sound maybe?

Might need to go back in store to demo it again the 2nd time. It won't be in stock until mid October anyway so I have some time to think about it (though demo unit is always available). But under 15 min it didn't wow me that much compare to D5200.

OH I went in thinking it will sound "bright" and low in bass (since it's suppose the least bassy of the 3). The bass extension HITS I was like wowwwwww, did not expect that lol.

That was a fun moment.

I think overtime out of all the dongle dacs I tried I realize I like Dragonfly Red because of sound signature.

As I mentioned above it sounded like Modi Multibit + Vali 2+ + Telefunken Black Diamond E88CC Tube in a miniature form. Despite it not having the resolution of the newer dacs.

For example I also tried Dragonfly Cobalt (ES9038Q2M) which is more detailed dac but didn't sound as musical to me, so I returned it. The closest sounding unit I find is M9XX but even so it's still more neutral compare to Dragonfly Red.

Which might explain why I had such a hard time replacing it LOL. All the newer gear tend to focus more on "accurate" and "neutral" which isn't to my taste. I guess I was leaning more towards sound signature over resolution.

Was looking at Astell and Kern dongle dac but wasn't sure if I'll like the sound signature. How is Ztella (sounds like Nutella) in terms of sound signature?

It's quite warm, but accurate and has a really low noise floor. Seperation is nice, it's not fatiguing in the highs. It's very much a classic sabre sound.
To be fair some of it might be the mqa.

Though I have a hard time telling the sabre dacs apart. I can tell more between my amp cards on my ibasso dx220.

I almost use the ztella exclusively with my ah-c820s. Donno why but I like the denon sound. And I like the sabre sound.

 

[Hyde00]

Thanks for your impressions
In my case, I can buy 9200 only blindly, any comparison is important for a general understanding of sound picture
Compared to 5200, is there a noticeable difference in the tighter of bass, do vocals feel closer and richer?
About bass, I don’t know how to say it in words
For example, If you listened
Green Day - boulevard of broken dreams 1:40-2:30
Do kick drums feel closer? as if it's near you, so that you can feel size of the drums, feel its recoil

I'll be honest, it was only 15 min demo also I forgot to bring my usual dac/amp so it was a bit apples to oranges.

I'll need to re-visit again with my usual dac/amp as the baseline that way it's more accurate comparison.

Off the bat D9200 do feel cleaner and smoother and more refined than D5200 though. But I still felt both could be a little bit more aggressive for the rock genre, maybe a little bit too refined? I'm talking about rock specifically since it usually sounds nice with a bit of edginess. Like the raw distortion didn't sound that distorted LOL.

So effectively I have to get back to you on that later sorry LOL.

It's quite warm, but accurate and has a really low noise floor. Seperation is nice, it's not fatiguing in the highs. It's very much a classic sabre sound.
To be fair some of it might be the mqa.

Though I have a hard time telling the sabre dacs apart. I can tell more between my amp cards on my ibasso dx220.

I almost use the ztella exclusively with my ah-c820s. Donno why but I like the denon sound. And I like the sabre sound.

lol ok now I'm intrigued to try, at least it's not a lot of money.

But yeah up to date DFR is the warmest dac/amp that I tried so far. Most of the newer ESS chips (yes there are other factor too) sounds more lean/clean despite being more detailed. I suspect I might need to step wayyyyy up to get warm/detailed sound again.

 

[sp33ls]

Well... I've had some great sessions with the Z1R's (in classifieds) but am now looking for something with a bit more natural timbre.
Looking for a closed back than can still be fun (EDM, rock) but technical enough to enjoy jazz and orchestral. Decent soundstage and imaging is a perk because I sometimes use my closed backs for gaming.

Seems the 9200 may be what I'm looking for.. and I wouldn't be the only one who came from the Z1R either.

Also, what do these typically go for on the used market? And are they just as reliable?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[musicasmedicine]

Hi All,

I will be listing my near-mint Denon 9200 soon (based in Aus and bought here!) Denon is just currently adjusting the torque on the left cup to match the right. It should be back in my hands within a week.

I've decided that I will be getting more use out of my Final A8000 IEM so will regrettably letting these go. Feel free to reach out to me if you're interested.

Cheers!
P

 

[jmills8]

Hi All,

I will be listing my near-mint Denon 9200 soon (based in Aus and bought here!) Denon is just currently adjusting the torque on the left cup to match the right. It should be back in my hands within a week.

I've decided that I will be getting more use out of my Final A8000 IEM so will regrettably letting these go. Feel free to reach out to me if you're interested.

Cheers!
P

 

[Malevolent]

Hi All,

I will be listing my near-mint Denon 9200 soon (based in Aus and bought here!) Denon is just currently adjusting the torque on the left cup to match the right. It should be back in my hands within a week.

I've decided that I will be getting more use out of my Final A8000 IEM so will regrettably letting these go. Feel free to reach out to me if you're interested.

Cheers!
P

Good luck with the sale!

Out of curiosity, are headphones not for you? I know of many people who specifically prefer to listen using only either 1 of the 2. For me, I'm 90% a headphone guy (these days), but I use my IEMs when I'm out and about, and that's not very common, at present.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

This also happens to me.
The FiiO FD5 is my little D9200.
And it takes most of the listening time these days.
We'll see how it ends.

 

[musicasmedicine]

Good luck with the sale!

Out of curiosity, are headphones not for you? I know of many people who specifically prefer to listen using only either 1 of the 2. For me, I'm 90% a headphone guy (these days), but I use my IEMs when I'm out and about, and that's not very common, at present.

Im a medical student so im spending most of my time at the hospital nowadays! Just getting more use out of my new A8000. I will say that the sound quality is very close. Aside from the larger soundstage of the D9200.
I just can’t justify having two top of the line headphones/earphones right now.

They are two very different presentations of music and to be honest, I like both equally.

 

[plakat]

I'm also using in-ears on the go but prefer over-ears at home or in the office... in-ears are much more portable, tend to isolate better (I don't like ANC much for daily use) and are easier to drive. Headphones are easier to take off and put on again and better signal "don't disturb". And yes, to me they tend to give a more natural sound space.