[GioF71]

Yesterday I had a little time for a listening session with my Sennheiser Momentum On Ear. I never heard them sound so well. Nice, full sound, better control of the bass (which did not look a bit confused like with the O2 and the SMSL SAP III). Still, the high lack some detail but I think these is a limitation of the headphones. Will update with further impressions soon.
 

 

[kosq83]

I finally got a message saying that my RMA with PRO 900 Balanced had been resolved. A replacement cans are on the way to me - happy days, tomorrow is the day one (hopefully). I am totally aware and a bit fimilliar with the burning in process with Ultrasone cans - so it will take some time before they will settle - but i can't wait till drop a few words about that combo.
As for now i can confirm that DT770 PRO 250Ohm make the best synergy among the cans i have - it works that well, that i am not even shifting other cans at all.

With DT770 the soundstage isn't any exeptional wide - but i am apreciating it more and more - it makes a perfect occlusion for my (not though i am any audio critic) - i would call it compact yet well layered and well spaced. There is an omni-directional sounding - and i am lovin it more and more (just for the record, the burning in of the hardware is complete, not it is only the factor of the brain or ears tune in to the sound)
 
If things will go right, tomorrow night (UK night ) will drop a first impressions with PRO 900.

 

[kosq83]

Here i am. Full of hopes been waiting for the DPD - they came as always, got my B stock PRO 900 - plugged them right away, to let them burrn in untill now - and what i noticed? - one side was not working, this time compleetly. Quick check of whole connection, switched L to R - and one side is not working at a time. In five minutes i knew the problem. Here are some photos. Sorry for quality, i quess my cell phone is not that great. So there will be no impressions today. One of the XLRs is just not soldered at all. Maybe will sort that out tomorrow with a friend of mine, but i've already gave the retailer not a very nice call (as expected after what happened second time already, when i was assured, that the cans are briefly checked before shipment) - and they came back to me saying to return them again at their cost to replace. I don't know what to do really, cause i want to keep the warranty, since i already know that the drivers in PRO 900 can fault (the first i bought had a faulty driver, working but not properly). I am compleetly gutted.
 
There is a photo of soldering of the working one - allright to my eyes.
 

 

 
And here is the fault - yes, just a cable, the XLR just wasn't soldered...

 
 
 
As PRO 900 come with two 3 PIN XLR MALE, thay need a interconnector MALE-FEMALE, which is here and that's how it looks like, made by Hercules:
 

 
 

 
Here plugged in the PRO 900 end - and that way it can be connected right to the back of D200.
 

 
 
So sorry if anbyody had waited for my impressions - not i was the big fish here though. I don't know when and actually what will i do - i am very tempted just to solder that with help of my friend and just cancell the whole thing with the RMA again - will post here in some time.
 
 
 
Tonight will stay with D200 single and DT770 - got well over 100 hours burning in - can't determine any further changes with D200 - maybe the cans are not superrior enough - or it is just my anger tonight not letting me to relax.
 
 
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PRO 900 ben sent back. There is no new pair for replacement and i will get refund. It is a bit beyond a joke for me, inittialy bought them October 10th and never heard them. I will probably abandon them and look for something else. So there will be no impressions D200 and PRO 900. Sorry...

 

[moriez]

Did anyone come across a stand alone DAC which costs no more than €250-€350 that approaches, equals or betters the D200?

 

[liamstrain]

The updated Matrix Mini-i Pro is at least on a par. I *prefer* the Yulong, but not for any objective reasons. 

 

[moriez]

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
It's price is a bit too steep though. $400 or cheaper ideally. Not that I'm not satisfied with the D200. I still think it's superb but have become curious about if a downgrade would give my ears the same result.

 

[liamstrain]

Ah. They are about the same price here, but I didn't do the euro conversion. I thought you were looking at a comparable price point.

I cannit think of any that offer the same level of performance or features for less. Though if high-res and balanced output are not requirements the field opens up.

 

[moriez]

Though if high-res and balanced output are not requirements the field opens up.

 
They are no requirements really. I'm not in a hurry but if you or anyone else can think of a DAC with a similar neutral signature I'd be happy to read about it.

 

[Andykong]

If you were to look for a solution at a lower budget, will you consider soundcard type product such as ASUS Xonar Essence STX? For a standalone device that include a chassis and power supply, it is difficult to cut a deep corner and yet maintain same performance level as I consider D200 an entry level product already.

 

[moriez]

Good call. I'm interested in an external only. Aesthetics matter to me and like it to be more or less similar in size. Not small like ODAC or MODI. 

 

[liamstrain]

You could probably get a lightly used D100 for your budget. 

 

[moriez]

^ Had one of those

 

[liamstrain]

A couple weeks into my D200, and I'm really enjoying it. I do wish I could run the rear outputs as DAC only while still having the headphone amp in front active - but not a huge issue. The flexibility to use it as a pre-amp is really nice. 
 
All in all - a very worthy update to the D100. 

 

[liamstrain]

The review I left on Amazon of this unit:
 
There are very few DAC/Amps that offer the features and performance this unit does for anywhere near the price. Like it's predecessor, the D100, it offers a clean DAC, and a reasonable amplifier, but the gems are the balanced outputs and new high-rez capabilities. Using it in pure DAC mode to drive my other amplifiers, I have not noticed any coloration or had any issues with any of my files. It performs exactly as it should, and frankly, in this audiophile world of made up specs, bad science, and overpriced drek - that's a welcome change.

The built in amplifier performs well, and is beefy enough to drive my LCD2.2 planars as well as any standard dynamic headphone I have thrown at it. Low output impedance means that bass is well controlled even with headphones in the 20-32Ohm range. There is a little bit of background hiss with very sensitive IEMs, but I wouldn't recommend using such a device for them anyway. Another nice change from the previous iteration is the option to have the outputs run through the volume control - effectively turning it into a pre-amplifier, or allowing it to run balanced headphones from the rear outputs directly.

All in all, great performance, and value.

 

[kosq83]

Another nice change from the previous iteration is the option to have the outputs run through the volume control - effectively turning it into a pre-amplifier, or allowing it to run balanced headphones from the rear outputs directly.
 

 
Just checking - if You run D200 through the rear XLR balanced and are able to use the volume knob - it means that the headphone amp is working, right? And if it is so - it shouldn't be really conected to the amplifier, only to run the balanced cans straight away. Should it not run in such a configuration as a pure DAC with the headphone amp turned off - what obviously causes the DAC works with full volme and cannot be controlled through the volum knob?
 
Same if to connect through the XLR to the A28 amp - should the D200 amp be off and run as a pure DAC mode - yes?