I honestly didn’t know which thread to put this in, because both are appropriate. I chose this one. I am pretty enamored with the Radiance. I forget how many hours I have on them, now, but that is kind of irrelevant. These are impressive. They just keep getting better, deeper, more controlled. Dare I say an almost luxurious presentation. I am pairing them this evening with the SA-1 pre-out to the SP200. It’s fabulous. With a glass of port and my fake fire going! Life is good, my friends.
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Can I ask why not use the SA1 as a pre instead of using it as an amp?
There is something very interesting going on here. The pairing of the SA-1 and the Radiance alone is very strong, but to my ear there is a strange response in the transition from bass to mids. Also, certain vocals can be sort of sibilant or kind of shrill. I much prefer the HP-2 on the SA-1 alone.
But when I use the SA-1 as a preamp and feed the SP200, something wonderful happens. All that just goes away. The way these 2 amps are blending is incredible to me. And there is much more headroom. The Radiance loves it. This will be the way I run the Radiance moving forward.
Bear in mind, my hearing is severely damaged, so if I were to give you my headphones right now you would probably put them on and say “WTF, Dude?” 
But this unique grouping is doing things that are sounding pretty damned good to me right now. I’m also havin’ fun working the system!
Nice glad you found a way to make it work for you. I have a weird thing with LCDX and the SA1. To me everything sounds so smoothed over that it’s not enjoyable and I lose the details.
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My Beyerdynamic T1.2 still keeps impressing me. I love that headphone!
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My argons came in today and I’m still doing some brain burn in but man they are easily blowing me away. Started singing and dancing in my chair while listening to them.
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These are the headphones that I have heard that have completely wowed me…they are in no particular order
-Focal Utopia (2022’s)
-Hifiman Shangri-La Jr’s
-ZMF Atrium
-Focal Stellia for a closed back
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Man I want to try the higher end focal but flipping driver issues on 2 sets for me have soured my taste for them.
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I hear you, buddy. You would think that once gear got to a certain price point that would not even be a consideration. I don’t blame you for feeling that way.
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Maybe one day I’ll give it a try but I’m going to build a relationship with a brick and mortar store first so I know I’ll be taken care of if something goes wrong.
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D9200 blew me away from the first second. I did not hear many other cans (DT900ProX, HD58X) but I instantly thought “this must be the definiton of High fidelity headphones”.
To be honest D9200 can get too much for me, depending on source and track but after getting Fiio K7 they are pure enjoyment…treble was smoothened out and the lowend got even more powerful.
I also enjoy using it with Q5K, it takes eq like a champ and that bass you can get out of it is mind blowing 
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Look into ZMF pads, I’m having a very enjoyable time pad rolling with the different type of Ori pads on my fostex TH900 which are a brother to the Denons.
What should i expect of it? Don´t find the stock pads to be uncomfortable or so.
Before speding that much money on pads I would get a balanced cable from Hart Audio first i guess 
Comfort was the big change for me and the rundown I have so far is this.
Lambskin solids =more bass less harsh highs more comfortable than stock
Suede = more highs less bas but little larger soundstage
Hybrid solid= more bass highs smoothed out but not as much as the lambskin and comfort of the suede.
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Thanks for the summary 
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I thought long and hard about buying the Utopia’s…I really like the Focal sound…Focal smoothed out the harsher treble on the new Utopia’s…When it was said and done the Atrium just met what I was looking for more than the Utopia’s did…Don’t get me wrong they sound amazing…I may look for a used pair for a good price one day, but not any time soon.
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If you are looking contact TJ at mimic cables. I believe he has a pair or 2 at good prices.
One quick question about balanced cables hope that’s ok.
Been thinking about a balanced cable for my D9200 to use the balanced output of Fiio K7 but does it really make a difference with a headphone which is so easy to drive and already has zero noisefloor ?
I like the original cable, nothing to fault about it, I am just curious if I could squeeze out a little bit more “something” now that I got K7
Maybe I only need a justification to not buy a new cable just because of its fancy colour lol
Lol hey I bought a fancy cable for my Atrium so looks go a long ways for me.
As for hearing a difference idk if you would. It usually takes a very trained ear to hear the difference between cables and SE to balanced. If you buy one for for what you think will look good not to hear a difference.
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That is a tricky one. Since the unit is a DAC/Amp, there is nothing else in the chain, and if that output is genuinely balanced you MAY experience a slight increase in overall range and performance. Enough to justify whatever the cost of the new cable would be? That is the tricky part! Many varibles exist, such as materials used, quality of construction and so forth. But beyond all of that, there is another aspect to this.
The brain is a funny thing. When presented with that new cable, the look/feel/etc. of that new cable causes a reaction that causes the brain to fire off neurons that translates to you having a “positive” reaction to that cable. This could pre-train us to have a perception of better sonic qualities, enhanced useability and ultimately, better overall performance. Whether real or perceived, measureable or not, if you think it sounds better, then it sounds better!
I personally never use the stock cable on my headphones because I have never been satisfied with how those cables felt, looked or performed. Bare in mind that I have not experienced the cables used in top tier headphones, so I cannot comment on those. But for me, the user experience is about more than just sound. That cable is the interface between the headphone and the gear. It’s got to be good or the experience is diminished. This is just my opinion, of course, and I could be completely full of crap! But that is my take on it.
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