Closed Headphone Review

Great review on Inner Fidelity of Closed Headphones

iBasso D7 vs. HRT Music Streamer II

iBasso D7 on left, HRT Music Streamer II on right

iBasso D7

• Darker sounding than Music Streamer
• More engaging, more musical, higher resolution
• very "black" background
• Asynchronous
• 24bit/192khz

HRT Music Streamer II

• Slightly larger sound stage
• Asynchronous
• 24bit / 96Khz

Winner iBasso D7.  A surprise, the D7 is much smaller than the Music Streamer II, I would have thought the Music Streamer the better DAC, but the D7 is just more engaging.  The deciding factor is the "black background" of the D7,  just love the quiet 

iBasso D7 vs. D4 with Topkit

iBasso D7 on left, D4 with Topkit on right

Really didn't expect the D7 to sound so much better than the D4 with Topkit.  Listening side by side, the D7 is so much quieter.  The back ground is dead silent compared to the D4.  Before listening to the D7 had not realized how much "noise" there was in the quiet passages of the D4 or the headphone jack.  The D7 the quiet and sound stage is bigger and the instruments more detailed than the D4.

iBasso D7

• Quiet background
• Large soundstage
• Very detailed, with "space" between instrumentation
• Have to restart computer to "sync" asynchronous
• Only USB power 5V
• Error Message of "drawing too much power.." 

D4 with Topkit

• More headroom than D7 when used with 9V
• Noise in quiet passages
• Smaller soundstage

DT770 vs. ATH A900x vs D2000

Denon D200 on left, ATH A900x on right

Beyerdynamic DT770 250ohm

• More of a monitor style headphone, great for critical listening.  The sound is a little "dead" a recessed distant sound, easy to listen for multiple hours
• Love the fit, easy to wear for a long period
• Comes with travel bag

Audio Technica ATH A900x 42ohm

• More of a "fun" style sound quality
• I find the "wings" bothersome the headphone keep sliding down
• Very large and detailed sound stage
• Too heavy on the head
• Better isolation than D2000

Denon D2000

• Wonderfully made
• More musical than 900x
• Not as large a soundstage as 900x, but more musical and accurate
• A joy to use, so well made
• Left / Right separation, incredible, "outside the head" experience
• Reproduces lower bass than 900x
• Quieter than 900x

  Winner D2000, returned the 900x and going to sell the DT770 250ohm