It is well assembled, pleasant to the touch (and looks good), the connectors on headphones side are not too tight or too loose.
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Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire Review
- Thread starter amirm
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Bought a similar (or same?) through ebay
They warranty by serial so used is a good deal. I don't think I heard a DCA sale
rarewolf
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I’ve just received my Noire’s and during the burn-in period, I’m trying to get a feel for the differences between the tuning pads. My first listen was without any pads, and while amazed at the detail, I found them fatiguing after 3hrs.
I won’t draw any conclusions during the burn-in, but let’s see if I have understood their ranking in order of attenuation on the freqs above 7kHz, and that combined pads simply add their individual effects…
Black foam… approximately 1db above 4kHz
Black felt… approximately 1-2db above 3kHz
1notch white… approximately 2-3db above 7kHz
1notch white + black foam
1notch white + black felt
2notch white… approximately 4-5db above 1kHz
I’m assuming after trying the 1notch white, and finding no fatigue, that my fatigue problem is above 3kHz…?
darmok
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They're running a combo deal with Schiit for an Asgard 3 and Aeon RT Closed, and the Drop X versions are on sale as well, but neither of those are the Noire if that's what you're looking for. The only other "sale" worth noting is the 10% off Headphones.com gift cards sale, which when combined with the general 5% off coupon for this weekend that you get after creating an account, would knock the Noire down to $770 before tax.
The applicability of the discounted gift cards is a little unclear; the support chat told me that the discounted cards can't be used for items that are on sale for Black Friday but it should be usable for anything else. I'd suggest you'd confirm with them directly before buying a bunch of cards in the hopes of getting a Noire. FWIW I used this method to buy a Chord Mojo 2, which is apparently not a Black Friday sale but a "price reduction". You can apply multiple cards to an order, which helps with getting close to the exact amount, and the gift cards applied to the sales tax portion of the total as well.
I would generally suggest 1 notch white as the all arounder for most people, and yes, that's in the band of interest to you.
rarewolf
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Thanks Dan for your input…
I”m presently trying all filters, and currently it’s the 1-notch black. Still as engaging as no filter, still plenty of detail, and the number of albums recorded extra bright that would cause some discomfort are practically nil. The 1-notch white would be next to try, but I’m also trying to minimize loss of detail.
The source of some degree of my confusion stems from reviews (e.g., DMS, Resolve, Passion…) that claim the headphones came with only 3 filters (black foam, black felt & white), and who also suggest the white filter for general use. Which “white” are they referring to?
Cheers from The Avalon
For reasons lost in time we had different tuning kits for the AEONs which we standardized to the complete set of materials. So your current info is accurate and older discussions probably are for a subset of parts. It's quite simple, in terms of damping 1 notch white is less than 2, white is more than black felt which is more than foam. They do cover different ranges as you noted.
I need help with the Noire. I recently noticed a loss of volume in the left ear cup. I measured it with a handheld sound level meter and it gave me an imbalance of about 3 to 4 dB. The store where I bought it has referred me to the technical service of the distributor in Spain, but they tell me that the headphones work correctly with a maximum imbalance of 0.5 dB. As in similar experiences the unbalance is accompanied by an impedance variation between both transducers, does it make sense to measure the resistance with a multimeter to see if there is much discrepancy between the value of the two transducers? Can this measurement damage them?
Edit: fix typos from working without my glasses!
There’s no risk at all to measure the impedance, just attach the cable, and then measure across the jack at cable end, if you have a multimeter. Any imbalance greater than an ohm is likely a service issue, but if your experience is that the imbalance is intermittent you may or may not be able to measure it. That said if you are having the effect intermittently Contact us directly at our info email and we will help….
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Thank you very much for your reply. As soon as I receive the headphones I will check if the problem persists or is it intermittent. I will also measure the resistance of both transducers with a multimeter.
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Just writing to thank @Dan Clark for making this headphone. It has much of the quality I love of my Etymotic ER4 phones, plus pinnae stimulation, plus comfort and convenience. Maybe other headphones in this price bracket are also great, I can't say. But I'm listening to my favorite music again (and again) just to hear it through your headphones. I'm relaxing into it like never before. Not to mention the new stuff I'm playing just because I don't want to stop listening to something, anything. The Aeon has become my happy place.
Thanks also to @amirm for this site. The DAC, amp, and transducers that I enjoy so much were all selected based largely on your tests. You weed out the nonsense so we can make informed choices that fit our individual situations.
Both of you: your efforts are much appreciated, more than I can faithfully articulate, and definitely more than the fiscal value I'm able to convey. Thank you.
Thanks also to @amirm for this site. The DAC, amp, and transducers that I enjoy so much were all selected based largely on your tests. You weed out the nonsense so we can make informed choices that fit our individual situations.
Both of you: your efforts are much appreciated, more than I can faithfully articulate, and definitely more than the fiscal value I'm able to convey. Thank you.
ThatGuyYouKnow
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Agreed. My ears never acclimated so easily to headphones as they have with the Noire. Brass-heavy recordings especially sound incredible without EQ.
Hello folks,
I've had the same issue with various Aeons I've had (the original Flow Closed, the Aeon 2 Closed, currently have the Aeon 2 Open on loan). The Aeon models manage to seal in a way that make all the little creaks and groans my body produces audible through the earpads (blinking as well!). I have to sit completely still, otherwise there's a constant background rumble, just from me existing!
It's a bit annoying. I've tried many ways of wearing the damn things, to try to mitigate the issue but nothing's worked so far. It does not seem to be a clamping issue, as I can keep reducing the clamp until the headphone falls off of my head, without reducing the effect.
I do not have a similar issue with other closed headphones that use leather earpads, such as the K371 or the Eikon.
Has anyone experienced something similar?
I've had the same issue with various Aeons I've had (the original Flow Closed, the Aeon 2 Closed, currently have the Aeon 2 Open on loan). The Aeon models manage to seal in a way that make all the little creaks and groans my body produces audible through the earpads (blinking as well!). I have to sit completely still, otherwise there's a constant background rumble, just from me existing!
It's a bit annoying. I've tried many ways of wearing the damn things, to try to mitigate the issue but nothing's worked so far. It does not seem to be a clamping issue, as I can keep reducing the clamp until the headphone falls off of my head, without reducing the effect.
I do not have a similar issue with other closed headphones that use leather earpads, such as the K371 or the Eikon.
Has anyone experienced something similar?
Do you have the same issue with well sealing iems? Are you sure it's not just because they're so isolating that your internal noises are much more pronounced? Or are you hearing something resonate in the cups or something?
Kind of a capricious problem ... my Noires are dead silent in the cups ... a little cable noise but not much, and nothing else, unless I'm moving around a lot for some reason. By "capricious" I mean that I have always had a great seal with the Aeon cups, but I know that some others do not.
Never had anything like it with any other headphone or IEM. The "sounds" are heard/felt through the earpads, not the earcups. I initially believed it to be related to the closed nature of the AFC and the A2C, but it still happens with the A2O.
I think it's just a quirk of how they fit my head plus how well the synthetic leather seals, unfortunately.
I don't hear me blinking... unless I apply pressure with my fingers in a specific area of my temporal bones (muscle-related?). Could it be possible that the Aeons happen to put too much pressure in this exact area around your ear, "amplifying" (or conducting?) all your internal noise, and resulting in poor “internal-SINAD”?
I also have a Noire but have excellent “internal SINAD”—don’t hear any internal noise.
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After I use openbacks or foam pads for some time it is quite jarring putting back on strongly sealing headphones or iems due to the increase in internal noises and change in my vocal quality. Can't say I've noticed much except friction from cables with a fabric jacket rubbing on other fabric making a lot of noise in the cups.
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