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Aeon 2 Noire

Hi,
I have an Elegia for night listening and am bothered when I compare it with my Quad Era-1 (both Oratory Equalized), even the Crinacle zero sounds better and more resolving... It's confortable, but not that précise and I seriously miss definition...
The DC Aeon 2 Noire is said to sound "open" for a closed back pair of headphones, and noticeably more expensive than the Aeon 2 closed.
As I like thé Oratory Eq and will apply it to get a Harman response curve, did someone try to compare the Oratory Equalised Aeon Closed 1, 2 and noire to know if, with Eq, the quality upgrade of the models through the years is clearly perceptible, and it's worth investing in the Noire ?
The Aeon Noire is an Aeon 2 closed with perforated pads and a different colour way. If you can get the Aeon 2 closed and perforated pads for significantly less than the Noire, then you’ve got yourself a bargain.
 
Will these shine with btr7 balanced or topping nx4 if not then what
 
Will these shine with btr7 balanced or topping nx4 if not then what
I don't see why not unless you listen extremely loud. I use mine a lot with an apple dongle. Qudelix says I'm using only a few milliwatts at 95dbSPL.
 
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I have the btr7 and the Drop Aeon x closed, The btr7 does push them ok but don't expect them to get loud. I much rather listen on my Schit magnius stack, the extra power opens them up and not just for volume.
Thanks for the guidance but is that with a balanced cable or unbalanced?
 
Do these do techno/trance well?
Whilst I’m not hugely into either of those genres, I listen to a lot of drum and bass, down tempo and trip hop which have similar tonal characteristics to techno and trance. The Noire does wonderfully well with electronica in my view, plenty of bass and the right amount of ear gain for high hats and synths to sound balanced for these genres.
 
These don't measure that well by @crinacle , compared to oratory

This is each left and right earcups

Can you share your measurements @Dan Clark ?

1685879773781.png
 
These don't measure that well by @crinacle , compared to oratory

This is each left and right earcups

Can you share your measurements @Dan Clark ?

View attachment 290200

@staticV3 wrote:
Crinacle's Noire came with the non-perforated pads of the regular Aeon 2 Closed instead of the perforated ones that the Noire is supposed to come with.
That's why his measurement of the Noire is different than everyone else's and should be seen as invalid.
View attachment 242613View attachment 242614View attachment 242615View attachment 242616


If this is true, I find it unexcusable that @crinacle still has this misleading measurement in his database.
 
Interesting that the Aeon 2 Closed measures to Harman curve with the Noire perforated pads.

Harman tareget tuning is all in the earpads !

So Stealth and Expanse have the best earpads design on the planet ?? :p
 
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Just a heads up to anyone in the UK, Scan.co.uk has some Aeon 2 and some Noire (open box and B stock) for £750 at the moment.

I almost pulled the trigger until I had a strong word with myself.
 
Just a heads up to anyone in the UK, Scan.co.uk has some Aeon 2 and some Noire (open box and B stock) for £750 at the moment.

I almost pulled the trigger until I had a strong word with myself.
I'm seeing it as pre-order? Guess someone got in there first.
 
I don't use pads with my A2N, just a simple shelf above 10kHz, because of the lack of the pads it's -7.5dB right now and I feel they sound just a bit brighter than my Genelec 8351B. I also don't listen without crosstalk for more than a year so I just use the shelf on the CanOpener, here are my settings. Do you use some more specific EQ?
Screenshot 2023-06-07 at 10.53.26.png
 
I'm seeing it as pre-order? Guess someone got in there first.
Actually yes, the noire was a pre order (B stock) last night and the a2 I think was in stock (open box)
 
Actually yes, the noire was a pre order (B stock) last night and the a2 I think was in stock (open box)
I actually bought the stealths. I tried the aeon 2 noires and sent the Stealths back to Scan. They were better but it wasn't a huge difference and I was struggling to justify the additional 3.2k approx. After they went I sort of find myself thinking in that track I'm missing what I could hear in the Stealths but it wasn't so obvious that you noticed until you didn't have it anymore I like noires but find them a little flat. I suppose admitting that I prefer the hd820 probably make me a bad person (they get my toes tapping) and I can actually hear more detail (not imagined real) that the Noires don't give me - Rudi's on a train to nowhere by Supertramp showed that. Actually the Clear MG's did as well but they ruined the presentation of vivaldis guitar concertos by los romeros so was initially impressed but became very unimpressed really fast. The biggest issue I find is that if you live in NE UK hearing all these headphones is really hard and I feel guilty for ordering them and sending them back. It must cost the shops a fortune.
 
I actually bought the stealths. I tried the aeon 2 noires and sent the Stealths back to Scan. They were better but it wasn't a huge difference and I was struggling to justify the additional 3.2k approx. After they went I sort of find myself thinking in that track I'm missing what I could hear in the Stealths but it wasn't so obvious that you noticed until you didn't have it anymore I like noires but find them a little flat. I suppose admitting that I prefer the hd820 probably make me a bad person (they get my toes tapping) and I can actually hear more detail (not imagined real) that the Noires don't give me - Rudi's on a train to nowhere by Supertramp showed that. Actually the Clear MG's did as well but they ruined the presentation of vivaldis guitar concertos by los romeros so was initially impressed but became very unimpressed really fast. The biggest issue I find is that if you live in NE UK hearing all these headphones is really hard and I feel guilty for ordering them and sending them back. It must cost the shops a fortune.
Did you use EQ or were the Stealth and Noire stock?
 
Did you use EQ or were the Stealth and Noire stock?
I used the Noires with none of the included insert accessories off a topping l50/e50 stack. I have used them with filters and without. TBH I like them both ways. They're just a little flat compared to some other headphones I've used. There's nothing you can complain about at all. very very detailed. There's nothing they make offensive. Tracks played range from being excellent to superb and they punch well above their weight - very comfortable accomplished headphones. Most others I've heard aren't as well rounded. Its just that some make my feet tap more when they play well. Where I noticed more detail it was from headphones which were much pricier. I'd like to try the Stealth's again and the Expanse. I liked the hd820's but then I went back to the noires for an evening and thought but how much better were they. other than that extra detail and the bigger soundstage. the base isn't as coherent. The Focal Clear MG's were superb with some things really superb but then some things were just utterly ruined. I'd like to hear the Stellias and the Utopias. I know you're supposed to be able to eq almost anything to get the sound you want but tbh I find sometimes I need to eq songs individually. Its a pita and I'd rather just have a competent headphone that plays everything well. I forgot to mention that I also heard the audeze lcd-x and rejected it first every time. It was a dim and distant last place (for me) against the hd820, dca aeon 2 noire and the focal clear mg and heavy as hell. Perhaps with eq it would blossom. I'm sure others might find it suits them very well indeed. To me it sound like the left and right side were interfering with each other and getting confused. The sound was bloomy and sounded somewhat like it was coming out of a bucket though more than loud enough. I was most disappointed having read so many positive reviews.
 
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