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Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire Amplifier?
- Thread starter InvertedWorld
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It seems that there is no metric for percussive transients (slam) and no agreement among listeners on who has not enough of it or too much of it, at least this side of Focal. Discussing it leads to dead ends. I hope someone with much better technical chops than I have gets a handle on measuring it one of these years.
My Beyer 700 ProX is preferable (to the Sundara) for 'musical enjoyment' for exactly that reason, percussive impact/slam/rhythm ... whatever you want to call it. Its just a little easier to sink into and drift away to sound. The Sundara is a nice Headphone too, a bit of a 'legend' and a keeper. They each have their strength and weaknesses.
I'd like to hear a couple of Beyers some day ... just reading about them they're either too hot on the upside or classics. I'd really like to be surprised by something I didn't see coming!
I also like the Sundara a lot, though it's not as high on my totem pole as my DCA Noire, which has won both my heart and my mind, slam or no. But I like to change up with the Sundara. Switching, rather than listening to the same thing all the time, reminds me of what I like about each headphone. Sounds like you do the same thing...
It sounds like you know the Noire's quite well and have a level head and thought process... Would you have any suggestions for an amp around the $400 USD mark (give or take a bit)? Something with the footprint similar to the Topping A30.
The A30 is on my mind but I have read a comment somewhere that it may not be enough to fully drive the Noire's. I don't care for stupidly loud things, but I don't want to be missing out on anything at reasonable levels.
I didn't buy any Aeon series headphones because of the rumoured power requirements. Though once I finally bought some they sounded basically the same to me on the Fiio K7, Qudelix 5K, Apple USB-C dongle, LG G8X and ifi hip-dac. I don't see how any desktop headphone amp wouldn't have enough power for these unless you listen very loud. Qudelix and USB-C power draw shows me at 1-2mW ~95dbSPL.
What do you have currently to power them?
I'm still very new to the whole amp thing, so I may have this wrong, but I thought that an amp isn't just about delivering loud noise, but being able to sufficiently drive the headphones across the whole frequency range. And doing so while presenting everything as it's meant to be. Powering them off my macbook pro can take some songs to a level which I'd rather not listen at (only just), but that doesn't mean I'm getting the full picture.
As mentioned, they're currently being plugged into a macbook pro. And no, I did not expect this to be sufficient lol. I just bought them before sorting out an amp. I will probably want a DAC too - I originally thought I'd pass on one seeing macbooks have relatively good onboard DAC's, but now I'm thinking I might as well for (quality) safety sake.
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If the amp is half way competently designed and not driven into clipping then you are doing exactly that. I wouldnt pin your hopes on any new amp (and definitely not DAC) changing the sound of your Aeons. Depends how loud you want to listen and if you are applying any EQ.
But if you want peace of mind- the Monoprice THX 887 especially using the balanced output is more amp than you will ever need for any headphones and I believe is on sale for around $200 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=39359
So if I understand correctly, you’re saying that it should be fine with whatever can provide the power it needs? As long as it’s not rubbish of course.
I also pretty much had that thought originally about the dac. I was open to an amp/dac combo if it fits the bill but not specifically looking for one. But then a store said it would be good to grab one. I also know they’re probably wanting to move some stock. Thanks for sense checking me on that one.
I’ll add the monoprice into the few that I’ve been looking at and check it out.
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Basically yes. But depending on your headphones and listening preferences that caveat re power requirement could be a killer. If you're using the mac usually a fair bit below max and it's loud enough without obvious sounds of clipping you should be OK. Does the music sound “right “?
TL;DR: Yeah I think the music sounds right. Not sure if the bass could be fuller and it may be struggling to hold quality in some EDM tracks. My lack of experience makes me wonder if I'm missing something I haven't experienced before.
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It’s hard to know if it sounds right in terms of listening through headphones of this calibre as the only other thing I have are a set of SE535 IEM’s.
If we're talking bass response with some EDM:
- Shock One - Chaos Theory: Seems to be as I would expect. Bass is there in reasonable quantities and it doesn't seem to degrade.
- Shock One - Big Bounce: This is always a favourite with lots going on and deep bass lines. I do wonder if it's struggling here as I'm not sure if the bass is presenting as it should be or if it's getting lost/muddled/distorted? (yeah, I'm super inexperienced in knowing what's going on). But maybe it's as it should be?
- High Contrast - Windows 95: The bass notes seem smooth with some texture. Not sure if this is intended as I've been hearing things in songs that I never knew existed with the Noire's, but I'm going to assume it is as it's pretty pleasent. Almost all tracks on the album Notes From The Underground have this same texture to the bass.
Some other general music:
- Tracy Chapman - Fast Car: Sounds amazing and detailed (to my unreferenced ears). I'm not sure if there is meant to be more from the bass guitar, but it sounds nice enough.
- Hans Zimmer - Elysium (Gladiator soundtrack) - The larger, lower string instruments are coming through I'm wondering if they could be fuller? Again, my lack of experience is showing here with not knowing what is normal. But it's another one that sounds great.
- Crowded House - Something so strong: The bass guitar sounds nice and detailed with good texture. Everything else in this is fun, dynamic and detailed as expected from a Crowded House track.
These notes are without EQing. I did experiment and turn on MacEQ and bump the lower frequencies a touch which had a response. Not sure if it was a good response though? My knowledge of EQing something extends to knowing that low frequencies are bass and high frequencies are treble, so I take this with a grain of salt.
Apologies for the extensive reply on the simple question of if it sounds right. My biggest problem is not knowing what 'good' sounds like. It's like someone might think a Big Mac is the greatest thing ever if they've never had anything better. I think I have an audio palate a little more developed than someone enjoying a McDonald's burger, but my weak analogy stands.
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And your previous comments about the various amps and dongles sounding the same still stands? As in, to your ears, the macbook sounds the same as the amps you have used them with?
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