There is threads on the noire, ether cx closed, stealth is getting all the hype and other headphones but this get no love 
I was in a hunt for an end game closed headphone that offered really good isolation. This is quite rare as high end "closed" headphones are generally porting the headphones sacrificing isolation for higher sound quality The Ether C Flow is ported as well but somehow isolates a lot better then any closed headphone I tried since the Ultrasone Edition 8.
I demoed both the Ether C Flow and Noire at the same time. I was hoping for the Noire as I never payed more then 1000$ for a set of headphones before.
Main comparison was against the Kennerton Magni that I really love but don´t isolate all that well Although not worse then all the other ported closed headphones I tried in recent years like denon 7200, JVC DX 1000, Sony CD 3000, (really worn earpads though), audio technica w 1000x, Fostex TH-X00 among others.
Noire had a more natural and consistent tone balance actually but it was just to accoustically dead and felt just to damped even without any of the tuning. I found no interest at all in that despite sounding great and tbh having the perfect balance for my ears. Just never felt any emotions listening to it.
I saw great potential on the ether c flow though with proper matching as it was often stellar but mid range could sound a bit thin at times and felt there was a bit of focus on the treble. However this did help my old ears a bit great sense of detail and the sound quality is on another level what I previously have heard in closed headphones.
I felt the need to add my tube amp for pre amping on my old pair. Not needed at all on the new pair it sound the best so far straight out of my yamaya rd 440 rds receiver.
I did try the topping a90 but it was not on the same level as the receiver. Also tried it on the thx 789 AAA (as expected very similar to the topping a90), and Trafomatic Audio Head One but none is as transparent to my ears as the receiver out of the speaker taps. Will try the nad c316 v2 and the Yamaha A-S301 stereo amplifiers otherwise I will live happy with what I got
Ended up buying the ether C flows. To my surprise they didn´t sound at all the same compared to the demo pair. Maybe they had been tampered with who knows. This was closer to the noire and Magni in tonal balance and to me a bit more natural which causes less ear stress The moments of extreme air is what I am missing but mid range never sound hollow on this pair and I really don´t recall getting this sub bass out of the old pair. Seal was great though on the demo pair and earpads in good shape as well so not sure what happened there. Still the new pair managed to still sound airy enough to not be as claustrophobic as the noire though they still are more closed in then the Magni. Sound quality is for sure a step up though and they always keep me interested in the music and they are dynamic even if they are not quite at the same level as the Magni.
Only cons worth to mention is the cable connectors. I like them and great if I could afford several but doesn´t feel safe not having a quick release if I get hooked up on something.
Also would love to have some kind of quick release on the earpads. So I could have one earpad to sweat in and the other for fine listening. That would risk reducing the isolation though so it all depends.
I was in a hunt for an end game closed headphone that offered really good isolation. This is quite rare as high end "closed" headphones are generally porting the headphones sacrificing isolation for higher sound quality The Ether C Flow is ported as well but somehow isolates a lot better then any closed headphone I tried since the Ultrasone Edition 8.
I demoed both the Ether C Flow and Noire at the same time. I was hoping for the Noire as I never payed more then 1000$ for a set of headphones before.
Main comparison was against the Kennerton Magni that I really love but don´t isolate all that well Although not worse then all the other ported closed headphones I tried in recent years like denon 7200, JVC DX 1000, Sony CD 3000, (really worn earpads though), audio technica w 1000x, Fostex TH-X00 among others.
Noire had a more natural and consistent tone balance actually but it was just to accoustically dead and felt just to damped even without any of the tuning. I found no interest at all in that despite sounding great and tbh having the perfect balance for my ears. Just never felt any emotions listening to it.
I saw great potential on the ether c flow though with proper matching as it was often stellar but mid range could sound a bit thin at times and felt there was a bit of focus on the treble. However this did help my old ears a bit great sense of detail and the sound quality is on another level what I previously have heard in closed headphones.
I felt the need to add my tube amp for pre amping on my old pair. Not needed at all on the new pair it sound the best so far straight out of my yamaya rd 440 rds receiver.
I did try the topping a90 but it was not on the same level as the receiver. Also tried it on the thx 789 AAA (as expected very similar to the topping a90), and Trafomatic Audio Head One but none is as transparent to my ears as the receiver out of the speaker taps. Will try the nad c316 v2 and the Yamaha A-S301 stereo amplifiers otherwise I will live happy with what I got
Ended up buying the ether C flows. To my surprise they didn´t sound at all the same compared to the demo pair. Maybe they had been tampered with who knows. This was closer to the noire and Magni in tonal balance and to me a bit more natural which causes less ear stress The moments of extreme air is what I am missing but mid range never sound hollow on this pair and I really don´t recall getting this sub bass out of the old pair. Seal was great though on the demo pair and earpads in good shape as well so not sure what happened there. Still the new pair managed to still sound airy enough to not be as claustrophobic as the noire though they still are more closed in then the Magni. Sound quality is for sure a step up though and they always keep me interested in the music and they are dynamic even if they are not quite at the same level as the Magni.
Only cons worth to mention is the cable connectors. I like them and great if I could afford several but doesn´t feel safe not having a quick release if I get hooked up on something.
Also would love to have some kind of quick release on the earpads. So I could have one earpad to sweat in and the other for fine listening. That would risk reducing the isolation though so it all depends.
