Dan Clark NOIRE X Headphone Review

[maximit]

Baha. I ordered before I saw the code. All good. Fair price.

Happy to have fellow ASR members as clients, sent you a refund for the 20%.

 

[Mort]

Happy to have fellow ASR members as clients, sent you a refund for the 20%.

Aww you didn't have to. Thanks

 

[Dan Clark]

@Dan Clark How susceptible to glasses are the Noire X? I've been using up my contacts out of the fear of my glasses causing me to lose a seal

NOIRE X and E3 are less sensitive than our other closed headphones but they are still sensitive if the glasses really open a gap. Most closed back headphones are subject to this to some degree, as the cup increases the acoustic impedance of the system.

For readers, you can try just putting the arms on top of the pads, that works for lower value readers anyhow. Higher value begin to distort if tilted too far. The other trick is use very thin/flat metal frames that lay flat to the face as they come off the top of the ear. It's thick arms or arms that immediately arc away from the face when they leave the ear that are hardest to fit.

 

[Oso Polar]

Deezer Premium: €11.99/month (lossless CD quality)

Except the app is buggy and inferior to Spotify. The most annoying, of course, is its habit of randomly stopping playback, which is IMHO a deal breaker.

 

[patoulol]

Except the app is buggy and inferior to Spotify. The most annoying, of course, is its habit of randomly stopping playback, which is IMHO a deal breaker.

I have no problem with the app apple store, not randomly stopping playback
Even on the app on Windows, no worries

The Spotify app is atrocious, I hate it.
the worst: Spotify puts music made by artificial intelligence and places them in playlists.

 

[yourmom210]

Thank you. I'll check the prices for Deezer Premium in my region, because right now I have Spotify Premium Duo for 6.49 USD.

Apple Music is usually $10 USD, and comes w lossless, hi-res, Dolby Digital (5.1), and Digital Plus (Atmos, with binaural mixes for headphones). And u can usually find coupons across the internet for cheaper monthly pricing or several months free

Edit: and I believe has the second highest artist streaming payout after Tidal?

 

[Oso Polar]

I have no problem with the app apple store, not randomly stopping playback

Did you try to use it on the move? Usually if it loses Internet for a split second it just stops and never resumes.
The best feature of Deezer - the absence of DRM, just regular FLAC files. You can actually just download them...

the worst: Spotify puts music made by artificial intelligence and places them in playlists

Spotify doesn't put anything in users' playlists. It can add additional similar music if you ask for this by enabling smart shuffle. BTW, my favorite feature.

 

[Travision]

Ah ok, thanks. I'm really curious about these headphones

I do not have my Th-900 side by side but I used them for many years as my daily driver. Here is my opinion comparing from memory.

The big stand out for each for me is the bass forward V shape of the fostex compared to the detail forward DC (relative to each other).

In my opinion the Th-900 have some of the best bass in headphones, certainly in quantity but also while maintaining quality although maybe not having quite the resolution of bass from magnetic planars. So that being said the impact and punch the fostex have compared to DC is unmatched in my opinion. The fostex also reach lower to my ear on some reference songs. The sub bass is just so good on the fostex.

The mid range is completely opposite as expected. The fostex has amazing separation through the frequency range but they just do not pull the detail like the DC. I think the same could be said about the treble region too.

In terms of excitement to listen to I think for me the fostex sound signature is one of my favorites so I am a bit bias. I just love a good v shaped headphone that carries a lot of energy and bass. The DC certainly bring it, but maybe just a little less without the low end kicking in like the fostex.

With all this being said I think the DC are amazing, I don’t need to go into all of the other reasons that are already here in the forum. I had picked up my Fostex for a little less than 1k used but they are 2k new so almost comparing apples to oranges but yet the DC still compete. I guess the DC do have time on their side with Fostex being quite old at this point. That being said I feel like Fostex have stood the test of time and if you are willing to buy a used pair then the best closed back headphones Shootout under 1 k would be the Th-900 vs the Noire X in my experience .

My suggestion is if you want something a little more balanced with higher resolution you would go for the Noir X and if you want something with a heavy v shape and some amazing bass bumping get the TH-900. Can’t go wrong either way.

 

[Monsieurétourdi]

I do not have my Th-900 side by side but I used them for many years as my daily driver. Here is my opinion comparing from memory.

The big stand out for each for me is the bass forward V shape of the fostex compared to the detail forward DC (relative to each other).

In my opinion the Th-900 have some of the best bass in headphones, certainly in quantity but also while maintaining quality although maybe not having quite the resolution of bass from magnetic planars. So that being said the impact and punch the fostex have compared to DC is unmatched in my opinion. The fostex also reach lower to my ear on some reference songs. The sub bass is just so good on the fostex.

The mid range is completely opposite as expected. The fostex has amazing separation through the frequency range but they just do not pull the detail like the DC. I think the same could be said about the treble region too.

In terms of excitement to listen to I think for me the fostex sound signature is one of my favorites so I am a bit bias. I just love a good v shaped headphone that carries a lot of energy and bass. The DC certainly bring it, but maybe just a little less without the low end kicking in like the fostex.

With all this being said I think the DC are amazing, I don’t need to go into all of the other reasons that are already here in the forum. I had picked up my Fostex for a little less than 1k used but they are 2k new so almost comparing apples to oranges but yet the DC still compete. I guess the DC do have time on their side with Fostex being quite old at this point. That being said I feel like Fostex have stood the test of time and if you are willing to buy a used pair then the best closed back headphones Shootout under 1 k would be the Th-900 vs the Noire X in my experience .

My suggestion is if you want something a little more balanced with higher resolution you would go for the Noir X and if you want something with a heavy v shape and some amazing bass bumping get the TH-900. Can’t go wrong either way.

Thank you for your comprehensive and interesting feedback.

Much appreciated !

 

[BeeKay]

Happy to have fellow ASR members as clients, sent you a refund for the 20%.

(Off-topic, but deserves a mention)

Thanks, @maximit - I received your headband today and I already love it!

(Off-topic)

 

[maximit]

Glad to hear, hope you enjoy it.

 

[Travision]

Thank you for your comprehensive and interesting feedback.

Much appreciated !

After some extensive listening over the past few days I am sending the Noire X back and getting another pair of fostex

I feel like the Noire X is just not for me. I can hear the technical ability with its detail retrieval but I find it to really only be good for me for mid forward music. Otherwise it sounds a bit thin and just not super exciting for me for a lot of genres. I often feel like it’s just shoving as much detail into my ears as possible without having a nice presentation in terms of soundstage or image placement which is completely non-existent to me even compared to other close backs. I feel like I generally prefer fun sound signature over like analytically correct specifically for headphones and these just do not quite hit for me.

Also as another person commented earlier in the thread, the treble carries some sort of high energy that feels a bit sibilant to me, it at least sounds sharp on my ears, even compared to Th-900 which people often complain the highs are abrasive. Perhaps I am just have a slight bias against planers too. I’ve listened and even owned many pair, but I’ve never owned a pair I love.

Pretty sad about returning, not what I expected based on reviews.

 

[ErinPraline]

NOIRE X and E3 are less sensitive than our other closed headphones but they are still sensitive if the glasses really open a gap. Most closed back headphones are subject to this to some degree, as the cup increases the acoustic impedance of the system.

For readers, you can try just putting the arms on top of the pads, that works for lower value readers anyhow. Higher value begin to distort if tilted too far. The other trick is use very thin/flat metal frames that lay flat to the face as they come off the top of the ear. It's thick arms or arms that immediately arc away from the face when they leave the ear that are hardest to fit.

maybe I'm lucky but I finally tried with my glasses on and noticed no real difference, but then I run into another issue, they make my glasses uncomfortable to wear lol

 

[amirm]

FYI, instead of shopping for headphones that are good with glasses, an alternative is to go the other way. I wear hearing protection when working in the garden with power equipment and those muffs are very uncomfortable with glasses. Then I found these "tincup" frames:

The sides are flat and don't even go behind your ears. Pressure on them as a result, is hardly felt. They have been very durable to boot. I think I have had mine for 10 years now and other than replacing the nose tips, the have survived very rough daily use.

 

[Viennacalling]

What hearing protection do you wear?
I prefer peltor X5a (and peltor optime 3)
SNR37