Dan Clark NOIRE X Headphone Review

[Dan Clark]

Yea but I want to know if this thing lasts after my warranty from the merchant.
I am having the itch to buy one but I can't afford to lose it

Understood, and yes, they're built to last. NOIRE X upgraded the motor to a machined metal part that's extremely tough. The new ear pads will also improve longevity before normal wear forces replacement.

 

[thegammaray]

The vast majority of users prefer the new straps, there's not even a question this was the right call. That said, as with all things YMMV and if it doesn't work for you I'm sorry. We do try to make our products fit everyone always, but that's not always possible, but hearing your concern I'd like to understand it to be sure we keep it in mind for the future.

What is a "quadrilateral kneecap?"

No worries. I respect you for iterating! Out of curiosity, do the majority of users prefer the new strap, or the new adjustment mechanism? My main complaint is with the strap itself. I can see how the auto-adjustment system could be an improvement over the clips that sometimes don't stay, or maybe break.

haha by "quadrilateral kneecap" I just meant the shapes that are stitched into the strap. I.e. the stitching draws the outer boundaries of raised shapes, which yield an uneven surface resting on your head. Those shapes create pressure points, and after wearing the E3 for a couple hours, the shapes were dented into my scalp for a couple hours after I took the headphones off. It hurt. (I shave my head, so again, maybe this is a non-issue for people with hair. But even a plain, non-patterned strap would be an improvement IMO, because it would distribute pressure evenly.)

 

[Dan Clark]

No worries. I respect you for iterating! Out of curiosity, do the majority of users prefer the new strap, or the new adjustment mechanism? My main complaint is with the strap itself. I can see how the auto-adjustment system could be an improvement over the clips that sometimes don't stay, or maybe break.

haha by "quadrilateral kneecap" I just meant the shapes that are stitched into the strap. I.e. the stitching draws the outer boundaries of raised shapes, which yield an uneven surface resting on your head. Those shapes create pressure points, and after wearing the E3 for a couple hours, the shapes were dented into my scalp for a couple hours after I took the headphones off. It hurt. (I shave my head, so again, maybe this is a non-issue for people with hair. But even a plain, non-patterned strap would be an improvement IMO, because it would distribute pressure evenly.)

Ah, thanks for clarifying. Appreciate the feedback, we will keep it in mind for the future!

People generally make two comments about the new strap: they love that it's no-fuss and most find it more comfortable because it's wider. There are a few folk who preferred the older and more flexible band, but most seem to find the auto-fit and the larger size to be an upgrade. Obviously not 100%....

 

[MdeVelde]

Above was sighted. In ad-hoc blind testing, I guessed correctly only 1 out of 3 as to which was stock and which was the EQ! So the effect is quite small and subtle. In that sense, I don't think I can make a strong case that these deviations are real. At the same time, I can't say they are not either. To wit, I am listening with the EQ on.

I always test with independent pink noise.
Very easy to hear small changes in EQ this way.
Also most often easy to hear if they do any good. If it sound more like smooth noise with the EQ change it's good. The removal of resonances / peaks this way is a clear audible improvement with independent pink noise.

 

[thegammaray]

Ah, thanks for clarifying. Appreciate the feedback, we will keep it in mind for the future!

People generally make two comments about the new strap: they love that it's no-fuss and most find it more comfortable because it's wider. There are a few folk who preferred the older and more flexible band, but most seem to find the auto-fit and the larger size to be an upgrade. Obviously not 100%....

I agree that no-fuss and a wider band are both improvements! Maybe there's a way to combine those improvements with the flexibility of the older band?

 

[restorer-john]

I have never done a teardown of any headphone.

Our dog Bosley will do a teardown of any headphones for a few dog treats.

 

[Dan Clark]

Our dog Bosley will do a teardown of any headphones for a few dog treats.

Sometimes the headphone IS the treat.

We had a customer email once after purchasing one of our Alpha headphones. He had his headphone for two days and his dog decided the lamb leather ear pads would make for a fantastic chew toy, while on the headphone.

 

[restorer-john]

We had a customer email once after purchasing one of our Alpha headphones. He had his headphone for two days and his dog decided the lamb leather ear pads would make for a fantastic chew toy, while on the headphone.

I brought up this ad a few years back. Never gets old.

Dan Clark Stealth Review (State of the Art Headphone)

I don't get the impression that the Stealth headphones where made to achieve a price point. It appears they where made to be the best Dan Clark could design and manufacture and then a value was placed on them. That means a lot to me. That's correct. RT and A2 were made for a price point, here...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I'm sure you made the customer whole again.

 

[Shadrach]

You have to consider that driver size does matter to some extent. Our hearing system is also stimulated on the outer structures of the ear and a headphone will provide some of that stimulation while something purely inserted into the ear canal will not.

Plus seriously, pushing all that wax down into the inner canal? Bad idea. It will build up over the years don't kid yourself.

Yes, driver size should make a difference as will materials used, cup shape and it's dimensions.
As for the ear wax I must confess, I haven't noticed this to be a problem if one keeps the ears clean and tested which being music/sound reproduction enthusiasts should have a similar priority to the kit one buys.

 

[Robbo99999]

Nice, I like the approach you did with the listening testing @amirm , and how you tested EQ on-off in the adhoc blind testing - interesting conclusions re how some EQ can be really quite subtle in it's differences, it does help to put things in perspective. Seems like a quality headphone then. Potentially the increased energy directly above 10kHz might bother me, but I'd have to try them.

 

[Shadrach]

I see @Dan Clark has posted on this thread so I would like to ask Mr Clark what he thinks makes his headphones worth their price when other cheaper headphones can be made to follow very closely the target curve it seems he his trying to conform to.

Do not take this as making mischief or doing down DC's products. I can see and have read a bit about the efforts DC has gone to to design and produce the headphones he makes and I think they look lovely and probably sound excellent. I have yet to hear a pair because the two headphones of the range I was interested in just aren't easily available in the UK.

 

[Nango]

Awaiting the 500$ headphone soon with Stealth, as it says, started with 4k, then 2k, now the 1k ..... can't take that longer for the 500 Noire X Jr ......

 

[Robbo99999]

What are you basing your vote of "great" on? This costs a thousand dollars and if we're just looking at Amir's measurements I'm not sure they look all that exceptional. It may sound excellent of course, but that's neither here nor there; we should vote on the data at hand.

Yeah, when it comes to this headphone I think a Fine vote is fine, and if people want to vote Great then I'm not gonna argue with them.

 

[amirm]

I always test with independent pink noise.
Very easy to hear small changes in EQ this way.

??? I am doing preference test which requires actual music. I am not testing whether there is any audible difference as the EQ definitely makes a difference.

 

[amirm]

I see @Dan Clark has posted on this thread so I would like to ask Mr Clark what he thinks makes his headphones worth their price when other cheaper headphones can be made to follow very closely the target curve it seems he his trying to conform to.

Target curve is one thing. Look, feel and quality of construction is another. Noire X does all of these.

 

[MC_RME]

This one looks like a nice closed alternative to my open Edition XS. Unfortunately I have to pass it for now as the dummer 4.4 mm cable (Pentaconn) is not available.

 

[MdeVelde]

??? I am doing preference test which requires actual music. I am not testing whether there is any audible difference as the EQ definitely makes a difference.

Music of course has a lot of varying content. Some songs have content which is similar to pink noise and some do not.
I find pink noise is the clearest test for listening to the effect of EQ on resonances.

I replied to the part of your post where you stated you couldn't tell for sure whether the EQ had a positive effect. Was just trying to be helpful in giving a tip that makes the difference more audibly clear (which would still translate to actual music in certain songs).

 

[dananski]

You mean external noise isolation? If so, it is very good, perhaps better than E3. I am able to work comfortably next to my noisy analyzer.

Good to know. I'm looking to get closed backs to block out the thud of key presses while playing keyboards. I've tried the E3 and love it, but I found it hard to justify the price. With even better comfort and noise isolation it looks like this is my new top choice!

 

[maximit]

I agree. Stiffness was there after 30 days. It wasn’t that problematic for me, but it wasn’t comfortable. I much preferred the older design apart from the plastic thing sliding on the headband that was easy to break and aged fast. Hey Dan you don’t feel our (bald heads) pain From look perspective, the newer feels more premium, though

Ive now heard from a few people that they dont love the comfort of the stitched leather straps, even though they look great. Mainly from the customers that buy my Aeon replacement strap who also own higher end DCA headphones. I will design one of my stretchy, breathable replacement strap for them like the one below, will help people that have comfort issues with the stock one. I just need to get my hands on a model with the stitched leather strap locally (Toronto), I only own the Drop X Closed and old Noir.

Mr Clark, any chance to get some assistance from you for my design?

 

[Music1969]

Thanks for the nice review, Amir!

A couple of things to note about the headphone:

1) There are new ear pads, with an Alcantara suede finish on the contact surface for improved comfort
2) NOIRE X includes our self-tensioning headband
3) Ear pads are enhanced to reduce potential for foam rolling, to extend usable pad life and enhance comfort
4) Numerous driver updates to improve consistency and performance

I thought it'd also be interesting to post some results from the 5128, with the diffuse-field and Harman EQ points used as a "Harman-style" reference. I will publish a larger post with analysis and commentary comparing the GRAS and 5128 later. The target curve in the 5128 measurement was derived by applying Harman Curve EQ points to the B&K diffuse field compensation curve. It is interesting to note just how close the NOIRE X fits this curve, and also where there are some real differences relative to the GRAS in measured results. There are interesting implications for this in setting EQ, which I'll discuss in the technical post.

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For a different view on THD I thought people might enjoy this, measured 85dB @1KHz on the GRAS. Note at 4KHz THD goes as low as 0.006%!

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Lastly, here's a beauty shot for those who like these...

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Hi Dan, got an open back version of this at USD999 coming ?