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Dan Clark NOIRE XO Headphone Review

Rate this headphone:

  • 1. Waste of money (piggy bank panther)

    Votes: 9 4.6%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 2 1.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 59 30.4%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 124 63.9%

  • Total voters
    194

amirm

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This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Dan Clark NOIRE XO headphone. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $1,299.
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone Review.jpg

The mesh on the sides and general material feel is excellent and embue a feeling of luxury. The cups are slightly more compact than my everyday DC E3 and with corresponding lower weight (subjectively). It wears a bit warm. The auto-adjusting headband is comfortable to wear but limits optimization on the test fixture. The hirose jacks on Dan Clark headphones has the best feel of any such connectors.

NOTE: company has been optimizing its design on BK 5128 fixture which may explain small discrepancies between my testing and theirs.

Dan Clark NOIRE XO Measurements
As usual we start with our headphone frequency response and comparison to our preference target:
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone frequency response measurements.png

As noted, macro level compliance with the target is quite good. That said, there are slight variations here and there which don't quite show up on company measurements (or at least to this extent). I will examine their effect in the listening test section. For now, the resolution of our target is quite low so there is no saying whether these variations should or should not be there. Should you choose to correct for them, here is the differential to our target:
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone harman target relative frequency response meas...png

Company has focused its distortion mitigation at lower frequencies, and it shows:
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone relative THD distortion measurements.png

The large, narrowband spikes on the right are due to frequency response dips due to cancellations. Overall, distortion is extremely well controlled at 94 dBSPL with the blue line essentially hugging the "0" line.

Here are the absolute levels:
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone THD distortion measurements.png


The only area that slightly sticks out a bit is at 1.9 kHz.

Group delay shows some small disturbances but is far cleaner than vast array of headphones out there:
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone Group Delay measurements.png


Impedance is variable indicating tuning of the frequency response using passive components:
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone Impedance measurements.png


The very low impedance combined with below average sensitivity points to needing a headphone amplifier to drive it to loud levels:
best open back headphone harman review 2025.png


Dan Clark NOIRE XO Listening Tests
Company asked me to listen before measuring and that is what I did. I very much liked what I heard although the temptation to measure was strong so that is where I went after a few hours. :) Once I saw the measurements, I decided to test their audibility using equalization:
Dan Clar DC Noire XO Open Back stereo Headphone Parametric EQ Equalization.png

Note that the values are tuned by ear.

Overall, I like the effect of EQ better. The headphone handles bass beautifully so might as well goose it up a bit more. :) The other two filters work with it to generate a bit more exciting experience. With or without the filters, the sound is so enjoyable that I have been listening to the XO all week as my everyday headphone. Bass as noted, is clean and deep. The rest of the response reminds of tonality of excellent studio monitors. Spatial qualities are slightly better with the EQ.

Conclusions
It is wonderful to see Dan Clark Audio continue to bring the price down of their innovating technology and their continued dedication to following research into headphone tonality. Objective measurements predict excellent subjective performance that follows it. Material choices and design are upper class, making for an excellent headphone that gives me joy to discover and listen to.

It is my pleasure to recommend the Dan Clark NOIRE XO.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 

Attachments

  • Dan Clar NOIRE XO Frequency Response.zip
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Specifications

Weight: 408gr
Nominal Impedance: 13ohms
Distortion: <0.3% ref 94dB at 1KHz
Frequency Response: We do not publish this because no standard exists for what this actually means and far too many vendors simply publish absurd numbers in a spec game. We don't.


For the community, I have been working on a port of the Harman 2018 curve from the reference GRAS 45CA to the B&K 5128. The curve shown as the target was derived and verified using two independent processes, and with input from Sean Olive. This curve should be considered an Alpha target and not definitive but it is interesting for several reasons.

1746921053668.png


First, the areas that fall above or under target are extremely close to those measured on the 45CA, in other words where you see a bump above or below curve on the 45CA you will see a similar feature on the 5128 relative to the reference curve. This gives a degree of confidence in the results.

Second, it is worth noting that the Harman 2018 curve is almost universally used with KB5000 ears, but when it was developed Sean used a modified version of the original KB0065 ear. The two ears do not have the same response, which creates a built-in error above 9KHz on any KB5000 equipped ears. This is something that has been known, I believe, but not thoroughly discussed, and will also get some attention in my write up.

More details on the development process for this curve will be shared with the community the week after I return from the Munich High-End show. It will be interesting to see assessment by others of the potential 5128 curve, especially if they have both the GRAS and B&K
 
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I have to imagine that the added price is at least in part due to that mesh grill. I personally am happy with my Noire X but if I hadn't gotten a pair I might have considered this instead.
 
My DC Aeons gave me the best 'huh?' of my audiophile life and I will never ever forget that moment. If I ever need another set of over-ear head phones again, it will be another DC.
 
Honestly the $300 extra is worth it just for how much better it looks than Noire X. Looks good, seems like it sounds good, measures good enough where you probably need nothing more than maybe some tuning for taste. I like it. I'm not looking for a hew pair of headphones right now... but when I will this will probably top the list, even though I'm not a fan of the earpads.
Also I expected an open back version of E3 first, props for bringing out something at a lower price point instead.
 
How much do they weigh? It is not shown in any reviews or on the website
 
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Would be nice if there were an option for a balanced XLR cable. Aside from that looks extremely good.

Great review, Amir. Thanks.
 
Very nice, looks like a winner.
 
How much do they weigh?
~410gr
@Dan Clark Will the Noire XO be at Munich High end next week?
Yup, so will I! Stop by and say hello!

Would be nice if there were an option for a balanced XLR cable. Aside from that looks extremely good.

Great review, Amir. Thanks.
There is an option for XLR, there's no extra charge if you order the headphone with that cable.

You can order the XLR option direct on our website. Most dealers just carry the 1/4"+3.5mm dual tip though some of the higher volume dealers like Bloom Audio carry the option, but they can also order the XLR for you if you want to go that route.
 
Very nice indeed. Now, will there also be a VSOP?
 
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