Dan Clark NOIRE XO Headphone Review

[M.C. Logan]

There is no secret sauce in driver types or driver material. You mention AMTs, from the measurements of speakers with AMT tweeters that I've seen the "wow factor" is likely from elevated treble

Does not transponder acceleration, e.g. transient response, play a significant part in HF clarity? Hence the clarity of electrostatics, EMTs and their closely related brethren, and to a lesser degree planar magnetics.

 

[M.C. Logan]

I think your point is that if two different driver types measure the same, they will sound the same? If so, I agree.

You would need to measure more than FR though... And then there's the matter of the amplification.

 

[amirm]

Does not transponder acceleration, e.g. transient response, play a significant part in HF clarity?

No. If the transducer has proper frequency response, it has all of that as well. If it can't move as fast for example, it will have rolled off high frequencies. If transient response is slow, then it too has rolled off high frequency response.

And faster transient response above audible band is of no value.

 

[Buckchester]

No. If the transducer has proper frequency response, it has all of that as well. If it can't move as fast for example, it will have rolled off high frequencies. If transient response is slow, then it too has rolled off high frequency response.

And faster transient response above audible band is of no value.

I like this answer.

 

[ExUnoPlura]

The notion that the frequency domain representation isn't an adequate dual of the time domain behavior is a curious myth. It might have started as part of a FUD mystification campaign by vendors or might just be a conceptual error on the part of enthusiasts who are trying to grasp all the complex technical factors amidst the noise and crosstalk. The other recent development I've encountered is the Fourier Uncertainty Principle being brought to bear due to a 2013 paper that claimed that human hearing might exceed Fourier resolvability. A rebuttal paper in 2015 suggested fundamental errors to that and the topic has thus withered. I've fought a couple of online mini-battles on this topic and mentions seem to have reduced.

 

[milosz]

Interesting to compare this with the DC Stealth. I have a pair of the Stealth, I wonder if I could hear much difference between these and the Stealth. I'm sure I would hear some kind of difference, but it might not be significant in a "these are better / these are worse" kind of way. Although these Noire have some more distortion in the midband at high SPL so I **might** be able to hear that.

 

[TRDK]

DCA Noire X has sensitivity ~ 94 dB/mW - Impedance ~ 13Ω

What are the values for DCA Noire XO?

Thanks

 

[Chagall]

DCA Noire X has sensitivity ~ 94 dB/mW - Impedance ~ 13Ω

What are the values for DCA Noire XO?

Thanks

@Dan Clark wrote it here:

Dan Clark NOIRE XO Headphone Review

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. 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...

audiosciencereview.com

I don't know how DMS got such low impedance values - below 8 ohms. Maybe it's just the wrong ohm labels (overlay mistake) because the plot looks the same as Amir's.

 

[amirm]

DCA Noire X has sensitivity ~ 94 dB/mW - Impedance ~ 13Ω

What are the values for DCA Noire XO?

It is in the review:

 

[amirm]

I don't know how DMS got such low impedance values - below 8 ohms.

Maybe the headphone amplifier he is using has > 0 output impedance.

 

[TNT]

A generlaly good review ;-)

//

 

[staticV3]

DCA Noire X has sensitivity ~ 94 dB/mW - Impedance ~ 13Ω

What are the values for DCA Noire XO?

Thanks

Rating the XO in dB/mW is extra difficult due to the variable impedance.

Switching to dB/Vrms at 425Hz, the Noire X has 103.5dB/Vrms and the XO 102.5dB/Vrms.

However, the XO's rising impedance at bass frequencies will make it easier to drive, since the Amp will clip later where music is loudest.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Lol not this again. The pads are easily removed and replaced, the adhesive doesn’t leave marks.

Same as my LCD-X. Used the peel off double sided tape to attach the replacement pads. Aside from having to quit drinking for a month in order for my hands to be steady enough to do the job, a piece of cake!

 

[Joachim Herbert]

I wouldn't buy it because of the glued pads

They do it for a reason and it is not cost.

 

[Robbo99999]

Interesting to compare this with the DC Stealth. I have a pair of the Stealth, I wonder if I could hear much difference between these and the Stealth. I'm sure I would hear some kind of difference, but it might not be significant in a "these are better / these are worse" kind of way. Although these Noire have some more distortion in the midband at high SPL so I **might** be able to hear that.

And the Stealth is a closed whilst the Noire XO is an open back, so that might well feel different when you wear them & listen to music.

 

[TRDK]

Switching to dB/Vrms at 425Hz, the Noire X has 103.5dB/Vrms and the XO 102.5dB/Vrms.
However, the XO's rising impedance at bass frequencies will make it easier to drive, since the Amp will clip later where music is loudest.

THX. So a difference of 1.0 dB/Vrms make then harder to drive than Noire X?

 

[staticV3]

THX. So a difference of 1.0 dB/Vrms make then harder to drive than Noire X?

The XO has marginally lower sensitivity but significantly higher impedance where it matters.

Bottom line, I'd say the XO is easier to drive using common headphone Amps.

 

[KiyPhi]

The comment simply refers to the fact that circumaural headphones lose bass if the ear pad isn’t sealed well to the head. How much bass loss occurs is a function of the acoustic impedance of the headphone.

Closed cups increase the acoustic impedance, so when you have a seal issue, such as with glasses, the bass loss may be higher than it is with an open back headphone. For the most part this only comes into play with glasses or very thick hair.

Do you guys know what the resonance frequency/roll off is when a seal is somewhat broken? These are pretty much the DCA headphones I've been waiting for if it's pretty low (30Hz or so).

 

[Dan Clark]

@Dan Clark

How would you describe the sound difference between X and XO?

Uh oh, a subjective question. I find the XO to be more open with a bigger soundstage and a big livelier tuning. X s a bit mellower with a little more upper bass while XO feels like it reaches deeper.

Do you guys know what the resonance frequency/roll off is when a seal is somewhat broken? These are pretty much the DCA headphones I've been waiting for if it's pretty low (30Hz or so).

Around 60hz if I Recall correctly, but I’m flying to Munich and can’t really check… it definitely rolls off slower than NX.

 

[Mort]

In what circumstances is this better than the X?