They're open, so a decent amount of leakage. They sound OK at low volume, but I probably wouldn't get $1300 cans for that.
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Dan Clark NOIRE XO Headphone Review
- Thread starter amirm
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seattlerocks
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I haven't had that problem with my cable. If it bugs you, get an aftermarket cable with a different sheathing.
Thank you. In terms of getting value out of such an investment, you're absolutely right. At least in theory it might make sense to shop for the best experience I can get given my requirements, but I suspect that the law of diminishing returns would hit even harder than usual.
Wouldn't it be better to get a closed-back headphone in your use case (that was the main reason why I got my E3)? You can go with DCA Noire X for example.
In the end I did get a pair of closed-backs. I bought the Aune SR7000 and I must say that I really like them. At moderate volume they sound well, when I allow myself to go a bit above they sound great. My wife hasn't complained so far
In the future I might consider buying a set of planar open backs, to try something different, but I consider myself satisfied as it is.
MRC01
Major Contributor
What's the difference between the Dummer and VIVO cables? Build quality / durability? Microphonics? Flexibility?
Curious how heavy these are and how much ear relief there is. Cross shopping these with the Meze Poet, between the cable and case I think they're closer to being price competitive than the MSRP would indicate
Looks like flexibility is the major one, the vivo looks like a custom sheathed cable of some description whereas the DUMMER looks like an instrument cable that they've just terminated for the headphones.
b73i57dc3f
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There are many variables that affect headphone frequency response measurement, many of them related to the acoustic coupler used and how the headphones are mounted to the coupler. Because of this, it is really pretty impossible to validly compare one set of measurements conducted by a given lab / engineer to measurements done elsewhere. It is much more useful to look at the series of measurements taken of various headphone models by the same lab / engineer and use those measurements to compare one pair of headphones to another brand.
Robbo99999
Master Contributor
Ha!
Oh! Thank you. My apologies. Theres too many X's in this naming scheme for me lol
You know, you just pulled a Roseanne Roseannadanna on all of us?
I pulled one, last week!
Customer service kudo to Dan Clark Audio. (This example is for the older, Aeon 2 Noire, but I put it here because this thread is bound to be more frequently visited now than the older one, and the comment reflects the vendor's current overall customer service.) My Noire 'phones developed serious left-side imbalance, as did some other earlier-issue Aeon 2 Noire phones. Some years ago, Dan Clark offered on this Forum to repair any such phones with redesigned drivers. I sent mine in after 3 years, and after evaluating my phones, DCA sent me a spic 'n span, like-new set of phones for $0, citing the earlier "extended warrantee" issued on this site by DCA years ago without being asked. They either replaced the drivers and did a major cosmetic upgrade at the same time for these well-used phones, or perhaps (as I suspect) sent new phones from their inventory. My only other interaction with DCA involved an earlier set of DCA phones years ago and their support was also great then.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.
View attachment 449784
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:
View attachment 449785
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:
View attachment 449786
Company has focused its distortion mitigation at lower frequencies, and it shows:
View attachment 449787
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:
View attachment 449788
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:
View attachment 449789
Impedance is variable indicating tuning of the frequency response using passive components:
View attachment 449790
The very low impedance combined with below average sensitivity points to needing a headphone amplifier to drive it to loud levels:
View attachment 449791
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.
View attachment 449792
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.
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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Curupira
Addicted to Fun and Learning
In the end I did get a pair of closed-backs. I bought the Aune SR7000 and I must say that I really like them. At moderate volume they sound well, when I allow myself to go a bit above they sound great. My wife hasn't complained so far
In the future I might consider buying a set of planar open backs, to try something different, but I consider myself satisfied as it is.
Do consider a player or EQ that has an inbuilt loudness function.
If you're on Android, Wavelet offers this while costing very little for a lifetime license.
Sensible advice, thank you. May I ask you which player do you use on Android? I'm currently using UAPP, which doesn't support Wavelet. It uses Morphit, which doesn't have a profile for the Aune SR7000.
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