DCA Noire X vs Meze Strada vs SJY Horizon Closed Carbon

[Karppila]

I currently have the Fiio FT1 which is and was supposed to be a temporary headphone (and a Fiio K15 on amp/dac duty). I like what the FT1 can do with its bass, and the overall voicing is quite good with a bit of EQ tweaks. But the soundstage went quite small coming from Audeze planars (which I got rid of because of the weight). I have tried multiple open backs with EQ but cannot get the bass slam and physicality as with closed backs. I also appreciate the little passive noise isolation with closed backs.

Strada would be noticeably cheaper (400-500 less) than Noire X and the Horizon CC which are about the same price.
I would love to hear personal experiences/recommendations etc. on these three options or you can also give other recommendations.

 

[Pictus]

I currently have the Fiio FT1 which is and was supposed to be a temporary headphone (and a Fiio K15 on amp/dac duty). I like what the FT1 can do with its bass, and the overall voicing is quite good with a bit of EQ tweaks. But the soundstage went quite small coming from Audeze planars (which I got rid of because of the weight).

Weight? The weight of the Sennheiser HD 480 PRO is only 273g.
Check the review https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/measurements/brands-s-se/hd480-pro/

Anyway, I would wait for the FiiO FT9. From

https://twitter.com/x/status/2018506142906032376

"Flagship HIFI Over-Ear Headphones with Dynamic Driver FT9 FT9 is a type of closed-back over-
ear headphones with dynamic driver. Instead of using the popular open-back planar magnetic
design, one reason is that many users have told us that there are few excellent closed-back
over-ear headphones with dynamic driver nowadays, and they hope we release one; the other
reason is that we believe, from first principles, that most recordings are made using moving-
coil microphones and from the playback end, dynamic drivers can reproduce the recording more
accurately. Not to mention, the resolution of advanced diaphragms is not weaker than planar
diaphragms, but the large low-frequency dynamics that dynamic drivers can achieve are
something that planar diaphragms cannot currently match in principle.

We have actually been developing FT9 for two years, but haven't released it yet, mainly
because we have been refining the sound details, especially the diaphragm, which requires
extensive prototyping, testing, and improvements. Computer simulation can only help solve
some curve problems, but it cannot yet address listening impressions.

Another aspect is the acoustic design of the cavity. Although the acoustic design of
headphones with dynamic driver is already mature, different cavity shapes and materials will
produce subtle changes.

However, a flagship product is a process from excellent to exceptional, not like going from
entry-level to flagship with obvious differences. So, we've been very cautious.

Like other flagship products, we will try to gather as much feedback from audiophiles as
possible before mass production and release.
The tentative release date for FT9 is around September."

 

[IngMishael]

I currently have the Fiio FT1 which is and was supposed to be a temporary headphone (and a Fiio K15 on amp/dac duty). I like what the FT1 can do with its bass, and the overall voicing is quite good with a bit of EQ tweaks. But the soundstage went quite small coming from Audeze planars (which I got rid of because of the weight). I have tried multiple open backs with EQ but cannot get the bass slam and physicality as with closed backs. I also appreciate the little passive noise isolation with closed backs.

Strada would be noticeably cheaper (400-500 less) than Noire X and the Horizon CC which are about the same price.
I would love to hear personal experiences/recommendations etc. on these three options or you can also give other recommendations.

the Strada is U Shaped but with a mid bass tuck that combined with the treble rockiness, sounds disjointed sometimes but also presents as contrasty and can be perceived as detailed by some people but it will not be my first closed back of the group to get. haven't heard that specific SJY but if it is like their other models, they are also middle of the road mostly. the Noire X is the one that is reasonably coherent.

My recommend will be the 480 Pro from Sennheiser.

 

[Karppila]

the Strada is U Shaped but with a mid bass tuck that combined with the treble rockiness, sounds disjointed sometimes but also presents as contrasty and can be perceived as detailed by some people but it will not be my first closed back of the group to get. haven't heard that specific SJY but if it is like their other models, they are also middle of the road mostly. the Noire X is the one that is reasonably coherent.

My recommend will be the 480 Pro from Sennheiser.

I had the 490 Pro, it was very comfortable but it was lacking bass even with EQ, wonder if the "closedness" improves the bass that much that it would be a better fit for me.
Shame that they released the 480 Pro after, otherwise I would have gotten that in the first place to try naturally, as I prefer closed backs.

 

[BZ22]

In that price range, the only planar I could recommend is the Arya Stealth — EQ the treble by ear and you have everything you need. The comfort isn’t ideal with any planar, simply because they’re all so heavy, which is why I’m currently using the MV1, which is also EQ’d by ear.

 

[Karppila]

In that price range, the only planar I could recommend is the Arya Stealth — EQ the treble by ear and you have everything you need. The comfort isn’t ideal with any planar, simply because they’re all so heavy, which is why I’m currently using the MV1, which is also EQ’d by ear.

I once did a long demo session with the Arya Stealth and the XV with EQ and they were good but not great for me. And it was also quite annoying as it was a toss up between them. I felt like for some tracks I preferred Arya and some I preferred XV. I have also been looking at Arya Organic and HE1000 Stealth and trying to EQ those but really not looking forward to blind buying something and having to sell them etc. Not much opportunity to go and demo stuff in my area.

 

[IngMishael]

I had the 490 Pro, it was very comfortable but it was lacking bass even with EQ, wonder if the "closedness" improves the bass that much that it would be a better fit for me.
Shame that they released the 480 Pro after, otherwise I would have gotten that in the first place to try naturally, as I prefer closed backs.

well that is why I recommended the 480 Pro which is a closed back

 

[BZ22]

I once did a long demo session with the Arya Stealth and the XV with EQ and they were good but not great for me. And it was also quite annoying as it was a toss up between them. I felt like for some tracks I preferred Arya and some I preferred XV. I have also been looking at Arya Organic and HE1000 Stealth and trying to EQ those but really not looking forward to blind buying something and having to sell them etc. Not much opportunity to go and demo stuff in my area.

Did you EQ each headphone by ear using a tone generator for the comparison?
Using ready-made presets for the headphone models doesn’t make sense; you can only find the peaks in the treble by ear with a tone generator.
Just make sure you do this at a safe volume!

Of course, this isn’t necessary if you just want to listen to music.
A peak is simply a form of coloration and can even improve the subjective listening experience.
But if you want neutrality, there’s no way around EQing by ear.

 

[Karppila]

Did you EQ each headphone by ear using a tone generator for the comparison?
Using ready-made presets for the headphone models doesn’t make sense; you can only find the peaks in the treble by ear with a tone generator.
Just make sure you do this at a low volume.

I was at a store and their setup happened to have a Chord Mojo 2 which has EQ so I just used that a bit. So no "proper" EQ. Just some tweaks that you are able to achieve with the Mojo in a short session.

Have you had experience with the Arya Organic and how it sounds to you compared to the Arya Stealth? It should be "warmer", some more focus on the midbass etc. Is the difference big between them? Well some do also report that it has some roughness in the highs... From memory what I remember the Stealth to be overall and what the Organic changed, it could be a contender but still quite unsure about open backs as a whole

 

[BZ22]

I was at a store and their setup happened to have a Chord Mojo 2 which has EQ so I just used that a bit. So no "proper" EQ. Just some tweaks that you are able to achieve with the Mojo in a short session.

Have you had experience with the Arya Organic and how it sounds to you compared to the Arya Stealth? It should be "warmer", some more focus on the midbass etc. Is the difference big between them? Well some do also report that it has some roughness in the highs... From memory what I remember the Stealth to be overall and what the Organic changed, it could be a contender but still quite unsure about open backs as a whole

I’m pretty sure the difference between the Arya Stealth and Organic isn’t that big, and with EQ probably indistinguishable.
Keep in mind - You’ve got 440 grams sitting on your head I can’t wear planars for more than 30 minutes.

I tend to use studio monitors or the MV1 but yh.. sometimes I also pull out the Aryas.
Based on your description, I think the MV1 might be exactly what you’re looking for.
They only need 1–2 EQ bands to bring down the 7–9 kHz range but after that they sound really good