Drop Dan Clark Audio Aeon Closed X

[TheHighContemplator]

Hi, ah, so you're using my Sample #2 EQ from this post: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...n-clark-audio-aeon-closed-x.26711/post-934592

Yeah, that 7020Hz filter is a big 6dB boost, and there could well be some unit to unit variation meaning that your stock headphone is hotter in this area than the one on which that EQ is based; however it could just be that your hearing is very sensitive in that region and you prefer less energy there. I'm in my 40's and can hear to 15kHz+ (tested on my headphones at normal volumes), not -1.5dB though! I could do some slow sine sweeps on my JBL speakers to guage it more accurately where my hearing ends.

I'm looking forward to you hopefully getting your headphones measured & seeing the results.

Hi Robbo,

Sorry, I should have been specific. -1.5db is relative to the testing software's 0db. It is not based on the music or movie industry standard. Basically, my hearing only deviated -1.5db from 0db across the spectrum measured.

And yes, I know for a fact my hearing is very sensitive in the upper bandwidth. Being on the autistic spectrum predicts this quite well, as would years of wearing earplugs in places everyone else finds perfectly tolerable. In most respects, sensitive hearing is an utter pain in the a**, but there are times when it comes in handy. I spend most of my time in nature and away from noisy city areas for this, and other pretty obvious reasons.

 

[Robbo99999]

Hi Robbo,

Sorry, I should have been specific. -1.5db is relative to the testing software's 0db. It is not based on the music or movie industry standard. Basically, my hearing only deviated -1.5db from 0db across the spectrum measured.

And yes, I know for a fact my hearing is very sensitive in the upper bandwidth. Being on the autistic spectrum predicts this quite well, as would years of wearing earplugs in places everyone else finds perfectly tolerable. In most respects, sensitive hearing is an utter pain in the a**, but there are times when it comes in handy. I spend most of my time in nature and away from noisy city areas for this, and other pretty obvious reasons.

Ha, yes, I'm definitely more than -1.5dB down in the 15kHz+ region! You have good ears then!

Well let us know if you have any more thoughts on this headphone or EQ, and how it goes with getting your headphone sent off for measuring.

 

[TheHighContemplator]

Ha, yes, I'm definitely more than -1.5dB down in the 15kHz+ region! You have good ears then!

Well let us know if you have any more thoughts on this headphone or EQ, and how it goes with getting your headphone sent off for measuring.

I posted a message on Oratory's Reddit page and he told me he wants to make it happen and to send him a PM. Once he gets back to me, I'll be posting my set out to him. I'm very excited.

 

[Robbo99999]

I posted a message on Oratory's Reddit page and he told me he wants to make it happen and to send him a PM. Once he gets back to me, I'll be posting my set out to him. I'm very excited.

Cool, nice one! See if he can give you distortion measurements and channel matching information. Ask him if he could do an EQ specific for that unit (albeit he hasn't measured that headphone yet so of course it will be specific to your unit, ha!), or if you like I can do you an EQ if he gives you the measurements....I can also do a channel matching EQ to match the frequency response of each channel "perfectly" throughout the frequency range (if you get the info). (The channel matching EQ I would do you would also be compatible with his EQ too, because my channel matching EQ matches each channel to the average of the two channels, so you could put Oratory's EQ on top of that).

 

[TheHighContemplator]

Cool, nice one! See if he can give you distortion measurements and channel matching information. Ask him if he could do an EQ specific for that unit (albeit he hasn't measured that headphone yet so of course it will be specific to your unit, ha!), or if you like I can do you an EQ if he gives you the measurements....I can also do a channel matching EQ to match the frequency response of each channel "perfectly" throughout the frequency range (if you get the info). (The channel matching EQ I would do you would also be compatible with his EQ too, because my channel matching EQ matches each channel to the average of the two channels, so you could put Oratory's EQ on top of that).

Those types of words ("channel matching EQ") get me all hot and bothered. Hahaha! I will definitely ask him if he can provide all of the above.

 

[Robbo99999]

Those types of words ("channel matching EQ") get me all hot and bothered. Hahaha! I will definitely ask him if he can provide all of the above.

Ha, I know right! I did a channel matching EQ from his measurements and I could notice a difference flipping it on & off, there was more clarity flipping it on, I blind tested it whilst randomly clicking it on & off with my eyes closed and trying to guess if it was on or off - and I guessed it right everytime up to about 7 times at which point I stopped. Mind you my K702 did have pretty bad channel matching, so if your DCA Aeon Closed X has already good channel matching then there's not much to be gained.

To give you an idea, this is my channel matching EQ process I did for one of my K702's (I have two).

Original Oratory Data:

Average created from left & right channels in REW (only average pictured):


Left Channel Matching to Average:

Right Channel Matching to Average:

So you apply the above two EQ's as seperate left & right channel EQ's in Equaliser APO which equalises the two channels to the average of the two.....then you add on your EQ of choice on top of that, so that could be an Oratory EQ of your headphone, or my EQ, or anybody's EQ, or your own, but whatever EQ you added onto it you'd know that the channels were matched. (Recently I have updated my channel matching EQ for this headphone to not match it so stringently in the bass because I didn't want to put too much strain on the right channel driver in the bass and it doesn't really matter much to match the channel below around 50Hz, but the channel matching EQ pictured is matching it accurately in the bass).

 

[TheHighContemplator]

Ha, I know right! I did a channel matching EQ from his measurements and I could notice a difference flipping it on & off, there was more clarity flipping it on, I blind tested it whilst randomly clicking it on & off with my eyes closed and trying to guess if it was on or off - and I guessed it right everytime up to about 7 times at which point I stopped. Mind you my K702 did have pretty bad channel matching, so if your DCA Aeon Closed X has already good channel matching then there's not much to be gained.

To give you an idea, this is my channel matching EQ process I did for one of my K702's (I have two).

Original Oratory Data:
View attachment 159048
Average created from left & right channels in REW (only average pictured):
View attachment 159049

Left Channel Matching to Average:
View attachment 159050

Right Channel Matching to Average:
View attachment 159051

So you apply the above two EQ's as seperate left & right channel EQ's in Equaliser APO which equalises the two channels to the average of the two.....then you add on your EQ of choice on top of that, so that could be an Oratory EQ of your headphone, or my EQ, or anybody's EQ, or your own, but whatever EQ you added onto it you'd know that the channels were matched. (Recently I have updated my channel matching EQ for this headphone to not match it so stringently in the bass because I didn't want to put too much strain on the right channel driver in the bass and it doesn't really matter much to match the channel below around 50Hz, but the channel matching EQ pictured is matching it accurately in the bass).

That's awesome! I just checked PulseEffects and it allows you to split the channels for EQ, so that will work very well. Might as well maximise the hell out of these cans, especially if there is any significant channel imbalance. I wish I had a measurement rig to do the measurements myself, but that does not seem to be financially feasible at the moment.

 

[Robbo99999]

That's awesome! I just checked PulseEffects and it allows you to split the channels for EQ, so that will work very well. Might as well maximise the hell out of these cans, especially if there is any significant channel imbalance. I wish I had a measurement rig to do the measurements myself, but that does not seem to be financially feasible at the moment.

Well, it's one thing to have the rig, it's another thing to have the experience (& ability) to do it right! Oratory has got a pretty solid process from how he's explained it as well as tons of experience using it as well as his day job being involved in acoustics, so he's probably the ideal guy to do the measurement for you in my assessment/experience/opinion....so save yourself the $40,000 or whatever it costs to buy the GRAS & instead just send your phones to Oratory for a postage fee and anything else you feel like giving on top! He's an asset to the community, what an awesome database!

Yeah, that's cool you can split the channels on PulseEffects, you couldn't do it otherwise unless you use a program like EqualiserAPO (free on PC) & maybe some other programs I'm not aware of.

 

[TheHighContemplator]

Well, it's one thing to have the rig, it's another thing to have the experience (& ability) to do it right! Oratory has got a pretty solid process from how he's explained it as well as tons of experience using it as well as his day job being involved in acoustics, so he's probably the ideal guy to do the measurement for you in my assessment/experience/opinion....so save yourself the $40,000 or whatever it costs to buy the GRAS & instead just send your phones to Oratory for a postage fee and anything else you feel like giving on top! He's an asset to the community, what an awesome database!

Yeah, that's cool you can split the channels on PulseEffects, you couldn't do it otherwise unless you use a program like EqualiserAPO (free on PC) & maybe some other programs I'm not aware of.

True story, but having a measurement rig would become an obsession for me. In the end, I have too much on my plate with editing my book right now, so Oratory is the best option.

 

[saich]

Drop + Dan Clark Audio Aeon Closed X Headphones Reviews | Audiophile | Headphones | Closed Back Headphones

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drop.com

These are now on sale for $379. I am wondering if they measure like Resolve's ones? If so they are good value.

Weirdly enough Drop's graph are still those from the RT with the 100-200hz dip (yuck)

 

[aandres_gm]

Drop + Dan Clark Audio Aeon Closed X Headphones Reviews | Audiophile | Headphones | Closed Back Headphones

Discover 356 Community discussions, tips, and reviews on Drop + Dan Clark Audio Aeon Closed X Headphones from the Audiophile enthusiast community on...

drop.com

These are now on sale for $379. I am wondering if they measure like Resolve's ones? If so they are good value.

Weirdly enough Drop's graph are still those from the RT with the 100-200hz dip (yuck)

That's $20 less than during the last sale. Wonder if they'll go lower during black friday

 

[saich]

That's $20 less than during the last sale. Wonder if they'll go lower during black friday

Hmm. Guess I'll till then. The question is which edition are we getting. IMO that makes a big difference.

 

[Jimbob54]

Hmm. Guess I'll till then. The question is which edition are we getting. IMO that makes a big difference.

I dont understand. There are the Drop Aeon Closed X and there are the DCA Aeon Closed RT- both definitely based on the old Aeon headphone (now replaced with a V2). They may be very similar to each other, they may have different pads, but one thing for sure is you need to see measurements of the variant you are buying to judge, dont judge the RT using measurements of the X and vice versa

Interestingly, @Resolve 2 measurements of the X are as different as his measurements of 1 unit compared to measurements on comparable rigs as the RT closed.

 

[saich]

I dont understand. There are the Drop Aeon Closed X and there are the DCA Aeon Closed RT- both definitely based on the old Aeon headphone (now replaced with a V2). They may be very similar to each other, they may have different pads, but one thing for sure is you need to see measurements of the variant you are buying to judge, dont judge the RT using measurements of the X and vice versa

Interestingly, @Resolve 2 measurements of the X are as different as his measurements of 1 unit compared to measurements on comparable rigs as the RT closed.

That's precisely what I worry about. The FR graph on Drop looks like it's based on the earlier revision and is closer to the tuning of the RT, and differs quite a lot from those measured by Resolve. Seems to me it's not that consistent/transparent.

 

[Jimbob54]

That's precisely what I worry about. The FR graph on Drop looks like it's based on the earlier revision and is closer to the tuning of the RT, and differs quite a lot from those measured by Resolve. Seems to me it's not that consistent/transparent.

I wasnt aware of revisions. Perhaps @Dan Clark can shed light as to whether either or both of the Closed Drop X or Aeon RT have had revisions and what the effect of any was.

 

[aandres_gm]

I'm having a hard time deciding, should I get them or not? $379 is a good price, but the unit variation and the fact the RT and the X may very well be different headphones has me thinking.

 

[Robbo99999]

That's precisely what I worry about. The FR graph on Drop looks like it's based on the earlier revision and is closer to the tuning of the RT, and differs quite a lot from those measured by Resolve. Seems to me it's not that consistent/transparent.

I wasnt aware of revisions. Perhaps @Dan Clark can shed light as to whether either or both of the Closed Drop X or Aeon RT have had revisions and what the effect of any was.

The good thing is @TheHighContemplator is sending in his Drop DCA Aeon Closed X to Oratory for measuring - so that'll mean in total we will have had 3 units measured, so should be able to draw some solid conclusions at that point, especially if it matches one of the existing measured units quite accurately. I'm quite confident that they're different headphones to the Aeon RT based on looking at the measurements, the 2nd measured unit might be a bit more similar to the RT in that direction, but I still think they're different headphones.

 

[TheHighContemplator]

The good thing is @TheHighContemplator is sending in his Drop DCA Aeon Closed X to Oratory for measuring - so that'll mean in total we will have had 3 units measured, so should be able to draw some solid conclusions at that point, especially if it matches one of the existing measured units quite accurately. I'm quite confident that they're different headphones to the Aeon RT based on looking at the measurements, the 2nd measured unit might be a bit more similar to the RT in that direction, but I still think they're different headphones.

An update on the measurement journey... Oratory confirmed his process. I agreed and I'm now waiting for the shipping address. If I get it by Monday, I will ship it out then. He said he measures HPs every other weekend, so it should take around three weeks. I will ask him in our next conversation for channel balance/imbalance and distortion measurements to help us get some consensus on everything. The idea of having a set of headphones that have been individually measured and EQ'd is pretty bloody sweet. Can't wait.

Robbo, you said you were in the UK, if memory serves me. Do you want me to have Oratory ship the cans to you after he's done so you can play around with them for a couple of weeks?

 

[aandres_gm]

@Resolve and @amirm I'm thinking about getting the Closed X. But I could drop ship them to you, so you could measure them. Would you be interested?

 

[solderdude]

@oratory1990 (being in EU) may be a more logical choice to ship to.