Most bang for the buck for $500-$1000?

[alto]

I'm curious to hear more about the Aeon 2 Noire vs the Audeze LCD-XC, it doesn't seem like it's a clean cut win for the Noire, l just saw this review which where the Audeze is mentioned as being better than the Noire:

The Noire is almost half the weight of the LCD-XC, so that's definitely a plus, but clearly I need to delve further into the reviews of these two...

 

[Rayman30]

The Noire will be a less colored experience, a far more agreeable stock tuning out of the box, the LCDX/C will be very colored, which is why they are popular for rock and metal. There is a reason I never listen to metal on either my Sennheiser or Hifiman, the stock tuning and even the Harman target I find undesirable for hard music, of course that's my opinion. My car has a pretty stout Bose audio system, its very very bassy, and I almost listen to nothing but metal in the car.

If you are looking for something more balanced, or more stereotypically audiophile, the DCA Noire is hands down the better out of box experience, of course... assuming that's what you're after.

 

[RickSanchez]

GIven that you've decided on the Schiit IEMagni as your headphone amp, you should go back to Amir's review as that may help you filter down the list of possible headphones to consider. In particular Amir's measurements show:

This amp loves to drive high impedance headphones.

Conclusions
The race that started a couple of years ago to deliver absolutely transparent yet high power headphone amplification continues with yet another great example and at budget price. Schiit has succeeded in pushing the noise level while at the same time providing a very useful negative gain setting. It is not quite as capable with low impedance and inefficient headphones ...

 

[Cahudson42]

Lots of alternatives..With prices all over the place...Let alone closed vs. open, dynamic vs. planar..

So, thinking of ' a journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step', why not buy something inexpensive but well-reviewed, listen to it for a bit, deciding what you like and don't like - then 'upgrade' (if even necessary) from there?

First, open vs. closed. With one exception (the AKG N90Q) I have never found a closed HP I liked. Hot, sticky (to me) , after an hour or so. I do have the AKG K371. Rarely use it, but for $149, if you must have closed, why not start there?

Now open For $149, you cannot beat the HE400se. Forget the HE400i (2016). Again, I have both. With the 400se 'stealth', there is no reason to consider the 400i, ever.

Amp - Magni IE at $139? Don't have one - but you like it - looks good - why not?

Now the DAC...and something you won't be expecting...a $109 Qudelix 5k. Yes, Amir basically panned it's DAC, but it's SINAD is still 90db down. Plenty sufficient. And you get it's great PEQ functionality, letting you optimize various HP FR to your taste. (And yes. I have this, too. It's the DAC in my own 'everyday' HE400se system). Use it front ending the Magni IE. Or you 'could' defer the IE and use it Balanced with the HE400se (w/$42 or so cable, unfortunately).

A place to start - $150 for HP, $109 for DAC/Qudelix, $139 for Amp (or $42 for balanced Qudelix cable)..Listen a bit. PEQ a bit..go from there..

 

[Raindog123]

A place to start - $150 for HP, $109 for DAC/Qudelix, $139 for Amp (or $42 for balanced Qudelix cable)..Listen a bit. PEQ a bit..go from there..

“Great minds think alike” (a year-old post, thus pre IE-Magni and pre 400se but with 400i-2020):

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ig-soundstage-and-sub-bass.16262/#post-554212

 

[alto]

The Noire will be a less colored experience, a far more agreeable stock tuning out of the box, the LCDX/C will be very colored, which is why they are popular for rock and metal. There is a reason I never listen to metal on either my Sennheiser or Hifiman, the stock tuning and even the Harman target I find undesirable for hard music, of course that's my opinion. My car has a pretty stout Bose audio system, its very very bassy, and I almost listen to nothing but metal in the car.

If you are looking for something more balanced, or more stereotypically audiophile, the DCA Noire is hands down the better out of box experience, of course... assuming that's what you're after.

These are all very good points, I don't disagree with having a set of headphones that are made to be opinionated and purposed for a certain kind of music, like metal in this case. I think the main drawback and worry for me with the Audeze headphones is the weight. They seem to be very heavy compared to others, which makes me think I might not enjoy wearing them for very long.

GIven that you've decided on the Schiit IEMagni as your headphone amp, you should go back to Amir's review as that may help you filter down the list of possible headphones to consider. In particular Amir's measurements show:

View attachment 157144

This is also a very good point, I will keep this in mind moving forward, didn't really recall this from the review to be honest. I tried looking for the impedance of the Noire, put surprisingly didn't find that information on the product page. Maybe I'm just tired from working all day.

Lots of alternatives..With prices all over the place...Let alone closed vs. open, dynamic vs. planar..

So, thinking of ' a journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step', why not buy something inexpensive but well-reviewed, listen to it for a bit, deciding what you like and don't like - then 'upgrade' (if even necessary) from there?

First, open vs. closed. With one exception (the AKG N90Q) I have never found a closed HP I liked. Hot, sticky (to me) , after an hour or so. I do have the AKG K371. Rarely use it, but for $149, if you must have closed, why not start there?

Now open For $149, you cannot beat the HE400se. Forget the HE400i (2016). Again, I have both. With the 400se 'stealth', there is no reason to consider the 400i, ever.

Amp - Magni IE at $139? Don't have one - but you like it - looks good - why not?

Now the DAC...and something you won't be expecting...a $109 Qudelix 5k. Yes, Amir basically panned it's DAC, but it's SINAD is still 90db down. Plenty sufficient. And you get it's great PEQ functionality, letting you optimize various HP FR to your taste. (And yes. I have this, too. It's the DAC in my own 'everyday' HE400se system). Use it front ending the Magni IE. Or you 'could' defer the IE and use it Balanced with the HE400se (w/$42 or so cable, unfortunately).

A place to start - $150 for HP, $109 for DAC/Qudelix, $139 for Amp (or $42 for balanced Qudelix cable)..Listen a bit. PEQ a bit..go from there..

You have a lot of valid points being made here, I'm going to have to look into the Qudelix, and maybe I'll find some amp on the second hand market that I could start out with, like I mentioned before I'll be waiting for Schiit to implement USB-C in a future revision before spending money on their gear. The HE400se I can totally see myself getting just to try it out, I have a need for some closed ones currently though, but in the long run I probably will only use closed backs for traveling. Sounds like this pair should be fun try as a "bang for the buck" crown contender, lots of recommendations around for it.

Regarding the PEQ in the Qudelix, is it better than the software PEQs I can use in Windows/Linux, or is the benefit mostly in the fact that it's in the unit, so that it's always active regardless of what the audio source is?

 

[Cahudson42]

is the benefit mostly in the fact that it's in the unit, so that it's always active regardless of what the audio source is?

Yes

 

[Raindog123]

like I mentioned before I'll be waiting for Schiit to implement USB-C in a future revision before spending money on their gear.

You sound like you plan to plug/unplug that poor cable before/after every song.

Yes, a micro-USB connector is a couple-of-decades-old form-factor… yet getting a corresponding cable (out of the Schiit box), plugging it in and forgetting about it… it’s all that is!

 

[alto]

You sound like you plan to plug/unplug that poor cable before/after every song.

Yes, a micro-USB connector is a couple-of-decades-old form-factor… yet getting a corresponding cable (out of the Schiit box), plugging it in and forgetting about it… it’s all that is!

What you say is true, but still, I'm not going to be buying gear that's using connectors that are already more or less deprecated, and it's just a fact that the micro usb connector is a weak one that breaks easily, so there's that. Since I'm not in a panic to get all this gear I can just wait them out and try out some other, perhaps cheaper, gear on the way.

 

[RickSanchez]

I tried looking for the impedance of the Noire, put surprisingly didn't find that information on the product page.

I believe the impedance on the Aeon 2 Noire is 13 Ω.

Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire

Headphones Closed, Planar Magnetic Driver, Circumaural, Impedance: 13 Ohm, Sensitivity: 92 dB/mW, Headband made of real leather, Ear pads made of man faux leather, Weight without cable: 327 g, Includes case and 1.8 m dual entry cable 3.5 mm / 6.3 mm

m.thomannmusic.com

Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire review

Sporting a new dark new asethetic and perforated earpads, the $899 Aeon 2 Noire is the latest compact planar magnetic headphone from Dan Clark Audio.

www.headfonia.com

 

[alto]

I believe the impedance on the Aeon 2 Noire is 13 Ω.

Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire

Headphones Closed, Planar Magnetic Driver, Circumaural, Impedance: 13 Ohm, Sensitivity: 92 dB/mW, Headband made of real leather, Ear pads made of man faux leather, Weight without cable: 327 g, Includes case and 1.8 m dual entry cable 3.5 mm / 6.3 mm

m.thomannmusic.com

Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire review

Sporting a new dark new asethetic and perforated earpads, the $899 Aeon 2 Noire is the latest compact planar magnetic headphone from Dan Clark Audio.

www.headfonia.com

Ah, okay, well in that case that looks like the MagniIE is not a great match

 

[Malaj]

I personally preferr kennerton magni over aeon 2 noire. Not saying its better though

Noire isolate a lot better and is a bit more comfortable and also more portable so I really wanted to love it. Not the least because its half the price of the ether c Flow I ordered.

Sound quality wise the dcas is probably better but magnis dynamic driver is more dynamic still and it just has a consistent tone where I just can focus on the music and never get distracted by things sounding wrong. Though to my old ears the treble do seem a bit rolled off on both the magni and noire.

Noire has a similar frequency response but sounds a bit to accoustically dead and just dont engage me despite it does have punch and its not that far off in dynamics.

But sound level changes is a bit more compressed.

But well this is classic closed in vs semiopen different categories. I bet I would like aeon 2 open

Ether c Flow do isolate as well as noire but it does still manage to give some air and while it may have slightly elevated treble on a slight warm setup it sound extremely life like and all mixes seem to be accurately reproduced without biases.

Still for symphonic rock etc magni is more efficient still

 

[bkdc]

First, open vs. closed. With one exception (the AKG N90Q) I have never found a closed HP I liked. Hot, sticky (to me) , after an hour or so. I do have the AKG K371. Rarely use it, but for $149, if you must have closed, why not start there?

same here. I hate the sweaty heat of closed phones. I just need one for isolation.