Which Closed Back Dan Clark Audio Headphones (If Any) Are What I'm Looking For?

[Teominious]

While they lasted a good 11-ish years, October 2023 saw my Sony MDR 7506s' left side dying, and, - as a result of my wanting something new and different, given the doubts I had those were the best for me even at the time they were acquired, much less currently - I eventually (regrettably) settled upon a pair of Austrian Audio Hi-X60s.

These were astonishing at first, given I didn't realise just how hot the sound, and poor the imaging, on the 7506s were until I heard a different set of "Cans", but even without the sound gripes (the bass in XTC's "Mayor of Simpleton" is completely non-audible at comfortable volumes, to name one issue), and problems with both my hyper-sensitive autistic ears becoming overstimulated from the volume level of these even at minimum-on-device levels, the pads started to fall apart less than a year into owning them.

Thus, while they did ship me an entire other pair free of charge, I've yet to even open the outside shipping box those came in, and very much wanted to jump to another manufacturer, even before I contacted them about things with the hope the order would be refunded, rather than replaced.

Through my research, I eventually settled on the Focal Azurys, but various forum dives and review readings proved better options do exist, leading me on a wild chase of "Don't get those; these are just slightly more, but pretty much objectively better" that ended with my discovereing the Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2s, then resigning myself to get those when the funds allowed. As is seemingly always the case with me, though, just when I'd settled on that other options were presented, and I began to research those.

Lo and behold, I now have absolutely 0 idea which model to get, and what features are, and are not present on any of them. From what was said, the differences between the RT and Aeon 2 family are pretty much negligible, however nobody seems to have compared the Noire Xs to the RTs. This is all to ask:

1: What does one get, sound-wise on the Noire Xs that you do not on the RTs?

2: Which headphone of the 4 (RT, Aeon 2 family, and Noire Xs) have the best detail retrieval, and imaging?

3: Are any massive downsides present to either, or all the models?

4: Are the improvements - if any are present - had from going to the Noire Xs from the RTs enough to justify essentially buying 2 sets of the latter for one of the former?

5: Should I even go with DCA devices to begin with?

I should likely point out these will be used for literally everything that requires sound, regardless of the device (PC and portable game/mobile devices), that I'm only looking for Closed, as I - unfortunately - do not live alone due to disabilities, and worry of disturbing others with open-backed models (To say nothing of my noisy PC), and that due to the aforementioned sensory processing disorder, I have my current setup cranked up until audio comes through on both sides, then additionally needed to have the OS volume reduced to 6 before I could comfortably hear, so amplifiers absolutely are not desired, much less had.

Sound-wise, I'm looking for something that will allow me to hear every part of everything I may be listening to, without anything being lost in the mix, or otherwise unable to be reproduced with the drivers in-device. If something also allows for spatial awareness, that would be a huge bonus. Preference-wise, I have only heard 5 devices (probably-less-than-$20 logitech speakers, bundled-with-something on-ear Sony headphones, the MDR7506s, a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50s I suspect were faulty due to how dead they sounded, and lastly, the Hi-X60s), so cannot say with 100% certainty, however, if it helps, adding a subwoofer to anything makes it intolerable to me, and I also do not like ear-searing brightness, found on, for-instance a metal-stringed acoustic guitar being played with a pick.

I'm not sure how much the disdain for those has to do with the volume I usually hear things at, or the timbre itself, but I hope that at least somewhat helps. Additionally, I also both wear glasses, and apparently have almost-vertical ear canals, if either of those affect anything. Lastly, if none of these are what would suit me best, then feel free to suggest other manufacturer's models for me to look into.

Thank you to all whom read, and/or replied to this!

 

[Teominious]

Update:

In light of some information from none other than Sir Clark, himself (https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...k-noire-x-headphone-review.58795/post-2156638) I have reached the decision of "The Noire Xs seem to be what I've been looking for in a headphone since getting my first "real" pair in the early '10s, and that everything they bring to the table will more than justify the hefty price tag"

As such, if other parties are curious as to what the differences are, do feel free to give that a read!

 

[Mr Swing King]

I ordered the Noire X and can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I do have a fairly powerful dap, so I can use it on the go as well. You mentioned something about ‘PC and portable game/mobile devices’ which you probably need an amp for with the Noire X. Yes it’s easier to drive than previous Aeon models, but it’s stil a fairly insensitive headphone that will need a lot of current if you want to play loud…most especially if you want to fiddle about with EQ.
There are a good deal of small portable amps reviewed over ASR that would drive the Noire X. If you don’t already own one, I suggest you take a peak at the amp forum

If you don’t want to have an amp between your mobile devices and your headphone, then I suspect the Azurys is the better choice.
Best of luck going forth!

 

[Teominious]

I ordered the Noire X and can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I do have a fairly powerful dap, so I can use it on the go as well. You mentioned something about ‘PC and portable game/mobile devices’ which you probably need an amp for with the Noire X. Yes it’s easier to drive than previous Aeon models, but it’s stil a fairly insensitive headphone that will need a lot of current if you want to play loud…most especially if you want to fiddle about with EQ.
There are a good deal of small portable amps reviewed over ASR that would drive the Noire X. If you don’t already own one, I suggest you take a peak at the amp forum

If you don’t want to have an amp between your mobile devices and your headphone, then I suspect the Azurys is the better choice.
Best of luck going forth!

Thank you for the information!

The only issue I've had with volume is things being unbearably loud with my Hi-X60 at minimum volume on mobile devices (by Copntrast, my MDR-7506s before it were totally fine at the same level), so I would be absolutely astonished if I needed more volume than 1 to 2 ticks on most devices even with the Noire Xs, me currently think "maximum volume yet still too quiet" is an impossible state to achieve for my extremely-sensitive ears.

As such, if the Azurys is/are the same sensitivity as the my Hi-X60s, I now have even more motivation to go for the Xs, so unless some massive upside to the Azurys/downside to the Xs are present that would make one more or less appealing, than it seems the original plan is still the best one.