jsmiller58
Headphoneus Supremus
Best of luck to you - there are many great headphones to choose from!
Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire Discussion/Impressions Thread
- Thread starter phillyd
- Start date
So what’s the final price then - couldn’t find the headphones version of this cable on their site?
EDIT: found it, $599 for the 5 feet version, $674 for 6 feet.
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I'm considering this cable for my noire:
https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=105
Or this version
https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=80
Wonder if someone has experience with this company from Poland.
I would like to avoid importing a headphone cable from the US/UK and pay vat, import fees, handling fees etc.
https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=105
Or this version
https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=80
Wonder if someone has experience with this company from Poland.
I would like to avoid importing a headphone cable from the US/UK and pay vat, import fees, handling fees etc.
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revolutionz
100+ Head-Fier
I've ordered 3 cables now from Forza. I really like the quality and the price, and the turnaround time has always been reasonable. Matt is great to work with, and will help out with custom cables/requests if he can. He did a great job once making a custom cable for some B&W P7's I had. Highly recommended.
Nostoi
Headphoneus Supremus
Have received my Noire. First impressions:
- Great building and form factor. Very satisfying to hold, carry case is ingenious.
- Comfort: 10/10. Perfectly designed. Kudos to DCA on this. No complaints.
- VIVO cable is very nice. I obviously haven't compared with regular cable in terms of sound, but the build and feel are spot on. There are some microphonics on the cable after the splitter, but minor. Happy to see them using an official Pentaconn plug rather than some generic version.
- In terms of sound, first impressions; the Noire needs a lot of juice! I can't imagine that a regular DAP would have much luck here aside from something like FiiO M17. As a stacker, it's not a problem for me, but still....somewhat limits the portable factor. Only the Cayin C9 and Woo WA8 seemed capable of driving them in trans-portable mode.
- Actual sound: - I'm hearing natural, linear, quite refined presentation, thankfully not as "dry" as my memory of the Stealth (which I didn't like). These seem to me more engaging with a very pleasing timbre. I don't feel any need to use the filters or tweak with EQ. Everything sounds natural and nicely balanced. Dynamically they're a tad restrained but I was expecting that and they offer a nice counterpart to the more dynamic - though more fatiguing - WP900.
- Pairing: @Slim1970 was spot on: Mojo2 and C9 are great. Though I prefer Hugo 2 and C9 as it introduces a little more detail. I'm finding I also prefer SS presentation rather than tubes as it generates more attack.
All in all, I like very much. Keepers for me
- Great building and form factor. Very satisfying to hold, carry case is ingenious.
- Comfort: 10/10. Perfectly designed. Kudos to DCA on this. No complaints.
- VIVO cable is very nice. I obviously haven't compared with regular cable in terms of sound, but the build and feel are spot on. There are some microphonics on the cable after the splitter, but minor. Happy to see them using an official Pentaconn plug rather than some generic version.
- In terms of sound, first impressions; the Noire needs a lot of juice! I can't imagine that a regular DAP would have much luck here aside from something like FiiO M17. As a stacker, it's not a problem for me, but still....somewhat limits the portable factor. Only the Cayin C9 and Woo WA8 seemed capable of driving them in trans-portable mode.
- Actual sound: - I'm hearing natural, linear, quite refined presentation, thankfully not as "dry" as my memory of the Stealth (which I didn't like). These seem to me more engaging with a very pleasing timbre. I don't feel any need to use the filters or tweak with EQ. Everything sounds natural and nicely balanced. Dynamically they're a tad restrained but I was expecting that and they offer a nice counterpart to the more dynamic - though more fatiguing - WP900.
- Pairing: @Slim1970 was spot on: Mojo2 and C9 are great. Though I prefer Hugo 2 and C9 as it introduces a little more detail. I'm finding I also prefer SS presentation rather than tubes as it generates more attack.
All in all, I like very much. Keepers for me
Congratulations on your purchase! I do find their VIVO cable worth the money. Plus, it allows me to give more power with my M17 + Noire setup. I am curious if the sound will change if I use DC mode. I currently have it paired with over-ear-headphone mode with my VIVO 4.4.Have received my Noire. First impressions:
- Great building and form factor. Very satisfying to hold, carry case is ingenious.
- Comfort: 10/10. Perfectly designed. Kudos to DCA on this. No complaints.
- VIVO cable is very nice. I obviously haven't compared with regular cable in terms of sound, but the build and feel are spot on. There are some microphonics on the cable after the splitter, but minor. Happy to see them using an official Pentaconn plug rather than some generic version.
- In terms of sound, first impressions; the Noire needs a lot of juice! I can't imagine that a regular DAP would have much luck here aside from something like FiiO M17. As a stacker, it's not a problem for me, but still....somewhat limits the portable factor. Only the Cayin C9 and Woo WA8 seemed capable of driving them in trans-portable mode.
- Actual sound: - I'm hearing natural, linear, quite refined presentation, thankfully not as "dry" as my memory of the Stealth (which I didn't like). These seem to me more engaging with a very pleasing timbre. I don't feel any need to use the filters or tweak with EQ. Everything sounds natural and nicely balanced. Dynamically they're a tad restrained but I was expecting that and they offer a nice counterpart to the more dynamic - though more fatiguing - WP900.
- Pairing: @Slim1970 was spot on: Mojo2 and C9 are great. Though I prefer Hugo 2 and C9 as it introduces a little more detail. I'm finding I also prefer SS presentation rather than tubes as it generates more attack.
All in all, I like very much. Keepers for me
Nostoi
Headphoneus Supremus
Thank you. I had the M17 myself when it came out and I would imagine it would be a great pairing with the Noire. The DC/enhanced mode was fantastic, though of course the limitation was the you need to be plugged in, which rather defeated the purpose. But for desktop/tabletop purposes, can only imagine it'll be great pairing.
Yes, another convert! The Noire‘s are awesome headphones. The C9 really gets the most out of them. You’re making me miss my Hugo 2 a little. The Mojo 2 is great is great in its own right. I’ll be joining you soon in getting another amp. I‘ll have a WA8 in my possession soon. .Have received my Noire. First impressions:
- Great building and form factor. Very satisfying to hold, carry case is ingenious.
- Comfort: 10/10. Perfectly designed. Kudos to DCA on this. No complaints.
- VIVO cable is very nice. I obviously haven't compared with regular cable in terms of sound, but the build and feel are spot on. There are some microphonics on the cable after the splitter, but minor. Happy to see them using an official Pentaconn plug rather than some generic version.
- In terms of sound, first impressions; the Noire needs a lot of juice! I can't imagine that a regular DAP would have much luck here aside from something like FiiO M17. As a stacker, it's not a problem for me, but still....somewhat limits the portable factor. Only the Cayin C9 and Woo WA8 seemed capable of driving them in trans-portable mode.
- Actual sound: - I'm hearing natural, linear, quite refined presentation, thankfully not as "dry" as my memory of the Stealth (which I didn't like). These seem to me more engaging with a very pleasing timbre. I don't feel any need to use the filters or tweak with EQ. Everything sounds natural and nicely balanced. Dynamically they're a tad restrained but I was expecting that and they offer a nice counterpart to the more dynamic - though more fatiguing - WP900.
- Pairing: @Slim1970 was spot on: Mojo2 and C9 are great. Though I prefer Hugo 2 and C9 as it introduces a little more detail. I'm finding I also prefer SS presentation rather than tubes as it generates more attack.
All in all, I like very much. Keepers for me
Nostoi
Headphoneus Supremus
Great amp! Look forward to your impressions. (Paired nicely with D8K Pro from my brief test)
For those that miss a little punch, dynamics and sparkle on their Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire,
I created an equalizer setting that helps with that.
It’s an adaption from the original Oratory1990 and the AutoEQ project based on Oratory1990 measurements, see the links below.
I fitted it to work with the 7 Equalizer bands available in RME‘s ADI-2 Pro / DAC with the latest firmware.
I carefully selected and adapted the bands to use (and leave out) by ear.
I thoroughly checked the results with different kinds of music.
I am using the black foam inserts on top of the black felt.
Meaning, first insert the felt, then the foam.
Not only does this tame the treble a bit.
More important, it makes the soundfield inside the cup very uniform, so positional variations do very minor of a sound change.
If Aeon 2 Noire still sounds too bright:
Listen a bit quieter than usual, even helps preserve your hearing.
DCA Aeon 2 Noire‘s tuning doesn‘t ask for loud levels to sound very good.
The Equalizer settings reflects this.
Links to the original equalizer settings:
https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yx9cqi00pfzbtox/Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire.pdf?dl=0
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire
I created an equalizer setting that helps with that.
It’s an adaption from the original Oratory1990 and the AutoEQ project based on Oratory1990 measurements, see the links below.
I fitted it to work with the 7 Equalizer bands available in RME‘s ADI-2 Pro / DAC with the latest firmware.
I carefully selected and adapted the bands to use (and leave out) by ear.
I thoroughly checked the results with different kinds of music.
I am using the black foam inserts on top of the black felt.
Meaning, first insert the felt, then the foam.
Not only does this tame the treble a bit.
More important, it makes the soundfield inside the cup very uniform, so positional variations do very minor of a sound change.
If Aeon 2 Noire still sounds too bright:
Listen a bit quieter than usual, even helps preserve your hearing.
DCA Aeon 2 Noire‘s tuning doesn‘t ask for loud levels to sound very good.
The Equalizer settings reflects this.
| Gain / dB | Freq. / Hz | Q-factor | Peak/Shelving | |
| +3.5 | 72 | 1.5 | Sh | adjust Gain to taste |
| -2.0 | 360 | 1.3 | Pk | |
| +1.0 | 950 | 0.5 | Pk | |
| +2.5 | 3.7k | 5.3 | Pk | |
| -4.0 | 5.6k | 3.2 | Pk | |
| +1.0 | 6.0k | 0.9 | Pk | |
| +1.5 | 6.2k | 1.1 | Sh | adjust Gain to taste |
Links to the original equalizer settings:
https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yx9cqi00pfzbtox/Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire.pdf?dl=0
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire
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For those that miss a little punch, dynamics and sparkle on their Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire,
I created an equalizer setting that helps with that.
It’s an adaption from the original Oratory1990 and the AutoEQ project based on Oratory1990 measurements, see the links below.
I fitted it to work with the 7 Equalizer bands available in RME‘s ADI-2 Pro / DAC with the latest firmware.
I carefully selected and adapted the bands to use (and leave out) by ear.
I thoroughly checked the results with different kinds of music.
I am using the black foam inserts on top of the black felt.
Meaning, first insert the felt, then the foam.
Not only does this tame the treble a bit.
More important, it makes the soundfield inside the cup very uniform, so positional variations do very minor of a sound change.
If Aeon 2 Noire still sounds too bright:
Listen a bit quieter than usual, even helps preserve your hearing.
DCA Aeon 2 Noire‘s tuning doesn‘t ask for loud levels to sound very good.
The Equalizer settings reflects this.
Gain / dB Freq. / Hz Q-factor Peak/Shelving +4.0 72 1.5 Sh adjust Gain to taste -2.0 360 1.3 Pk +1.0 950 0.5 Pk +2.5 3.7k 5.3 Pk -4.0 5.6k 3.2 Pk +1.0 6.0k 0.9 Pk +1.5 6.2k 1.1 Sh adjust Gain to taste
Links to the original equalizer settings:
https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yx9cqi00pfzbtox/Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire.pdf?dl=0
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire
Right on. I have just kept a similar low shelf adjustment from oratory to up the low impact, but it its for a very minimal effect.
The setting isn’t mainly about the low frequency shelve alone.
It’s the sum of all the minor tweaks that, for me, lifts already great headphones one notch up.
More so, I had to find out which EQ bands to use and which to leave out, then fit them together in a senseful way.
I do a lot of headphones EQ, but only publish those that, after longer evaluation, I think others might benefit from too.
The nice thing about EQ is:
One can try, even tweak by personal preference, change one‘s headphones sound into something else - all at no cost!
“Cost no object“ the other way round!
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revolutionz
100+ Head-Fier
Who is using aftermarket cables on their noire's? I'm contemplating between trying the DCA vivo cable or sticking with my trusty Forza.
Audiophile Ninja cable user here. Very affordable, built very very well (he uses Canare inside), and sounds great to my ears. Heart Audio also makes cables with the DCA ends.
I use Hart Audio cables on mine. Great custom cables for a great price if in the US. Their system is very convenient.
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