[Malevolent]

If all goes well: tomorrow. Hope to do some serious listening over the weekend

Have you heard the original AEON 2 Closed (the red one)? It'll be great if you could provide comparative impressions, if you have.

Anyway, I hope that they arrive soon!

 

[arielext]

Have you heard the original AEON 2 Closed (the red one)? It'll be great if you could provide comparative impressions, if you have.

Anyway, I hope that they arrive soon!

No this will be my first encounter with Dan Clark Audio. At the moment I only have 2 other closed back headphones in house I can do comparisons with (rest would be based on prior experiences): Sash très (epic fun open/closed-back planar from Ukraine) and my trusty Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro

 

[monsieurfromag3]

French e-tailer son-video.com published a review of the Celestee. It’s in French but you can still enjoy the unboxing pics
They sell the headphones so obviously there’s a conflict of interest, plus it’s a French website covering a French product so there’s even more bias.

I’m French but I don’t care for Focal so you can at least trust the neutrality of my translation The name “Celestee” by the way sounds... quite grand shall I say.

The takeaway: the Celestee perform appropriately to their position in the Focal range, between the Elegia and Stellia, with immaculate imaging and placement, and analytical detail and texture. Response across the FR is pretty linear. They maybe don’t hit hard enough for electronic music, with bass somewhat reserved/thin in spite of good extension. Soundstage is good for closed-back but it’s not quite open-back-like.
They are beautifully manufactured, and the pads are swappable. The cups offer good isolation, and the Celestee are super easy to drive, which is good because there is no stock balanced cable in the box.

In comparison the Audeze LCD-2C is described as even more defined and detailed, with deeper, tighter bass, but harder to drive.

 

[Malevolent]

French e-tailer son-video.com published a review of the Celestee. It’s in French but you can still enjoy the unboxing pics
They sell the headphones so obviously there’s a conflict of interest, plus it’s a French website covering a French product so there’s even more bias.

I’m French but I don’t care for Focal so you can at least trust the neutrality of my translation The name “Celestee” by the way sounds... quite grand shall I say.

The takeaway: the Celestee perform appropriately to their position in the Focal range, between the Elegia and Stellia, with immaculate imaging and placement, and analytical detail and texture. Response across the FR is pretty linear. They maybe don’t hit hard enough for electronic music, with bass somewhat reserved/thin in spite of good extension. Soundstage is good for closed-back but it’s not quite open-back-like.
They are beautifully manufactured, and the pads are swappable. The cups offer good isolation, and the Celestee are super easy to drive, which is good because there is no stock balanced cable in the box.

In comparison the Audeze LCD-2C is described as even more defined and detailed, with deeper, tighter bass, but harder to drive.

Hmm, interesting take.

Honestly, this sounds similar to my description of the Elegia - clean sound, with decent levels of detail and resolution. However, bass is also anemic, so EDM sounds limp and lifeless on the Elegia.

Still, this is an interesting headphone - I'll definitely bring the Elegia down to the store for a comparison (when they arrive).

 

[AudioDuck]

Hmm, interesting take.

Honestly, this sounds similar to my description of the Elegia - clean sound, with decent levels of detail and resolution. However, bass is also anemic, so EDM sounds limp and lifeless on the Elegia.

Still, this is an interesting headphone - I'll definitely bring the Elegia down to the store for a comparison (when they arrive).

I’ll be curious to hear what you think! If the Celesteé is a significant improvement, it might make my “closed-back cans to consider” list.

 

[Benno1988]

Anyone been able to compare the MDR-Z1R to the Campfire Cascade?

 

[Malevolent]

I’ll be curious to hear what you think! If the Celesteé is a significant improvement, it might make my “closed-back cans to consider” list.

Sure, I'll be glad to compare the 2... once the Celestee arrives (hopefully soon).

 

[Malevolent]

Anyone been able to compare the MDR-Z1R to the Campfire Cascade?

The Cascade has a much heavier bass presence; the mid-bass bump is sizeable, apparent, and potent. If you need a (really) strong bass kick, go for the Cascade.

However, in every other facet, the MDR-Z1R wins - it has better resolution and clarity, has a treble region that is equally sparkling, but well-controlled, and a bass presentation that has better texture, separation, and layering. The staging prowess of the MDR-Z1R is also remarkable - it is wider and deeper than the Cascade.

 

[Benno1988]

Excellent.

I have the Cascade. I had the Z1R 2 years ago. Your explanation is perfect thank you.

 

[arielext]

Look what the cat dragged in:

First impressions:
- top notch build quality
- folding mechanism is quite ingenious
- clamp force is quite strong but it feels ok, I don't feel any real pressure points
- it's a fingerprint magnet
- strong passive noise cancellation.

Sound:
- needs burn-in; initial sound feels metallic
- I have the feeling that it sounds very open and detailed from the get go, but it feels like the æon has issues with everything dead-centre. By which I mean voices and instruments in the absolute centre of the stage feel like they have a sound-less centre. Again this might be due to the lack of proper burn-in.
- Will try and test the dampening later

Now it's time to lay down the æon with some music playing and I will report back later with further impressions.

 

[Malevolent]

Look what the cat dragged in:

First impressions:
- top notch build quality
- folding mechanism is quite ingenious
- clamp force is quite strong but it feels ok, I don't feel any real pressure points
- it's a fingerprint magnet
- strong passive noise cancellation.

Sound:
- needs burn-in; initial sound feels metallic
- I have the feeling that it sounds very open and detailed from the get go, but it feels like the æon has issues with everything dead-centre. By which I mean voices and instruments in the absolute centre of the stage feel like they have a sound-less centre. Again this might be due to the lack of proper burn-in.
- Will try and test the dampening later

Now it's time to lay down the æon with some music playing and I will report back later with further impressions.

Yeah, the Dan Clark Audio headphones are fingerprint magnets, indeed. The closed AEONs have it bad, but the cans in the Ether C family (e.g. Flow, CX) are in worse shape, thanks to a comparatively larger surface area. When they are clean, they look great; when they are used, grimy is the first word that comes to mind.

This "soundless" center is a little worrying - it doesn't appear on my original AEON 2 Closed. If anything, the headphone suffers from a less diffuse or expansive stage; instruments and voices appear in close proximity within a dense core.

 

[arielext]

Yeah, the Dan Clark Audio headphones are fingerprint magnets, indeed. The closed AEONs have it bad, but the cans in the Ether C family (e.g. Flow, CX) are in worse shape, thanks to a comparatively larger surface area. When they are clean, they look great; when they are used, grimy is the first word that comes to mind.

This "soundless" center is a little worrying - it doesn't appear on my original AEON 2 Closed. If anything, the headphone suffers from a less diffuse or expansive stage; instruments and voices appear in close proximity within a dense core.

My brain is adjusting (or is burn-in real? ) but it seems like the centre is pin point accurate again. The super-wide but coherent soundstage amazes me. Dan is making it hard choosing between this and the celestee ... Clamp is a bit too much though, but that might be fixable.

Just breath taking

 

[NewEve]

I'm looking for a good pair of closed-back headphones, well-balanced, with a tonality leaning on the warmer side, non-fatiguing and musical for diverse genres…

I don't mind an airy/sparkly treble at all but I'm sensitive to sibilance… Bass I love, but shouldn't be too boomy nor bleed onto the mids.

Needs to be confortable for big ears and long sessions.

Welcome to the club you'll say but… help?

Should I go for the Aeon RT Closed or Noire?

Audio-Technica's ATH-WP900?

Any other recommendation?

Thanks

PS Previous headphones: Meze 99 Classic (too boomy/veiled), Campfire Audio Cascade (great but uncomfortable LOVED that retro-design though), and A&K T5p 2nd Gen. (let's just say the cable was the best I ever had on a pair of headphones and leave it at that).

 

[Terriero]

My brain is adjusting (or is burn-in real? ) but it seems like the centre is pin point accurate again. The super-wide but coherent soundstage amazes me. Dan is making it hard choosing between this and the celestee ... Clamp is a bit too much though, but that might be fixable.

Just breath taking

I love Floor with After Forever but don't enjoy with Nightwish (but, of course, I prefer from Annete)... I don't know if maybe is because I miss Tarja or I find her voice better for gothic metal.

I find a few people here that enjoy Nightwish (also @eric65, from the Kennerton thread). I don't know if you enjoy the newest albums or all their discography. I have listened some of the new songs and don't like them (I find some of them to be "more of the same" or dislike others).

 

[Malevolent]

My brain is adjusting (or is burn-in real? ) but it seems like the centre is pin point accurate again. The super-wide but coherent soundstage amazes me. Dan is making it hard choosing between this and the celestee ... Clamp is a bit too much though, but that might be fixable.

Just breath taking

Hopefully, I'll get the Celestee here soon, so I can make some comparisons with both the AEON 2 Closed and the Elegia. Either way, you will be losing out on one particular aspect with the Celestee - the portability factor. The AEON 2 Closed is simply one of the most portable headphones around, and it's a $900 full-sized headphone, to boot! Quite impressive from the team at Dan Clark Audio, IMO.