[revolutionz]

Could anyone compare Rognir planar bass tuned with Rognir Dynamic, what are the key differences in sound signature? As far as I understand they both lean toward warm side of neutral. Which one is more engaging with natural tonality?

I know @DeweyCH had both, but I'm not sure if his were the bass tuned planars or not...

 

[DeweyCH]

I know @DeweyCH had both, but I'm not sure if his were the bass tuned planars or not...

Mine are not the bass tuned Rognir, no. I’m getting some pads from @John Massaria to see what they do with the bass among other things

 

[KaiFi]

Anyone here tried the Hifiman HE-R9 yet?

Very little information about them so far, though they are available from Amazon for $600.

What little feedback about these I have been able to find indicates they are quite warm, so for those of us seeking out warmer closed-backs (which I am--trying to find a replacement for my NightOwl), might be worth trying.

 

[llysender]

Anyone here tried the Hifiman HE-R9 yet?

Very little information about them so far, though they are available from Amazon for $600.

What little feedback about these I have been able to find indicates they are quite warm, so for those of us seeking out warmer closed-backs (which I am--trying to find a replacement for my NightOwl), might be worth trying.

Its Hifiman's take on bass meme. Not something I would rec for daily use but as a bass cannon is surprisingly detailed. My main issues with it would be the lack of mid treble and air. You can fix it with the blue mini which will boost the upper mids sky high but you still suffer from lack of treble.

 

[KaiFi]

Thanks for the input.

I ordered a pair because it’s the last closed-back under $1000 I haven’t tried (that I’ve been considering).

I’ll see whether I think it can replace my NightOwl or not. If not, then I’ll have to move on to the $1000-$1500 tier. That’s really saying something about the NightOwl considering they were only $400 when I bought them and quickly went down in price after that.

 

[llysender]

Thanks for the input.

I ordered a pair because it’s the last closed-back under $1000 I haven’t tried (that I’ve been considering).

I’ll see whether I think it can replace my NightOwl or not. If not, then I’ll have to move on to the $1000-$1500 tier. That’s really saying something about the NightOwl considering they were only $400 when I bought them and quickly went down in price after that.

Yeah personally I'm going to get one as well. The only thing I would get extra would be a silver cable but thats mainly because I'm pretty anal about how I like my subbass to be clean and dry and not wet. Its mostly a YMMV thing.

 

[Malevolent]

And, by the way, where is Malevolent? Psst... Psst.. There are new headphones available

I'm trying to lay low for a while.

Truth be told - I've been a little busy of late, plus, I've been preoccupied with other things - that are not baby-related - so, sadly, no, we're not expecting... yet! I've missed all of you guys, though... my fellow closed-back headphone maniacs!

My wife did make some noise after my last purchase (the ATH-AWAS). That, and my "too obvious" intention to buy the Stellia right after made her grumble a little more than usual. Heh.

 

[Malevolent]

By the way, I know this isn't a closed-back, but knowing the folks at ZMF (paging you, @zach915m), a closed version of the Atrium can't be too far behind, right?

To be honest, I was aiming for the Stellia, but, a new closed flagship from ZMF on the horizon makes for a highly-compelling alternative. In fact, it'll rocket to the top of the "Must Try, Let's Buy!" charts.

 

[KaiFi]

By the way, I know this isn't a closed-back, but knowing the folks at ZMF (paging you, @zach915m), a closed version of the Atrium can't be too far behind, right?

To be honest, I was aiming for the Stellia, but, a new closed flagship from ZMF on the horizon makes for a highly-compelling alternative. In fact, it'll rocket to the top of the "Must Try, Let's Buy!" charts.

Since you're the resident closed-back expert around here, I was wondering what you thought of the Focal Celestee? I can't afford the Stellia, but the Celestee is a possibility (I'm also still considering ZMF. Their weight concerns me a bit, but it's worth a try).

The main downside of the Celestee I've heard is that it has a very narrow soundstage. Did you find that to be true?

 

[codeanders]

I've been debating for a while now about getting a new pair of closed-back headphones. I'd either be using them at home when not in my home office, so don't want to disturb anyone with sound leakage, or I'd be commuting with them and then using them at my workplace for listening to music during the day. I have the Fiio M11 Plus for when listening to music on the go/in the office, and then have a JDS Element II for home listening.

The two I've been looking at most often are the DCA Aeon 2 Noire and the Focal Celestee. I tend to listen to a lot of pop and musicals, as well as a fair amount of classical. Don't need a lot of bass, often listen to female singers so detail in the upper mids and lower trebles would be nice. Also, both portability and comfort are big considerations for me, as I'd be taking it to and from the office and would be wearing for hours at a time probably. The Celestee is probably my upper limit as far as price goes.

Are my two options good ones for my use cases? Are there any others that I should also take a look at?

 

[codeanders]

Oh and for reference, I currently use a pair of HD6XXs at home as my main open-back headphones and absolutely love them.
My current closed-backs are Meze 99 Classics, which I like but don't love, partially because of the portability factor and because they can sometimes be a little too bass-heavy and don't have the details in the mids/trebles that I think I'd prefer. Again, I like them but don't absolutely love them.

 

[Alexzander]

I've been debating for a while now about getting a new pair of closed-back headphones. I'd either be using them at home when not in my home office, so don't want to disturb anyone with sound leakage, or I'd be commuting with them and then using them at my workplace for listening to music during the day. I have the Fiio M11 Plus for when listening to music on the go/in the office, and then have a JDS Element II for home listening.

The two I've been looking at most often are the DCA Aeon 2 Noire and the Focal Celestee. I tend to listen to a lot of pop and musicals, as well as a fair amount of classical. Don't need a lot of bass, often listen to female singers so detail in the upper mids and lower trebles would be nice. Also, both portability and comfort are big considerations for me, as I'd be taking it to and from the office and would be wearing for hours at a time probably. The Celestee is probably my upper limit as far as price goes.

Are my two options good ones for my use cases? Are there any others that I should also take a look at?

Noire will tick boxes in terms of not overwhelming bass, portability, low weight and probably comfort (if you are OK with somewhat oval cups).
As for upper mids and lower treble they are not top notch and super detailed, so that might be off - but I encourage you to try them as they have very pleasant overall tuning.

 

[Alexzander]

And please note that Noire are still somewhat power hungry and scales well with better source.

 

[codeanders]

And please note that Noire are still somewhat power hungry and scales well with better source.

Do you think the Fiio M11 Plus would be able to drive it well enough? (and the JDS Element II as well, I suppose)

I'm not familiar enough yet with how the calculations are done. (I'd probably get the single-ended version with the headphones and then get a balanced after-market cable if needed.)

According to Fiio, the power output for the single-ended output is:
≥300mW (16Ω)
≥210mW (32Ω)
≥33mW (300Ω)

and then for balanced output is
≥400mW (16Ω)
≥660mW (32Ω）
≥90mW (300Ω)

 

[Alexzander]

Do you think the Fiio M11 Plus would be able to drive it well enough? (and the JDS Element II as well, I suppose)

I'm not familiar enough yet with how the calculations are done. (I'd probably get the single-ended version with the headphones and then get a balanced after-market cable if needed.)

According to Fiio, the power output for the single-ended output is:
≥300mW (16Ω)
≥210mW (32Ω)
≥33mW (300Ω)

and then for balanced output is
≥400mW (16Ω)
≥660mW (32Ω）
≥90mW (300Ω)

Well I would recommend to get balanced cable from the very beginning, single ended won’t be sufficient in my opinion.
My RS6 is having comparable mWs for balanced and is them quite good.
While of course M17 with 1.5W/3W is defenently adding to the dynamics and overall performance.