I am planning to upgrade my current setup ( a50s,d50s, sundara) i have decided on a90 and d90se stack, i am happy with sundara as a open back. I would like to buy a closed back heaphone within $1000. Can anyone suggest one for me.
I have some options in my mind, lcd 2 xc , radiance , aeon niore 2. If there is anything else i would like to know about it. Please help me out
sorry but is it possible to elaborate why you want a closed back?
Also perfered sound sig? I would say Aeon noire would be one of the safer recs but it may be too safe depending on what you are looking for. Also is your sundara pre or post 2020? Its kind of important for to get a grasp on the sound sig as there was quite a big change to the sound post 2020 making it warmer and more of a natural V shape due to the change in pad materal.
Like personally I just picked up the hifiman HE-R9 as a tastefully done bass meme that is highly detailed and spacous but I don’t know if it will fit your listening requirements.
I work in a busy atmosphere, i dont to disturb others and vise versa.
I like good soundstage and detailing, sometimes i m considering using it watch movies as well. I am not a bass head but lesser bass may not be my cup of tea.
Stupid question, i have been trying to understand what is warmer in audiophile language.
I did borrow dt 770 pro from my frnd, used it with my a50s/d50s. But i dont quite feel it and its not as loud as balanced sundara. I dont know whether a50s can drive the 80 ohms or its a faulty dt 770 pro
Hello,
For the office, the Aeon R/T closed would also be sufficient if you have an amplifier that can drive it properly, it is the price-performance winner for $500.
It is also above the Sundara and keeps up well with the Lcd 2 if the amplifier is well chosen.
But then it is also a matter of taste.
Both are very comfortable.
The Aeon is a bit more forward than the Lcd 2, but the Lcd 2 is a bit more relaxed and warm.
The Aeon is more neutral but still warm and brighter than the Lcd 2.
Both are on the same level with nuacen if the amplifier is well chosen.
Unfortunately I can’t say anything about the Focal.
warmer tends to refer to the 500 to 1khz area, giving more body to vocals and instruments.
That being said if you want a more fun signature I would say the DCA Aeon 2 closed over the noire. Has this less padded effect and makes it sound faster. Generally Noire is more for long hours use so it isnt as dynamic.
DT 1770, switched out to the (included) leather pads. I’ve had it over a year and I’m still satisfied.
Aeon R/t isnt available in india. When checked with options available, i have lcd xc music creator , lcd 2 closed, aeon 2 closed. And i have focal radiance and focal celeste.
Amps i have are hip dac 2, a50s and d 50s. Which i dont like, i feel like returning and get a90 and d 90 se.
I feel my dt 770 is not loud enough on my a50s and d50s. Not sure why i am even think about returning that dac/ amp and buyinh a90 and d90
With what you have left over from buying a super expensive headset get the Sivga robin. If you do I would like to know your impressions.
Something is wrong.
Agreed my old iFi iDSD Nano could drive my DT770 250 ohm’s no problem 
E-MU Teak. Not as closed as others maybe so might be cheating but I haven’t really come across a true closed back that I like so this is the closest thing.
just my opinion as an aeon noire owner, im undecided about returning mine, in some ways its really great, interesting staging with a weak centre image but general good and enjoyable, great separation and details, mostly good timbre and most stuff sounds just about organic to me but for the price it is a little disappointing to have the lower frequencies sound kind of flat and contrast less compared to my cheap thrills mmx 300, which i don’t even like that much anymore compared my also cheap open back collection haha. compared to my 58x jubillee, the bass and low mids should be more prominent on the noires but somehow has less presence than the jubis, and while its more linear the bass also rolls off earlier than other reviewers describe on the noires , powered off my 1 watt xduoo xd05 the noires are really missing 20 - 35 hz for me , not a big issue to most but i miss it. that being said it is a definite step up in technical detail and fidelity, the mid to upper treble is also boosted , i tolerate it but its not ideal. other headphones i consider are the focal radiance , denon 7200, and the argons, not too bothered with any of the other choices, and yeh the focals are a bit above 1000 but still.
tl;dr, they sound great on quality tracks , can be slightly harsh on lesser stuff, lightweight character to the sound , low freqs are a bit flat, or lacking grit and impact, but still deacent.
message me if you want me to test anything also i really dont mind 
The Aeon’s need a good source of propulsion and then the fireworks begin.
Ideally a hybrid amplifier with good tubes.
A Little Dot 1+ with Brimar tubes can be enough to enjoy good sound.
What the Aeon doesn’t like is that it’s a low ohm headphone if the amp doesn’t have enough power or the amp can’t support low ohm headphones.
Then what you have mentioned is missing.
As a rule, planar headphones are always better served with hybrid amps as they illuminate better and benefit greatly from the charm of the tube.
On SS amplifiers there will always be something missing, especially with low cost amplifiers it is not uncommon that a range will rarely ever be fully covered.
Do you recommend getting a balanced cable for the Aeons?
Doesn’t really play an overriding role.
I tried it once on the Audeze and it stayed within the nuanced range of improvement.
On the Aeon I did one myself without a balacend plug with a summer cable, and I have to say that it was only necessary to change the filter from the standard built-in filter to the one notch white filter.
My favourite is the Viablue epc 2 silver cable, if you dare to make one yourself it would be a very solid cable.
It needs a bit of burn in time but when it’s broken it’s a great cable.
If you are looking for a cheap cable you can also use the standard cable that Dc Audio offers on their site with a 4 pin connector.
It is also good.
Other than that, I don’t know many people who rave about the Forza cables.
But they also cost a bit.
I found that dynamic headphones can still get a bit more out of planar headphones, but not so much when it comes to cables.
thanks for the info! , could you recomend me a few amp dac options around 400 ish?
Spontaneously I think of the Topping E30,Ifi zen Dac paired with Little Dot 1+ or Xudoo mt 02 as a Dac.
But the whole thing is a bit limited, except for the Dacs, which could become even more interesting on better amplifiers.
In which sound direction should it go?
At the moment, everything that comes from China is mainly just Esabre chips in it.
Because the Akm company burnt down 2-3 years ago, we are feeling the effects now.
Which also limits the variety.
Occasionally you see something that was built with Cirrus Logic and that’s it.
Unfortunately, I don’t know the new Esabre chips.
Some of them are supposed to be better.
From my recollection, the older chips were a little tired to listen to with peaky highs.
To be honest, at the moment it’s a bit uninteresting to buy something new if you already have something old that has proven itself.
Because everything that comes out and is based on ESS is almost identical to product X. Maybe add a bit of house sound.
With luck, you can still get hold of remaining stock or second-hand if you want something different.
Even Schiit is currently building on the new Esabre chip.
It’s better than nothing but it’s boring for us when there’s hardly anything new, especially with the price range.
But you can also find it in expensive devices, where you also notice the chip crisis.
A cut and paste from Head-Fi. They have a large closed back thread over there. I chose this thread as it seems related. It is a long post.
Well I dedicated my whole long weekend to my closed back headphones. I just now put them away and am starting to watch a double header (Toronto vs Baltimore).
I was debating whether to post this or not. These are my personal opinions and I am NOT an audiophile. And it ended up being LONG!
The comfort is awesome. They are very light and I am using a one sided balanced Hart cable, which I already had for the T60 Argon’s.
There are now my bass champs and a lot of fun. Definitely do not need ANY bass boost. 
While these are nice headphones, I think I will probably move these on. They need power and EQ which limits their usefulness.
Very easy to drive and beautiful to look at. Also, probably my most open sounding closed backs. I will be moving these on as they are not what I am looking for in a closed back.
Focal Elegia. These were a surprise this weekend. I remembered them as being my most “balanced” closed backs with decent bass and good clarity.
In reality there is not much bass, the clarity is not great and they don’t sound very open. I was underwhelmed and used them for a day and a half. After a while I adjusted, but these are not the shoo-ins I thought they would be.
They would be a good headphone to take to work. Solid sound and not too flashy. They do need some power and bass boost though. Makes me wonder about the Radiance purchase. I LOVE my Elex’s, but feel a little indifferent about these.
Last up is the CFA Cascades. Since I have owned them I have always liked them and thought of them as a “one trick pony”. Well that title now belongs to my HiFiman HE-R9’s.
These are now my favourite all round closed back. Great bass, very good mids and the top end is not bad. Pretty good overall detail. Many people feel that the bass bleeds over into the mids. I don’t find that, but maybe it does and I don’t mind it?
I find these very easy to drive and, for me, they don’t require EQ. I also find them pretty open sounding.
The downside is, IMO, the worst headband in the industry. It does not fit a normal head, it requires Nuggets to stop the pain and you can’t get a good clamp. You can tighten the headband and have a tight clamp for an hour or two and then it relaxes. If I could get a Senn or Focal headband on these it would be just about perfect closed back, for me.
Chain used for the weekend was Laptop to BF2 to iFi Pro iCAN.
Before the ball game started, I did an isolation test with my wife. I listen at a max of 75Db’s, so I am a quiet listener. She sits about five feet from me (lazyboy, then table, then lazyboy couch). I ran through my favourite songs at my personal max volume. She could not hear the music from ANY headphones. On two of them she though she heard a sound, but could not even identify it as music. And that includes the HE-R9’s, which really surprised me.
I reevaluated some closed backs and my current choice would be the Celestee + Qestyle M15, can be driven off a phone, expensive replacement ear pads but they should last a while anyway.
Edit: I’d still take the Aeon 2 Noire on a desktop setup though.