I can’t speak for it because I haven’t heard a closed zmf lolol
My fave portable closed back under 1k tho has to be the aeon 2 closed now lol
Can you describe how they sound compared to some of the more popular closed backs?
I hate to be the guy that suggests something way outside of the stated budget but to echo what has been said the DCA Aeon 2 Closed is really a remarkable pair of truly portable headphones. I’ve owned the Elegia in the past (not at the same time as the A2C so I can’t directly compare) and while I really enjoyed them, their size and comfort (very subjective, I know) relegated them to home use. Having said that for under $600 new I think they are a great closed back. Also, if memory serves, the Elegia was driven better directly from my phone than the A2C (which I don’t feel my phone can drive adequately at all).
The irony is I bought the A2C because I wanted something more portable… and yet I find myself taking my iFi micro iDSD BL everywhere since I really enjoy the pairing. Somehow I thought possibly the DragonFly Red or Cobalt (both of which I inexplicably own) would do the A2C justice and thus making my ‘perfect portable setup’ alas low end distortion at reasonably loud volume ruled both out, espcially when used with a PC. I also tried the iFi Nano and the Monolith THX Portable but I keep coming back to the Micro.
Atticus is your typical beautifully built ZMF crafted headphones. They extend well in the sub-bass, have a tasteful midbass hump, warm mids but they aren’t recessed into oblivion. The treble is interesting as it rolls off a bit and then elevates again very tastefully and slowly from 6.5 KHz to 10.5 KHz, then rolls off. It is one of the more tasteful U shaped signatures I’ve heard. Definitely not reference sound or analytical, purely fun listening. Definitely not portable, but as far as closed back headphones, they are my favorite.
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Thank you. Those sound very nice.
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I still have my elegia, and I feel it’s more of a preference thing tbh, I will be keeping both, but I do use the DCA a bit more
Also with the micro bl the aeon 2 sings lol. Also works reasonably well balanced on the xdsd which I end up using more with it
These forums cost me so much money! =)
I’ve been considering the xDSD, as I’ve been a huge fan of the Micro. My only fear is that the overall tonality will be more in line with the Nano, which I wasn’t a huge fan of. Granted I knew going in the output power was vastly different but even with lower impedance headphones I simply didn’t find the tone to be anywhere near as pleasing as the Micro. Not sure if it was the amp stage or the Burr Brown implementation or both but whatever voodoo/magic the Micro has… the Nano did not. (and yeah I realize the Micro is 3x the cost lol)
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It’s actually less colored sounding than the nano lol. I def like it over the nano. The micro bl is a different sound, way more colored with the ifi house sound
If I buy it in Red, will it go faster? xD