You have to consider that I like the Sivga Robin. He is very comfortable, has good sound and is pretty. Plus it’s cheap. It is not easy to choose something better.
Because I like its sound?
It is fun. It has good bass, close mids and that treble point that makes everything sound more alive. Its scene and separation seems good to me for its price range.
What am I looking to improve?
I would like to improve the instrumental separation and resolution (clean sound).
For less than €600 there is clearly nothing better.
Ummm… you have plenty of sub 600 euro options that are beyond leagues above the SV021.
Considering that I hated the SV021, I don’t exactly know what I would recommend you. I don’t see a single quality in that headphone that is desirable.
I cannot comment for other headphones, but if what you are looking for a headphone capable of physical sensation of rumble, deep bass, forward and intimate mids, accented and quality treble, I can recommend the iBasso SR2.
Everything he listed was closed-back though.
And while I hate author’s polls and approach here, I gave you a vote.
Aeon Closed X has commended tuning - especially for a closed-back planar. It will provide planar low rumble, and as the only planar here will offer good instrument separation. I do believe in Resolution/Separation that the DCA and Focal are going to be steps-up. Others side-grade.
I’d just try to get a used Aeon 2 Closed + perforated pads. Might be a bit hard to get in EU though, I’ve seen them mainly in the US. I don’t like any other closed backs I’ve listened to except for the K361/371 (if they were in a higher tier sound-wise). The Aeons have decent separation and decent resolving capabilities at their price.
If you don’t have a big head … If you do, the DCA’s can crush you with the power of two manhole covers.
There are two problems with the DCA design if they don’t fit you well out of the box.
One, the Nitinol headband is incredibly strong, but it always bends back to its original shape. It’s damn near impossible to bend the band to accommodate bigger heads.
Two, while the pads are very deep, the foam DCA uses is incredibly soft. Almost no density. So, the pads won’t offer much resistance if the fit is tight, pushing the cups against your head with even more force. Not to mention those soft pads also have a habit of rolling inside of their leather shell at times.
That said, the DCA’s fit great for probably 99 percent of the people who try them, with most calling them the most comfy headphone they’ve worn. Sadly, I’m in the 1 percent for whom DCA’s were very uncomfortable for my head and my ear canals due to the tight seal.
The A2C with Noire pads are the only second pair of headphones I’ve had to sell due to discomfort. The other was the legendarily uncomfortable Audio-Technica M40x back in the early days of my audiophilia.
I have a pretty big noggin and I think I just normally by default pull pads of (btw fuck DCA pad system) and stretch every headphone I get but I totally see where you’re coming from. If you stretch the fuck out of anything enough you can lose almost all the clamp force.
Are the the DCA Closed X or Aeon 2 Closed better than the Elegia? Depends on your preferred genre and if you pad roll.
The Elegia have really wonky tuning and mids for rock, alt-country and pop. Metallic. Shouty. A touch grainy in complex passages.
But I enjoyed them very much for strings, acoustic and vocals due to their mids-forward signature and very high level of detail. The bass is far from constant, but it hits pretty hard when called upon. That punch and slam made the Elegia surprisingly good for some EDM.
Another plus for the Elegia: Very easy to drive from a phone. No chance you’re doing that with the DCA’s – they’re low-impedance, low-sensitivity planars that inhale power.
The Elegia’s weird tuning supposedly is fixed by buying Dekoni Stellia Limited Edition pads for nearly $100, but I decided not to keep a headphone that required an instant pad swap to get decent tonality. I sold mine and don’t miss them.
Elegia might be worth it for you if you’re in the USA and can take advantage of the Adorama deal of $379 new. But there is no way in hell I would pay $800 or $900 new for the Elegia. The tuning was just too weird for me.
In stock form for both, I liked the sound of the DCA Aeon 2 Closed with Noire pads much better than the Elegia for my preferred genres, rock and alt-country. But the fit of the DCA was so uncomfortable for me that I traded them and don’t miss them, either.
The Elegia has a weird tuning for any genre unless you like to listen to mids and some bass only.
Anything between 2-11k is severly lacking and it shows.
The Aeon Noire has at least a somewhat balanced signature with some slight upper mid decrease which does make female vocals, guitars a bit duller or relaxed depending on your preference, but it’s a far cry from the swampy sound of the Elegia.
Do keep in mind that the pads might deform a bit (it’s just an optical issue afaik).
Though like I said , finding one used might take a while, if you are in a hurry, then I’d maybe go for a used Celestee even, I’ve seen some for 550 already, those may be a bit more common.
Interesting, didn’t know people had this many issues.
Maybe the Campfire Cascade would be a better fit sound-wise anyway, I haven’t heard it personally so I’m hesitant to recommend it.