DAN CLARK AUDIO ÆON 2 NOIRE HEADPHONES

The Dan Clark Audio website states about the Noire that “the result of all the updates is a ‘lighter’ sounding midrange and a soundstage that moves the ‘stage’ a bit further from the listener for a wider and deeper space.” In my 2 months with the Noires I can confirm this assertion is deadly accurate. In fact, I will take it one step further to scientifically suggest Noire listening feels like having your brain and music fused together in a honey waterfall and laid on a candy cane bed adorned with marshmallow pillows. A moment of levity, but the intention is sincere. Even the screeching raw punk music and the shredding heavy metal I threw at the Noire’s seemed to have more ‘do-able’ presentation I could actually relax and enjoy as opposed to white knuckles and gritting of teeth usually required. I knew in about 45 seconds of donning the Noires that by a long shot these were most effective anti-fatigue headphones I had ever had on my dome. The sound is in fact strikingly ‘pretty,’ but this is not at all meant to imply the Noire detracted from earest music. In fact, it rather enhanced some of my favourite intensity-soaked recordings by finally enabling me to at last add more volume without cringing.

To further draw out this point let me point you to some good old fashioned 1992 Seattle grunge courtesy of the Screaming Trees Sweet Oblivion [Epic]. So yes, the Trees aren’t going to unseat the Rolling Stones any time soon as the worlds most talented rock band, but damnit all if this record isn’t class A, kick-the-amplifier-off-the-stage Rock N’ Roll. At about 2:40 into Troubled Times (24bit/192kHz via Qobuz and through my Oppo HA-1 headphone amplifier) when St. Lanegan is getting his pipes nice and lubed up in time with the jet fueled guitar the Noire’s assets plainly made their worth known. Few headphones I have auditioned can gift this often stale chunky grunge such a mesmerizing top end extension that it so desperately needs to breath. This track can easily fall into the dull sound of just another 90’s record, but Noire kept pumping it full of space at the top which kept every second fresh and lively. In an A/B comparison with my reference open back set of Focal Elears I had gotten used to allowing this track to become a turn it down and save my ear drums situation and it never gripped me the way it deserved. Listening with the Noire I felt like I could finally lean into the music, and lean hard. Yes some small subtleties were missing in a head to head with the capable Elears, but not enough to panic or disparage. I also never felt myself missing the open design of the Elear. The sound from the Noire was plenty open and spacious for a noise blocking closed back design. It was not just hard rock where the Noire’s excelled, but well recorded Jazz percussion that seemed to continually garner my review notes throughout the Noire audition. Flip on the track Contemplation (24bit/192kHz) from McCoy Tyner’s The Real McCoy [Blue Note] and enjoy a truly excellent percussion recording Elvin Jones & Rudy Van Gelder have left for us. The relaxed essence of Elvin’s drum line to my ears found new life and much more space than I was expecting. Contemplation has always been a great track to monitor how much and what quality of ‘air’ a good pair of cans can pick up around a drum kit. Noire’s contributed noticeable pockets of additional space around the cymbals. Irresistible cat-nip if you happen to be a jazz cymbal head like myself. Again I just had more fun listening to the Noire and top to bottom and gave just about every piece of music I tried a very pleasing spin on what I was used to previously.