Yeah I am definitely torn, on one hand the 550XII ANC I have sound very fun and lively with decent sound for a ANC headphone and have all those traits you describe but honestly I don’t find myself ever reaching for them unless I am going to fly or I have to not disturb anyone as they are the only closed back headphones I have. Then again if I went with the Dan Clark Aeon 2 they would do sound so much better, but I give up ease of use and have to use a portable amp to drive them. This could be problematic I suppose when wanting to watch a movie on an airplane although I believe the XDSD has a 3.5 mm Input to allow just this then connect to the headphones. I then of course there is the battery life Issue as the xdsd has only 6 hours at best. Everything seems to always be a compromise of something in this hobby…ultimately to bring it back to closed back headphones, I am sure most people here who travel a bunch have both ANC and a good pair of closed backs if there home life, work life etc calls for it.
I agree with you, this is a constant game of compromises. There isn’t any combination that doesn’t have any downsides or we would all have the same kit and the only topic on the forum would be to say how great it is.
I was in the same position as you and still am to some degree. My set of Closed-back for the office and late night listening is far from being travel friendly and I bring it to the office only when I know I will be at my desk all day or almost.
Have you considered the Audioquest Dragonfly or Chord Mojo to power the Aeon2 ?
I have now idea of how good of a match they might be, but the Dragonflys are powered from your phone so no external battery to manage other than your phone that would drain faster than usual. The Chord Mojo as the option to add a battery extension to it if I am not mistaken which might give you enough battery life for your trip.
For travel, I use mostly IEMs (ZS10 pro) since they don’t take much space, weight almost nothing and help to balance air pressure between nose and ears (I constantly experience blocked ears and sometimes pain when I am not wearing any earplugs or IEMs). From the previous posts, I understand that you don’t really like the feel of IEM.
In that case, I would second the proposition of the Sony WH-1000X MK3. I bought them for my wife last year since she commutes by train quite often and I have to say I was surprised by how good they are for a travel option. ANC is really good, the carry case is not too big and I must say that I kind of liked the “Bright” EQ from their app. I am sure you can probably do a better if you spend the time to create a custom EQ for yourself.
We just came back from a 20+ hours plane trip and must say that I wished I had the Sony for myself instead of the ZS10 Pro.
Yeah that has been a constant struggle for me as to whether to keep my ANC headphones or return them and get the Aeon2C which will sound probably 5 to 10 times better for every day listening in an office environment or on the couch but not nearly as good for on the airplane! I think ultimately I will just return my active noise canceling headphones for now as I don’t have any flights coming up until the start of summer and then revisit when my air travel season starts and maybe just get a less expensive pair of active noise canceling headphones for that purpose only.
I’m not a huge fan of much anything made by Sony with the exception of their XBR televisions. I know that’s probably not gonna be a popular opinion here as a lot of people own their cameras, headphones and other portable devices.
As far as the chord mojo my current XDSD has a little more power and is even more portable so I think the chord mojo would have even less power to drive those planar headphones.
hohohoho, I’ll talk here cuz why not
Bill-P sent me his modded D5k and it’s… well a little rolled off in the sub bass but rather flat from like 40hrz up. Sounds very much like a set of small studio monitors [FRQ wise] and I’m astonished at the detail these drivers can pull out!!!
That said, AFC and A2C are also on my list of favorite closed backs! ZMF Eikon too
Just a quick update on this topic. I’ve added a comparison overview of a number of closed-back headphones to the review section and done a video shootout (on a new channel!):
Here’s the video:
Hopefully this is helpful to someone looking for a closed-back.
Nice shootout review. Been thinking about some closed backs…ZMF Atticus or Eikon was what I’ve been considering, but the Aeon 2c sure made a nice showing. I have a pair if Ether2 and I like Dan’s work. Also have HD 800 and HD 800S. Senns are definitely comfy.
Thanks for the great report.
Great comparison Andrew! I too have the Focal Elegia and continue to be impressed by this headphone, it’s a great closed back IMO. Eventually looking at getting another closed back, going between the Focal Stellia or ZMF Verite closed. Anyway enjoy this new channel, as I liked and subscribed, looks like I was the first to like and subscribe.
If I may ask what is the reason for the new channel?
Take care,
Jeremy
a stellar start for the new channel Andrew!
could just read the article in the office yet… have to watch your video this eveneing, though already subscribed
thank you for your work
it´s really on preferences
and like you started… headphones in urban environments are meant to be closed first
so the Aeon2 would win for some with best isolation, portability and price … if it were so easy 
my champ is still the Elegia for the office and at home, if I need isolation - which is the case most of my listening time… sad but true
I easy get hot ears with leather pads on closed backs, so the elegia wins over others in this practical issue
Of course I wonder how the ZMFs, especially, Eikon and Atticus (Zach´s closed “budget-line”) compare - not that they are reasonable portable, though timbre and fun could weigh it out
wish you all the success for the new channel - for sure, all of your old subscribers will follow
the new name is obviously with headphones related - not that the old one was bad, at all
I’ll be posting a quick update video on the other channel to explain it a bit. Basically it just becomes easier to do all the headphone-related content on a dedicated headphone channel. It also means that I’ll be producing videos more regularly.
What?! No Verite Closed in the shootout? Maybe you should borrow a pair and do a review… 
Couldn’t get one in time for it. Definitely a contender though. Maybe if I borrow one it’ll get its own full review.
I recently got to try out a set of ANC headphones by a company from Finland, but for the life of me I can’t remember the name of the company (I need to ask).
The headphones were ok, nothing too exciting, the noise cancelling worked well but for some strange reason, there was a buzz when the ANC was turned off. This was present both via cable and BT.
I am currently searching for a set of budget noise cancelling headphones (these were around 150€) just to use on a plane. I have seen (by Zeos and a few more) that the Mpow H12 get positive reviews but I haven’t yet tried any MPow headphones that I like (their BT receivers are sort of ok).
Any suggestions on something around 100€ to use on a plane?
Doesn’t need to be the best sound in the world, but needs to be tolerable for a 3 or 4 hour flights, they would be used with a cable so I am not too bothered about the BT quality, just the NC and the overall sound.
A month ago I got the Denon AH-D5200. I found a really good deal on Amazon, about half the retail price in Denmark, where I live. All I can say is that paired with Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt they sound great. They are my first pair of quality cans. Very comfortable, dynamic and fun, great detail and soundstage. I am happy.
You should perhaps give the Focal Listen Professional a go. I’m not in the mixing business but some of my friends are and many like these, and they are popular in the large-scale studios. Maybe not for the right reasons but that’s for you to find out.
That’s awesome, Henrik. The Foster driver in those Denon are very well regarded. I’m glad to hear the work well with the DFC, that’s a combo I’ll be trying shorty (with a Fostex variant).
If I were ever to develop a headphone, it would be a high-end closed-back design. Something aimed at the audiophile/professional crossover market. Something for those of us who do office work of some kind, and like to listen to music while doing so (or while taking a break). Additionally for anyone who is in an environment with computer fans spinning up. Something high end for creatives who do resource heavy tasks all day. Think somewhere between the Focal Elegia and the Focal Stellia - or maybe even a Focal Stellia that looks a bit more ‘normal’. I’d like it to be a planar potentially but that comes with serious design challenges as well along with a number of tradeoffs I’m not sure I’d want, so maybe it would have to be a dynamic driver design. In any case, this segment needs more entries, and I think I’m not alone in looking for this.
Great. Will look forward to hear your impression!
Hmm there’s the Australis now
Tell us (Sounds like Borealis closed)more please