[ubs28]

Even the Focal Clear has more treble extension than the AFC. The AFC is the one that has actually a treble peak somewhere before diving off somewhere, which is not balanced (can sound bright while having lack of upper treble).

I don’t see how a headphone with almost no treble in the upper end can be balanced. I never made a big deal out of it since it is only a $799 headphone. But it is one of the weaknesses.

 

[iPaintCode]

I don't think the AFC lacks treble, but you're comparing a $799 closed-back headphone to a $3999 open-back headphone, not precisely what I would call an honest and subjective comparison. Far as the AFC goes, subjectively speaking, is one of the best sounding closed-back headphones that has a beautifully balanced sound, not too much of one frequency range that some expensive closed-back tend to showcase (looking at your LCD-XC). The AFC is for the price is a steal if that's a sound signature you enjoy.

Kudo's to Dan, the AFC is a special headphone at that price tag.

 

[x RELIC x]

Interesting how folks hear things differently. I find the AFC the most balanced headphone I have ever owned. The Utopia was bright to my ears with a nasty treble spike. Fatiguing, despite some things that it does amazingly well. To each their own.

Very different hearing, or very different source gear?

Without a doubt there are different perspectives and preferences, which is probably the most important.

 

[ubs28]

I don't think the AFC lacks treble, but you're comparing a $799 closed-back headphone to a $3999 open-back headphone, not precisely what I would call an honest and subjective comparison. Far as the AFC goes, subjectively speaking, is one of the best sounding closed-back headphones that has a beautifully balanced sound, not too much of one frequency range that some expensive closed-back tend to showcase (looking at your LCD-XC). The AFC is for the price is a steal if that's a sound signature you enjoy.

Kudo's to Dan, the AFC is a special headphone at that price tag.

It has nothing to do with price. I also hear the big dive against the $320 Sennheiser HD 650. There is this brightness and then all of a sudden it is gone on the AFC. The HD 650 also suppress the upper treble region but there is no big dive all of a sudden.

But I also hear it on the Focal Clear if I pull it next to my $320 Sennheiser HD 650. Just like the AFC, there is this brightness and then it dives all of a sudden (less than the AFC though). So just saying this has nothing to do with price.

But the AFC is one of my favorite headphones though considering the amazing price / performance ratio it has. Just pointing out one of the problems it has.

 

[franz12]

It has nothing to do with price. I also hear the big dive against the $320 Sennheiser HD 650. There is this brightness and then all of a sudden it is gone on the AFC. The HD 650 is more coherent / integrated / linear in terms of frequency balance (according to my ears).

But I also hear it on the Focal Clear if I pull it next to my $320 Sennheiser HD 650. Just like the AFC, there is this bright spot and then it dives all of a sudden (less than the AFC though).

But the AFC is one of my favorite headphones though considering the amazing price / performance ratio it has. Just pointing out one of the problems it has (and it actually has more problems ).

I have hd600 right next to ether c flow. (sorry, it is not afc)
I never expected, but hd600 is much brighter than ether c flow. Especially, hd600 has a lot of energy in lower treble. Going back and forth between them, I felt ether c flow is in a laid-back territory, though I thought ether c flow is in a brighter side before I listened to hd600.

However, I am not sure having a lot of energy in upper-mids to low-treble is desirable for an enjoyable listening session. Once I adapt my ears to its sound, I still feel ether c flow is way more enjoyable. Mids to lower treble in hd600 sounds distanced/recessed to my ears (maybe pad burn-in things?), and lower-treble is not very well textured, piercing sometimes. Staging and imaging in hd600 seems poor.

Now I understand why Tyll said he rarely listens to hd600/hd650 these days. But too many people claim that hd600/hd650 are god's gifts. It might be because my stock cables are very bad. Maybe pads are not burned in yet. I am unsure why at this point. I felt pretty much flat after a few hours of listening,

 

[orderingrabbits]

In terms of frequency response, I percieve Aeons as missing a bit at 2KHz. Otherwise it's about neutral. There's a bit of tonal tilt downwards from 2K or so to 200hz, so that may give the impression of being slightly bright depending on your perception. It responds very well to EQ so you can basically do whatever.

 

[AlexB73]

I think HD600 is overated headphones even in their pricerange.
I sold them when I bought Bayerdynamics DT990PRO.
Compared to DT990, HD600 emphases upper mid had less dynamics and base, smaller soundstage and sound more synthetic.
Hi frequencies of DT990 are bad but HD600 don't have extended high frequencies at all.

In contrast, Shure 1840 are not expensive and very good but not popular and headphones. They have very transparent and flat midrange that can compete to any headphones in any price range. The drawback of 1840 they suite only acoustic music. They are really bad for electronic music with a heavy bass.
But for people who listen classical, vocal and acoustic jazz they can outperform many Hi-End headphones.

AEON are good for every kind of music. They are really well balanced. But they can't compete in midrange transparency with Shure 1840.

 

[mrspeakers]

Even the Focal Clear has more treble extension than the AFC. The AFC is the one that has actually a treble peak somewhere before diving off somewhere, which is not balanced (can sound bright while having lack of upper treble).

I don’t see how a headphone with almost no treble in the upper end can be balanced. I never made a big deal out of it since it is only a $799 headphone. But it is one of the weaknesses.

I will weigh in for a moment as you made an assertion that AFC has "almost no treble" and that is not the case. It has less than the Utopia and it's different to be sure, but it's not absent nor is it rolled off in some absolute sense.

The following two plots were captured from Innerfidelity. First, note these measurements show relative performance on Tyll's test system and as treble peaks can vary up to 4 or 5 dB based on the shape of the listener's ear it's not easy to be definitive about any measurement above 5K. However, a few general things can be discerned.

First, the AFC has a broad lower treble peak from 6-10KHz while the Utopia has two peaks at 6 and 8KHz with a notch in between. If this is the AFC "peak" you reference it's in an areas where the Utopia clearly has a notch between peaks of similar amplitude. I would put it out for your consideration you may simply prefer the presence of the Utopia's 7K notch is in the center of the sibilance zone if sibilance bothers you (these notches and peaks can move around in frequency as a function of your pinna, too, and this can be a big part of YMMV). The flip side is that its AFC the lower registers of cymbals *may* sound more filled in without the notch giving cymbals a bit more "tang." Again a YMMV.

Above 10K, if you eyeball an average line through the treble I guesstimate both straight lines would be about -14 to -16dB below the 1K peak, with Utopia being 2-3dB brighter in part due to a treble peak at 15K versus a treble notch with AEON at 15K. If you're sensitive to treble peaks that peak may be a problem, but conversely if you are focused on the highest order harmonics you'll hear more output with Utopia and AFC may not have that upper shimmer. By 20KHz both are down about as far relative to 1K. It's worth noting only violin and cymbals have overtones that extend to ~16-17K, so whether a peak here works for you or not is a question of preference (and hearing).

So I'm glad you enjoy the Utopia and find that its high frequency delivery works for you, but I have to say the AFC's treble isn't absent it is just very different. Which profile works for a listener is a question of physiology and preference. If you find Utopia's highs to be pretty ideal, AFC would be darker, and if you can hear the highest harmonics there's more output on Utopia. On the other hand, if you find the Utopia a bit bright, the AFC may be a better fit.

Cheers, and happy listening.


AFC



Utopia

 

[Sound Eq]

a flood of aeon flow are being sold in the for sale forums, could this mean something new is soon to be released

 

[MrPretty]

a flood of aeon flow are being sold in the for sale forums, could this mean something new is soon to be released

It just a bunch of post that were bumped by a user asking if they were still available.

 

[chaz_flhr]

i-can pro is a great paring with AFC if you get a chance give it a listen, better to my ears than the micro black label I have.

 

[329161]

Even the Focal Clear has more treble extension than the AFC. The AFC is the one that has actually a treble peak somewhere before diving off somewhere, which is not balanced (can sound bright while having lack of upper treble).

I don’t see how a headphone with almost no treble in the upper end can be balanced. I never made a big deal out of it since it is only a $799 headphone. But it is one of the weaknesses.

Did you listen to the AFC with the tuning pad installed? The tuning pad increases the bass a little, and decreases the treble a little at the same time.

 

[silvahr]

Hello,
I have the AFO which I really like. Never had the chance of try the AFC.
Can someone please tell me if the they are indeed very different as I read in several reviews?
Which of both retrieves more detail? And which of both has more bass presence?
Or in other words, which of both is more analytical?
Thank you in advance!

 

[Gammon2004]

I think some folk will really enjoy the 1 notch filters with AFC, we'll be making them available within 2 weeks... Adds some "fun factor" and mids sound closer to AFO. If you prefer the AFO voicing while it's not the same, you'll probably like this. The filter kit will be a superset including 4 options.

Hi - any update on this? I'm very interested in buying that filter kit and trying them out. Thanks!

 

[mrspeakers]

Yes, they'll be available late this week.

I was checking out all the parts with users at Axpona this week, and the response was very positive.