[tcellguy]

Vlad’s impression of the AFC mirrors my experience very closely.

An excellent review for an excellent headphone

 

[xmr0613]

Bought a refurbished Aeon closed for $620 (such a great price, thanks for the promotion) and thought would post some of my impressions here. It shipped directly to my office and I brought a Violectric V200 from home to make sure it has all the power it needs. Prior to listening I saw a lot of reviews put them as the best choice in the price range, and I was a little skeptical since there are a lot of great options around the same price. The Beyerdynamic T1, although less talked about these days, are still an amazing pair of headphones to me, and for not much more one could pick up the classic HD800, as it's current street price is closer to $1000.
Upon first listen, the bass did seem a little too polite to me, although they extend to very deep sub-bass and has super clean quality, the quantity for me is not enough and it's a little hard for me to appreciate its quality when it doesn't make that much impact in the first place. Besides that, everything seemed perfectly balanced to me, detail retrieval and transient response are very great.
Once I pass the first ~20 minutes of "critical and judgmental listening" session I have for every new headphone, I started to get used to the bass quantity and the Aeon grew on me more and more. They just seemed to have this perfect balance in all frequencies that I can't explain, everything sound so neutral but lively and musical at the same time, and I quickly forgot the idea of analyzing from mid, bass, treble or anything like that. This kind of reminded me of listening to a pair of Utopia, everything sounded so right and it's hard to put them down.
The bass quantity occasionally could still be too polite for my personal taste, especially for certain albums. Massive Attack's mezzanine being a good example, for the famous opening of "Angel", the bass was represented with great clarity and texture, but due to it's quantity it's not creating that "deep and dark" atmosphere I heard on the Utopias, which is not considered to be bass heavy either. It feels closer to the representation of the HD800 when things a little "too clear and open" if that makes any sense. Similarly with Jamie xx's In Colour, where I have no problem hearing all the details and layering in bass region, I just hope there's more so they get deeper into my brain. The stock foam doesn't help too much for me, and I thought that makes the sound a little "muffled" for my preference. But in general, for probably 90% of the songs I listen to, I don't have a complaint for the bass at all and the sound in general is very accurate and coherent.
As for the comparison with HD800 and T1, since the Aeon hasn't left the office yet, I haven't done a side by side comparison in terms of technical capabilities. For now I have zero complaints for them in this regard whatsoever, and they are one of the most clean and transparent pair of headphones I've ever heard. Combining the fact that they are extremely comfortable to wear and they are a pair of closed back that I can use in office, I'd say they are amazing value for the price and I'm so glad that I bought these on sale.

 

[Stillhart]

Vlad’s impression of the AFC mirrors my experience very closely.

An excellent review for an excellent headphone

I agree. He hit on a lot of my major talking points, especially the one about not being able to listen to the Aeon Closed as background with good music. I also noticed that he repeated my only real criticism of the Aeon Open (if you can even call it that) which is that it doesn't stand out above its competitors as much as the Closed does.

The Aeon Closed is a fantastic headphone.

 

[earnmyturns]

not being able to listen to the Aeon Closed as background with good music

I can, but then I choose carefully: mostly 20th century minimalism and ECM-issued jazz in the same vein (eg. Nik Bärtsch)

 

[Stillhart]

I can, but then I choose carefully: mostly 20th century minimalism and ECM-issued jazz in the same vein (eg. Nik Bärtsch)

I actually have a playlist of "bad" music that I listen to at work when I want something upbeat but not distracting (because I'm working on something demanding). If the music is too good, I can't focus on what I'm doing. When I'm working on more ho-hum stuff, I can put on the good crap. :-D

 

[tcellguy]

I actually have a playlist of "bad" music that I listen to at work when I want something upbeat but not distracting (because I'm working on something demanding). If the music is too good, I can't focus on what I'm doing. When I'm working on more ho-hum stuff, I can put on the good ****. :-D

Same here. I’ve found that electronic music like retrowave sounds amazing on the AFC, is engaging enough to be enjoyable, but still let’s me work.

 

[Stillhart]

Same here. I’ve found that electronic music like retrowave sounds amazing on the AFC, is engaging enough to be enjoyable, but still let’s me work.

Mine is mostly guilty-pleasure pop music.

https://tidal.com/playlist/578d525d-2f3c-4a9a-8753-33a136c84883

But yeah, some atmospheric ambient (e.g. Solar Fields) works well too.

 

[bcaulf17]

Another option that people don't normally take seriously under $1000 is the B&O H6 Gen2 which I think compete really well with the Cascades. Less technically proficient but are so light they disappear on your head. Probably the best pound-for-pound headphone in the world. I will accept criticism and ridicule for saying that but I really stand by it. If you are looking for best bang for buck you can get a pair for $250-$300 on eBay and pair it with a mojo or iFi Black Label. Probably 75-80% of the performance of the Hugo2->WA5-LE>Aeon

Ridicule, why? The H6 are great and it seems a lot of people like them. Sure there are probably some more expensive headphones that sound better but for the price (especially around that $250 - $300) there isn't a whole lot better in terms of sound, comfort, looks and portability I think a lot of people write them off because they're made by B&O, which I've seen a few times dubbed the "European Bose".

 

[BaltColts]

How do these pair with a Sony WM1A?

 

[LarryMagoo]

Hey Dan,

Have you ever tried the Dekoni Ear Pads with any of your cans? The reason I ask is I love the pads on my AFC so much that my pads on my HD 800S seem like crap and are too thin...

Was thinking of trying the Dekoni Sheepskin Fenestrated and wonder what your comments might be!

Thanks,

Larry

 

[mrspeakers]

Hey Dan,

Have you ever tried the Dekoni Ear Pads with any of your cans? The reason I ask is I love the pads on my AFC so much that my pads on my HD 800S seem like crap and are too thin...

Was thinking of trying the Dekoni Sheepskin Fenestrated and wonder what your comments might be!

Thanks,

Larry

Alas I haven't.

 

[LarryMagoo]

Thanks Dan....It's all your fault ya know....those Ear Pads on the AFC are so damned comfortable...it spoiled the feel of my 800S.... Man I just love the fit and feel of those AFC's....Maybe a future Headphone with that same shape?

 

[ciccarel]

I am a little disappointed in the AFC. I have been using them with a Woo Audio WA7 and they sound a little lifeless. The WA7 seams to struggle to drive them. Bass is tight and extended. Vocals are clear and detailed, but the overall presentation is a bit lifeless/analytical. Could this amp be a poor match?

 

[441879]

I am a little disappointed in the AFC. I have been using them with a Woo Audio WA7 and they sound a little lifeless. The WA7 seams to struggle to drive them. Bass is tight and extended. Vocals are clear and detailed, but the overall presentation is a bit lifeless/analytical. Could this amp be a poor match?

I’m sure someone will come along who is better informed than I am, but I’ll offer an opinion anyway.

I thought seriously about buying the WA7 myself but decided not to with a power output of 1W at 32 ohms output. The output impedance isn’t listed, but if I had to guess it’s probably not insignificant or they would have listed the output wattage at 16 ohms. The AFC has (IIRC) a 13 ohm impedance, which is within the rated range for the WA7, but it’s near the bottom (8 ohms) and the AFC isn’t all that efficient. On the other hand, the AFC can sound pretty analytical with a lot of tubes and is a bit of a detail monster (IMO).

I would try a warmer pair of tubes and see if that does it for you. If not, I’d see if you can find a beefier amp to test drive them on.

Finally, if you’re coming from a good set of dynamic driver headphones, it’s likely that part of the problem is that planar magnetic technology doesn’t have the same degree of slam you can get from dynamics

 

[ciccarel]

I’m sure someone will come along who is better informed than I am, but I’ll offer an opinion anyway.

I thought seriously about buying the WA7 myself but decided not to with a power output of 1W at 32 ohms output. The output impedance isn’t listed, but if I had to guess it’s probably not insignificant or they would have listed the output wattage at 16 ohms. The AFC has (IIRC) a 13 ohm impedance, which is within the rated range for the WA7, but it’s near the bottom (8 ohms) and the AFC isn’t all that efficient. On the other hand, the AFC can sound pretty analytical with a lot of tubes and is a bit of a detail monster (IMO).

I would try a warmer pair of tubes and see if that does it for you. If not, I’d see if you can find a beefier amp to test drive them on.

Finally, if you’re coming from a good set of dynamic driver headphones, it’s likely that part of the problem is that planar magnetic technology doesn’t have the same degree of slam you can get from dynamics

Thanks for the thoughts. I think you may be right. I have used HD700 and M1060 with this amp before getting the AFC. I loved the M1060 and was driven easily. I wanted something with better resolution and thought a closed headphone would disturb less people. The AFC is great on some music, but is lacking overall. I may see if I can try a different amp or may just let the AFC go.