[Mark Up]

Yes you're right. I've only listened to the Grado SR325 and the RS1 for like 1-2 hours. I can't use open-back headphones at home cause I have a yakin' woman who sittin' just next to me. I have to crank up the volume to really get the guitars to shine. Will just give the headphones another 2-3 weeks until I re-evaluate the Aeons and maybe try them with a Mjolnir 2.

You probably already know, but headphones do more damage at lower decibels than speakers. I know how easy it is to want to crank them, but one can also lose hearing if they do that too often, especially in the highs / high mids which tend to go first. My carefulness and natural sensitivity means the ATH-M50x aren't just bright, they're painful.

 

[Fastnbulbous]

I got mine yesterday. I pretty quickly forgot I was testing new headphones and simply got sucked into about 2.5 hours of deep listening, until it was past my bedtime. You can't really ask for more than that.

I'll give it a few weeks before I do a proper review. I have a Grace m9XX that I'll eventually use with it at work, and an iFi Pro iCAN. I will compare it to my Fostex TH-X00 and beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro.

 

[jhwalker]

Asking those who have eq'd their Aeon's to their liking, please post your eq levels here..

Based on some measurements I saw (on this thread, I believe), I created a baseline EQ and have fine-tuned it over the past few days. This sounds pretty good to me now, but I usually gradually tweak over time - typically, reducing the gain and / or tweaking the frequency in either direction.

 

[Bloos]

You probably already know, but headphones do more damage at lower decibels than speakers.

Do you have something to back that up (a study/report)? I mean I've heard similar things before but I would think that if hypothetically you had a pair of headphones and speakers with the same frequency response playing at the exact same volume and all these measured at a location in the ear-canal, any damage done would be the same.

But perhaps an explanation would be that in reality, perhaps most of the time, headphones might have more treble (since high-frequencies lose more energy, than lower frequencies, to the medium/air it travels through, over the same distance) and be easier to increase the volume (at a faster rate) through a push of a button or turn of the knob.

 

[elNan]

I got mine yesterday. I pretty quickly forgot I was testing new headphones and simply got sucked into about 2.5 hours of deep listening, until it was past my bedtime. You can't really ask for more than that.

I'll give it a few weeks before I do a proper review. I have a Grace m9XX that I'll eventually use with it at work, and an iFi Pro iCAN. I will compare it to my Fostex TH-X00 and beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro.

Really looking forward to this

 

[Denmark]

I got mine yesterday. I pretty quickly forgot I was testing new headphones and simply got sucked into about 2.5 hours of deep listening, until it was past my bedtime. You can't really ask for more than that.

I'll give it a few weeks before I do a proper review. I have a Grace m9XX that I'll eventually use with it at work, and an iFi Pro iCAN. I will compare it to my Fostex TH-X00 and beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro.

Sounds like my setup - Grace M9xx with a pair of TH-X00 (with ZMF lambskin pads). Really interested to read your comparison!

 

[rnros]

Guys, what am I doing wrong?
It's strange but the Aeons don't pull me into the music as the Audio Technica M50's do. The resolution for sure is better on the Aeons, but they simply don't shine as much. They sound a little bit more recessed. Also the sparkle of the guitars has gone. I have the impressions that the tone of the instruments is clear but it all sounds further away, or just like "the musicians don't hammer as strong on the strings" as they do on the M50's or on the Westone W30 IEM's. I'm not saying that the M50 or W30 are better, they just have something that I am suddenly missing on the Aeons.
I am currently using a DacMagic Plus that is connected via USB to my PC. The Aeon's have been running for like 50 hours now...

Could it be that Dacmagic amp section is lacking in "juice"?
https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/hifi-and-home-cinema/dacmagic-plus

Any help or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Looked at the specs on the DacMagic Plus. What is not included are the output numbers for the Headphone jack.
Does that mean that the specs are the same as the preamp output?

Anyway, some quick comments and parameters to consider:

-It is designed as a preamp, not as headphone amp. Preamp output is 2.1V. Output Impedance is 50 Ohm.

-Output Impedance: Headphone amps and DAPs will typically target Output Impedance to 1 Ohm or less. If the headphone jack has the same output impedance as the preamp then it is far too high for a low impedance headphone. Might be OK for headphones in the 300 to 600 Ohm range, but again the headphone spec is not published on the web page.

-Power: Again the only output listed is for the preamp, at 2.1V. Typical for preamp output, but not sufficient for headphones. Again we don't know what the headphone output is for the DMP. For comparison, consider the FiiO DAPs (X3II & X5II), which can output up to about 7V and ~1/4W per channel at 32 Ohm. The AEON is OK on these DAPs but will take most of the power that these DAPs can output. Sound is OK, but not up to what a desktop amp can do with the AEON. The various desktops I have can easily output a minimum of ~9V, and power outputs of 1W to 6W per channel.

-DAC: The Wolfson WM8740 is a nice d/s DAC chip, should pair nicely with the AEON. Projects a nice soundstage with good spacial characteristics and good tonal balance. I have an old REGA Jupiter CD player with two Wolfson WM8740s, cost about $1800 at the time. Depends on implementation of course.

-Suggestion: Use the DMP as a DAC and preamp to feed a headphone amp which will have the required impedance and power output. Obviously, you can spend anywhere from $100 to several thousand, many, many options available. If you have, or can borrow, a headphone amp to test this approach, all the better.

You can also call Cambridge to see if you can get specs for the headphone output. Good luck!

 

[TimeLord]

For anyone considering the ÆON for travel usage, let me put my experience here since that's my primary usage for these.

First, the case that comes with them is fantastic. Its size is nearly perfect. It's smaller than I thought it would be and that's a good thing. Plus, besides carrying the headphone, there's still room for my Sony PHA-3, Chord Mojo, USB cable, Apple CCK, and 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable. Everything in one case.

I think, if I take a couple items out of my briefcase, I can fit the case in my bag and it'll make a nice travel partner.

As for comfort, I just finished a 4 hour flight segment while listening to the ÆON and no pain points or fatigue. I'm on a second segment and they're still comfortable.

As for looks, they do appear bigger than most "portable" headphones, but they feel small and don't protrude in any significant way.

As for comparisons to other portable headphones, these are better than anything else I've tried to date. This definitely includes the PM-3. From comfort to frequency response, these are better. I have been using an IEM for a long time, but now I have options.

For anyone looking for a travel set of headphones, you should really give these a try.

 

[mrspeakers]

All pre-orders and back-orders will be shipped by Wed, at which point we'll be in stock, so at this point I can safely say lead time is a week. We're also starting overseas shipments to distribution, with the UK and Japan getting the first deliveries within two weeks.

Sorry we had a few delays in getting stuff out the door as quickly as we hoped, but hopefully it's been worth the wait!

 

[erics75]

Guys, what am I doing wrong?
It's strange but the Aeons don't pull me into the music as the Audio Technica M50's do. The resolution for sure is better on the Aeons, but they simply don't shine as much. They sound a little bit more recessed. Also the sparkle of the guitars has gone. I have the impressions that the tone of the instruments is clear but it all sounds further away, or just like "the musicians don't hammer as strong on the strings" as they do on the M50's or on the Westone W30 IEM's. I'm not saying that the M50 or W30 are better, they just have something that I am suddenly missing on the Aeons.
I am currently using a DacMagic Plus that is connected via USB to my PC. The Aeon's have been running for like 50 hours now...

Could it be that Dacmagic amp section is lacking in "juice"?
https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/hifi-and-home-cinema/dacmagic-plus

Any help or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I'd try them on a more powerful amp if possible. When I run mine on my fulla 2, which has more power than your dacmagic, I find them less dynamic than when I plug them into my jotunheim. My o2 amp does ok with them. My dragonfly red doesn't sound good at all, not enough power. I'm thinking its an amplification issue.

Or....

You prefer the sound signature of the m50 more. If That's the case and you want an upgrade with a similar signature, the fostex thx00 is a great choice.

 

[x RELIC x]

Looked at the specs on the DacMagic Plus. What is not included are the output numbers for the Headphone jack.
Does that mean that the specs are the same as the preamp output?

Anyway, some quick comments and parameters to consider:

-It is designed as a preamp, not as headphone amp. Preamp output is 2.1V. Output Impedance is 50 Ohm.

-Output Impedance: Headphone amps and DAPs will typically target Output Impedance to 1 Ohm or less. If the headphone jack has the same output impedance as the preamp then it is far too high for a low impedance headphone. Might be OK for headphones in the 300 to 600 Ohm range, but again the headphone spec is not published on the web page.

-Power: Again the only output listed is for the preamp, at 2.1V. Typical for preamp output, but not sufficient for headphones. Again we don't know what the headphone output is for the DMP. For comparison, consider the FiiO DAPs (X3II & X5II), which can output up to about 7V and ~1/4W per channel at 32 Ohm. The AEON is OK on these DAPs but will take most of the power that these DAPs can output. Sound is OK, but not up to what a desktop amp can do with the AEON. The various desktops I have can easily output a minimum of ~9V, and power outputs of 1W to 6W per channel.

-DAC: The Wolfson WM8740 is a nice d/s DAC chip, should pair nicely with the AEON. Projects a nice soundstage with good spacial characteristics and good tonal balance. I have an old REGA Jupiter CD player with two Wolfson WM8740s, cost about $1800 at the time. Depends on implementation of course.

-Suggestion: Use the DMP as a DAC and preamp to feed a headphone amp which will have the required impedance and power output. Obviously, you can spend anywhere from $100 to several thousand, many, many options available. If you have, or can borrow, a headphone amp to test this approach, all the better.

You can also call Cambridge to see if you can get specs for the headphone output. Good luck!

A common misconception is that just oodles of unused power is required to make something sound good. It isn't, it is about quality of the implementation. The AEON requires a paltry 1.45mW or 0.141Vrms to reach 90dB SPL, and saying that 2.1Vrms is not enough is kind of misleading. Feeding a full 2.1Vrms in to the AEON would destroy most ears according to the numbers. To use your FiiO reference my X5III drives the ETHER Flow just fine at 50-60/120 (depending on the track) and in no way is underpowering them to reach good listening levels, and they are less efficient than the AEON. Then again, I don't listen at 110dB so YMMV.

A more likely reason is either the output impedance mismatch given the AEON's low impedance (not sure about this given that the AEON is a planar magnetic), or they are more revealing of the source than the M50. The latter theory is more likely. I find that when upgrading to more revealing/resolving headphones then weaknesses in the chain are revealed. Quality is more important than flat out ridiculous quantity with regard to power (of course, once there is enough power for dynamic headroom). A couple of examples are the Woo WA8 and ALO CDM. These devices output less max power than the DMP yet many people love pairing them with much more demanding headphone's than the AEON. Again, the issue is not raw max power here.

Or, the OP simply prefers the fun signature of the M50.

 

[mrspeakers]

ÆON won a Best of Personal Listening Award at the LA Audio Show last weekend.

 

[Bloos]

Congratz!

Btw, I'm assuming the specs (at least the impedance) on the Japanese website is out of date?
https://www.mrspeakers.jp/products/aeon-flow/

• Weight: 328 g
• Efficiency: 95 dB / mW
• Impedance: 30 Ω

 

[mrspeakers]

Thanks, I'll let them know... Every time I'm in Japan I have Ramen at least once a day. Serious habit, the noodles in the US are all wrong.

 

[superfell]

Mine were delivered today!, exciting. However I have a dum[mer] question about the cable. The cable has a 1/4 jack on the end, there was no adapter in the box, does this come apart somehow to get the 3.5mm version?