TonyNewman
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- May 28, 2014
- Posts
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i have listened to the Utopia, Stax 009, HD800s ect.. and I will be honest, I would not purchase them. I have spent much time listening to the 009 on Stax amps here in Japan. I wanted to like them. I wanted to justify paying for them since I knew I would not live in Japan forever, but could not. Same with the Sen Hd800 & 800s. I have spent hours with these using multiple type amps and yet again, I felt I would get listening fatigue after while due to the lack of neutrality. I realized I was most content with a HP which could handle all types of music equally. I found this in both the Aeon Closed and Open.
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I recently purchased a HD800S after having sold my first pair about a year ago. There is something about a modded HD800 or a HD800S from a decent tube amp that is quite special. Otherwise I would not bother with it, given the alternatives available now. Utopia was a big disappointment to me - lots of hype for a headphone with a treble spike that reminded me of the unmodded HD800 and a forward character that I found fatiguing in the extreme. No thanks.
... For me, the ÆONs are quite good, but the Ether Flows are superior as far as sound quality is considered, that alone makes it hard to consider both as members of the same class. Some might still prefer an ÆON due to tuning. ....
The bright and thin sound of the Ethers has me running for the exit. I was very wary of trying Mr Speakers again after that experience, but I'm glad I took a chance on the Aeon closed. A well balanced and neutral headphone IMHO. The Ether might have areas where it is technically superior to the Aeon, but I could care less because the tonality of the Ether is fundamentally broken to my ears. YMMV.