[Pharmaboy]

Eikon may well have lowered mid-bass & elevated sub-bass vs Atticus. But in absolute terms (comparing it all headphones, speakers, whatever else) it sound rather flat & powerful to me in the entire bass range. That's just tonality...you also should take slam/impact into account. My padauk Eikon is a pile-driver in the bass. It slams evenly all the way down. And then there's timbral accuracy: all that good bass sounds real/realistic. A string bass sounds just like itself (ie, wooden body, reverberant) vs an electric bass, which sounds fat & electric. That's on trance, studio pop, blues, other electric/electronic genres.

But the beauty of the Eikon is when I switch to moderate volume classical, choral, opera, polyphony--it becomes a totally different headphone, very well scaled to acoustic music. Now, instead of bass slam, you pay more attention to that big, spacious soundstage + all the details in the mids. The Eikon is a very resolving headphone (another factor to take into account).

 

[Malevolint]

Eikon may well have lowered mid-bass & elevated sub-bass vs Atticus. But in absolute terms (comparing it all headphones, speakers, whatever else) it sound rather flat & powerful to me in the entire bass range. That's just tonality...you also should take slam/impact into account. My padauk Eikon is a pile-driver in the bass. It slams evenly all the way down. And then there's timbral accuracy: all that good bass sounds real/realistic. A string bass sounds just like itself (ie, wooden body, reverberant) vs an electric bass, which sounds fat & electric. That's on trance, studio pop, blues, other electric/electronic genres.

But the beauty of the Eikon is when I switch to moderate volume classical, choral, opera, polyphony--it becomes a totally different headphone, very well scaled to acoustic music. Now, instead of bass slam, you pay more attention to that big, spacious soundstage + all the details in the mids. The Eikon is a very resolving headphone (another factor to take into account).

All of that sounds exactly like what I want in a headphone. I enjoy classical and a lot of EDM (specifically vocal, progressive trance). The Atticus sounds fun, but too specialized in what it does. I can't afford both. The only thing I'm waiting for now is to see some comparisons with the Aeolus. I'm kind of leaning towards the Eikon still, though, because I think the sound isolation would be nice for my small apartment. I have a very intermittently loud fridge, and my computer fans can be a bit loud too. If the Aeolus improves a lot on it, I might go for it, but from how you describe the bass, I don't think an open back will be able to replicate that.

Thanks for writing that

PS, just saw that it's you in the Aeolus thread too lol.

 

[Pharmaboy]

All of that sounds exactly like what I want in a headphone. I enjoy classical and a lot of EDM (specifically vocal, progressive trance). The Atticus sounds fun, but too specialized in what it does. I can't afford both. The only thing I'm waiting for now is to see some comparisons with the Aeolus. I'm kind of leaning towards the Eikon still, though, because I think the sound isolation would be nice for my small apartment. I have a very intermittently loud fridge, and my computer fans can be a bit loud too. If the Aeolus improves a lot on it, I might go for it, but from how you describe the bass, I don't think an open back will be able to replicate that.

Thanks for writing that

PS, just saw that it's you in the Aeolus thread too lol.

De nada. Yes, I'm in a number of threads here. Maybe too many!

I really can't recommend the Eikon highly enough. It impressed me greatly every time I put it on...

Your comment reminds me I neglected to mention isolation w/the Eikon. Actually, isolation is very good. I hear very little from my immediate environment when I have them on. They're not quite as isolating as the ear-protection earmuffs I used in woodworking/lawncare, but close. For example, I'm barely aware of the air conditioner in this home office when I have them on (it's 6' from my chair).

Re bass, I have a few open-backs that do bass very well, indeed. But there's a real distinction between reach/depth (how low the headphone can go in Hz) vs impact/dynamics. Some open backs go low, but they tend to have less impact than closed backs. The HEX v2, for example, totally surprised me with how good the bass is: it goes low and has impact down to below mid-bass. But the impact kind of fades at the very bottom. It sounds so good in many ways that I wouldn't down-rate it for that.

 

[koover]

All of that sounds exactly like what I want in a headphone. I enjoy classical and a lot of EDM (specifically vocal, progressive trance). The Atticus sounds fun, but too specialized in what it does. I can't afford both. The only thing I'm waiting for now is to see some comparisons with the Aeolus. I'm kind of leaning towards the Eikon still, though, because I think the sound isolation would be nice for my small apartment. I have a very intermittently loud fridge, and my computer fans can be a bit loud too. If the Aeolus improves a lot on it, I might go for it, but from how you describe the bass, I don't think an open back will be able to replicate that.

Thanks for writing that

PS, just saw that it's you in the Aeolus thread too lol.

All you need to do with the Atticus is swap out the Ori Leather pads with the suede pads and you have a more resolving, more dynamic headphone with tamed mid bass amd better subbass “presence”
The Atticus has plenty of subbass and also
slams like a jack hammer. The thing is, it’s always had the sub bass, maybe not quite as much as the Eikon, it’s just masked with its midbass bump. I love the Atticus with the suede pads as it becomes closer to the Eikon then it does to the Atticus if that even makes sense. And there’s nothing wrong with swapping the pads because you have both of best worlds.
Of course you’d have to hear it for yourself and make that determination.
Some more food for thought.

 

[gc335]

Does anyone use their Eikon with a lower powered DAP? I'll mostly use my Hugo 2 but once in a while I might use a DAP that doesn't have a ton of power.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I never used a DAP w/my Eikon, but I have used my lowest power amp (M Stage Matrix HPA-1) to very good effect. The max power of the HPA-1 is 400 mW @60 ohms & just 200 mW @300 ohms, the impedance of the Eikon. I got terrific sound out of it and never got the volume pot >11:30 on the dial.

Just check the specs of the DAP in question. If it puts out anywhere in the neighborhood of 200 mW @300 ohms, you should be good to go...

 

[Grayven]

All you need to do with the Atticus is swap out the Ori Leather pads with the suede pads and you have a more resolving, more dynamic headphone with tamed mid bass amd better subbass “presence”
The Atticus has plenty of subbass and also
slams like a jack hammer. The thing is, it’s always had the sub bass, maybe not quite as much as the Eikon, it’s just masked with its midbass bump. I love the Atticus with the suede pads as it becomes closer to the Eikon then it does to the Atticus if that even makes sense. And there’s nothing wrong with swapping the pads because you have both of best worlds.
Of course you’d have to hear it for yourself and make that determination.
Some more food for thought.

this is it right here.

 

[gc335]

I never used a DAP w/my Eikon, but I have used my lowest power amp (M Stage Matrix HPA-1) to very good effect. The max power of the HPA-1 is 400 mW @60 ohms & just 200 mW @300 ohms, the impedance of the Eikon. I got terrific sound out of it and never got the volume pot >11:30 on the dial.

Just check the specs of the DAP in question. If it puts out anywhere in the neighborhood of 200 mW @300 ohms, you should be good to go...

The output is about 300mw @ 32 ohm balanced. It's a decent amount of power. It won't be 200@300 for sure. I think volume will be fine. I'm more worried about a flat sound. I'll check it out. Worst case I'll stack for on the go.

Thanks a lot for your input.

 

[jinxy245]

Does anyone use their Eikon with a lower powered DAP? I'll mostly use my Hugo 2 but once in a while I might use a DAP that doesn't have a ton of power.

I've used it out of a Shanling & a Fiio X3, and the results are acceptable but not optimal. It definitely doesn't sound bad, just not as good as I know it can sound (so I must be spoiled lol). Even stepping up to an ALO National or something similar makes a difference IMO.

 

[gc335]

Thanks! That's pretty much what I was thinking might happen. I guess I'll find out!

 

[Malevolint]

De nada. Yes, I'm in a number of threads here. Maybe too many!

I really can't recommend the Eikon highly enough. It impressed me greatly every time I put it on...

Your comment reminds me I neglected to mention isolation w/the Eikon. Actually, isolation is very good. I hear very little from my immediate environment when I have them on. They're not quite as isolating as the ear-protection earmuffs I used in woodworking/lawncare, but close. For example, I'm barely aware of the air conditioner in this home office when I have them on (it's 6' from my chair).

Re bass, I have a few open-backs that do bass very well, indeed. But there's a real distinction between reach/depth (how low the headphone can go in Hz) vs impact/dynamics. Some open backs go low, but they tend to have less impact than closed backs. The HEX v2, for example, totally surprised me with how good the bass is: it goes low and has impact down to below mid-bass. But the impact kind of fades at the very bottom. It sounds so good in many ways that I wouldn't down-rate it for that.

That's all really good to hear! I wouldn't expect them to be better at isolating than ear muffs, but it's crazy they they can compare. As for the bass, that makes me really happy as well.

Funny that someone else asked about playing them out of a dap because after thinking about what you've said over the last day, that was one of my remaining questions. I have a Sony WM1A DAP, and I've heard some people say that it's under powered for headphones, but I've found that I can enjoy them with my HD6XX pretty well with anything vocal or acoustic. Do you think that it would go well with the Eikon after looking at these specs?:
In high gain mode, the player output close to 1.926 V into 15 ohms per channel via its balanced output (measured with 1 kHz signal), providing a output power of close 247 mW into 15 ohms.

All you need to do with the Atticus is swap out the Ori Leather pads with the suede pads and you have a more resolving, more dynamic headphone with tamed mid bass amd better subbass “presence”
The Atticus has plenty of subbass and also
slams like a jack hammer. The thing is, it’s always had the sub bass, maybe not quite as much as the Eikon, it’s just masked with its midbass bump. I love the Atticus with the suede pads as it becomes closer to the Eikon then it does to the Atticus if that even makes sense. And there’s nothing wrong with swapping the pads because you have both of best worlds.
Of course you’d have to hear it for yourself and make that determination.
Some more food for thought.

That's interesting. Could you give a quick comparison between the padded Atticus and Eikon? You make it sound like it's something like a closed Aeolus.

I think I'm still going to have to go with the Eikon, though. From how picky everyone says that the Atticus is with amps, it has be workedm worried. I have a Magni 3 and after this headphone purchase, I won't be able to buy anything else for a long time.

 

[Pharmaboy]

That's all really good to hear! I wouldn't expect them to be better at isolating than ear muffs, but it's crazy they they can compare. As for the bass, that makes me really happy as well.

Funny that someone else asked about playing them out of a dap because after thinking about what you've said over the last day, that was one of my remaining questions. I have a Sony WM1A DAP, and I've heard some people say that it's under powered for headphones, but I've found that I can enjoy them with my HD6XX pretty well with anything vocal or acoustic. Do you think that it would go well with the Eikon after looking at these specs?:
In high gain mode, the player output close to 1.926 V into 15 ohms per channel via its balanced output (measured with 1 kHz signal), providing a output power of close 247 mW into 15 ohms.



That's interesting. Could you give a quick comparison between the padded Atticus and Eikon? You make it sound like it's something like a closed Aeolus.

I think I'm still going to have to go with the Eikon, though. From how picky everyone says that the Atticus is with amps, it has be workedm worried. I have a Magni 3 and after this headphone purchase, I won't be able to buy anything else for a long time.

247 mW into 15 ohms? That means you'll get less than 1/2 that into 300 ohms (the Eikon). Maybe as low as 100 mW. That's not going to cut it w/the Eikon, I imagine. You might get sufficient volume, but not all that great bass & dynamics...

 

[Malevolint]

247 mW into 15 ohms? That means you'll get less than 1/2 that into 300 ohms (the Eikon). Maybe as low as 100 mW. That's not going to cut it w/the Eikon, I imagine. You might get sufficient volume, but not all that great bass & dynamics...

Yeah..I figured. Part of me wants to go for the aeon flow open just for the portability.
Well not just for that. I hear nothing but good things. Only thing is that the bass won't be as punchy, but it will be more punchy on my WM1A than the Eikon will. I think they're at 16ohms.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Yeah..I figured. Part of me wants to go for the aeon flow open just for the portability.
Well not just for that. I hear nothing but good things. Only thing is that the bass won't be as punchy, but it will be more punchy on my WM1A than the Eikon will. I think they're at 16ohms.

I heard the AFO at CanJam in February. Loved it--a very musical, ear-friendly headphone. Also compact & comfortable. The bass is very pleasing, but not as much sub-bass as Eikon (not many headphones can match it). Planars have a very nice sound, different from dynamics in subtle ways. I love planars.

But the AFO probably will require roughly equivalent power vs Eikon...it has a very low impedance (= needs less power), but is a planar (usually = needs more power). Just a guess, nothing more.

 

[endlesswaves]

I used Eikon with my WM1A via balanced with a XLR to 4.4mm pig tail adapter. Sounds ok. Compared it with my Massdrop SDAC + LCX desktop DAC/AMP.