MrSpeakers AEON Flow Open - Impressions Thread
Dec 1, 2017 at 10:27 AM Post #676 of 2,583
You don't need a nuclear plant for the HD800, you just need a decent amp with with good tonality. Something like the Asgard2 I found good enough to use for my HD800 when I had it.

Can't speak for the HD800S, but the HD800 is a tremendous headphone once you put some damping on it. It's the most impressive headphone I've ever had the pleasure of owning and/or listening to. The reasons why you would want an Aeon open over the HD800 is if you wanted much less treble and forgiving of a sound and/or much more mid-bass or upper bass bloom.
 
Dec 1, 2017 at 10:40 AM Post #678 of 2,583
You don't hear any bloom with afo, just more of everything except some piercing treble spikes. More body, more slam, more musicality, more engagement. Spending the half... Hd800 and 800s are flawed cans. They are like f1... Yes they are fast, but they need fuel, they can tun 100km at most, you need to change tyres every few laps, you need an expert driver etc etc... Afo are like a nissan gtr skyline.
Running the ifi idsd black label.. Compared to nfb1, c2 and magni2uber.. Also mojo and i think it's the best for the money
 
Dec 1, 2017 at 11:02 AM Post #681 of 2,583
I'll try to stay mostly on topic here...

Are you kidding ? For $250 the choice is obvious, HD 800 S, I also prefer musicality but we're talking about $800 versus $1500, but if it's musicality he wants, an equalizer or maybe a tube amp can get in the way.
I suggested the AFO because @gken92 said they liked a lot of modern pop music. The extra mid-bass and more forgiving sound will suit that genre better than the HD800S. Most modern music, especially pop music, is poorly mastered and has audible distortion when using the HD800S. The AFO hides it a little better. The extra mid-bass of the AFO over the HD800S will make the music sound more engaging and exciting.
I suppose to argue for your side, $1050 is a good price for a good condition HD800S. There would be little loss (besides time) to the buyer if they didn't like it and decided to sell it for the AFO.
I'm not saying the HD800S is the worse headphone. It's technically much better than the AFO and I listen to it more than any other headphone when I'm at home. But it does need a good amp and good source material to get the most out of it.
I don't usually suggest an equalizer because I hate how inconvenient it is. I have to make sure it's on and set to the correct headphone and have different settings for different DACs and amps and change it when switching headphones, etc. As for the tube amp, I agree. I like tubing the HD800S. My only reservation with tube amps is that the sound varies wildly depending on the amp and then even the tubes. I can get substantially different sounds from my LD MKIII depending on what tubes I use. My favorite tube amp pairing that I've heard with the HD800S is the Eddie Current Zana Deux.

I suppose on a slightly unrelated topic, my AFC is my favorite headphone for music when paired with the iFi micro iDSD BL. I would usually suggest it over the AFO for someone who has heard neither Aeon.

You don't need a nuclear plant for the HD800, you just need a decent amp with with good tonality. Something like the Asgard2 I found good enough to use for my HD800 when I had it.

Can't speak for the HD800S, but the HD800 is a tremendous headphone once you put some damping on it. It's the most impressive headphone I've ever had the pleasure of owning and/or listening to. The reasons why you would want an Aeon open over the HD800 is if you wanted much less treble and forgiving of a sound and/or much more mid-bass or upper bass bloom.

I agree you definitely don't need the "nuclear power plant" but good tonality is a must. I found that I like the stock HD800S sound. I haven't heard the original HD800 so I can't really compare them.
The more forgiving sound and the extra mid-bass presence is exactly why I suggested it over the HD800S.
 
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Dec 1, 2017 at 11:04 AM Post #682 of 2,583
You don't need a nuclear plant for the HD800, you just need a decent amp with with good tonality. Something like the Asgard2 I found good enough to use for my HD800 when I had it.

Can't speak for the HD800S, but the HD800 is a tremendous headphone once you put some damping on it. It's the most impressive headphone I've ever had the pleasure of owning and/or listening to. The reasons why you would want an Aeon open over the HD800 is if you wanted much less treble and forgiving of a sound and/or much more mid-bass or upper bass bloom.

I owned hd800s, and I agree with Tyll in regard to hd800s. I A/Bed my previous Ether C and hd800s extensively with my Hugo. Vocal sounds thin with hd800s, and I didn't like vocal tonality on it. Sennheiser darkish sound somehow. Otherwise, it is a great can. Imaging and soundstage is great. Very good for classical music. For other kinds of music, it was less fun. I wish I was able to keep it, but I can't keep everything I wanted. For me, even if hd800s and afo are at the same price, I would choose afo anyday.
 
Dec 1, 2017 at 11:52 PM Post #683 of 2,583
Joining the thread. The AFOs are my 1st pair of high end headphones I've owned over $500. I'm currently listening via Tidal Hifi - Modi MB - AGD NFB 28.38 - AFO w/ black inserts. The 1 notch white inserts sounded slightly muffled. No insert was slightly fatiguing for me. The black inserts are my sweet spot. I also have the HD650, HE4XX, and Oppo PM-3 for future comparisons. I will be selling the PM-3s. I listen to mainly modern country, singer songwriter, and classic rock. For the music I listen to, the AFO really excels. Dan mentioned earlier in this thread something along the lines of the AFO being tuned similar to a live concert performance. This aligns with what I hear with the exception that I can clearly understand vocals which I usually don't at concerts. The AFO is definitely a warm hp but instrument separation is great. Sound stage is not very large. I could comfortably listen to the AFOs for hours, if my wife would let me :).
 
Dec 2, 2017 at 3:16 AM Post #684 of 2,583
I owned hd800s, and I agree with Tyll in regard to hd800s. I A/Bed my previous Ether C and hd800s extensively with my Hugo. Vocal sounds thin with hd800s, and I didn't like vocal tonality on it. Sennheiser darkish sound somehow. Otherwise, it is a great can. Imaging and soundstage is great. Very good for classical music. For other kinds of music, it was less fun. I wish I was able to keep it, but I can't keep everything I wanted. For me, even if hd800s and afo are at the same price, I would choose afo anyday.
Joining the thread. The AFOs are my 1st pair of high end headphones I've owned over $500. I'm currently listening via Tidal Hifi - Modi MB - AGD NFB 28.38 - AFO w/ black inserts. The 1 notch white inserts sounded slightly muffled. No insert was slightly fatiguing for me. The black inserts are my sweet spot. I also have the HD650, HE4XX, and Oppo PM-3 for future comparisons. I will be selling the PM-3s. I listen to mainly modern country, singer songwriter, and classic rock. For the music I listen to, the AFO really excels. Dan mentioned earlier in this thread something along the lines of the AFO being tuned similar to a live concert performance. This aligns with what I hear with the exception that I can clearly understand vocals which I usually don't at concerts. The AFO is definitely a warm hp but instrument separation is great. Sound stage is not very large. I could comfortably listen to the AFOs for hours, if my wife would let me :).

I have to put 1notch filter, with black is still fatiguing expecially with some bad recordings.. Welcome to the club :wink:
 
Dec 2, 2017 at 5:15 PM Post #686 of 2,583
Regarding AFO (w black inserts) vs HD650, here are my high level observations after A/Bing just now with Zac Brown and Dixie Chicks:

1) Both are very comfortable for me.
2) The AFO has a little bit more closed in sound. I'm interested to hear if others observe the same.
3) Note even though the AFO is more closed in, it has good detail or instrument separation.
4) I like vocals on both.
5) The AFO bass has a lot less distortion. The AFO bass has allowed me to spend some time enjoying hip hop / rap and reminisce on my youth.
6) Regarding differences in frequency response, I don't consider myself qualified to say.

Note I volume matched by ear and used 2 different amps at the same time so I could A/B back and forth quickly.
 
Dec 2, 2017 at 5:35 PM Post #687 of 2,583
Regarding AFO (w black inserts) vs HD650, here are my high level observations after A/Bing just now with Zac Brown and Dixie Chicks:

1) Both are very comfortable for me.
2) The AFO has a little bit more closed in sound. I'm interested to hear if others observe the same.
3) Note even though the AFO is more closed in, it has good detail or instrument separation.
4) I like vocals on both.
5) The AFO bass has a lot less distortion. The AFO bass has allowed me to spend some time enjoying hip hop / rap and reminisce on my youth.
6) Regarding differences in frequency response, I don't consider myself qualified to say.

Note I volume matched by ear and used 2 different amps at the same time so I could A/B back and forth quickly.
From the explanation you gave it does not seem that the AFO is worth the difference of 600 dollars compared to HD 6XX.
 
Dec 2, 2017 at 5:56 PM Post #688 of 2,583
From the explanation you gave it does not seem that the AFO is worth the difference of 600 dollars compared to HD 6XX.

Along the lines of value difference, here are my thoughts:
1) I was able to listen to the Ether Flows prior to the AFO being announced and compare the Ether Flows to the HD650. I came to the conclusion that the Ether Flows were the better headphone but I could not justify the cost of the Ether Flows based on the incremental improvement over the HD650s.
2) I'd recommend listening to each to determine purchasing decisions if possible. Everyone values things differently. I'm new to Head-fi and my comparison may be overly simplistic. Also it only represents 1 data point. Hopefully others will chime in with additional comparisons and you can make purchasing decisions based on a larger group of data.
 
Dec 2, 2017 at 6:02 PM Post #689 of 2,583
Along the lines of value difference, here are my thoughts:
1) I was able to listen to the Ether Flows prior to the AFO being announced and compare the Ether Flows to the HD650. I came to the conclusion that the Ether Flows were the better headphone but I could not justify the cost of the Ether Flows based on the incremental improvement over the HD650s.
2) I'd recommend listening to each to determine purchasing decisions if possible. Everyone values things differently. I'm new to Head-fi and my comparison may be overly simplistic. Also it only represents 1 data point. Hopefully others will chime in with additional comparisons and you can make purchasing decisions based on a larger group of data.
I already bought the HD 6XX in the last drop I'm going to use for a long time, this will be my first HI-FI headphone, but the Inner Fidelity old man said the AFO would be a good update for the HD 600/650, explanation ai did not convince me much, but you're right, I will wait for comparisons of other members of the site.
 
Dec 2, 2017 at 6:06 PM Post #690 of 2,583
Could anyone make a comparison between the AFO and the HD 650/6XX ?


I agree with mtnercer about almost everything.
To me they worth the additional cost because i need bass in my life LOL.
Punch slam or whatever you wanna call it, on afo is another category. I can't do ab comparison as i don't have 650 at the moment, i did some ab with hd660s tough.... And afo wins. Afo brought back to life old albums, royksopp's junior never sounded so alive and full and engaging. Afo is what afc should have sounded..
 

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