[441879]

I was able to listen to the AFO and AFC, and Elear at a shop. I preferred the AFO - it was a bit warmer but not what I would call bassy. AFC seemed a bit thin to me. Both are pretty laid back and smooth sounding.

Elear was different - very punchy, very in-your-face. It demands your attention. It was fun but I think it would fatiguing long-term. The soundstage on the Elear was much better than either of the Aeons, if that sort of thing matters to you.

I have or have had all three headphones and pretty much agree with your descriptions though I preferred the AFC and Elear / Elex to the AFO.

IMHO
AFC is the most detailed and resolving, followed by the Elear and AFO.

The AFO sounds warm and rich. Kind of a sonic chocolate milk shake compared to the AFC. The Elear / Elex varies depending on the pads, but doesn’t go as deep as the AFC or AFO.


The Elear / Elex images the best by far. It’s also (depending on the pads) more or less energetic but always dynamic.

 

[MacMan31]

it’s probably your amp. A K3 is pretty underpowered for the AFC but does better for 6XX and 58X.

Low impedance low efficiency headphones slaughter most portable amps

Well I now have the THX 789 amp and both the AFC and AFO. At the end of the day I don't really care for either of them. The comfort isn't too great as the pads feel too squishy and the AFC makes my ears feel too warm. I also definitely notice the weight compared to my Sennheisers. As for sound I still much prefer the Sennheisers to the Aeons. Perhaps the planar sound is not for me. I really didn't care for the cable either. They should have put indicators on the connectors stating which way they go in. Perhaps have small arrows on the by the connectors which you'd have to line up to plug in correctly. Also I wasn't sure which side the red connector went into compared to the other one but perhaps it didn't matter. In any event I'm selling both the AFC and AFO. Maybe I'll try one of the Focal headphones or the Drop + BeyerDynamic 177X.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

Well I now have the THX 789 amp and both the AFC and AFO. At the end of the day I don't really care for either of them. The comfort isn't too great as the pads feel too squishy and the AFC makes my ears feel too warm. I also definitely notice the weight compared to my Sennheisers. As for sound I still much prefer the Sennheisers to the Aeons. Perhaps the planar sound is not for me. I really didn't care for the cable either. They should have put indicators on the connectors stating which way they go in. Perhaps have small arrows on the by the connectors which you'd have to line up to plug in correctly. Also I wasn't sure which side the red connector went into compared to the other one but perhaps it didn't matter. In any event I'm selling both the AFC and AFO. Maybe I'll try one of the Focal headphones or the Drop + BeyerDynamic 177X.

Might be the first person out there that I've seen say the Aeon isn't comfortable.

Also, red is for right, pretty common with cables.

 

[Poganin]

The comfort isn't too great as the pads feel too squishy and the AFC makes my ears feel too warm.

This is honestly the first time I'm seeing a complaint about the Aeons' comfort. They've been universally praised for being very comfortable from what I've seen.

 

[tcellguy]

One possibility is that they were very heavily used pads. The pads can flop over and in that setting you can start feeling clamping force. This happened to one of the pads on my AFOs and the comfort suffered. Replacing the pads solved this.

 

[441879]

Well I now have the THX 789 amp and both the AFC and AFO. At the end of the day I don't really care for either of them. The comfort isn't too great as the pads feel too squishy and the AFC makes my ears feel too warm. I also definitely notice the weight compared to my Sennheisers. As for sound I still much prefer the Sennheisers to the Aeons. Perhaps the planar sound is not for me. I really didn't care for the cable either. They should have put indicators on the connectors stating which way they go in. Perhaps have small arrows on the by the connectors which you'd have to line up to plug in correctly. Also I wasn't sure which side the red connector went into compared to the other one but perhaps it didn't matter. In any event I'm selling both the AFC and AFO. Maybe I'll try one of the Focal headphones or the Drop + BeyerDynamic 177X.

I strongly recommend the Focal Clear. Don’t know if it will suit your preferences, but it’s definitely a headphone to check out if you are interested in Focal. If you need isolation, the Stellia is probably not a great choice- I found the isolation to be moderate at best. I have also listened to the Elear / Elex . Also great headphones.

 

[MacMan31]

Might be the first person out there that I've seen say the Aeon isn't comfortable.

Also, red is for right, pretty common with cables.

Hmm perhaps I had the connections in backwards.

One possibility is that they were very heavily used pads. The pads can flop over and in that setting you can start feeling clamping force. This happened to one of the pads on my AFOs and the comfort suffered. Replacing the pads solved this.

Yeah that’s possible. But new pads are $80 Canadian. Seems like they can only be purchased on the Mr. Speakers website.

I strongly recommend the Focal Clear. Don’t know if it will suit your preferences, but it’s definitely a headphone to check out if you are interested in Focal. If you need isolation, the Stellia is probably not a great choice- I found the isolation to be moderate at best. I have also listened to the Elear / Elex . Also great headphones.

Well listen to mostly instrumental music nowadays such as classical or movie scores. But I do listen to others like classic rock, some jazz or blues, and some pop. Which of the Clear, Elear or Elex would you recommend? Sorry I know this is not the thread for those headphones.

 

[441879]

Well listen to mostly instrumental music nowadays such as classical or movie scores. But I do listen to others like classic rock, some jazz or blues, and some pop. Which of the Clear, Elear or Elex would you recommend? Sorry I know this is not the thread for those headphones.

Will PM

 

[TK16]

Might be the first person out there that I've seen say the Aeon isn't comfortable.

Also, red is for right, pretty common with cables.

Was listening to an LCDC X for a few months and recently switched back to the AFO. They are light as a feather in comparison.

 

[NA Blur]

I finally picked up an AFO. After checking it out with Tyll against the AFC a while back I thought I may regret my purchase. It's always a gamble buying gear based on impressions with someone else's music and gear setup. I have no regrets. It sounds just as engaging as I remember and I could not find any issues with comfort nor sound signature going through all of my hi-fi collection. If you like up-front impactful sounding headphones that keep intact both the low end and highs this is the headphone for you. I recommend the 2 notch white filters for general listening.

It is also important to note that these are not super efficient coming in somewhere around 95dB. Couple that with a low impedance of 14 Ohms you may have difficulty driving these headphones. For me the Magni 3 does just fine, but I had to swap out my DAC to one that provides at least 2v RMS. Otherwise the amp struggled to output enough voltage in low-gain mode.

 

[barbz127]

Can anyone comment on whether a woo wa6 could power these comfortably?

Thankyou

 

[Odin412]

Can anyone comment on whether a woo wa6 could power these comfortably?

Thankyou

Yes, I have a WA6 and I can confirm that it powers the Aeon Flow Open nicely.

 

[Yh173088]

I have been using my new open-box Mr Speakers Aeon Opens with an Audioquest Dragonfly Black with great results. I decided to buy the higher end Dragonfly Red and I noticed some distortion on bass heavy tracks at 50% volume or more. When I switch to another pair of headphones (V-moda M100) no distortion. If I switch back to my Dragonfly Black the Mr Speakers sounds fine. I thought it might have something to do with the higher voltage output of the Dragonfly Red causing the problem with lower impedance headphone . So then I decided to try the Mr. Speakers with my Mcintosh C48 pre-amp thinking this would probably sound best. To my surprise I’m noticing distortion and very weak bass on all tracks. When I try my V-moda's on my Mcintosh they sound fine. Any ideas? Do you think these headphones could be defective? They sound good with a Dragonfly Black on my iMac, but sound downright broken on my Mcintosh pre-amp and not great on the Audioquest Red. Is this something to do with the low impedance? from what I have read the c48 Mcintosh headphone amp is rather high quality. I also tested the Mr. Speakers on my iMac headphone jack and they sound fine. I also have a pair of Sennheiser Momentum's that sound fine on everything I've tried. Any suggestions?

B

I have been using my new open-box Mr Speakers Aeon Opens with an Audioquest Dragonfly Black with great results. I decided to buy the higher end Dragonfly Red and I noticed some distortion on bass heavy tracks at 50% volume or more. When I switch to another pair of headphones (V-moda M100) no distortion. If I switch back to my Dragonfly Black the Mr Speakers sounds fine. I thought it might have something to do with the higher voltage output of the Dragonfly Red causing the problem with lower impedance headphone . So then I decided to try the Mr. Speakers with my Mcintosh C48 pre-amp thinking this would probably sound best. To my surprise I’m noticing distortion and very weak bass on all tracks. When I try my V-moda's on my Mcintosh they sound fine. Any ideas? Do you think these headphones could be defective? They sound good with a Dragonfly Black on my iMac, but sound downright broken on my Mcintosh pre-amp and not great on the Audioquest Red. Is this something to do with the low impedance? from what I have read the c48 Mcintosh headphone amp is rather high quality. I also tested the Mr. Speakers on my iMac headphone jack and they sound fine. I also have a pair of Sennheiser Momentum's that sound fine on everything I've tried. Any suggestions?

I have the AFO as well and tried them on the DFR . They do have distortion when volume is around 80% . And I don't hear that with my other headphones . But the AFO sounds great on other amps .

 

[BobMonkhouse]

I've had my new AFO for about a month. I've been comparing them to a few other headphones I like... and had been disappointed... until yesterday. AFO sounded muddy, with slow bass, lacking details. I listen to my music at relatively low volume and my amps have plenty of power on low gain. I felt AFO had enough juice at about 2-3 o'clock on the dial on my amps. I was so wrong. Yesterday, I flipped the switches to high gain and magic happened! AFO opened up and turned into a beast - punchy bass, more air and details, very musical. I didn't hear any spikes nor dips in the FR for my ears. I loved the sound. They reminded me of LCD-2 pre-fazor when I listened to them a few years ago.

So, I'm excited and have a question for the AFO fans: is there a more powerful SS amp within $500 budget considered an upgrade compared to my Atom, Topping DX3 Pro, ODAC/O2? I consider TXH AAA 789 but I'm afraid its sound is too dry and analytical. Or am I mistaken? Also have been reading about the Rupert Neve RNHP amp but don't know if it has enough power for the AFO!

 

[mrspeakers]

Gilmore Lite Mk 2 is one of my favorites at $500. Superb clarity and smoothness in the highs that sounds very high-end, with a Cavalli-esque bass foundation. Very nice piece.