Let me say up front that I admire the MrSpeakers dedication and method. Dan Clark has earned a reputation as one of the hardest working guys in the business, and deservedly so. The attitude and drive to “get it right” never stops them from achieving their goals and producing headphones that are truly captivating. The build quality, comfort and price of these products are leading the industry in a direction that I feel are certainly good for the hobby and the hobbyist. I’ll go ahead and let cat out of the bag early, the ÆON Flow Open or AFO is not only my favorite offering from MrSpeakers but it’s now my favorite headphone, period! Why you ask? Well, it’s pretty simple actually. It’s the drop dead gorgeous tone coming from the AFO that I find hypnotic. I’ll talk about BMT (bass mid and treble) later on, but it’s the natural tone of voices and instruments that captivates me song after song, hour after hour until I’m up way past my bedtime. This is the very reason that I’m in the hobby…to be emotionally captivated by the sound of music until the hair on my arms stands up, my jaw hits the floor, and I find myself saying“wow” over and over again as I listen to music coming from my headphones.
If I were penning the title of a newspaper article for this headphone release, it would read something like this:
“Dan Clark and the MrSpeakers team hit stride and deliver a soulful classic with ÆON Flow Open.”
Soulful may be the best descriptor that I can conjure for AFO. It’s hard for me to effectively describe the latest offering from MrSpeakers. Let me say for the record that this headphone is special. It reproduces music in a highly engaging manner. In short, it is soulfully tuned and is, I believe, the very best that has come from MrSpeakers to date.
I went through dozens upon dozens of test tracks to put AFO through its paces. I have always loved the sound of acoustic guitar. The pluck of the fingers across the strings from a master guitar player never fails to woo me. I cued up Seckou Keita: 22 Strings, and just closed my eyes and listened. I usually listen to the first two tracks of this album when demoing headphones for critical listening. This time I stopped listening when the last track was finished. I had not even realized that I’d listened to the whole album and that it was over an hour later. This is an amazingly well recorded album and truly a work of art. I sat there track after track letting the artist take me on a journey. The first aspect of AFO that got me with this album was the speed of decay. It was nothing short of electro-stat like as Keita’s expert and nimble fingers gracefully danced across the strings in blinding fashion. This is something that I miss from my dynamic headphones…the incredible speed. It blurs the illusion that you’re listening to recorded music and makes you believe in what you’re listening to.
There are almost no vocals on the 22 Strings recording. I was not well prepared for the mid-range presentation when I cued up my female jazz vocal regulars. I listen to vocal centric music a majority of the time, so mids are “do or die” for me. I’m happy to report that the mids on AFO are a real standout. They are very transparent, with a liquid quality that washes over you while you listen. The tone is just spot on gorgeous. From staples like Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson and Patricia Barber to more modern vocalist like Civil Wars, K.D. Lang and Macy Gray. The mid-range continued to flow effortlessly through these vocalists track after track. The inflection of the singer’s voice comes through so distinctly and effortlessly that I often found myself hypnotized and loosing track of doing critical listening. But this is a good thing. That’s when I know that a headphone is a keeper. Barton Hallow from The Civil Wars is an excellent recording and one of my favorites. It’s delicately layered, and I have often found that putting better gear in front of this recording allows me to hear deeper into it, with more fine details. The AFO did an incredible job at digging out the details from Barton Hallow. The way AFO was able to reproduce the nuances in harmony between the two vocalists was simply stunning.
Comparisons
AFO vs AFC
There is a bigger divide than you’d expect between these two. They look enough alike to be siblings, but the truth is that the AFO is clearly better. The midrange, transparency and ability to offer up delicate details is a league better on AFO. While the bass on the AFC distinguishes itself with a more visceral nature, AFO extended deeper and is more textured. If you don’t need to have a closed headphone and are deciding between these two, AFO is the clear choice.
AFO vs EFO
At more than twice the price of AFO, the ETHER FLOW impresses with neutrality and accuracy. EFO is amazing with acoustic jazz pieces, modern folk, classical, and essentially anything that is well recorded. The EFO, with its larger driver, can flex its muscle and deliver shocking dynamics when called for. But, AFO forgoes the neutrality of its older brother to deliver a more richer and sweeter sound signature that will coax the magic from your entire music library and not just the audiophile recordings.
While the EFO might be likened to a fine wine, the AFO is more like good whiskey. It goes down with an irrepressible warmth and finishes with a pleasant kick. There is certainly more warmth with AFO than anything else from MrSpeakers. And this warmth or body is not overly done either. The mid bass is a punched up slightly to make this headphone good for any genre of music that I listen to. The sub bass is not shy either. It hits quick and deep and gives you a wonderful sense of the instrument responsible for the rumble; be it an energetic stomp of a kick drum or hard licks from a bass guitar. AFO is flat out fun to listen to. It’s a somewhat different direction from anything else that I’ve heard from MrSpeakers. And it you can’t tell, I like everything that it brings to the table.
AFO vs hd650
I’ve owned the hd650 since 2010 and longer than I have any other headphone. I like it. A lot. Its supremely comfortable, sonically impressive and affordable by current market standards. The hd650 is my warm blanket headphone that I can listen to even when I’m tired and fatigued. During the AFO evaluation period, I spent many nights listening to the hd650 for an hour or so and then switching to the AFO. I typically waited until the hd650 had engaged me in the music and when I felt that it was performing its best. Each and every time the AFO took that engagement and moved it to a higher plain. I can see those who are looking for an hd650 upgrade being very happy with AFO. Especially if you are looking for a similar tonality with better resolution, improved bass response and speed. The upcoming hd660 may prove to be a better challenger for AFO but that remains to be seen.
AFO vs hd800
The hd800 still reigns as king of expansive sound stage. There are very few headphones that can compete with the hd800 in this area. AFO does make an impressive stand against the hd800 with regard to imaging however. In fact, I’d call this particular area nearly a dead heat. Both offer stellar imaging and present a stage that is congruent and fluid, with the hd800 being both wider and deeper. The bass response on AFO is punchier with more heft when it hits. The bass on the hd800 is tight and extended but feels somewhat “hollow” in comparison to AFO. Mids are gorgeous on both headphones. These headphones are different enough for me to justify owning both, as they offer a very different presentation. Classical recordings on the hd800 are still an experience to behold and this headphone remains in my regular rotation.
Conclusion
When you’ve been in the headphone hobby for a number of years, it can be difficult to maintain the same level of excitement and interest that you had in the early going. Such is life I suppose. The same can be said for most hobbies. But now, Dan Clark and team are at it again and I have to say that I’m excited to be in the hobby again, very excited.
I absolutely applaud the price to performance ratio of these headphones. The manufacturers and the industry have some serious issues with regard to pricing and I’m proud to say that the AFO sounds significantly more expensive than the sticker price would suggest. Along with the build quality, fit and finish, this is the kind of quality that I’m looking for when I buy a headphone.
It wasn’t too much of a stretch to bet that Dan and the MrSpeakers team would be releasing an open version of the now popular closed Aeon. What might catch some folks off guard is just how impressive the open version sounds. I’ve known Dan since his days modding the t50p drivers and the original Maddog. I can honestly say that I don’t think that he’s worked harder any other project.
Niggles and Gripes:
The cable has gotten better and better with each release, but could still stand to be a little softer and more flexible. These headphones, while fairly efficient, are slightly harder to drive than the ETHER line. So while you can use them from your phone, they probably won’t sound that good. Also, while sound staging improves with the AFO, it’s still modest when compared to “very open” sounding headphones.
Scores:
Value: 9.8
Comfort: 9.5
Tone: 9.5
Imaging: 9.0
Sound Stage: 8.5
