I'm trying to get my bearings about the Aeon 2 Open bass department. There's still not much feedback and reviews on the open version. Is the bass as slow as the Aeon Flow Open or faster (more articulated)? Also, is the quantity of the bass the same or less compared to AFO?
I'm trying to get my bearings about the Aeon 2 Open bass department. There's still not much feedback and reviews on the open version. Is the bass as slow as the Aeon Flow Open or faster (more articulated)? Also, is the quantity of the bass the same or less compared to AFO?
I have been using the Campfire Andromeda a lot (IEM) in the office and I have been looking at the Stellia for a couple of reasons:
1. I don’t like how my AFC 1 looks in terms of design, so I rarely bring it to the office. The Stellia looks a bit nicer.
If the Focal Stellia has isolation on par with my AFC 1, I would have bought it already
Maybe I'm old enough that I don't really give a *** if people think I look silly, but also I see lots of people around my office wearing over-ear headphones (mostly cheap ones). Noise canceling headphones have their uses and I see some people using them in my office... At home, I use the Stellia when listening after others are asleep or when I'm using my loud window AC. It is great that we have so many headphone choices as there are an almost infinite number of use cases/preferences it seems.
Thanks for your responses, it's always interesting for me to see the individual use cases for high end headphones. Unfortunately in my case, I can't use any USB powered equipment with my work computer for security reasons. So it looks like Spotify and IEMs / noise cancelling headphones for me ... Even if I could afford a Stellia and have a full stack of equipment in my office, I think the conversation with my co-workers would go like this:
Co-worker: That's a really cool headphone, how much does it cost?
Me: Three thousand dollars
Co-worker: Wow, it must sound amazing, can I listen to my music with it?
Me: Sorry no, the way that popular music is produced makes it sound terrible on this headphone. Also, this headphone needs an amplifier.
Co-worker: Ooookay then .... never mind
Thanks for your responses, it's always interesting for me to see the individual use cases for high end headphones. Unfortunately in my case, I can't use any USB powered equipment with my work computer for security reasons. So it looks like Spotify and IEMs / noise cancelling headphones for me ...
Somewhat similar here – I can use USB audio, but USB storage devices are disabled by the company rootkit^h^h^h^h^h^h^h security software, which locks down a lot of other stuff as well. But streaming's fine. Most people are on Sony XM3s, with a scattering of other brands and models. There are only a handful of us using wired headphones, and I only know of one of those who's doing it for reasons of headphone preference and sonic quality. I think I'm the only one running off an external DAC/amp though the other fellow's interested and at least one other is looking at it for their home rig. But it's still early days, and now that I've shown up with a visibly different rig from the usual, some of the gang are asking questions and trying some of it out.
As for me, I could see an Aeon 2 fitting into office life very nicely, except I find weighty double-entry cables somewhat awkward for desk work. So I still haven't quite justified it to myself.
There are no security problems if you use your phone. I have the following setups:
1. iPhone 11 Pro Max --> Chord Hugo 2 --> Headphone / IEM
2. iPhone 11 Pro Max --> Poly + Mojo (without wires) --> headphone / IEM
3. iPhone 11 Pro Max --> ANC headphones
There are no security problems if you use your phone. I have the following setups:
1. iPhone 11 Pro Max --> Chord Hugo 2 --> Headphone / IEM
2. iPhone 11 Pro Max --> Poly + Mojo (without wires) --> headphone / IEM
3. iPhone 11 Pro Max --> ANC headphones
This is something that is new and unwelcome to me after a long hiatus from the headphone audio game: manufacturers rapidly releasing new versions of their headphones. I think the fact that you needed to include two "news" in your post when designating the model name is kind of sad. I don't want to pick on Dan Clark Audio in particular because they are not the worst offender in this area and I do like when OEMs work with Massdrop. But I'm just wondering in general ... do we really need headphones to have "model years" like cars? I can see the positive side that products are improved more quickly, but it seems to me that this trend is much more beneficial for the OEM than for the consumer. For example I used to be a huge HiFiMan fan and pre-ordered their first three planar magnetic flagship headphones, but after seeing their recent pricing strategy and crazy amount of variations on a similar design I feel like buying anything from them is just a waste of money ...
This is something that is new and unwelcome to me after a long hiatus from the headphone audio game: manufacturers rapidly releasing new versions of their headphones. I think the fact that you needed to include two "news" in your post when designating the model name is kind of sad. I don't want to pick on Dan Clark Audio in particular because they are not the worst offender in this area and I do like when OEMs work with Massdrop. But I'm just wondering in general ... do we really need headphones to have "model years" like cars? I can see the positive side that products are improved more quickly, but it seems to me that this trend is much more beneficial for the OEM than for the consumer. For example I used to be a huge HiFiMan fan and pre-ordered their first three planar magnetic flagship headphones, but after seeing their recent pricing strategy and crazy amount of variations on a similar design I feel like buying anything from them is just a waste of money ...
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the new Drop Aeon is a revised tune based on the original driver. There hasn’t been too much fanfare over the Aeon 2, but seems to me that it is a major improvement (and the first and only real revision of this model in many years). If my assumptions are correct, all the lower prices version one alternates (returns clearance on Dan’s site and the Drop version) are all sort of moot if your looking for the best sound, and willing to spend a few hundred more for it.
I've listened to both the Aeon Flow Open and the Aeon 2 Open, and I think the A2O is a significantly better sounding headphone compared to the AFO.
But the biggest problem that I had with the sound of the AFO (that the Aeon Open X looks like it fixes) is they just sounded too recessed in the presence region (3-6kHz), which made them sound dull and lifeless to me. If the FR graph that Drop provided is accurate (and I have no reason to doubt that it is), the AOX has been retuned to add a 4-6dB boost in exactly that area, which will go a long way in improving their overall SQ.
I've had the same issue with the AFO but my conclusions are slightly different based on my experience.
I like the upper mids / lower treble as is. I just find the upper bass region boosted too much. When I reduce it by 3 to 5 db one way or another, the whole middle and high frequencies spectrum reveals in its full glory. And I love this timbre.
Unfortunately, from what i see about the drop version, they can tweak easier the upper ranges but not the bass.
From my perspective, this can not justify buying the cheaper version while AO2 exists. But for those who like the elevated bass signature, the drop offer is a real winner.
From what I've gathered about AO2 so far, the bass should have been fixed the way I like it. I just still don't know how the high frequencies have been affected. If I knew they haven't been boosted, I'll buy a pair immediately.
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