The New AEON 2: It's The End Of MrSpeakers

[mrspeakers]

I don't have any sound measuring equipment, but maybe someone who does can chime in. I was just looking for resources on safe listening levels and am wondering if someone could tell me roughly where on the ifi Micro BL would cover the 65-95 decibel range? I find I enjoy my music most with the A2C around 12 o'clock using normal power mode with windows volume at 100%.

Here is a very easy trick to get an approximate measurement of sound pressure levels. Get a DB meter app for your phone, I use DB Pro, take the headphones off your head and set them on the table ear pad facing down to the table so the pad is sealed on the table and slide the microphone end of the phone under the ear pad. This will give you probably plus or -3 DB of accuracy but you can now see approximately how loud you are playing. Generally keep it under 80 DB if you want to listen all day long. The louder it is the less time you can listen safely while still protecting your hearing.

 

[jjflemin]

Here is a very easy trick to get an approximate measurement of sound pressure levels. Get a DB meter app for your phone, I use DB Pro, take the headphones off your head and set them on the table ear pad facing down to the table so the pad is sealed on the table and slide the microphone end of the phone under the ear pad. This will give you probably plus or -3 DB of accuracy but you can now see approximately how loud you are playing. Generally keep it under 80 DB if you want to listen all day long. A lot of it gets the short or you can listen while protecting your hearing.

Awesome, thanks for the quick response! I'll have to try a few different apps and see how similar they are. So far looks like 11-12 o'clock on normal mode (ifi Micro BL) is around 80 decibels.

 

[bcowen]

Here is a very easy trick to get an approximate measurement of sound pressure levels. Get a DB meter app for your phone, I use DB Pro, take the headphones off your head and set them on the table ear pad facing down to the table so the pad is sealed on the table and slide the microphone end of the phone under the ear pad. This will give you probably plus or -3 DB of accuracy but you can now see approximately how loud you are playing. Generally keep it under 80 DB if you want to listen all day long. A lot of it gets the short or you can listen while protecting your hearing.

Thanks for the tip!

I didn't understand your last sentence though. ???

 

[mrspeakers]

LOL, last sentence fixed. Using text to speech without reading glasses never works out.

 

[bcowen]

LOL, last sentence fixed. Using text to speech without reading glasses never works out.

ROFL! Thanks.

 

[Profoundsoup]

I just received my AEON 2 opens are they sound good and all except for the fact that they have extremely bad sibilance with almost every kind of genre I have listened to on them. I have tried using the dampening pads but those make it much worse. I have tried them using a Herus+ Amp, Audioquest Dragonfly Red, NAD 3045, Ipad Pro 10.5 and my Audeze Deckard amp and none of them make the piercing noises go away. The Dragonfly Red made them go away the most but still really isn't that great and I really don't think the Dragonfly Red is that great of an amp/dac. It is really bad and I really didn't expect this at all. It's quite strange because I really haven't seen any measurements on the AEON 2 opens so I have no idea what is causing it. Anyone able to give me some help. I really am not sure if my pair is defective or not.

 

[Benno1988]

What headphones are you coming from?

 

[jarnopp]

I just received my AEON 2 opens are they sound good and all except for the fact that they have extremely bad sibilance with almost every kind of genre I have listened to on them. I have tried using the dampening pads but those make it much worse. I have tried them using a Herus+ Amp, Audioquest Dragonfly Red, NAD 3045, Ipad Pro 10.5 and my Audeze Deckard amp and none of them make the piercing noises go away. The Dragonfly Red made them go away the most but still really isn't that great and I really don't think the Dragonfly Red is that great of an amp/dac. It is really bad and I really didn't expect this at all. It's quite strange because I really haven't seen any measurements on the AEON 2 opens so I have no idea what is causing it. Anyone able to give me some help. I really am not sure if my pair is defective or not.

I’ve been using with no tuning pads for the past couple months and really no treble/sibilance issues. At 53, I can’t hear above ~16kHz, but with Mojo or Chord TT2 I find the pairing fantastic.

 

[stenog]

I just received my AEON 2 opens are they sound good and all except for the fact that they have extremely bad sibilance with almost every kind of genre I have listened to on them. I have tried using the dampening pads but those make it much worse. I have tried them using a Herus+ Amp, Audioquest Dragonfly Red, NAD 3045, Ipad Pro 10.5 and my Audeze Deckard amp and none of them make the piercing noises go away. The Dragonfly Red made them go away the most but still really isn't that great and I really don't think the Dragonfly Red is that great of an amp/dac. It is really bad and I really didn't expect this at all. It's quite strange because I really haven't seen any measurements on the AEON 2 opens so I have no idea what is causing it. Anyone able to give me some help. I really am not sure if my pair is defective or not.

Interesting! I haven't heard the Aeon Open 2 but I have owned the Aeon Open 1 for a couple of years and this is definitely the least fatigue headphone I have ever heard or owned. It portraits zero sibilance. I have read a few of your last post and you just got the Amiron a few weeks ago I also own this headphone. I don't have any trouble with the Amiron treble but it's definitely brighter than Aeon Open 1 and also less smoother.

So in your opinion the Aeon 2 is brighter and show more sibilance than the Amiron? If this is actually the case then Dan Clark has tuned the Aeon 2 very different than Aeon 1. Note, I use the Aeon Open 2 without any insert.

 

[Alboreo]

Hi, long time lurker, finally made an account for several reasons, one being I feel it's pretty obvious this guy is trolling at this point. This guy posted this earlier in the thread:

A friend of mine bought this, I had the chance to experience the Aeon 2 Closed for two hours.

I appreciate the folding mechanism, very few manufacturers would be able to innovate such a smart thing.
But the sound is pretty bad. I used many dac amps of mine and him the most expensive ones are Chord Hugo 2, Sennheiser HDV820 and A&K SP200 if you want to know.
Compared to the previous Aeon the sound is warmer and that's it. No significant improvement at all. The sound is more laid back and warm, dynamics are still nonexistent. Soundstage is identical. Male vocals sound better and female vocals sound worse probably due to the FR changes. Some people may like the new tonality more but no overall sonic improvement for me.
The portability is very cool but the sound sucks and there are already more portable and bluetooth headphones if portability is the biggest concern.
I am disappointed, he is planning to return his pair as well.

So he thinks the first AFC is horrible for the money, gives the second one an honest chance, feels there is no improvement and is in agreement with his friend who is returning his. And then he buys a pair?? If his headphones sound worse than his phone speaker, they're broken. But he wants to act like they're not, and is playing dumb at every turn. The game seems to be "how long can I keep this charade going?".


I feel bad this is my first post ever, so I'll give my two cents on the ACF2 (disclaimer, I'm more of a casual audio fan, have owned Senheisser HD598s and MrSpeakers MadDogs; listened to many other high end brands quite a bit but never had the money until now to invest in a pair for myself). I haven't had the AFC2 for very long, but I think they're pretty great right out of the box. Definitely feel warmer with more low end than the AFC, which I've only every listened to fully broken in. I think the detail on these is better, along with the dynamics. Not sure if the soundstage feels wider, but definitely has more depth, especially in the front L and R. I listen to a lot of rock of all subgenres, some electronic, some pop, and dabble in jazz. Overall pretty satisfied and interested to hear if they change at all with burn-in (not fully convinced this will be the case).

 

[bcowen]

So he thinks the first AFC is horrible for the money, gives the second one an honest chance, feels there is no improvement and is in agreement with his friend who is returning his. And then he buys a pair?? If his headphones sound worse than his phone speaker, they're broken. But he wants to act like they're not, and is playing dumb at every turn. The game seems to be "how long can I keep this charade going?".

I think you've summed things up quite nicely, first post notwithstanding.

 

[Profoundsoup]

Interesting! I haven't heard the Aeon Open 2 but I have owned the Aeon Open 1 for a couple of years and this is definitely the least fatigue headphone I have ever heard or owned. It portraits zero sibilance. I have read a few of your last post and you just got the Amiron a few weeks ago I also own this headphone. I don't have any trouble with the Amiron treble but it's definitely brighter than Aeon Open 1 and also less smoother.

So in your opinion the Aeon 2 is brighter and show more sibilance than the Amiron? If this is actually the case then Dan Clark has tuned the Aeon 2 very different than Aeon 1. Note, I use the Aeon Open 2 without any insert.

My last post was from like 2 years ago. I dont have the Amiron's anymore. Since then I used the Hifiman Edition X2's until those snapped in half then I got the Sennheiser 58x but the earpads aren't large enough for me. Anyways. Yes, I have no idea why the treble sounds so peaky on the Aeon 2 opens. I really dont want to have to return them but I want to find out the reason this is happening.

 

[stenog]

My last post was from like 2 years ago. I dont have the Amiron's anymore. Since then I used the Hifiman Edition X2's until those snapped in half then I got the Sennheiser 58x but the earpads aren't large enough for me. Anyways. Yes, I have no idea why the treble sounds so peaky on the Aeon 2 opens. I really dont want to have to return them but I want to find out the reason this is happening.

Sorry didn't notice the date your former post were from. There are very few impressions or reviews for that matter about the Aeon Open 2. But maybe Dan did tune the Open 2 very different compared to the Open 1?

But please share your impressions Funny enough I also owned the edition X2. I can't remember anydetails about it but do remember I found it a bit boring with a tame low end.

 

[Benno1988]

A song with a bunch of clipping/compression would be more pleasing from a phone's speaker than a world class headphone.

Still doesn't make sense to not enjoy the demo of a headphone then still go buy them though.

"Just loaded up Death Magnetic by Metallica, and it sounds like trash on my new high end headphones. I'm coming from an old car speaker taped to some ply wood and powered by a lemon battery." - Probably Someone, Head-Fi, 2019

 

[bcowen]

My last post was from like 2 years ago. I dont have the Amiron's anymore. Since then I used the Hifiman Edition X2's until those snapped in half then I got the Sennheiser 58x but the earpads aren't large enough for me. Anyways. Yes, I have no idea why the treble sounds so peaky on the Aeon 2 opens. I really dont want to have to return them but I want to find out the reason this is happening.

I've never heard the Opens (I have the Closed) so take this FWIW, but I would certainly give them some time to break-in. I have yet to run across any type of transducer that doesn't improve with some break-in time. Some have been minor, some substantial. Costs you nothing but a little time...just let 'em play overnight for a couple nights at moderate volume. The A2C's definitely improved with break-in, but it was more in the area of dynamics than sibilance or a biting top end (which they didn't have even initially) to my ears.