[mrspeakers]

Was a clip in, or magnatized, type system too expensive to implement?

Bayonette clips have reliability concerns and add bulk and weight, magnets add weight and its tricky to assure a seal under the pad.

 

[spruce]

Delete

 

[waveSounds]

Well, I have to say @mrspeakers, this is most irritating of you.

I'd become blissfully content with the NightOwl as my fun-sounding (read non-analytical), closed-back in the <£1000 range. I have no desire for a thin/anemic (particularly with regards to bass)/analytical sounding can, and apart from a brief fluttering of eyelashes at the Campfire Cascade, nothing piqued my interest and the itch was conquered.

Then you go and do this.

 

[BobMonkhouse]

Resistance is futile!
I know I didn't try to resist which saved me the suffering... And I like my NightOwl.

 

[SierraMadre]

I am looking for a set of planars to round out my small collection of dynamic driver headphones and am intrigued by these new Aeon 2 Opens.

Usage would mainly be for movies and immersive gaming (non-competitive) combined with a virtual surround sound solution such as Dolby Atmos for Headphone, Creative Super X-FI, Waves NX etc., so an expansive soundstage is important to me; intimate or just average-sized soundstage would be a hard pass.
(For reference, the headphones I mainly use for the aforementioned purposes are the Philips Fidelio X2 and Massdrop AKG K7xx. I also have the Sennheiser HD800S's but reserve them for special occasions.)

Up till now I was considering Hifiman, the Edition XX or Ananda, as I had heard good things from opinions I trust about their soundstage (fairly wide and moreover, deeper and taller than most dynamic driver cans) in addition to good things about their bass response.

Can anyone advise as to how the Aeon 2 Opens might compare in this context?

Thanks

 

[Empyah]

Had a quick listen with my Aeon 2 Open before work with my LG Quad DAC/xCAN and V281/Gumby, this is what i heard...
I like darker cans and these had zero burn in.

As allways YMMV.

Out of the Box these Headphones sound very good to me, i like them alot.
It's clearly still the Aeon Open, but better in every way, while keeping its smooth tonality with the slight midbass-bump, with noticeably more detail, clarity, soundstage
and layering with more clearly defined images, all the while keeping its speed, and this ethereal quality to "appear" sound, like a mist out of this hazy black background, enveloping you like a velvet blanket...
Forgive the colorful description, but its the only way I am able to describe what I heard and am feeling when listening to this headphone.

The increased detail levels lend themselves to the velvety smoothness over the entire frequency spectrum, which puts into perspective the relation detail and highs have, in presenting music as either harsh or enjoyable.
I was using the black felt pad in the first Aeon, with the Aeon 2 i feel no need to insert either one.

All in all this is a darker headphone, a very relaxing, smooth listen with increased definition across the board.
Who liked the first one will like this one even more, the rest simply has to give them a bit more time to get acclimated to the more subtle presentation, especially if you come
from brighter cans.

The design, look, and comfort of these cans is simply superb, industry leading.
The clever, folding, gimbal system and the small case are the cherry on top of this package.

Will do a few comparisons in the coming weeks with my Ether 2, LCD 2.2 pre-fazor, LCD2 Classic, HE1000se and Verite.

For now i will just enjoy them.

*Edited for spelling/grammar

 

[SierraMadre]

Had a quick listen before work with my LG Quad DAC/xCAN and V281/Gumby, this is what i heard...
I like darker cans and these had zero burn in.

As allways YMMV.

Out of the Box these Headphone sound very good to me, i like them alot.
It's clearly still the Aeon Open, but better in every way, while keeping its smooth tonality with the slight midbass-bump, with noticeably more detail, clarity, soundstage
and layering with more clearly defined images, all the while keeping its speed and this ethereal quality to "appear" sound like a mist out of this hazy black background, enveloping you like a velvety blanket...
Forgive the colorful description but this is as good as i can put into words what I heard and am feeling while listening to this headphone.

The increased detail levels lend themselves to the velvety smoothness over the entire frequency spectrum, which puts into perspective the relation detail and highs have, in presenting music as either harsh or enjoyable.
I was using the black felt pad in the first Aeon, with the Aeon 2 i feel no need to insert either one.

All in all this is a darker headphone, a very relaxing, smooth listen with increased definition across the board.
Who liked the first one will like this one even more, the rest simply has to give them a bit more time to get acclimated to the more subtle presentation, especially if you come
from brighter cans.

The design, look, and comfort of these cans is simply superb, industry leading.
The clever, folding, gimbal system and the small case are the cherry on top of this package.

Will do a few comparisons in the coming weeks with my Ether 2, LCD 2.2 pre-fazor, LCD2 Classic, HE1000se and Verite.

For now i will just enjoy them.

Thanks for sharing. Would you describe the soundstage as expansive for width and frontal / rear depth)?

I don’t have any experience of other the headphones you mention although opinions I trust have said good things about the soundstage of the HE1000SE so I look forward to that particular comparison.

Thanks

 

[Empyah]

Thanks for sharing. Would you describe the soundstage as expansive for width and frontal / rear depth)?

I don’t have any experience of other the headphones you mention although opinions I trust have said good things about the soundstage of the HE1000SE so I look forward to that particular comparison.

Thanks

Yes it is expansive, a big step up from the Aeon 1.
The soundstage is more upfront and to the sides than to the back, it depends on the track but i hear it definitely wide outside of my head (with techno mangling my head atm.).
It creates a coherent image of a stage where sounds and their sources are all placed well separated in their clearly "visible" spot.
It never feels confined in any way - like the AFO, which could sometimes almost sound to cozy.

I would say it is has the perfect size to present music as intended at realistically - I see myself sitting in an auditorium a few rows up with a nice view of the band, not
to close not to far.
Then again it depends on the recording and how much space the engineers "gave" the recording, the AFO 2 simply adapts.

Thanks to its speed, detail and timbre it presents (good) live recordings like The Who's "Live at Leeds" or Deep Purples "Made in Japan" almost as hauntingly realistic as the Ether 2, almost...

I'm liking these cans more and more, almost developing a crush while revisiting my favorites.

 

[SierraMadre]

Yes it is expansive, a big step up from the Aeon 1.
The soundstage is more upfront and to the sides than to the back, it depends on the track but i hear it definitely wide outside of my head (with techno mangling my head atm.).
It creates a coherent image of a stage where sounds and their sources are all placed well separeted in their clearly "visible" spot.
It never feels confined in any way - like the AFO, which could sometimes almost sound to cozy.

I would say it is has the perfect size to present music as intended at realistic size - I see my self sitting in an auditorium a few rows up with a nice view of the band, not
to close not to far.
Then again it depends on the recording and how much space the engineers "gave" the recording, the AFO 2 simply adapts.

Thanks to its speed, detail and timbre it presents (good) live recordings like The Who's "Live at Leeds" or "Deep Purples "Made in Japan" almost as hauntingly realistic as the Ether 2, almost...

I'm liking these cans more and more, almost developing a crush while revisiting my favorites.

Thanks very much. Frontal depth is more important to me than rear depth anyway and if it's good for techno too that's a plus. Have you tried the various tuning filters it comes with?

 

[Dystasia]

Yeah, we love the GMLMk2, it's still part of my "tuning stack" of gear I use for voicing. Lovely transparency and clarity in the highs with incredibly powerful bass. Great for the $. Another one to consider is the Cavalli Liquid Platinum. There are other pieces with good reputations I've not heard, and I few I had good impressions of but haven't spent enough time to be authoritative including the higher end THX units, the aforementioned Little Dot Mk3 which looks to have enough power after all.

If you are interested in the GMLMk2 we have them in stock. We like that one enough to carry inventory.

OMG DAN! I bought one and just had two days with it. What an ABSOLUTE BLAST of fun yet detailed little amp this is. This is truly my feelings. I hate using all those audiophile crazy terms because 90 of the time those are more biased hype than anything else. In simple words THAT BASS is just so perfect. It hits you good but without any hint of distortion. But what makes this so killer is the fact that it ALSO is so clear with 0 harshness. It is so hard to find amps with both of these qualities in this price range. I went from a Magni 3 to this and the difference to me is so ridiculous.

Thank you so much for your recommendation. The Aeons with the GLMK2 to me are my endgame now.

 

[mrspeakers]

OMG DAN! I bought one and just had two days with it. What an ABSOLUTE BLAST of fun yet detailed little amp this is. This is truly my feelings. I hate using all those audiophile crazy terms because 90 of the time those are more biased hype than anything else. In simple words THAT BASS is just so perfect. It hits you good but without any hint of distortion. But what makes this so killer is the fact that it ALSO is so clear with 0 harshness. It is so hard to find amps with both of these qualities in this price range. I went from a Magni 3 to this and the difference to me is so ridiculous.

Thank you so much for your recommendation. The Aeons with the GLMK2 to me are my endgame now.

Glad you like it! I think this little amp is massively under-appreciated. The clarity and resolution in the highs is also remarkable...

 

[Benke]

I agree that Aeon 2 Open is better sounding compared to Aeon O in many aspects. I really like the more 3-D sounding soundstage. It also has a more natural sounding bass and is smoother sounding also. The design is really ingenious.
I am listening with TEAC NT-505 dac/network player and Schiit Jotunheim. Has anyone here listened with the new HeadAmp GS-X mini? Impressions please!

 

[Empyah]

Thanks very much. Frontal depth is more important to me than rear depth anyway and if it's good for techno too that's a plus. Have you tried the various tuning filters it comes with?

YES! They are very good for techno!

I am starting to feel that these are very good all rounders.

Did not try any of the tuning filters, this is my second day with these cans, they did not burn in yet - neither with my brain nor physically.
Usually i try things like tuning filters, pads, AMPS/DACs, tubes out for days or weeks before i swap to the next one
to really get to know it intimately before i switch, so that the difference when i do change the DAC (etc.) - is so much starker and easier recognisable.

 

[mrspeakers]

OMG DAN! I bought one and just had two days with it. What an ABSOLUTE BLAST of fun yet detailed little amp this is. This is truly my feelings. I hate using all those audiophile crazy terms because 90 of the time those are more biased hype than anything else. In simple words THAT BASS is just so perfect. It hits you good but without any hint of distortion. But what makes this so killer is the fact that it ALSO is so clear with 0 harshness. It is so hard to find amps with both of these qualities in this price range. I went from a Magni 3 to this and the difference to me is so ridiculous.

Thank you so much for your recommendation. The Aeons with the GLMK2 to me are my endgame now.

So glad that worked out. The GLMK2 is a wonder at the price point... I love the clarity and resolution in the treble, no "tzzzz" on cymbals, just "tanggg."

 

[MacedonianHero]

I agree that Aeon 2 Open is better sounding compared to Aeon O in many aspects. I really like the more 3-D sounding soundstage. It also has a more natural sounding bass and is smoother sounding also. The design is really ingenious.
I am listening with TEAC NT-505 dac/network player and Schiit Jotunheim. Has anyone here listened with the new HeadAmp GS-X mini? Impressions please!

Absolutely brilliant pairing! The GS-X mini and Aeon 2 Open is a fantastic combination! It was one of the amplifiers used in my upcoming review of these very impressive new headphones.