[roskodan]

No I dont want to imply anything, just saying it sounds better, wondering if anything did change or is it just my ears , I was without them for a week, it could just be I missed them . If nothing has changed in the manufacturing process or the components then my ears are getting better which is also cool ....

I guess the brain gets better at playing tricks. I started noticing the subtle changes in perception of how the same headphone can sound differently depending on how my day went, what time of the day I'm listening to music (early morning or before bed), if I had a drink, a shower, what's the weather like etc... no kidding.

 

[mrspeakers]

No I dont want to imply anything, just saying it sounds better, wondering if anything did change or is it just my ears , I was without them for a week, it could just be I missed them . If nothing has changed in the manufacturing process or the components then my ears are getting better which is also cool ....

This is only a guess having not gotten the headphone back, but if you had an intermittent sound quality issue there was probably something underlying it like a broken or damaged trace that could cause part of the driver to have a nonlinear motion, so a new unit shouldn't sound the same.

 

[mrspeakers]

I guess the brain gets better at playing tricks. I started noticing the subtle changes in perception of how the same headphone can sound differently depending on how my day went, what time of the day I'm listening to music (early morning or before bed), if I had a drink, a shower, what's the weather like etc... no kidding.

Fun topic. There's a lot of physiology in perception that isn't well documented or understood. I've sometimes thought of doing a posting on this in sound science because I've not seen it discussed too often but I also haven't done enough homework to see what research exists.

Over the years I've noted several things that affect my experience. For example, listening to music with full bass when I clench my jaw the tone gets brighter and bass falls off. In the case of jaw-clenching you can actually stuff a finger into your ear canal and feel the entry to the ear canal shrink as the jaw pushes back. I'm not a physiologist and haven't studied this in-depth but I did verify with a handfull of people and at least some others can hear this as well. My hypothesis is clenching the jaw decreases the ear canal volume, raising the acoustic impedance, thus changing the perceived tonal balance.

Another example is when you've been listening at a constant reasonable but not too loud volume and after a few hours it may suddenly sound too loud or bright as your ears fatigue. I assume there must be some research projects on this but I've not done the research to be sure.

Also stress can play a role, if I had a rough day things often end up sounding bright and I have to consciously relax to get things "right" again. There've even been studies linking temporary and permanent hearing loss to depression and anxiety.

 

[roskodan]

Well, count me in as well. I felt the same effect with the Aeon Flow Closed (and even open headphones after that, so, no, it wasn't the seal), it was a completely accidental finding, in that I noticed the bass increasing while I was yawning. Ended actually spending some time listening with my jaw forced into a prognathic position. It was fun for a few minutes, but as one can imagine, it didn't really add to the experience.

Also noticed that one does adapt to hear into a headphone signature. During a listening session, switching from Aeon to ah-d2000, the Denon feel irritatingly V shaped and loose at first, but after a while they kind of start to sound perfectly fine. Like if one's perception stops focusing on the obvious differences and adapts to see the whole picture again. Not unlike when one gazes at the moon at night. First you see only the bright light, but after a while you start catching a glimpse of the surface features, and after a while more you can see them all very clearly.

Then of course one could argue that the Denon are like looking with the naked eye while the Aeon are like a good telescope, my point, however, was only about how adaptable our physiology can be. Not only do we all not have the same perception, but, one's perception is not the same all the time. Rocket science has nothing on head-fi "science".

 

[chesebert]

Is Aeon 2, like Aeon 1, still a bitch to drive with around 10ohm nominal imp? Most amps will drive my Aeon 1 to high spl but quality sucks.

 

[hiImGrant]

Is Aeon 2, like Aaron 1, still a bitch to drive with around 10ohm nominal imp? Most amps will drive my Aeon 1 to high spl but quality sucks.

They’re proper planars so do require some effort to drive. They’re maybe a bit easier than the aeon 1 if memory serves but still require more than dynamics

 

[MaxD]

This is only a guess having not gotten the headphone back, but if you had an intermittent sound quality issue there was probably something underlying it like a broken or damaged trace that could cause part of the driver to have a nonlinear motion, so a new unit shouldn't sound the same.

So basically they are better than I originally thought now I don't have an issue with better , Cheers Dan

 

[Deolum]

Can you compare the sensitivity of the AFC2 to other headphones?

Grados, Fostex TH900, AKG 702, 812

Are those in between those or harder or easier to drive?

My amp has very much power and with very low impedance cans like the Grados oder Fostex it works but it's not ideal.

 

[Licht]

Can you compare the sensitivity of the AFC2 to other headphones?

Grados, Fostex TH900, AKG 702, 812

Are those in between those or harder or easier to drive?

My amp has very much power and with very low impedance cans like the Grados oder Fostex it works but it's not ideal.

Looking at the spec,
AFC2 is the most inefficient and requires most high current.
But voltage wise, K702 requires most high voltage (requires to rev up the volume pot most.)

Dan Clark Audio AEON2C 13ohms 92dB/mW
AKG K701 62ohms 93dB/mW (105dB/V)
AKG K812 36ohms 96dB/mW
Grado GS1000 32ohms 98.8dB/mW
FOSTEX TH900mk2 25ohms 100dB/mW

 

[ToTo Man]

Hi guys, forgive me from not having read the previous 93 pages. I've just received the Aeon 2 closed-back on demo and wanted to ask advice on its tonal balance as my first impressions are that it's rather bass shy. This came as a bit of a surprise to me as the frequency response measurements I've seen on the web suggest it is essentially flat to below 20Hz. It sounds very lean out of an AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt, which perhaps isn't surprising given the Dragonfly's current supply limitations, but even with a high-powered amp like the Schiit Jotunhiem there still isn't the weight and punch I was expecting from a closed-back headphone. I'm just wondering if what I'm hearing is consistent with the Aeon 2 closed's tuning or if perhaps I received a unit that isn't representative? On the plus side it does sound spectacularly spacious, open and airy in the mid and upper frequencies. Indeed it reminds me in many ways of the HD800S which is a remarkable achievement for a closed-back headphone at any price point!

 

[chesebert]

Hi guys, forgive me from not having read the previous 93 pages. I've just received the Aeon 2 closed-back on demo and wanted to ask advice on its tonal balance as my first impressions are that it's rather bass shy. This came as a bit of a surprise to me as the frequency response measurements I've seen on the web suggest it is essentially flat to below 20Hz. It sounds very lean out of an AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt, which perhaps isn't surprising given the Dragonfly's current supply limitations, but even with a high-powered amp like the Schiit Jotunhiem there still isn't the weight and punch I was expecting from a closed-back headphone. I'm just wondering if what I'm hearing is consistent with the Aeon 2 closed's tuning or if perhaps I received a unit that isn't representative? On the plus side it does sound spectacularly spacious, open and airy in the mid and upper frequencies. Indeed it reminds me in many ways of the HD800S which is a remarkable achievement for a closed-back headphone at any price point!

You need an amp that is not current limited at all. In other words, it needs to double down in power output until 8ohm. Aeon 1 output imp is only 10ohm at 1khz (I suspect Aeon 2 has similar electrical characteristics). It's a hard headphone to amp well.

 

[ToTo Man]

You need an amp that is not current limited at all. In other words, it needs to double down in power output until 8ohm. Aeon 1 output imp is only 10ohm at 1khz. It's a hard headphone to amp well.

I've heard this said a lot with respect to loudspeakers too. Surely doubling down in power output only becomes crucial when you are approaching the maximum output capability of the amp? For example, if a loudspeaker has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and minimum impedance of 4 ohms, an amp that can output 100wpc max into 8 ohms but only 150wpc max into 4 ohms will still be able to deliver 10wpc into 8 ohms and 20wpc into 4 ohms without limiting the current?

Schiit claim the Jotunheim can drive the HiFi Man HE-6 so I'd have thought the Jotunhiem would have plenty current supply for the Aeon 2?

Jotunheim specs:
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 2Hz-700KHz, -3dB
Balanced Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 7500mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 5000mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 3000mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 900mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 500mW RMS per channel
Single-Ended Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 2500mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 1500mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 800mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 350mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 175mW RMS per channel

 

[Swisshead]

Hi guys, forgive me from not having read the previous 93 pages. I've just received the Aeon 2 closed-back on demo and wanted to ask advice on its tonal balance as my first impressions are that it's rather bass shy. This came as a bit of a surprise to me as the frequency response measurements I've seen on the web suggest it is essentially flat to below 20Hz. It sounds very lean out of an AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt, which perhaps isn't surprising given the Dragonfly's current supply limitations, but even with a high-powered amp like the Schiit Jotunhiem there still isn't the weight and punch I was expecting from a closed-back headphone. I'm just wondering if what I'm hearing is consistent with the Aeon 2 closed's tuning or if perhaps I received a unit that isn't representative? On the plus side it does sound spectacularly spacious, open and airy in the mid and upper frequencies. Indeed it reminds me in many ways of the HD800S which is a remarkable achievement for a closed-back headphone at any price point!

Well, I got the cobalt, too. Yeah, it's like a Hummer with a 50-horsepower 3-cylinder engine. Yeah, it drives, but it's no fun. It's got a really big V8.

No, Plug it into a really big amp. You'll have plenty of bass. On the Cobalt you have a little bass as well, but more of a boom. It lacks the hits and the precision. With a strong amp you have an extreme bass foundation. For me, one of the best. Extremely precise, clear, powerful! That's fun. No, you really can't complain about missing bass like this! Sometimes I even have to take the bass control back a bit, because it's almost too much of a good thing. But the bass from the A2C almost threw me off my chair the first time.

Very good even with the iFi micro iDSD BL. Even better with the Pro iCan. There it goes.

 

[Licht]

Hi guys, forgive me from not having read the previous 93 pages. I've just received the Aeon 2 closed-back on demo and wanted to ask advice on its tonal balance as my first impressions are that it's rather bass shy. This came as a bit of a surprise to me as the frequency response measurements I've seen on the web suggest it is essentially flat to below 20Hz. It sounds very lean out of an AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt, which perhaps isn't surprising given the Dragonfly's current supply limitations, but even with a high-powered amp like the Schiit Jotunhiem there still isn't the weight and punch I was expecting from a closed-back headphone. I'm just wondering if what I'm hearing is consistent with the Aeon 2 closed's tuning or if perhaps I received a unit that isn't representative? On the plus side it does sound spectacularly spacious, open and airy in the mid and upper frequencies. Indeed it reminds me in many ways of the HD800S which is a remarkable achievement for a closed-back headphone at any price point!

Maybe you already tried, but have you played around with tuning pads (inserts)?
I think there should be three types of inserts coming with Aeon 2c. (white felt, black felt, black foam.)
I don't have Aeon 2C, but in my experience with my Ether Flow 1.1, which come with 3 sets of tuning pads, it was too bright to me without any pads inserted.
To me, Ether Flow 1.1 settled with white felt and black foam both inserted in stack.

It might not be the reason, but just for information.

 

[roskodan]

I've heard this said a lot with respect to loudspeakers too. Surely doubling down in power output only becomes crucial when you are approaching the maximum output capability of the amp? For example, if a loudspeaker has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and minimum impedance of 4 ohms, an amp that can output 100wpc max into 8 ohms but only 150wpc max into 4 ohms will still be able to deliver 10wpc into 8 ohms and 20wpc into 4 ohms without limiting the current?

Schiit claim the Jotunheim can drive the HiFi Man HE-6 so I'd have thought the Jotunhiem would have plenty current supply for the Aeon 2?

Jotunheim specs:
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 2Hz-700KHz, -3dB
Balanced Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 7500mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 5000mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 3000mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 900mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 500mW RMS per channel
Single-Ended Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 2500mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 1500mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 800mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 350mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 175mW RMS per channel

Yes, the Jotunheim is fine. Especially from it's balanced output.

The important thing is that you have an amp that peaks in power with loads at 16 Ohms. 500mW to 1W at 16 ohms is already really decent in that case.

What headphone did you compare the Aeon 2 Closed to? When I go from a V shaped headphone to a more neutral headphone, the later will inevitably sound lacking in bass until my ears adapt.