I recently took a cross country flight with my Aeons and Woo Audio WA8 on Delta airlines. This will be a review of both the Mr. Speakers Aeon and the WA8.
My flight was broken into two portions a 2-hour flight followed by a 3-and-a-half-hour flight. The 2-hour flight was on an Embraer 175 which had power at the seat but no IFE system. The second leg was on a 757-300 which had power at the seat and Delta Studio IFE system. Both pieces of equipment and cables could fit in my carry-on and where pretty easy to retrieve once I arrived at my seat. The fact that the WA8 runs off the battery meant there was no noise transmission through the power circuit as the crew turned the 120v power off and on during engine start. Once airborne the sound isolation was better than expected for a headphone that isn’t noise cancelling. I was barely able to hear the cabin announcements and I was unable to hear people speaking around me. The headphones needed to be removed to hear the flight attendant speaking to me. The headphones did a very good job blocking out the higher pitched noise of the air moving around the airframe. What you could hear at reduced levels was the sound from the engines. So, a flight in a MD-90-30(ER) with the engines mounted on the rear of the aircraft may reduce this a little more? I truly wish I had an opportunity to fly A-380 since it is one of the quietest aircraft in the cabin. I’m a flier that picks routes based on plane I’ll be flying on.
Comfort
I could wear the Aeon headphones without any fatigue for the 5 and a half hours of flight time. The first leg without the IFE I listened to Bobby Hutcherson and some other jazz. I was able to recline the seat and sleep without the headphones getting in the way of the seatback. When changing positions there wasn’t any leaks created. At no point did my ears get hot or sweat. The WA8 although large could fit on the half-folded tray table once airborne and didn’t slide around. I could still place food and drink on the folded tray table.
Sound
On the second leg while using the IFE I found the sound was more theater like and more 3-dimesional while using the WA8 and a double ended 3.5mm cable connected line in. So, I would recommend that in the headphone case. I have all but given up using the HA-2 as I highly prefer the sound from the WA8, so it will be left at home for my next flight in September. The Aeon is to me a headphone that produces sound exactly as the artist intended nothing added or subtracted. Explosions slammed as they are supposed to and music had a nice sound stage and is highly detailed. I was so immersed into the movie Kong: Skull Island, I forgot about the headphones. You cannot go wrong with the Aeon as a travel headphone.
Travel
The one thing I must say is an issue unrelated to the headphones, is the case. The case desperately needs a loop. I was forced to re-pack the case each time I moved from aircraft to terminal and back to the second aircraft as opposed to being able to clip to my bag with a carabiner. Going through the TSA checkpoint I still had the headphones and amp packed in my carry-on. Once through security and in the gate area I didn’t feel comfortable unpacking the headphones since I would still have had to hold it in my hands as opposed to clipping it on. Using Delta app almost requires two hands, LOL. The WA8 has a carabiner on the Pelican case which makes it easy to transport during a connection. When the cabin 20 minutes to landing announcement is made and to store all the electronic equipment the WA8 cools fast enough that it can be stored in its case without feeling the heat will warp the case. As an aside I have 15 pelican cases of various sizes and I warped my Pelican laptop briefcase while sitting a little too close to a hotel fireplace. Those of us that are in need of the waterproof seal warping is an issue, I took my WA8 to the beach! There is mesh storage in the headphone case which held my HA-2, headphone DUM cables, USB cable and the 3.5mm line cable, although from this point on I doubt I’ll be taking the HA-2 anywhere. Choose your aircraft wisely
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Summary
The Mr. Speakers Aeon and the WA8 is an excellent travel setup it just requires use of the seatback/armrest tray table. A short flight will allow use of the WA8 without having to unpack the power supply so regional jets like the ERJ that don’t have seat power you can still enjoy high quality sound. If the headphone case gets a loop I’ll definitely be first in line to get one. I am very pleased with my Aeon purchase as it allows me to take the Mr. Speakers sound on the road.
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