[FloydCouncil]

@FloydCouncil what pads are you using with your Aelous and what amp?

I *believe* I have the stock Aelous pads. I am not sure at this point. The amp was a Schiit Valhalla 2, which I intend to sell and upgrade. I would prefer a SS amp but if a nice tube-amp can be had which improves the bass even further I can consider that as well.

 

[zach915m]

I *believe* I have the stock Aelous pads. I am not sure at this point. The amp was a Schiit Valhalla 2, which I intend to sell and upgrade. I would prefer a SS amp but if a nice tube-amp can be had which improves the bass even further I can consider that as well.

I believe you emailed me about this? I am pretty sure they are eikon pads from your pictures, the eikon perf pads sound a little different than our recommended pads for the aeolus. I think tbe first thing to do is try to get some universe pads or Be2 lamb pads on those before giving up on them. Send me an email and we will help.

 

[FloydCouncil]

I'll defer to @jinxy245's reply about the bass issue (I agree w/every word). I would add 1 comment: I have an OTL tube amp (Woo WA3). I love the Aeolus' sound on it. But there's little doubt I get somewhat deeper, more impactful Aeolus bass on SS amps. There are many wonderful things about tubes, but barring endgame/big tube amps, tubes can't usually equal SS in bass power.

I've owned a couple borderline basshead headphones, perhaps "better" in certain ways than the Aeolus. But IMO the bass of this headphone, like every other part of the frequency spectrum, is highly musical. I never feel a lack of bass w/my Aeolus, never find myself wanting something better/different.

I owned a rather beautiful padauk Eikon until a few months ago. Only sold it because closed back designs in general tend to exacarrbate my tinnitus & migraine. Just wanted to say that I greatly admire the Eikon & think of it often: it's one of the most dynamic, rousing headphones I ever heard. The bass is borderline sensational (incl. real sub-bass).

• My point is these headphones sound rather different and are equally worth owning.

Another comment is that unlike the Eikon, for which few tried & true pad options exist, the Aeolus has 3 or 4 recommended pad options (my favorite is perforated suede universe; 2nd fave is Verite pads). Choice of pads, as well as seal, affect the bass you get from the Aeolus.

I wasn't aware that closed headphones can exacarrbate tinnitus. I also suffer from tinnitus and have particularly treble sensitivity - which is why the Aelous sound signiture was quite foreign to me at first. In fact, if I don't clamp the Aelous on right the midrange/treble was hurting me a bit.

Do you know if tinnitus being worsened by closed headphones is a widely obsereved thing? If so, I likely won't purchase the Eikon.

Also, which SS amp would you recommend?

 

[FloydCouncil]

I believe you emailed me about this? I am pretty sure they are eikon pads from your pictures, the eikon perf pads sound a little different than our recommended pads for the aeolus. I think tbe first thing to do is try to get some universe pads or Be2 lamb pads on those before giving up on them. Send me an email and we will help.

Hi! Yes, I replied back to your email earlier today! Just wondering in general here what I should upgrade or side-grade to in ZMF line.

 

[Jaabaas]

Tube amps are definitely great with Aeolus (and all ZMF, in my opinion), I have personally paired mine with schiit jotunheim and Mjolnir2 through Gumby A1, and I definitely prefer the latter, the bass impact (and impact in general) got larger (had to switch to suede perforated pads actually), and the sound got a bit warmer. Couldn't say anything about soundstage because it's quite small and intimate for the aeolus, but now that I have Verite I can confirm that there's a stage difference between my two amps.
and that's just with a relatively affordable hybrid in the Mjolnir 2, excited to try them both out through some full tube amps sometime, as well.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I wasn't aware that closed headphones can exacarrbate tinnitus. I also suffer from tinnitus and have particularly treble sensitivity - which is why the Aelous sound signiture was quite foreign to me at first. In fact, if I don't clamp the Aelous on right the midrange/treble was hurting me a bit.

Do you know if tinnitus being worsened by closed headphones is a widely obsereved thing? If so, I likely won't purchase the Eikon.

Also, which SS amp would you recommend?

You really should consider my comments to be anecdotal, referring to myself. While I've had tinnitus for 10+ years, the larger problem is frequent migraine, which also seems to drive tinnitus. I've found that closed back HPs (in general) & higher volumes/any HPs, tend to drive both things.

I recommend you pay attention to your own hearing & perceptions when you listen to open-back HPs vs closed ones. If you feel the same after using each kind of headphone--and maybe need closed for the social isolation factor, as some do--then don't hesitate to get an Eikon or any other closed back.

The exception to my closed back observation seems to be the ZMF Ori. It's less likely than any other closed headphones I have/or had to drive tinnitus & migraine. I wonder if this happens because it uses a planar driver (sound propagates somwhat differently from planar vs dynamic drivers), but this is pure speculation on my part.

Re SS amps, I've gotten excellent results on a range of headphones from:

• Violectric V281 (my favorite amp/preamp--just DQ'd by mfr). You occasionally find these, or the amp only variant, V280, F.S. on a used basis
• Lake People G109-A (excellent, inexpensive single-ended amp, also DQ'd--LP current production model is G111)
• Cavalli Liquid Carbon v2 (also DQ'd; the design is intermittently available from Drop in a different/larger case)
• Gilmore Lite MKII (small, inexpensive, on the "neutral" side--a great little amp that many like). BTW, I don't own this own; only heard it at shows

A friend has the iFi Pro iCan amp & swears by it (I haven't heard it). If you have lots of $$ to spend, Wells Audio has some endgame SS amps (heard the Milo once & was wowed).

 

[jinxy245]

Do you know if tinnitus being worsened by closed headphones is a widely obsereved thing?

I don't think it's a hard and fast rule. In fact IIRC in ears have the stigma attached to it more often than headphones in general. I will say I've noticed it for myself (I've had tinnitus for a long time) but it's not usually bothersome if I'm careful with the volume. YMMV of course. I'll second @Pharmaboy 's recommendation to experiment with it if you can. YMMV compared to anyone else's of course and likely will.

 

[FloydCouncil]

You really should consider my comments to be anecdotal, referring to myself. While I've had tinnitus for 10+ years, the larger problem is frequent migraine, which also seems to drive tinnitus. I've found that closed back HPs (in general) & higher volumes/any HPs, tend to drive both things.

I recommend you pay attention to your own hearing & perceptions when you listen to open-back HPs vs closed ones. If you feel the same after using each kind of headphone--and maybe need closed for the social isolation factor, as some do--then don't hesitate to get an Eikon or any other closed back.

The exception to my closed back observation seems to be the ZMF Ori. It's less likely than any other closed headphones I have/or had to drive tinnitus & migraine. I wonder if this happens because it uses a planar driver (sound propagates somwhat differently from planar vs dynamic drivers), but this is pure speculation on my part.

Re SS amps, I've gotten excellent results on a range of headphones from:

• Violectric V281 (my favorite amp/preamp--just DQ'd by mfr). You occasionally find these, or the amp only variant, V280, F.S. on a used basis
• Lake People G109-A (excellent, inexpensive single-ended amp, also DQ'd--LP current production model is G111)
• Cavalli Liquid Carbon v2 (also DQ'd; the design is intermittently available from Drop in a different/larger case)
• Gilmore Lite MKII (small, inexpensive, on the "neutral" side--a great little amp that many like). BTW, I don't own this own; only heard it at shows

A friend has the iFi Pro iCan amp & swears by it (I haven't heard it). If you have lots of $$ to spend, Wells Audio has some endgame SS amps (heard the Milo once & was wowed).

Thank you - I'll keep that in mind regarding tinnitus.

I have an opportunity to buy a Vioelectric V100 ($530) or a V200 ($760) - have you ever had a chance to hear any of these? Is there a big difference between the two?

And what about THX AAA 789? Anyone here ever paired their Aelous with THX amps?

 

[PopZeus]

Thank you - I'll keep that in mind regarding tinnitus.

I have an opportunity to buy a Vioelectric V100 ($530) or a V200 ($760) - have you ever had a chance to hear any of these? Is there a big difference between the two?

And what about THX AAA 789? Anyone here ever paired their Aelous with THX amps?

Yes. It's great. I run it balanced with a R-2R DAC as my source. You get a lot of that tube characteristic along with really clean amplification.

 

[FloydCouncil]

I've basically narrowed it down between the Liquid Carbon X and the AAA 789. It seems the 789 is more neutral compared to the Liquid Carbon X and the X is perhaps more warm and bassy.

I sold my Valhalla 2 today so can consider these options more freely. The Vioelectrics are great but most reviews say they are overpriced.

Choosing an amp is much more difficult than headphones haha!

 

[robo24]

I've basically narrowed it down between the Liquid Carbon X and the AAA 789. It seems the 789 is more neutral compared to the Liquid Carbon X and the X is perhaps more warm and bassy.

I sold my Valhalla 2 today so can consider these options more freely. The Vioelectrics are great but most reviews say they are overpriced.

Choosing an amp is much more difficult than headphones haha!

I know Zach has commented on the 789 not being ideal for ZMFs and other 300ohm and up headphones, but forget exactly why. When I had one, I didn't think it was anything special with them. The Pro iCan just has a more full and enjoyable sound for me, that I quickly sold the 789 and have never missed it. I definitely prefer the Valhalla with ZMFs over the 789 too.

 

[Louisiana]

The Pro iCan just has a more full and enjoyable sound for me, that I quickly sold the 789 and have never missed it. I definitely prefer the Valhalla with ZMFs over the 789 too.

I always listen to my Aeolus with Pro iCAN, in Tube + Mode, and for me, it's a perfect Match!

 

[FloydCouncil]

Just bought a Liquid Carbon X. Lets see how it does with my Aeolus.

 

[GDuss]

Just bought a Liquid Carbon X. Lets see how it does with my Aeolus.

I got an original Liquid Carbon about a month ago based on a recommendation from @Pharmaboy (basically like what he wrote above). It's a really nice pairing with the Aeolus. I think the tonality of the amp matches well with the sound of the Aeolus (contrary to what you might think, in this case warm amp + warmish headphones = super fun to listen to). The staging is nice too, maybe not so much the width/height but the depth. I mostly use an OTL tube amp with these headphones, but have been using the LC quite a bit the last month. I don't know how the LCX compares to the LC (allegedly they are the same) but I think you're in for some great listening.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Thank you - I'll keep that in mind regarding tinnitus.

I have an opportunity to buy a Vioelectric V100 ($530) or a V200 ($760) - have you ever had a chance to hear any of these? Is there a big difference between the two?

And what about THX AAA 789? Anyone here ever paired their Aelous with THX amps?

Sorry--never heard either V100 nor V200.

I read that some people just love the V100, which I believe is the last Violectric to use opamps in the signal path (those can be rolled, a different kind of fun). As for the V200, it's a semi-legendary SS amp, praised & owned by many here over the years.

The V100 isn't quite as powerful as the V200, and the case is somewhat smaller. Both are single-ended. I suspect either one would work well with just about any headphone (my Lake People G109-A is said to be descended from the V100 design--and it drives everything well, most definitely including the Aeolus).

I feel some connection to the V200 as the V281 is said to contain 4X the same amp components as the V200 (to derive more power & balanced signal).