[Pharmaboy]

I'm waiting to build one in Sterling Silver

Damn, that's a great idea. That would look amazing.

Can silver be cut/worked into a complex grill like the VO's? I wonder...it's not a very hard metal.

 

[hikaru12]

Damn, that's a great idea. That would look amazing.

Can silver be cut/worked into a complex grill like the VO's? I wonder...it's not a very hard metal.

It's actually better to be extruded at that point, like with a 3D printer. Although with the right amount of money you could cast it just like you can gold. I plan on making mines on Shapeways. I believe it's $200 for a pair of grills at the current SS price.

 

[NickT23]

You Mileage May Vary. (And I'm a 67-year old who almost religiously stays off social media.)

Am not religious at all but I stay off social media as well. Also, have you tried with Spotify and Youtube at least ?

 

[NickT23]

Sorry you didn't recognize that, I do often emphasize that everyone has different preferences & experiences. That being said, Aeolus has been amazing for my preferences. I'm sure there could be a "too smooth" pairing, but with my gear I haven't run into that problem (keep in mind I prefer a less fatiguing sound). I only have a Bifrost 2 currently, and a Gungnir D/S before that paired with the Aeolus and I find it sounds wonderful with both (my ifi Pro iCAN, previously a DNA Sonnet 2 & currently a ZMF Pendant as the amps). I know my friend @Pharmaboy has a lot more amps he's paird them with and could likely give more insight there.

I don't Spotify, but have spent a lot of time on YouTube with the Aeolus and I've enjoyed it thoroughly. I listen to a wide variety of music including Classical, EDM, Folk, Rock, Jazz and various combinations and stylistic blends of all the above. When I say Aeolus is forgiving, I'm referring to what some call "digititis" where the highs can be a bit more shrill. Aeolus does lessen this effect to my ears, though it doesn't work miracles.

I hope this helps...

Thanks for your respond. However, when you try higher quality FLAC dsd files and with compressed poor quality tracks with Youtube, do you see any difference in quality with the Aeolus regardless of which amps and dacs ?
Next, do you also see any difference in sonic quality with the Aeolus when you heard both low and high quality tracks from Youtube ?
Have you also did an experiment between higher end and lower end amp/dac for sonic qualities and scalability with the Aeolous ?

 

[NickT23]

I do have a free version of Spotify which I listen to occasionally and I do listen to things on YouTube which could be low quality tracks depending on what you consider to be low quality tracks. I mostly listen to FLAC files on Foobar 2000; I do have some MP3s, but they're at a bitrate of 320 kbps and 44100 Hz sampling rate.
I'm also not what I would call experienced or knowledgeable in the audio world and I've got a very small n size (n=1) for any testing to be done with the Aeolus. I don't think any answer I can give you would be helpful because so much of listening to music is subjective. What I consider "low" quality or "dark" or "neutral," etc. may sound completely different to your ears, and vice versa.

Speaking of being helpful, the guys and gals who post here are super helpful with giving advice as best they can. Let everyone know what you're looking to do or what you want to achieve as best as you can describe it, and I'm sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction.

I dont expect you to be experienced or knowledgeable with small ratio of being an expert, size of (n=1). Am also referring to subjectivity and preference. Because if not I would not have reached you out personally. I bound to find one gals here and what am looking is for your experimentation and subjectivity experience at your current possession with Aeolus now and not really looking for help. Anyway, the way I define low quality tracks is difficult because there are many variable taken into accounts but in comparison to lets say FLAC files on Foobar 2000 to most songs from Spotify and Youtube is considered as low quality tracks, nonetheless. Anyway, if that were to be the case, in your opinion, how does it sounds to you through random music from Spotify and Youtube on the Aeolus with both low end and high end amp/dac ? As you know Spotify and Youtube music have very compressed files and recordings are not good. Some are pretty decent.

 

[NickT23]

"Poorly recorded tracks" can mean many things. I suspect in headphone audio it means either bright/edgy-sounding upper midrange & treble (possibly also "grainy" sound--when you hear that, you know it right away); or bass that doesn't sound natural and isn't deep & impactful enough.

I've heard my Aeolus on 8 or 9 amps in my system, and really can't say I'm particularly aware of poorly recorded tracks. That's partly because most of the music I listen to was pretty well recorded (ie, no early punk, metal, garage, other genres where recording quality isn't a primary objective*)--but it's also partly because the Aeolus simply isn't one of those painfully "neutral" headphones that spotlights the least little flaws in recordings.

Then again, one implication of "YMMV" ("your mileage may vary") is that you may/may not have a DAC or an amp that are especially neutral (some people love that sound; I sure don't). If so, you may get the Aeolus to sound somewhat bad on bad recordings--but I still kinda doubt it could sound truly awful.

*I also primarily listen to .wav or .flac files ripped from CDs or purchased for download. The few mp3s I have are 320 kb.

Hi thanks for responding. Yes, also that where headphone audio means that to be categorized somewhat as "poorly recorded tracks". But what I meant by poorly recorded tracks is that files that are highly compressed where the production of audio is poor where is clarity is loss or even hiss noise where platform such as Youtube and Spotify often have this issues with lower bit rate. Thats why i asked you whether I have you use the Aeolus with poor quality tracks particularly with Youtube and Spotify and also have you tested with different price range of amps/dacs using Youtube and Spotify ? If so, how is it in your opinion.

 

[jnak00]

The Aeolus won't rescue poor quality sources and magically make them sound better. YouTube and Spotify both sound good but of course higher quality tracks sound much better.

 

[NickT23]

The Aeolus won't rescue poor quality sources and magically make them sound better. YouTube and Spotify both sound good but of course higher quality tracks sound much better.

Ok, well said because some headphones, amps and dac are very forgiving with compressed recording. And am very curious. Some dacs helps demanding headphones that are not forgiving with recording will be forgiving to some degree.

 

[jnak00]

As others have said Aeolus is pretty forgiving of poor tracks. But you can only polish a turd so much.

Multiple people have given you basically the same answer. The only way for you to find out for sure is to try them.

 

[NickT23]

As others have said Aeolus is pretty forgiving of poor tracks. But you can only polish a turd so much.

Multiple people have given you basically the same answer. The only way for you to find out for sure is to try them.

How to try ?

 

[jinxy245]

Thanks for your respond. However, when you try higher quality FLAC dsd files and with compressed poor quality tracks with Youtube, do you see any difference in quality with the Aeolus regardless of which amps and dacs ?

IDK if it would be good to say "regardless" of amps dacs because I beleive they make a difference in the overall experience, though some find it easier to discern than others. That being said, I do indeed hear a difference, that was what I meant by "Aeolus scales well". It is forgiving of low quality tracks, but it does sound increasingly better to me as the recordings get better.

 

[OombaGatoonga]

Anyway, if that were to be the case, in your opinion, how does it sounds to you through random music from Spotify and Youtube on the Aeolus with both low end and high end amp/dac ?

In my opinion, it sounds awesome! Please note that I do not have high end amps or DACs.
Put another way, I look like this when listening:

 

[Pharmaboy]

But you can only polish a turd so much.

(speechless)

 

[NickT23]

In my opinion, it sounds awesome! Please note that I do not have high end amps or DACs.
Put another way, I look like this when listening:

Interesting. So it sounds awesome to you with Youtube and Spotify with compressed files and cheaper amp/dac. Your price range for amp/dac is around $500 ? Is it Solid state ?

 

[OombaGatoonga]

Your price range for amp/dac is around $500 ? Is it Solid state ?

Yeah, that's about my price range for amps and DACs. I prefer to spend more on the headphones and am satisfied with cheaper amps and DACs.

Update for all the friendly folks who answered my questions earlier: I finished the Bottlehead Crack today and am listening to some tunes now. I would probably get banned if i posted all the McMahon gifs that still only scratch the surface of what I'm feeling right now, this combo is awesome! I'm very glad I chose the Crack. I just want to listen to all the songs in my library and see what the tube magic does to them. The satisfaction of building the kit by myself was also a big part of the joy of completing the amp. Thanks everyone for the advice!

To answer your second question - I have a JDS Labs Atom Amp and Atom DAC stack, plus a JDS Labs OL DAC arriving tomorrow which i'll pair with my newly finished Bottlehead Crack. One solid state amp and one tube amp. The Crack may change my mind about the budget for amps and DACs.