[Arghavan]

You have to email them to place an order specifically for the Aeolus pads. I just bought some a couple weeks ago.

I did email them 9 days ago, Zack said since the stock Aeolus and Universe lambskin sound very close (Universe has slightly less mid-bass) they don't carry them anymore.

 

[muckyfingers]

I did email them 9 days ago, Zack said since the stock Aeolus and Universe lambskin sound very close (Universe has slightly less mid-bass) they don't carry them anymore.

That’s unfortunate, I agree with you that they are my favorite pads on the Aeolus.

The ones I received felt stiffer than the Universe Pads, but looked the same. Could just be me making it up in my mind, but I don’t have the Universe pads anymore to deeply compare.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Tangentially on topic, ASR reviewed (actually "reviewed" is more accurate since it primarily consisted of graph after graph of measurements followed by a handful of sentences describing "listening tests") the Aeolus' closed sibling Atticus a few days ago. Hilarity and hijinks as High Priest Amir discovered that Atticus did not provide the "neutral response which is key to excellent transformation of fidelity." This was accompanied by predictable virtual ritual burning of the ZMF heretics in the comments by the cultists. It was reminiscent of the digital tar and feathering Schiit used to receive in those forums until it produced a high measuring amp with op-amps as a sacrifice to the ASR gods. if you want a few laughs, take a look.

Meanwhile, I listened to Joni Mitchell's masterpiece Blue (which was released fifty years ago this month) on the Aeolus last night. It may not have had the requisite neutrality to appease the objectivist mob, but I found it pure bliss.

Surely if a headphone should only meet the requirement of being perfectly neutral, then the ASR fanatics should only ever own one headphone. That which their god Amir deems most neutral above all others.

Personally I have no time for ASR. It's all about the measurement of equipment and not remotely about enjoying actual real music. The fanatics have forgotten what this hobby is meant to be about.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

That’s unfortunate, I agree with you that they are my favorite pads on the Aeolus.

The ones I received felt stiffer than the Universe Pads, but looked the same. Could just be me making it up in my mind, but I don’t have the Universe pads anymore to deeply compare.

I picked up some universe perf leather recently. They sounded quite different to the stock pads. But my stock pads are older and a bit flatter now which might go towards explaining it.

 

[arar]

I do love the stock pad sound, but for some reason I find them very uncomfortable compared to the universe suedes. I think they're just too stiff. Sucks, but the suede pads sound incredible too, so.. oh well.

 

[dougq]

Surely if a headphone should only meet the requirement of being perfectly neutral, then the ASR fanatics should only ever own one headphone. That which their god Amir deems most neutral above all others.

Personally I have no time for ASR. It's all about the measurement of equipment and not remotely about enjoying actual real music. The fanatics have forgotten what this hobby is meant to be about.

They specifically talk about how it sounds to them and link to why based on some measurements. The reviews seem to formulate an opinion of sound, but then also discuss the technicalities of headphones too. I don't see what the issue is.

 

[Odin412]

Meanwhile, I listened to Joni Mitchell's masterpiece Blue (which was released fifty years ago this month) on the Aeolus last night. It may not have had the requisite neutrality to appease the objectivist mob, but I found it pure bliss.

Amen to that. Like the great Nelson Pass once said: This is entertainment, not dialysis.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

They specifically talk about how it sounds to them and link to why based on some measurements. The reviews seem to formulate an opinion of sound, but then also discuss the technicalities of headphones too. I don't see what the issue is.

It's the dismissive nature of anything that sounds anything other than neutral

 

[dougq]

It's the dismissive nature of anything that sounds anything other than neutral

That's their subjective preference. Seems to be a valid opinion to have as much as anyone else might have..

 

[ColdsnapBry]

The pad convo has me a bit confused - Does the Aeolus now ship with a different pad? Or does the Aeolus still ship with the same old pad, but that pad isn't sold sperately?

 

[Renexx]

Before the Aeolus came with Aeolus by default. They are Universe lambskin pads with tight stitching and more punchy bass.
Now the Aeolus comes with universe lambskin pads by default and Aeolus pads are discontinued.

 

[muckyfingers]

The pad convo has me a bit confused - Does the Aeolus now ship with a different pad? Or does the Aeolus still ship with the same old pad, but that pad isn't sold sperately?

Aeolus now ships with the Universe Pad. I thought you could still buy the “Aeolus” pad directly from ZMF, but apparently it isn’t so and the new “Aeolus Pad” is now the Universe pad for all intents and purposes.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Firstly, thank you all for the excellent replies. Amp picking is sometimes even more convoluted than picking a headphone. I have heard the gamut of impressions from:
- “tubes are best on brighter headphones”
- “tubes make the Aeolus too dark”
- “hybrids are not worth it, just get a tube”
- “tubes measure terribly, just get a solid state”

Is the Darkvoice/LP good for the Aeolus only with specific tubes? Does it make it too dark? And some amps have way too much gain— is this a problem with the LP or Darkvoice?

I have 6 headphone amps now: 5 are SS, the best of which is V281; and 1 is an OTL tube design, the Woo WA3. At one time I owned the larger, more powerful Woo WA22 transformer-coupled amp. I've heard many other tube headphone amps, and years ago owned all-tube 2-channel preamps & amplifiers.

What I've discovered from all this is that beyond secondary design characteristics such as frequency response, gain, and overall power--the primary qualities tubes bring to music are dimensional & timbral:

• Notes have more space around them & sound more distinct. The recording space (whether a studio, club or concert hall) is more audible/identifiable because tubes more readily convey spatial cues
• Instruments have their own distinctive/identifiable timbre, much as they do IRL. A cello sounds like a big wooden body with strings played by a bow. A bass guitar's notes sound like they come from a bass guitar (not a standup string bass) and that characteristic guitar timbre goes all the way down in its range, etc

These things are subtle but pretty easy to hear, especially with headphones. Even budget amps like the DV and the WA3 give a strong taste of tube goodness. There are certain tradeoffs with tubes vs SS--typically in the deepest bass, overall dynamics, and to some extent, total power; But some tube amps are described as having excellent bass & dynamics (ie, the Quicksilver Headphone amp I'm interested in) and tube amps generally sound more powerful than their wattage specs indicate.

As for tone/frequency differences, some tube amps sound warm & some sound rather neutral. Much like with various DAC chips/architectures, it's the overall design of the tube amp that dictates the voicing more than the components used. The best sound I ever heard from an Aeolus was on the big Woo WA22--the best rendition of space and 3D notes I've ever heard w/an Aeolus. I found the spatial/dimensional qualities more significant & noteworthy than the slight warmth of the tubes...

Gain tends to be a design choice specific to each amp. But the gain characteristics of an amp will only matter (or not matter) in one's system. If your system is borderline high gain like mine, perhaps the LP's gain would be problematic...? Hard to know without trying it yourself.

 

[oldsweatyman]

Tangentially on topic, ASR reviewed (actually "reviewed" is more accurate since it primarily consisted of graph after graph of measurements followed by a handful of sentences describing "listening tests") the Aeolus' closed sibling Atticus a few days ago. Hilarity and hijinks as High Priest Amir discovered that Atticus did not provide the "neutral response which is key to excellent transformation of fidelity." This was accompanied by predictable virtual ritual burning of the ZMF heretics in the comments by the cultists. It was reminiscent of the digital tar and feathering Schiit used to receive in those forums until it produced a high measuring amp with op-amps as a sacrifice to the ASR gods. if you want a few laughs, take a look.

Meanwhile, I listened to Joni Mitchell's masterpiece Blue (which was released fifty years ago this month) on the Aeolus last night. It may not have had the requisite neutrality to appease the objectivist mob, but I found it pure bliss.

I frequent ASR to see measurements, but, to reiterate what has certainly been said 10000 times, this is a great example of how silly some of the stuff on ASR is. I think it's pretty obvious at this point that A) "neutrality" is not actually an objective concept and B) what some people mean by "non-neutral" =/ "bad" anyway, as the Aeolus obviously demonstrates. On that note, transparency doesn't make sense to me at all either, considering every headphone and source has some particular tonality that is with certainty some level different from what the studio engineers heard. So what are they being objective about exactly at the end of the day with terms like neutral and transparent? Interestingly, in his review of the Bottlehead Crack, Amir said he enjoyed the distortion. I don't get the cult aspect of it all really, just silly.

 

[Deceneu808]

I did email them 9 days ago, Zack said since the stock Aeolus and Universe lambskin sound very close (Universe has slightly less mid-bass) they don't carry them anymore.

Wha ? I ordered a set of Aeolus stock pads exactly one month ago and they had plenty...