[Aelrikom]

I ordered my Aeolus a couple days ago. I'm very excited. Hopefully the wait isn't too long

 

[whirlwind]

I owned a unicorn pre-fazor LCD-3 (sold ~4 months ago); heard the Aeolus at great length IMS; never heard arya, but own a HEX v2; and own an Empyrean. Bear in mind I've done very little listening for medical reasons in past 3 months.

Rather than attempt point-to-point comparison of these designs, I would say the primary difference between the Aeolus vs the others is really the defining difference: Aeolus uses dynamic drivers while the rest are planar. In my experience, this fact suggests systematic/predicctable sonic differences, which is exactly what I hear. Not huge differences, but not all that subtle, either...

I prefer planars (particularly open-back planars) for all kinds of reasons, but it boils down to the low distortion, sudden/explosive note launch of planar drivers, and deep, textured bass. Not all planars have TOTL bass, but the ones that do sound quite amazing & really don't invite comparison to dynamic designs.

Having said all that, ZMF & Zach "keep pulling me back in" to dynamic drivers. I bought a used Eikon sometime last year and it's flat-out amazing in many ways (this happened well after my preference for open-backs became dominant). I've heard enough of the Aeolus to know it's a terrific all-rounder, a great headphone that only gets better w/better sources. And the Verite, which I heard only briefly at CanJam, sounded unlike any headphone I'd ever heard, planar or dynamic--and hearing more of it is an imperative, going forward.

Sorry to hear about your health issues, Peter.
I hope you get well soon.
I have been listening to those unicorn LCD-3 most every night.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Sorry to hear about your health issues, Peter.
I hope you get well soon.
I have been listening to those unicorn LCD-3 most every night.

Thanks!

IMO, the pre-fazor LCD-3 is capable of the most beautiful sound. I found it not be an all-rounder (then again, few HPs are), but a really superb transducer for music w/multiple human/instrumental voices + real acoustic cues (ie, orchestral, choral, symphonic). On that material, I'm not sure I've ever heard better...

 

[Monsterzero]

Bruce fans — check out his new song “Hello Sunshine” from his upcoming album “Western Stars.” A real return to form and the wonderfully warm old school arrangement sounds marvelous on ZMF cans.

I think its a departure from form,but it sounds great.
If the song sounds familiar,check out:



vs.



Really looking forward to the new album.

Back to Aeolus chat.

 

[MtnMan307]

My Aeolus finally got here today. I just picked them up ten minutes ago from the apartment office. Listening to "Schism" by Tool with the Lyr 3.

I received an extra pair of pads along with the ones on the headphones. I chose Verite pads when I placed the order, I think I received those along with Aeolus pads on the headphone. So far I'm pretty floored with the build quality and the overall sound signature.

 

[whirlwind]

I love this community and the great people here!

Yeah, no kidding...I have met many wonderful people from this community, just here on head-fi. I really would love to meet some face to face
People have sent me stuff to try and trade and ect.
I try to pass it forward to people when I can.
I have talked music with so many people, music makes all of this possible.

 

[MtnMan307]

I just swapped to the thinner pads, Verite I believe, and I think I like the Aeolus pads better. My ears don't have as much room so I will probably mostly use the Aeolus pads. The Aeolus pads are also more fun-sounding in the low end as I expected, but not "too much like the 650" as I thought might be the case. These are definitely more than a 650!

 

[MtnMan307]

Listening now with the Jotunheim, balanced out, low gain. My impression is that these cans match up very well with both the Lyr 3 and the Jot. The sound is a little different of course, a little more aggressive, but either as good or nearly as good as the Lyr 3 overall. I think the Jot has a bit more bass impact and weight in the low end, like it normally does, without being too intense. Both amps have a lot of power which is probably a benefit too.

ETA, 5/3/19: That was my first impression on the first day with the new Aeolus. I was not trying to tell people to hurry up and buy a Jotunheim for their Aeolus. Going to put more miles on my pair before I comment too much more on the sound signature or pairings with amps.

 

[Velozity]

Listening now with the Jotunheim, balanced out, low gain. My impression is that these cans match up very well with both the Lyr 3 and the Jot. The sound is a little different of course, a little more aggressive, but either as good or nearly as good as the Lyr 3 overall. I think the Jot has a bit more bass impact and weight in the low end, like it normally does, without being too intense. Both amps have a lot of power which is probably a benefit too.

Hey, just a bit of advice- let the Aeolus break-in before doing any real critical listening. I've had my Eikon burning in for going on 70 hours now and it almost sounds like a different headphone now than when I first opened them on Sunday. No BS. It's definitely very noticeable. I equate it to the feeling of trying on new leather shoes at the store vs. how they feel after wearing them for a week. Burn in with these headphones is real, but as with anything, YMMV. Cheers!

 

[MtnMan307]

Thanks, I know they will probably change with even 50-100 hours on them. My K7XX definitely did that. So if the Aeolus are good now, I probably have even more to look forward to.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

A bit of smooth jazz for your Sunday Morning, Bill Frisell, “Epistrophe (it’s Greek, damn it).”

So this albums SQ is pretty absurd...

I had the new album “Feral Roots” by Rival Sons on before I saw your post (which I think sounds fantastic on the Aeolus btw) but this jazz is just perfect for me now. Thanks for posting it!

This is my moment right now- please excuse the wire spaghetti on my desk!

 

[whirlwind]

So this albums SQ is pretty absurd...

I had the new album “Feral Roots” by Rival Sons on before I saw your post (which I think sounds fantastic on the Aeolus btw) but this jazz is just perfect for me now. Thanks for posting it!

This is my moment right now- please excuse the wire spaghetti on my desk!

great pic....that should sound glorious.

 

[franz12]

Actually i am selling them, i came to realization that they are too warm for my taste, details are not far from HD660 although i am liking that bass but tbh the TH900 have cleaner bass , so i dont think i need the Aeolus in my collection.

I would like to follow up. I just wonder whether you are keeping or ended up selling this. Do you still think the hd660 resolve better after burn-in periods?

 

[GU1DO]

I would like to follow up. I just wonder whether you are keeping or ended up selling this. Do you still think the hd660 resolve better after burn-in periods?

Sorry i sold it after my last post , i did only 50hr , and yes i think the HD660 or Focal Elex would perform better as an open back unless you are looking for really warm closed feeling headphone.

Edit: forget to say that Zach said the Aeolus will sound more open with a different pads, but i didnt explore that option.

 

[MtnMan307]

I’m still getting to know the Aeolus. I wanted to see how the K240 Sextett sounded with the Vali 2, or if it would even drive them. I was very surprised that they did pretty well on high gain and low volume. Those are 600 ohms so it was a surprise. So I tried the Aeolus and again it was a pretty good first impression. Not quite like the Lyr 3 though.