[GDuss]

Thanks! There have been good answers and great answers to queries. Yours exceeds both. Appreciated.

The trick would be finding an upgrade to the WA3 that makes use of my small collection of 5998s.

The 5998, along with the 6AS7G and 6080, are commonly used power tubes so there are other amps out there. The GOTL is one of them, but in its case you need to use a pair of them at a time. This is an even better way to utilize your 5998 collection . You can also have someone other than Glenn build you an amp that uses these tubes. Here is an example of a builder on Head-Fi who can do this:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/1101-audio-amplifiers-power-conditioners-and-accessories.946679/

I have no affiliation with @A2029 who builds the amps, but they seem to be highly regarded by people who have tried other amps. I'm sure others have recommendations for amps that can run these tubes.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I thought the Aeolus was supposed to sound very good / best only on tubes.

Maybe it does. I've certainly heard some terrific Aeolus sound on endgame/big tube amps at shows. I also heard my friend's Aeolus on the Woo WA22 I owned last year...that was pretty amazing; also have heard the Aeolus often on my modest but very nice-sounding OTL, the Woo WA3.

But I've also gotten wonderful sound out of a number of SS amps. The Aeolus is the polar opposite of "amp picky." I enjoy moving it from one good SS amp to the other (V281, Lake People G109-A, LC v2) to appreciate the subtle but audible differences.

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

Maybe it does. I've certainly heard some terrific Aeolus sound on endgame/big tube amps at shows. I also heard my friend's Aeolus on the Woo WA22 I owned last year...that was pretty amazing; also have heard the Aeolus often on my modest but very nice-sounding OTL, the Woo WA3.

But I've also gotten wonderful sound out of a number of SS amps. The Aeolus is the polar opposite of "amp picky." I enjoy moving it from one good SS amp to the other (V281, Lake People G109-A, LC v2) to appreciated the subtle but audible differences.

I couldn’t agree more, the Aeolus isn’t amp picky at all! I do enjoy it much more off tube hybrid or OTL though! @CaptainFantastic

 

[iFi audio]

I would second this as well the iFi Pro iCAN has great synergy with then ZMF Aeolus in all three of its stages solid state, tube, and tube + with tube plus as my favorite with that amp as well. Shoot the iFi IDSD micro black label does too! I have iFi Pro iCAN kindly on loan from the kind folks at iFi for review and I will be discussing the synergy with a few different headphones on my YouTube in detail. Spoiler alert it’s one of the most versatile amps out there and has very good synergy with the Aeolus and Verite Open.

Thanks a lot and enjoy

 

[TylersEclectic]

I started using the Hugo 2 with the Aeolus recently. I am amazed by how good this sounds. I thought the Aeolus was supposed to sound very good / best only on tubes. But I am really enjoying it on the Hugo 2. Does anyone else find that it pairs well with Chord gear? I am getting crazy medium-term thoughts about the TT2 now.

I'm a huge fan of the TT2! It has disrupted my audio chain pretty hard... looking to sell off excess stuff ha... I did a live stream comparing the Bifrost 2 to the TT2 on my personal YouTube channel... I must say... TT2 if you can swing it... is pretty fantastic!

 

[OombaGatoonga]

The Aeolus arrived today! Opening the box for the first time was a crazy "wow" moment, they look so incredible. The difference between seeing photos and holding one in your hands is real. I never really understood what people meant when they said vocals sound organic with the Aeolus until I gave some of my favorite songs a listen. Yep, that's what they meant by organic and lifelike. Z Reviews' description of being "in the music" also became clear after a bit of listening. Oddly enough, I really like how the Aeolus does drums, in particular crash cymbals. It sounds like they're happening in real life next to my ears. And it's supposed to get better as it burns in? I can hardly wait!

Update to my last post asking about tubes - I got a LittleDot Mk2 to introduce my ears to tubes as I wait for a soon-to-arrive Bottlehead Crack plus Speedball Kit. Running the E-MU Teak off the LittleDot Mk2 tubes is kind of like having a few drinks, getting you into that zone where your perception slows down a bit and things start feeling warm and pleasant. I am a fan. As of this moment writing this post, I've just listened to the Aeolus on a JDS Labs Atom Amp/Dac stack. Will try out the LittleDot soon. Looking forward to getting some DIY action done and taking the Aeolus for a real spin on the Crack!

 

[NickT23]

The Aeolus arrived today! Opening the box for the first time was a crazy "wow" moment, they look so incredible. The difference between seeing photos and holding one in your hands is real. I never really understood what people meant when they said vocals sound organic with the Aeolus until I gave some of my favorite songs a listen. Yep, that's what they meant by organic and lifelike. Z Reviews' description of being "in the music" also became clear after a bit of listening. Oddly enough, I really like how the Aeolus does drums, in particular crash cymbals. It sounds like they're happening in real life next to my ears. And it's supposed to get better as it burns in? I can hardly wait!

Update to my last post asking about tubes - I got a LittleDot Mk2 to introduce my ears to tubes as I wait for a soon-to-arrive Bottlehead Crack plus Speedball Kit. Running the E-MU Teak off the LittleDot Mk2 tubes is kind of like having a few drinks, getting you into that zone where your perception slows down a bit and things start feeling warm and pleasant. I am a fan. As of this moment writing this post, I've just listened to the Aeolus on a JDS Labs Atom Amp/Dac stack. Will try out the LittleDot soon. Looking forward to getting some DIY action done and taking the Aeolus for a real spin on the Crack!

hey did you try your Aeolus on poor quality track on Youtube and Spotify ? or any low quality MP3 format ?

 

[jinxy245]

hey did you try your Aeolus on poor quality track on Youtube and Spotify ? or any low quality MP3 format ?

I find the Aeolus is very forgiving of poorly recorded tracks, yet it scales really well with better gear/files.
YMMV of course

 

[NickT23]

I find the Aeolus is very forgiving of poorly recorded tracks, yet it scales really well with better gear/files.
YMMV of course

What about the amps and dacs paring with poor recorded tracks using Aelous ? what kind of poorly recorded tracks ? Have you actually tested spotify and youtube for music listening ?

What is YMMV sorry ?

 

[Marlowe]

What about the amps and dacs paring with poor recorded tracks using Aelous ? what kind of poorly recorded tracks ? Have you actually tested spotify and youtube for music listening ?

What is YMMV sorry ?

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

 

[jinxy245]

What about the amps and dacs paring with poor recorded tracks using Aelous ? what kind of poorly recorded tracks ? Have you actually tested spotify and youtube for music listening ?

What is YMMV sorry ?

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...

 

[OombaGatoonga]

hey did you try your Aeolus on poor quality track on Youtube and Spotify ? or any low quality MP3 format ?

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.

 

[Pharmaboy]

What about the amps and dacs paring with poor recorded tracks using Aelous ? what kind of poorly recorded tracks ? Have you actually tested spotify and youtube for music listening ?

What is YMMV sorry ?

"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.

 

[Pharmaboy]

The Aeolus arrived today! Opening the box for the first time was a crazy "wow" moment, they look so incredible. The difference between seeing photos and holding one in your hands is real. I never really understood what people meant when they said vocals sound organic with the Aeolus until I gave some of my favorite songs a listen. Yep, that's what they meant by organic and lifelike. Z Reviews' description of being "in the music" also became clear after a bit of listening. Oddly enough, I really like how the Aeolus does drums, in particular crash cymbals. It sounds like they're happening in real life next to my ears. And it's supposed to get better as it burns in? I can hardly wait!

Update to my last post asking about tubes - I got a LittleDot Mk2 to introduce my ears to tubes as I wait for a soon-to-arrive Bottlehead Crack plus Speedball Kit. Running the E-MU Teak off the LittleDot Mk2 tubes is kind of like having a few drinks, getting you into that zone where your perception slows down a bit and things start feeling warm and pleasant. I am a fan. As of this moment writing this post, I've just listened to the Aeolus on a JDS Labs Atom Amp/Dac stack. Will try out the LittleDot soon. Looking forward to getting some DIY action done and taking the Aeolus for a real spin on the Crack!

That wood + SS grill is a lovely combination. Really a good looking headphone!

 

[hikaru12]

That wood + SS grill is a lovely combination. Really a good looking headphone!

I'm waiting to build one in Sterling Silver