[ColdsnapBry]

I had both, as well. They are both warm but the LCD2C is more like warm and metallic, it's got that planar sharpness. And depending on your head size, and the resulting ability to get a seal, it could really shake my brain with the sub-bass. When I was reading about the LCD2C before I bought it, I was confused by how many people called it a skull rumbler while some said it wasn't - I ended up understanding that, if your head is large enough to really get a tight seal, it was like strapping your head in for a rumbling rollercoaster of bass. It was nuts! But if you couldn't get a seal, it was just a warm bassy planar.

So where the LCD2C was kind of metallic and brittle, with all the technicalities made audible, the Aeolus is much more liquid and smooth, and so some of those technicalities might get blended into the syrup but the syrup is still so sweet and natural and musical. The Aeolus (on an SW51+ but soon a modded Crack) is a perfect complement to my Staxen, which are better versions (imo) of the LCD2C sound (with less sub-bass, though my ES-1a is close to it).

Curious why you are going to a modded crack? I have a SW51+ and was thinking of trying out a crack. But I was thinking the SW51+ is probably the best amp for the Aeolus.

 

[bigjako]

Curious why you are going to a modded crack? I have a SW51+ and was thinking of trying out a crack. But I was thinking the SW51+ is probably the best amp for the Aeolus.

I do agree that the SW51 is wonderful for the Aeolus. I got the Crack for 2 reasons - first, because the SW51+ took a long time to get to me, so I decided to get the Crack to tide me over. It's a long, long story but I ended up getting the SW51+ sooner, and the Crack arrived broken and has been in the shop for a long, long time (with some film caps and other upgrades I thought I'd make while it was in the shop).

But the main reason is that I'd heard that the SW51+ was a clean-sounding tube amp, almost solid-state-like. I wanted a complementary amp that was as tubey as could be. I purposely didn't want the Speedball upgrade in order to maintain that tubeyness. I'd heard Haasaaroni's Aeolus on his speedballed Crack and it was amazing - so holographic - so that contributed too. My main rigs are all Stax and so to me, the Aeolus served its purpose as a counterpoint to that, and I think it does it perfectly. I also have an awesome Lawton-modded EMU Teak with Lawton cups and the full mod and was hoping it would also pair with the SW51 but it doesn't really, it's low-impedance and doesn't work so great with tubes. I will probably/maybe get a Jot 2 for that one day.

 

[NPWS]

I had both, as well. They are both warm but the LCD2C is more like warm and metallic, it's got that planar sharpness. And depending on your head size, and the resulting ability to get a seal, it could really shake my brain with the sub-bass. When I was reading about the LCD2C before I bought it, I was confused by how many people called it a skull rumbler while some said it wasn't - I ended up understanding that, if your head is large enough to really get a tight seal, it was like strapping your head in for a rumbling rollercoaster of bass. It was nuts! But if you couldn't get a seal, it was just a warm bassy planar.

So where the LCD2C was kind of metallic and brittle, with all the technicalities made audible, the Aeolus is much more liquid and smooth, and so some of those technicalities might get blended into the syrup but the syrup is still so sweet and natural and musical. The Aeolus (on an SW51+ but soon a modded Crack) is a perfect complement to my Staxen, which are better versions (imo) of the LCD2C sound (with less sub-bass, though my ES-1a is close to it).

Hi, any recommendation for tube amp except SW51? it's kinda hard to find in my country.
is crack bottlehead was good enough to drive aeolus? or maybe should go for woo audio wa6?
thanks

 

[Another Audiophile]

Hi, any recommendation for tube amp except SW51? it's kinda hard to find in my country.
is crack bottlehead was good enough to drive aeolus? or maybe should go for woo audio wa6?
thanks

What country?

 

[NPWS]

What country?

Indonesia

 

[Another Audiophile]

Indonesia

No idea. I am using mine with an Audiovalve RKV HAA version. That's my favorite amp for this headphone after trying at least 6 other alternatives.

 

[NPWS]

No idea. I am using mine with an Audiovalve RKV HAA version. That's my favorite amp for this headphone after trying at least 6 other alternatives.

way out of my budget for that amp
my budget around $600-$800 max.

 

[VanHai]

way out of my budget for that amp
my budget around $600-$800 max.

Bottlehead crack with S/B and right tubes is highly recommended. It can drive any ZMF headphones to wonderful sound and there is another widely available hybrid amp xDuoo TA20 is also very good with Aeolus. I own these 3 tube amps and i would rank them in this order (1) DNA Sonett 2, (2) Bottlehead Crack with S/B and (3) xDuoo TA 20.

 

[billyleungkt]

OTL Tube amp will sound good on ZMFs and high z HPs. If you have some low z e.g planer. You should consider transformer coupled tube amp like WA6 mentioned.

 

[NPWS]

Bottlehead crack with S/B and right tubes is highly recommended. It can drive any ZMF headphones to wonderful sound and there is another widely available hybrid amp xDuoo TA20 is also very good with Aeolus. I own these 3 tube amps and i would rank them in this order (1) DNA Sonett 2, (2) Bottlehead Crack with S/B and (3) xDuoo TA 20.

how about xDuoo MT-604 have you ever heard it before?
that's the only tube amp in stock in my local audio store right now
I'm still searching for Bottlehead Crack in my second hand local audio store
and for DNA Sonett its already discontinued

OTL Tube amp will sound good on ZMFs and high z HPs. If you have some low z e.g planer. You should consider transformer coupled tube amp like WA6 mentioned.

yes, thank you

 

[zach915m]

Stabilized drop tomorrow that we've been working on:

Also - this weekend is the last time to buy ZMF November items, like the Rarity headphones from here: https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/collections/zmf-november/products/rarity

Some samples from tomorrow's drop from the aeolus' (there will be auteur, VC and VO as well!):

 

[ColdsnapBry]

Got some B stock uni lambskin perf pads for my Aeolus (aka new stock Aeolus pads) along with some old Aeolus pads. I've been a dedicated listener to the stock old pads for a long time now, but gotta say I really like how the new stock pads sound. Still have that Aeolus magic, the pads are a bit bigger so the driver sits a tiny bit farther from your ear so the soundstage sounds a bit larger, they also press on my ears a bit less than the old stock pads. I like them!

 

[bigjako]

I also picked up some old stock Aeolus pads during the November sale, tried them out for a couple hours, and immediately went back to the Lambskin Unis. I was shocked how different the Aeolus pads made it sound, it reminded me of the Audioquest Nighthawks or a ModHouse Argon - so dark, almost muffled. I actually liked the Nighthawk when I had it, but I would never actively try to make the Aeolus sound like more like Nighthawk, let me say that twice.

More than anything, and preferences aside, I was shocked how much different the Aeolus pads made the Aeolus sound compared to any of the Uni pads.

 

[MacMan31]

@zach915m Hey what would be the best overall amp to pair with Aeolus? Currently I have the Valhalla 2 and Asgard 3 which I have been comparing. Both are great but I still have the itch to try something else. I was thinking of the Feliks Audio Echo MKII or Schiit Jotunheim 2 or Lyr 3.

 

[jonathan c]

@zach915m Hey what would be the best overall amp to pair with Aeolus? Currently I have the Valhalla 2 and Asgard 3 which I have been comparing. Both are great but I still have the itch to try something else. I was thinking of the Feliks Audio Echo MKII or Schiit Jotunheim 2 or Lyr 3.

~ For real “blossoming” of the Aeolus, the Feliks Echo (or more $$$, the Elise, the Euforia) is the one in your thought list.
~ The Schiit h/p/a can drive the Aeolus but with their low output impedances (the Aeolus nominal input impedance is 300 ohms), the ‘damping factor’ will be high and the Aeolus may sound a bit restrained.