(OLD, PRE-CORRECTION) MrSpeakers ÆON - Impressions, Review, and Measurements

Compared to an LCD-X, the low bass feels pretty close. It has a very similar impactful-but-defined/controlled character to it (as opposed to the expansive bloominess that I think of as being "basshead"). It's the upper bass regions where the LCD-X is significantly fuller than the Aeon, although I haven't tried the extra foam, and it's possible mine is one of the ones affected by the port material (though also possible it's not, I guess).

I can't speak to the Pro, but while I prefer the sound of the LCD-X to the Aeon, if I didn't already own them, I'd just get the Aeon -- the comfort of the Aeon is night-and-day better than the Audeze, and it's like half the price, and it's closed so is more flexible in where you can use it. Technically a compromise pick, but it's a hell of a level to compromise at.

(Tyll's review is up, btw.)

 

Thanks, just checking on the bass because the Ether-C has the reputation of being bass-light, and last time I purchased a headphone over $500, it was the hd800, and I can't really listen to it much because it has such little bass. Not sure if it's because the bright high end masks it or it's just too rolled off, and it's much noticeably worse (less) bass than on my Q701 or Etymotics, which are fine in that regard to my tastes. Anyway, glad to hear the Aeon wouldn't have that kind of problem.

 

Yup.
The constant updates and "production/QA misses" on initial runs kept me away from the Aeons this time around. Like Tyll says, I don't think I'm buying a first production run again. I really like Dan, his attention and service, etc. I've bought his Mad Dogs, Alpha Dogs and had to send those back to him for re-tuning. The same with the Flows-C. So I'll wait until the dust has settled and then try these. They look fun, comfortable and if they sound comparable to the Flows at an easier to digest price, I'm in. The only thing that bugs me is the non-replaceable pads.

 

fyi, the pads are replaceable the in about the same way audeze and stax lambda earpads are.
stuck on by glue, but replacement earpads will be available in the future.

 

Good to know!
Thanks.

 

Oh noes ! Dan is "recalling" some early Aeons !

From the email:

" Unfortunately we found a potential vent tuning issue that affected the bass to midrange transition for a number of ÆON headphones shipped to fulfill our pre-order special. Units that are effected have a decrease in output of 3-6dB from ~120-240Hz and an increase of output from about 80-110Hz. It’s most easily heard with acoustic bass with higher notes sound very recessed when scales are ascended (it’s normal for ÆON to have a dip of 1-2 dB in this region, so a gentle decrease is normal). In many cases the mid bass may be elevated 1-2 dB and sound slightly boomy and uncontrolled.

You are receiving this notice because after a review of our test data we believe your headphone may be one of these affected. Because the data is imperfect (hence the problem) we may have some “false positives,” if you feel your headphone is OK drop a note and we’ll chat to try to confirm it with you either way. "

Awesome customer service from Mr. Speakers on this, I also received some foam bass-boost inserts for free out of the blue the other day. Have been loving the sound of mine so far.

 

I went ahead and ordered a pair on Monday. Looking forward to hearing them.

 

Hopefully these will be at the meet!

 

Yup, wear them a little low and a little forward.

 

Just got mine in. They sound pretty nice. Definitely a much darker sound than the diffuse field sounding headphones I've been listening to lately (AKG Q701, Etymotic ER-4XR, Senn HD800S). Bass extension is deep and nice. The less-bitey upper mids and treble make for a much less fatiguing listen on rock/heavy metal than my other headphones, and those are the genres that I listen to the most. Electric guitar sounds seem a bit recessed, which is probably the slight V-Shape effect Tyll mentions. I've only played about half a dozen songs on them so far, so still have a lot of listening to do. The nice things about them is I can crank them a lot louder than something like the HD800 or Q701 and it sounds great, nice and punchy, whereas those two start to get a bit screechy at moderate to high volume. Anyway, just my impression. Not really sure yet if they're worth $800, but they do look nice. A lot darker blue than I thought they'd be, almost black/dark gray which looks great to me.

I'm going to say they sound more like more like the phase technology 9.1 3-way tower speakers in my treated living room than my other headphones, with the exception of soundstage which obviously is a lot more in-head being a closed phone vs something like the HD800.

Also, they shipped out very fast, I purchased them on Friday iirc and they got here in less than a week (texas). Got ACXB537.

I had my wife listen to them. "They sound like headphones".....haha, she can stick with my beyer dt250's.

 

^^ The production level tuning for the Aeon is done right at 85 db. I'm a low level listener, so for me I'm really cranking it around 75 db. But if you want to hear the Aeon at it's best just push it a little over 80 and listen to the dynamics really kick in.

 

A little more listening now, with the foam inserts installed. The sub-bass is definitely louder with these in, which is something I like. I think I'll keep them with the inserts in most of the time, because it doesn't seem to mess with the presentation of midrange and treble too much. I'm a bit of a closet bass head though.

And yeah, I just did an informal SPL measurement with the radio shack meter stuck between the earpads, and it says I'm listening at about 85 db peaks at my normal listening level with the Aeon.

 

Of all question: how does "fake empire" sound on these? Does Matt berninger's voice sound correct? I ask because the midbass dip on these aeon's remind me of the meze 99 classics midbass dip which made that song sound super wrong.

 

I listened to the track "fake empire" by the national, and granted I have tin ears, but compared to the HD800, the Aeon sounds more throaty on that vocal, and raspier. HD800 is better for that type of music I think, especially on the first 50% of the track before the full band kicks in. I'd say his vocal has a more natural timbre on the HD800, but on the Aeon it's not as if I have trouble understanding the lyrics or really experience anything that detracts from the music too much, which is an admittedly low standard. Not really sure how it's supposed to sound, but those are my perceived differences anyway.

I listened to some crash test dummies for a comparison on a similar vocal with which I'm a bit more familiar and noticed the same kind of differences.