|
Headphones, Personal Listening Gear Personal Listening at its Best |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
I heard those at RMAF this year, very impressive, take into account the price and they are a bargain.
|
#12
|
|||
|
|||
They are indeed Steve.
|
#13
|
|||
|
|||
The included cable is very nice. Herringbone style, fabric covered cables terminated in your choice of XLR or 1/4 "TRS/3.5mm dual cable. The design of this cable was definitely not an afterthought. The included "Dummer" cable is a spin off of the DUM cable.
DUM stands for Distinctly-un-magical cables. DUM uses no magic copper crystals or pixie dust insulators, and is hand-made in the USA. DUM is a 24-guage (per conductor) OFHC cable designed in collaboration with a guy who's forgotten more about cables than we will likely ever know; we told him what we needed, he went through a LOT of iterations with us to dial the sound in, and we got DUM. And it was good to be DUM. To our ears what sets DUM cables apart from our stock cable is a fuller, cleaner and more detailed sound with a deeper soundstage and a very organic upper register. As of November 2015, we have improved the cable's flexibility so it now has a nice relaxed drape and microphonics are greatly reduced. If you're not sure (or negative) about whether a cable can actually make a difference, check some DUM cables out at a meet and compare to stock, it's pretty easy to hear the difference. The length is adequate for my needs but is shorter than the typical 9-10ft at roughly 7ft or there about. |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Nice hard shell travel case is included with the Aeon Flow. There is a mesh pocket inside to stow away the cables.
|
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Well, my initial impression with this set is very favorable. I think Tyll Hertsen did an outstanding job reviewing the Aeon Flow. He is a very experienced headphone guru and I have yet to read or watch a review by Tyll which was later confirmed by my own ears, to be in disagreeance. We obviously have similar taste and preference for headphone sound based on my own confirmations of his findings.
(If anyone is interested in Aeon Flow, I posted the links to Tyll's video review in the beginning of the thread.) So it would be rather pointless for me to repeat what he said so I'll simply add the following. The Aeon Flow comes with 3 insert-able tuning material pads that are inserted into the cups to "tune" the sound further to preference. From the black open foam type to the more restrictive 1 notch and 2 notch material that tames the treble and further dampens the sound to be very lush and laid back for fatigue free listening to any music and recording "qualities" or lack thereof. I briefly tried all three and so far have not found the need to use any of them with the Violectric V281 amplifier. I also find the Aeon Flow to indeed sound somewhat similar to the Sennheiser HD600/650 (since I have that pair to compare to directly) in many ways but it is obviously a different brand/design headphone and is planar magnetic vs dynamic Senns . What is similar? The similarity is in the rather smooth and unforced presentation. The HD600 have always been rather forgiving and perhaps even "boring" to some with which I personally do not agree with but can understand why an assessment like that can be made by comparison to some of the other more visceral and resolving headphones out there. I would never call the HD600 "boring" but rather a "midrange driven" headphone with the HD650 bringing some deeper bass skills to the game as well as sounding a touch more extended in treble but retaining the rather liquid midrange. So I find the Aeon Flow as I sit here for the last few hours going through one of my playlists of reference recordings to get a nice "test drive" of the new to my ears Aeon Flows. It is quite similar to the Senns in that liquid and rather engaging midrange but it stands above both Senns in the bass that is well resolved and has a rather nice kick to it. Not quite at the level of the Focal Elear but not too far behind. What it lacks in that last bottom octave it more than makes up for it with a rather taught but tuneful and well resolved bass. I don't listen to much house, trance or dance music so I don't need to be picking tooth fillings out of my mouth after a listening session to synthesized bass lines. It is definitely good enough, has enough kick when the recording calls for it naturally and with acoustic instruments. Did I mention the midrange? Oh, it is quite beautiful on the Aeons. Treble... Well, the treble and upper mids seem to be affected by the above mentioned tuning material inserts if one chooses and there in is the beauty of it all. If the partnering gear or the music recording quality is not up to par and you want to tune your Aeons to be a bit more forgiving, more lush and laid back, use one of the progressive tuning inserts. As I mentioned above, I don't feel the need for any of them with the Violectric V281 amp and my DAC. Without the tuning pads in place, the Aeon Flow has a very smooth, musical, a bit warmish tonal balance but exhibits plenty of detail retrieval and treble extension without sounding veiled or rolled off too much. Very nicely voiced and tuned headphones, no glaring faults at all. Kick back, put them on and get lost in music for hours on end without any grain, harshness or treble peaks that pierce your eardrums. The Aeon Flow is like an old friend who you can always count on for a fun and engaging conversation over a few beers no matter the place, time or location. Summary. From what I heard this evening, I welcome the Aeon Flows to my collection and see myself spending quite a bit of time as I rotate through my headphones and listening sessions with various genres of favorite music and varying recording qualities. From some of my small but growing collection of high resolution various singing Divas to the grungiest Nirvana tracks, the Aeon Flow will be happy to accompany me on the musical journey. Two words will do to summarize. VERY ENJOYABLE. |
#16
|
||||
|
||||
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow
Excellent review Serge, thank you. Now I have recommendations from two reliable authorities (you and Tyll) - if Santa doesn’t come through I may have to just buy them myself.
__________________
Tony D'Agostino Momentum S250 MxV & HD pre; Linn Klimax Organik DSM, SonicTransporter, EtherRegen; Acoustic Signature Typhoon Neo, Koetsu RSP, Boulder 1108; Sf Il Cremonese; Shunyata Everest, Altaira, Sigma & Alpha v2 |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Out of all the headphones I now have in my collection, the Aeon Flow would be the clear choice to bring along on travels and portable playback device use for many reasons. 1. The friendly impedance of 13 ohms. 2. The fact that they fold flat and take up much less space. 3. They come with a neat hard travel case. 4. They sound forgiving and musical without demanding serious amplification and are tuned to deliver great sound at lower listening/SPL levels. They include the tuning pads to tweak the sound to your preference and can be helpful with the lower resolution or loudness mastered music. 5. They seal the outside world better than any other open headphone I have. Of course driving them with serious amplification at home just makes them that much better where they hold their own against the Focal Elear for example. |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks for your impressions. I was wondering how it would compare to the Senns in terms of bass and now I know. I've always loved the bass from my HD600 and HD650. Very beautiful except for the lowest octave. I've never liked any of the other models from Mr. Speakers due to their lack of bass. I should give this new model a try based on your review.
|
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
|
|
Audio Aficionado Sponsors | |