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

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by Hands, May 20, 2017.

  1. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    I agree that these are darker sounding than Q701, ER-4XR and HD800. I don't mind the bass extension at all. I think it's nice. I agree is less bittey or bright. And indeed, I don't find these headphones fatiguing.

    I also agree with you that guitars sound recessed. Some voices sound odd too though. But one indeed can crank these loud w/o much pain. I wouldn't call them punchy. At least not the sample I have. More like deep.

    From a competing market perspective I don't think these are worth $800. But they indeed look nice. They also don't sound like accurate monitors or even pleasant B&K curve speakers. Nor warm ones. Nor shrill ones. They got their own sound. It's pleasant.
     
  2. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Maybe they just seal real well on my head, but they are near basshead level to me below 100hz. But clean. And also helps make up for planars usually sounding soft with impact.
     
  3. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    They do not fit snug into the coupler or even my head. It is IMO just right. But they are not pressed hard against my head or coupler either, and I know those pads are squishy an will deform and reduce driven volume when pressed. Could be many things.

    But yes. I don't think these are deep bass light. But I would not call these basshead level. I feel these are somewhat well balanced. Problem I see with them is the two depressions around the bass/mid and mid/treble transitions which at first makes things sound weird to me. Easy to get accustomed though. I think this is because they are well balanced.

    A basshead or analytical headphone is harder for me to get accustomed. They eventually result in fatigue.
     
  4. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Are these still the ones that haven't been rma'd yet? The measurements do look pretty great minus that lower midrange recession.
     
  5. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Yup.
     
  6. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    I do have a big, fat head, so they fit pretty snug and almost tight for me. Just on that border before getting anywhere uncomfortable. I noticed even the tiniest leak, and the bass went away rapidly. Fat heads are very good at preventing this. :)

    Or, rather, if you compare my measurements of them to something like my HD650 measurements, all of which use my head, you can see how I'd hear the Aeon as quite bass heavy. Tyll's results showed a bump down there too relative to the mids. I think this is an area where it will vary from person to person.

    But, of course, this pair obviously has an upper bass dip, the biggest problem, and the upper mids can be a bit soft sounding due to another slight depression. Those show in my results too, albeit in not exactly the same ways.

    For now, we can only wait and see what the tuning fix does for the pair!
     
  7. econaut

    econaut Almost "Made"

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    Any news on the tuning fix?

    Any thoughts on combining these with Jotunheim?
     
  8. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    They are in the hands of MrSpeakers as of last Wed or Thurs. I was told turn around time would be fairly quick, so I imagine I'll have them before the end of this week.
     
  9. LSW

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    I have mine with the jotunheim. Sounds pretty good. I have also tried it with 10 year old headroom micro stack and a LH labs Geek Out 2 Pro Infinity. I have a slight preference for the LH GO2Pro, just a bit smoother, I think the difference might be in the DAC, but I'm not sure I could tell the difference repeatably.
     
  10. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    I'm fortunate to test the Æeon in my humble home for a while.
    I am really impressed. The build quality is a lot better than I expected. I like the cable too. I really can't find a fault with production. Comfort is great too.

    My god, the tonality is great! The PM3 sound fuller and work better for Rock but the Aeon match perfectly with my collection of Jazz and Classical. It is a more "hifi" headphone. (Here I am using hifi as a category and not as actually high-fidelity.)
    Vocals can sound a wee bit hollow and a little bit stronger bass slam wouldn't hurt. The included foam pads help in this regard.

    I am putting the Æon on my wishlist. This could be the next pair that I buy.
     
  11. LSW

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    I don't know if you guys saw it elsewhere but apparently 6% of the Aeons had the channels reversed in the cable (red is left instead of right like it's supposed to be) and Mr Speakers was offering to replace the cables if you got one like that. I assume you could just put the red cable in the left earcup if you didn't care about the color being wrong, but I haven't messed with the Aeon cables much. I'm on a 2 week trip to Asia so can't test mine, pretty sure they are ok though. Would be slightly embarrassing to have listened to them for a few weeks and not have noticed.
     
  12. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    FYI, got my fixed Aeon in. It is noticeably different sounding. I am thinking about starting a new thread so as not to cause confusion down the road.
     
  13. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Exit stage left....
    I was going to write a smarmy- how every MrSpeeks can which undergoes mods over time is "different sounding".
    yet now due to office shifts- find that I may require a closed headphone for multi-tenant-office courtesy.

    so please expound on closed Aeon as time allows Captain Warmman.
    TIA
     
  14. Daveheart

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    By the way, has it always been called the Aeon flow? Because some of the ad copy and the Mr Speakers site are now calling it the Aeon Flow, and I don't remember it being called that pre-release or during the initial release. I'm sure I could just be imagining things, but I hadn't seen the word 'Flow' attached to it before an ad hit my inbox this week. Am I just imagining yet another revision by Dan?
     
  15. TMRaven

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    No it's called Flow because it has the flow waveguides in it like the Ether Flow and Ether C flow. That's part of its marketing lingo. It's still the Aeon though.

    Ether and Ether C have to have flow in their names to differentiate from previous versions. Aeon doesn't.
     
  16. Mrip

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    I recently picked up an Aeon. Bifrost multibit --> Lyr 2 LISST. If all I listened to was acoustic these would be great, but there's something hollow and a bit fatiguing about them that makes rock, and even some acoustic stuff hurt my ears. It was surprising feeling the need to turn down Elvis Costello. Switching back to my 650s just felt right.
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2017
  17. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    Matches my short impressions that I posted earlier. Since then I was able to pinpoint it down: The Æon lacks a moderate amount of pressure at 2 kHz. That's what pushes the vocals into a hollow tonality. Also, to my ears, the Æon lacks a little presence in the lower midrange/ upper bass (slim head, wearing glasses). This brings out definition and clarity but lacks fullness and warmth. Overall I still think they perform a little bit better than the PM3.
     
  18. dunkyboy

    dunkyboy New

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    Yes, these impressions match mine to a tee. Listened to the Aeons yesterday at Audio46 in Manhattan (cool store!), comparing to my Alpha Primes.

    First tried without the foam inserts, run off my Mojo. Screechy, spitty hell! Foam inserts went in - big improvement! But... still very trebly. And with very weak lower mids & upper bass. Reminded me of the Audeze EL-8Cs - cold, hollow, artificial, very disappointing.

    Then on dealer's suggestion, swapped the Mojo for a Hifiman HE100 tube hybrid. Ahhh! There we go! Sweet, beautiful mids! Some amount of upper bass! Really lovely, balanced sound!

    Now, it's still recessed in those lower mids/upper bass, but not egregiously like before. The improvement over the Mojo was quite startling. I bet these things would really sing with the right high-end megabuck tube/hybrid amp…

    So, once driven by a sympathetic amp, how did they fare against my Alpha Primes? (The Primes synergize wonderfully with the Mojo BTW.) Well… The Aeons are airier, more open, and have a huge, wide soundstage. Female vocals sound sweet and beautiful. I think they’re also slightly more resolving than the Primes, but I’m not sure - might just be that lifted treble. They sound great with chamber music, jazz, female vocals, and small-scale acoustic music generally.

    But the Aeons are also lightweight and soft by comparison to the Primes’ full-fat, meaty, crunchy sound. Microdynamics are more hard-hitting and believable on the Primes, without ever being rough or uncontrolled. And even with the HE100 amp, I really miss those lower mids and that upper bass - the Primes just have a more natural and “musical” balance vs the Aeons’ more “hifi” sound. And I miss the snap and kick of the Primes when the music calls for it (rawk, big electronic sounds, big orchestral crescendos, even a good strong jazz double-bass plucked groove…)

    But what sealed the deal for me was Big Star’s O My Soul, from Radio City. It’s a pop/rock recording from the 70s - rough, ragged, grainy, and flat. And on the Aeons it was absolutely unlistenable. Like, painfully bad. Couldn’t get more than a quarter through the song before I had to stop it. Whereas on the Alpha Primes, you can still hear that it’s a terrible recording, that it’s rough and gritty - but you don’t care, cause the music comes through and puts a grin on your face anyway. :)

    So I walked out feeling educated, slightly disappointed in MrSpeakers recent direction, but with renewed respect & appreciation for my beloved Alpha Primes.

    Next up: I’m going to order a pair of ZMF Eikons and take advantage of their 14-day trial period for another shootout. :D

    Dunc

    P.S. - Physically, the Aeons are some of the best headphones I’ve put on my head - super-comfortable, surprisingly light, and with a lovely light-yet-secure clamp over the ears. The hassle-free headband is genius! And I love how they look. Oh well.
     
  19. LSW

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    Last edited: Aug 21, 2017
  20. Hands

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