The Sendys (based on reviews and my M570 clones) are neutral bright, and the Aeons are V shaped, so the signatures are different, but both have planar speed and bass.
The sendy does have noticeable bass roll off which is unfortunate
aware of the different sound signatures. I just want to sit down with both of them for comparisons. Always good to expand sound horizons and check out new headphonesā¦ especially when aiva over there has such an incredibly high review amongst people. I am someone who enjoys both V and neutral bright so it should be alright.
Trying with a quick back to back with both headphones using the black foam tuning material (trying to be somewhat fair and they both sound good to me like this). The aeon2 closed are more resolving, have cleaner and more substantial bass (closed back), but the open x just seem laid back by comparison, not bad in any way. Iāll do some more listening when I have time but your ask forced my hand a bit, glad though as Iām starting to discern more differences. More later
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Appreciate it, they tout that itās a massive improvement. However, we are talking $400+ in improvement of sound less you consider you can pick up an aeon open x used from time to time for like $350 of which then you are talking $550+ while only seeing the used aeon 2 go for maybe to $800 or so.
Yeah, definitely not the extension of any of my other planars
Mine were $760 or so directly from DCA
I for sure am hearing v shaped, however they have significantly more mid (the sound thick) than my he4xx, which sound anemic by comparison, but still much broader sound stage
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I did some listening today and took some notes:
Aeon X v Aeon2
ā X ā
Looks better. Fact.
Generally warm, v shaped, resolving. Solid bass extension feels natural. The sound is full and laid back. Highs are clear but donāt cross the line into fatiguing. Sound stage is sufficiently capable of being larger than your head, but not room sized or anything crazy.
ā 2 ā
Improved resolution and extended bass without losing the control exhibited in the X. Also warm but less so than the X. Reproduction feels more effortless listening to Dave Brubeckās take five. Sound stage is about the same but with better separation. Highs are still clear, resolved more clearly but somehow less forward.
ā thoughts ā
Comfort is indistinguishable. Both stock cables are excellent though sometimes noisy, doesnāt bother me. Tuning and burn in are significant, both of these are tested with their respective black foam inserts, note that aeon x has thicker foam inserts.
Overall I think the aeon2 is an upgrade, but only in scenarios where resolution and precision of the rendering matter. Also the closed back nature (why I have the 2 at all) makes them more versatile in noisy environments or when you donāt want tons of sound leaking. I will note that the difference in sound isolation is not night and day, the X isolates more than many open back options Iāve experienced. I would say the 2 is more accurate, resolving, and consistent.
Aeon2 is plugged into the balanced input of my thx789 and the X into the SE with volume matched when switching as best I could.
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Nice write-up! Wonder if everything would hold by switching which was plugged into balanced vs single ended.
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I could try switching cables but I think itās much more the headphones than the connection. I had an adapter with the ether cx and it was just louder, didnāt seem to have any effect on the quality
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That definitely doesnāt sound worthy of an additional $400 considering itās competition in that price margin then again your comparing a closed back to an open backā¦ So I am curious on the alternative variation of the aeon 2ā¦nonetheless this is very informativeā¦ thank you for the write up
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Effectively double the price. I would tend to agree. Iām still keeping them both for no good reason
Incidentally, Dan Clark Audio now sells AEON Flow RT, Closed (which is essentially a re-tuned version of AEON Flow). I wonder how similar these would sound to the Aeon 2 Closed.
Also, they sell AEON Flow RT (viz. Re-Tuned) Open which, based on the description sounds the same as their Drop collaboration AEON X with identical pricing. However when purchased from Dan Clark Audio, you get an option to choose between balanced XLR or single ended cable for both open and closed RT headphones.
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It really just looks like the aeon open x but not drop lol. If they still share the same driver and mostly the same design (as I believe they note), it should be fairly comparable to the open x for the open rt. The closed rt might be similar as well
I noticed that the AEON Flow RT versions (open & closed) use the new perforated ear pads to retune the sound of original AEON Flows (amongst other things). They also sell these on their website (currently out of stock).
I wonder how much improvement would existing AEON Flow owners would get through perforated ear pads replacement? Could they be able to tune the sound to be closer to AEON X?
Most likely yes, the pad would most likely play a large role in the tuning of the open x, the open x really just kinda is the flow with aeon 2 pads (at least thatās what it sounded like to me)
Thanks M0N. That makes sense. 
Yeah, mostly meant cause the single ended output on the 789 is not known to be very good relative to the balanced. Not saying itād reverse your findings, just wonder if it might bring things even a little closer.
Iām finding similar results on my CTH if that has any meaning. Iāll switch the cables and give it a go
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