And my ears didnāt get hot or bugged at all. The pressure starts to kick in a bit but not too bad and the will wear in Iām sure. But again mine are the open so I dunno if my ears would be getting hotter with the closed. I was hesitant to get the opens with all reviews being for the closed but Iām so glad I went for it. Theyāre closer to semi open Feeling so outside noise Is muffled a little bit not gone. And thatās perfect for me. Can still focus on what Iām hearing but not fully closed out.
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This is what I enjoy about the Aeon Open X as well, which has the fenestrated leather interior like the 2s.
Yeah I was very tempted to get the open xās and I bet I wouldāve been entirely happy when them and wouldāve saved some money lol. But I had to jump on the discounts on the dca website ha. I basically got these for the āsaleā price of about 750 that drop has for the ether cx and Iāve read that these outperform the ether cx in about every aspect.
I almost got ant the open xās for the sake of comparison lol. I read that they were drastically improved over the originals. Even zeos liked them and he showed a lot of dislike for the original opens
But then I also really want the closed just for the sake of comparison as well haha.
Slippery slope, for sure! I also have the Ether CX, which I enjoy a lot, and have a hard time imagining something betterā¦especially for comfort. Theyāre not as āfunā as some others, but sound pretty great, IMO. Iām tempted to see how different they are, but the only justification I can come up with to āupgradeā to the 2 closed is portability. If Iām honest with myself, Iām using IEMs or noise cancelling when portable, so that kinda falls apart.
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Yeah as much as itād be nice having nice portable cans, I canāt justify using my 900 dollar cans (760 in my case) for portable use lol. Thatās why I decided I didnāt need the closed back and that the open backs would be better if the imaging and stage truly is better. I use true wireless Powerbeats for portable. Or sometimes even a whatever pair like my Sony mdr1as. The folding mechanism is nice. But they honestly stay hung up on my wall and itāll likely stay that way. They are comfortable as hell and I actually love them for gaming too so far. I have headphones I like equally or more for gaming but these are the most comfortable.
The nighthawks are more comfortable Iād say but thatās because there is less clamp and I like a secure clamp. Plus the hawks have their purpose (I even like them okay for casual gaming) but for competitive the sound is too hollow and bass is too much.
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Well its day three with the Aeon 2 Opens hereā¦
First impression for build quality is its nice, but the cables that connect to the cans were difficilt to get connected, had to fiddle a bit to get them to pop into place, once I got them to click once they connected easilyā¦just not used to this kind of connectorā¦and I did read the instruction booklet!! :>)
The overall build quality an aethetics are good. Nice looking, Nice thick earpads, glued on. The ārubberā adjustment sliders are a bit stiff to adjustā¦have to use some force to get them to slide on the metal rodsā¦
The first amp I tried was the Lyr 3, then Jotenhiem, the Tuba, Magni 3, a DIY amp that is an advanced O2 deritive that has 3x the current capability of the original O2ā¦
I was not impressed with the sound with the Lyr 3 or the Jotā¦my favorites with other cansā¦the sound was flat and dull IMOā¦not good for me.
When I connected to the Tuba, low power compered to the L3 and Jot, I was shocked at how good this pairing was!! Even though I had to crank up the vol control to 1pm - 2pm to get them to singā¦the clarity and sound was much betterā¦more like planars.
I am listening with NO damping padsā¦and I do not find the treble to bright at allā¦seems about right.
First impressions is they are nice, but not in the class of a Focal Clear.
I need to let these burn in for some time. Dan Clark states 100 hours or soā¦
Jazz, vocals are nice, piano is nice, The overall presentation seems a bit conjested at timesā¦even though the articulation is goodā¦it seems these cans need alot of power to make then really perform well.
Listening to the Decemberists Dear Avery, the male voice is excellent. No siblence.
IMO the amp pairing with these cans is important to get everything out of these cansā¦
Comfort is EXCELLENT IMO. Once you get the headband adjusted its very nice, could wear them for hours.
I am using the stock el cheopo 1/4" cable which to me is not that bad at all after reading about it being not that great, maybe they changed it?? Very nice, flexible etcā¦I will get a balanced cable in the near futureā¦to test.
Bass seems a bit āsoftā to meā¦but its not that badā¦
I guess this is coming around as a hey there nice, but impressionā¦and I need more time with them to give them a fair hearingā¦
I got the opens because I like the open wide soundstage etcā¦
WIth some good material the cans sound really great with other less stellar recordings its a āmehāā¦
So at least they are able to articulate between the good and the bad stuffā¦
Give me another few days and I will make a second pass at theseā¦
Alex
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Ok its a new day here in paradise!
Left the Aeon 2ās running all last night with loud music playing and to my surprise they are starting to open up and sound decentā¦
Very amp sensitive IMOā¦these need a good amp with some you know what to make them singā¦at least thats my experience so farā¦
Even on the Lyr3 and Jot with gobs of power they seem to work better here in high gainā¦these are low impedance cans??
They work very well with clean simple music well recordedā¦most other stuff it seems they struggle to get it rightā¦its not bad its just they are not as clear and open as I am used to with Clears etcā¦
When cranked up they come alive, but it seems like a forced presentation. Its almost like there is abit of coloration going on hereā¦
Hoping they get better with more playtime. The included instruction state 50-100 hours of burn in time to stabilize.
Three sets of dampining pads included but for me ATM I dont think I would use them, the treble is ok for meā¦
WIll report back in a few days and see how they changeā¦
Alex
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There is a burn in perioid for the mrspeakers/dca stuff for sure
Yeah the impedance is misleading lol, and even though they can be taken portable having a decent amp is worthwhile for sure
I would try them out and see if anything else changes for you
I will try the padsā¦
I put on the Clears and its an instant āveil removalā things are just immediately cleaner, crisper and just more tonally accurate IMOā¦
The Aeon 2ās seem well, warm or abit dark comapred to the Clearsā¦it reminds me of the LCD 2ās somewhatā¦
The the Clears which have been my close to perfect seem really bright after listening with the Aeon 2 opensā¦
Interestingā¦
Well, the clears are a higher tier of headphone soooooo
I just use the aeon 2 as a great portable planar, not specifically for dedicated listening at home (but I have other options)
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Yeah but its what I have and compare toā¦unfair maybe but these are still $899 retail cans so I still expect alot from themā¦
:>)
Just put in the White tuning material and its a totally different sound.
These have the most damping according to the insert.
Will report back after going thru my demo stuffā¦
Alex
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I liked mine a lot straight from the first listen. They sound great out of the rnhp. I havenāt even tried with the jotunheim yet. I think Iām only about 30 hours into playtime yet. I havenāt run them all night. Do the ole manual burn in usually.
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Then again my direct comparison is the Aeolus when isnāt necessarily clear and open. Also sounds pretty balanced conpared to the Aeolus. Theyāre only my second āhigh endā pair so Iāve been pretty impressed.
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Using another DIY amp:
A great pairing and really solid bass!! Am shocked at the magic this amp brings to the table with the Aeon2 Opens!
I built this back in May of 2017ā¦it was one of the first amps that incorporated the new TI audio chip OPA1622ā¦which by the way is featured in Schiits Heresy!!
Way ahead of the curve here!
Super, super small parts that you can not hand solder!! Had to use hot air gun and solder pasteā¦
This amp has some real magic with these planars, its really 100 % better than a few days ago.
Now worthy of $765!!
:>)
Alex
ā¦and to think I was going to sell this puppy!!!
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I ran the Aeon 2ās over night at a high volume per Dan Clark audios recomendation and happy to report things are getting āmuchā better than day 1 and ā0ā hours for sureā¦
Bass is much better, tighter and really pretty well definedā¦I set up SPL levels for reference at 75, 85, 90 db and marked the vol pot so I could know where I was with a solid 1khz test tone.
Back to the Lyr 3 which was not a really good presentation several days ago, anf this am its really pretty nice. Yes they are not Clears, but still are decent for planarsā¦
Unlike most dynamic cans these do seem to have to be broken inā¦50-100 hoursā¦if they keep on this curve they will live up to the claims etcā¦
For Open cans the bass is really goodā¦crank it up and the bass is machine gun stattaco likeā¦with know audible distortion.
So will keep posting after a few more daysā¦but I can recommend these now for sureā¦I ordered a set of balanced cables, dont expect much difference but I want to use the balanced out from my Jot.
Advice is burn these in for a few days before any critical listening for sureā¦
Alex
Dan Clark headphones take forever to burn in, theyāre the only headphone Iāve ever left on for a week straight to get past the burn in.
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I think they need or should really point that outā¦I know its in their instructions, but golly gee, folks can get a not so great first impression and send them back or give then a not so positive reviewā¦
I think the issue is just how radically they change over the burn in period, no ones going to believe that without hearing it.
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Yeah I still need to try to do an overnight burn in. Iāve just been listening to them so itās harder to notice the changes. I actually remember somewhere where dan Clark actually recommends burning in the tuning pads for like 20 hours each lol.
But I certainly havenāt been disappointed with them. I think theyāre great. I actually love them for gaming too.
Iād say these are one of my favorite current headphones.
Theyāre almost neck and neck for me with the Aeolus. Itās tough between the too. The Aeolus have better vocals and those mids. But the aeons are definitely tighter sounding, wider stage and better imaging. Iāve been using them more than the Aeolus due to their comfort alone ha.
For 6 years I stayed in the under 500 category, but then I went for it with the Aeolus almost hoping Iād not see the value in high end but then loved them and got the aeons about 2 months later. Now Iām already looking at some focals or maybe more zmfs.
This damn hobby haha. But first has to be a tube amp. I always forget that ha.
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