đŸ”¶ Drop x DCA Aeon Open X

I am debating getting these vs the Zeus. I am waiting for them to get back down to $399. But I currently have the 6xx and tried out the Sundara and them an upgrade from the 6xx but not for the cost.

One thing to note is that these are much harder to drive well compared to the Zeus. Low impedance + low sensitivity = huge current

I have an iDSD BL that has enough power to drive these.

Now is the time, they’re on sale for $399

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How’s the soundstage on these? Any good for gaming? CS, BF etc.

If you mean the R/T then it is a very good soundstage that is deep and detailed, revealing and exposing a lot.
When I spent the first hours it was already there, it got better after Burn in.
And I only became aware of a lot of things that were mixed in, which you don’t notice with other headphones, for example.
Even with the Audeze Lcd 2c, it’s not as crystal clear, but it’s there and much more to the rear.

And the soundstage for rock music is breathtaking.
I’ve never heard such good rock with headphones as with the R/T.
Also for Jazz,R&b a real ear stroker.
Probably a very good playing partner for classical music.

Would be a headphone I would buy again in the closed version.
Isolation is very good, comfortable, no ringing in the ears.
One of the most enjoyable headphones for the price and I have heard so far.

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Hi, curious if anyone knows if the ifi zendac V2 has enough power output to drive the open X?

Mine will arrive next week and I also need a dac and a amp for them. Any suggestions, price point is 500€ish(translates to about 500$) so :poop: is out of consideration. I was looking at Sabaj D5, but I’m not sure if it has enough power. Topping E50+L50 combo? Also will be getting a balanced cable for them.

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I use a Topping DX3 Pro with my Open X and it has more than enough power to kill me if I tried. You will have no problems powering them with the Topping E50+L50.

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Totally overkill, and an excellent choice. You won’t hear any of the “blunted dynamics” that people criticise Aeons for with that combo.

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IMO Topping amps in that price range don’t have enough power delivery chops, particularly in the low end, to handle low-impedance planars. They will get plenty loud in the mids and highs but that low end is likely to suffer.

Since you’re in the EU I would look for a Lake People G103s amp. Then, pair it with either a Topping E30 dac (neutral, good detail for the price, remote control, some digital EQ filters), or an iFi Zen DAC (warm, smooth, big stage for the price, option of nice bass boost if the Aeon is bass-lean for you).

Good luck!

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Hello,
It really depends on where you want to steer the Aeon.
It is open to everything in that respect.
Its fundamental tone is already quite resolving and brightly tuned (brighter than the Lcd2C).
So you can take it so far that it dissects the music.
I would want to go more in the direction of musical but still transparent.
The Akm and Cirus Logic (CSS) are excellent for this.
With the ESS chip, it could already go in the direction of dissecting, although in the end it is more up to the amplifier what is attached to it.
On hybrid amplifiers, it goes one step better.
But the market is too small and not really compatible.
As a direct entry, the Little Dot 1+ would be quite good or the Xudoo Mt 602, although some have complained about this.
Unfortunately, everything else is beyond the scope of the budget.
The Little Dot 1+ delivers by far solid results for the money and its age.
Just replace the Chinese tubes with good old Nos and off you go.
Otherwise, I spontaneously see the combination of Topping E30 with the Lake people G103S or the newer G111 as quite solid.
Or if you say you are so undecided and want to save a little for something better, there are no bad dac dongels as an alternative transition where you can also run the Aeon.

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Even if L50 has max output power of 3.5W @ 32 ohms? Or I shouldn’t take measurements into consideration or more precisely how much should I take measurements into consideration? And Sabaj D5 has 1.9W @ 32ohms balanced.

Since I also have a pair of monitors, no passthrough kind of kills it for me.

I haven’t found any dacs with AKM or CSS chips at that 250ish range. Most of them are ESS I think or I’ve missed them.

I would probably like to stay on SS for now. I’m looking into the rabbit hole, but haven’t stepped into it yet.

yes, yes they are lol. My go to for quite some time for casual and competitive all around
 granted not as specifically designated for my competitive use
 still very very good and I love the sound on these. I eventually traded up to the Aeon 2

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The MT-602 headphone jack doesn’t seem to mute the pre-outs, so using them with always-on powered monitors would add a small extra dash of frustration. I use it with a power amp that I only power on when in use which is not concurrent to headphone use.

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I stand corrected. Modius has AKM chips, but it has a wait time of 6-8 weeks.

What about something like E50 or Soncoz LA-QXD1/Gustard H16 combo?

Lots of questions in there. Output power is often measured somewhere in the midrange, which are usually some of the easiest to drive frequencies. 3.5W or 1.9W at 1KHz doesn’t mean you’ll get that much at 30 Hz.

The “how much should I trust measurements?” question is much bigger. In general they are a loose guide. The more coarse the measurement (like condensing output power into a single number), the more care needs to be taken in interpreting them.

Both dacs I mentioned have variable output level and can be used as a preamp. You could split the output of the dac and control monitor volume that way.

Okay, I think I get your point now. I’m interested what do you think about the H16 tho, would it be a good fit?

Yeah, but that way I can’t mute the speakers without switching them off. Which is kind of tedious imo, tho I have a inline volume controller, which is single ended. But still I kind of want to go balanced.

Then why not simply use one those little bear XLR switch boxes and call it a day :smiley:

[XLR switch box](Nobsound 3-IN-1-OUT XLR Audio Switch ; Balanced Audio Converter ; 3-Way Stereo Passive Audio Selector Switcher (MC103 Pro 3-IN) https://smile.amazon.de/dp/B07R41LNKG/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_9457J0QCSQR4MR73P9DM)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but then it would be single ended to balanced without the benefit of balanced.