For sure, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original aeon, but the 2 is better in sound and also now folds, increasing portability
1 Like
As long as the complete cost with the headphones and the custom cable is under $1000, I think this will be a winner here!
1 Like
Well it’s a pretty big step up lol, going to be pretty dang nice (and overkill lol)
1 Like
Hey, as long as they are happy, and not going broke, nothing wrong with that!
Also have to be mindful of the fact that the BTR5 isn’t going to power every headphone efficiently. All the customization will be all for not if the sound quality doesn’t meet expectation. Aeon 2’s should be fine, but if he does it with Neumann’s, he’s gonna have problems. The guy’s got tunnel vision at the moment, so hopefully he’s looking at specs.
1 Like
Aeon 2 seems to be the choice as of now though. The BTR5 isn’t weak, it’s pretty much as good as you can get for a small bluetooth amp for this setup. It will work great I think.
Thanks Choclate_Bear for the thoughts on specs. I agree, this is not my strong suit. It is difficult to understand which set of headphones would work for this situation given that some work better with more power. It seems like everyone believes the Aeon 2 with a custom cable and the Fiio BTR5would work well. You are saying that the NDH 20 would require too much power to work well with the Fiio BTR5. Would the Audeze LCD-2 Closed Back work with the power that the Fiio BTR5?
True, my top picks for him would be the 177x go or the aeon 2
If he wanted something more plug and play the b&o h6 is there
My Sony MDR Z7’s (70 ohm) sound fine with my BTR5, but definitely not as loud or efficient compared to my desktop amp, even at higher volumes. It’s definitely not something I’d go wireless with. Try to stay under 50 ohms for headphones if you want to go the bluetooth route. 177x is around 30ohms and the Aeon 2’s are under 20ohms (I believe) and should pair nicely with the BTR5.
The aeon 2 is still somewhat harder to drive though so I would make sure you use balanced mode on the fiio
The 177x though is easy
Just to add, I’m running the Z7 through the BTR5 unbalanced. Also, if you’re looking for “audiophile quality bluetooth headphones,” we’re all waiting to see what Drop does with their THX Panda. Well, I am anyways. Stay tuned…
1 Like
Well so far the massdrop holy pandas are pretty awesome so I have high hopes for another massdrop product with panda in the name lol
4 Likes
I found a company that can make a short cable for the aeon 2 to connect to the BTR5 – https://periaptcables.com/collections/frontpage/products/10-type-10-dual-mr-speaker
Mon, you mentioned “The aeon 2 is still somewhat harder to drive though so I would make sure you use balanced mode on the fiio” - should I asked them for a balanced cable or do you think that is understood?
Lastly, I have the BTR5 but I do not see where you can select the “Balanced Mode”. Is it under filters?
The btr5 has a 2.5mm balanced out, so you would need to ask them for a mrspeakers connector to 2.5mm balanced cable
My bad for the possible confusion
1 Like
Thank you Mon. So the 3.5 is not a balanced output, but the 2.5 is balanced output? Should I spell it out and ask them for a mrspeakers connector to 2.5mm “balanced” cable, or is a 2.5 cable always balanced?
The audio technica dsr9bt is actually a really good sounding set. I got mine on sale for about 250. But I am curious for the panda.
That is correct
Yes you will specifically ask for 2.5mm balanced
These mods are interesting but kinda seem like a bit much to me. If I want to use my nice headphones with my es100, I just run the cord through my shirt and clip it onto my belt or on my buttoned shirt. Maybe I’m just not too bugged by the wire when I’m out and about. As long as it’s not swinging around I’m good.
The only other reason I use it is so my dap isn’t in my pocket with headphones plugged in so I don’t worry about bending my connector. The wire doesn’t really bug me and I feel like id be more bugged walking around with some jank looking setup.
I’m not downing those of you that prefer to mod and make it work. To each their own 
3 Likes
I use the ES100 similar- just wrap the IEM or over ear headphone cable loose once around my neck and clip the ES100 on the height of the splitter to the cable
So the cable is not tangling around, I got the ES100 in front of me and can use it’s controls
I have for most of my headphones shorter third party cables and most are balanced
Sacrilege to whom? It’s the only Audiophile-Approved™ way to do it. Only audio plebs settle for ready-made BT headphones without exploring combo options. 
Exactly. I don’t get all this fuss about blu-tac and god knows what, making the head-contraption look horrible in the process. If you can’t simply “earring-dangle” the receiver like on Superlux headphones, just put the wire down your shirt, looped or not, and clip the receiver somewhere handy (polo shirt vertical flap is ideal if you also want to take calls).
1 Like