Going to just let them sit and burn in till tomorrow afternoon. been goin since this morning. Meanwhile Over here testing the nighthawks. Aeons are schedule for tomorrow but I got a feeling they are delayed still says they are several states away…
So sounds like if I want to “try” the Beyer sound for not much money, the 770 250 ohm might be a good start but the 177x could be an “end game” closed back in that budget range.
In this case if your budget maximum is where the 177x is priced, like I said there is a couple others out there argon mk3 comes to mind here, then yeah I can say it would be one of those in the range of a “endgame” for you. Very solid headphone and a good choice to go with. As for the 770 250 ohm yeah it would be a good start. You can find them pretty cheap on used markets otherwise can also find them with a proper return policy that will let you audition them for yourself.
hmm, so the pm-50s did definitely change imo from burning in. Still not a fan though. Build quality is beautiful, sound is nice however not what I am looking for, ear padding to me is awful. Going to arrange the return at this point but I will give it another day of burn in and what not. Currently running auditions for the aeon open x came in today. Edit: pulled these out. strange design yet despite my large ears these headphones fit absolutely perfect… This is … by far… the most strange headphone I have tried on… not even kidding here when I say this… It literally sounds like a dt 1990 + a Sundara. It has a V signature on a damn planar
1 Like
Yea man, to each their own. Sorry for the miss 
nah man, it’s alright. They are very nice. If i were to get the pm-50s I would go out of my way to change the pads. It just didn’t have the sound that I personally was looking for. It’s definitely a good headphone though and is up there.
1 Like
Yea. If the fit is an issue the pads are a required change. Hopefully they get the bigger pad replacements out sooner rather than later.
I think a larger pad would do them well… add some sound stage to it maybe a little more bass and overall clarity. Would do right by them. I felt the bass a little lacking it could be a little cleaner and the sound staging for the thick ear cups wasn’t very wide just fairly moderate. Seperation was there though and imaging was pretty on point. If they could make a cup that emphasis all this a little more those headphones would be incredible in my book. HOWEVER, SO I have been sitting here for about 45 minutes with the AEON OPEN X. Dude, you may need to try these yourself. Personally, I love a good V but it can’t be sharp and I have never tried a planar that had a distinctive V. These are awesome. I haven’t gotten around to trying the other pads just yet but they apparently change the signature to things like more neutral and the like. I did notice a tiny bit of sibilance from the increased treble with the starting pads so far and the actual pads, not the foam inserts, definitely create some heat if I could replace the pads with a more perforated variation instead of only the inner cup having perf I would on these. clamping force so far seems to be focused on the jaw line. These play beautifully so far. V signature is similar to a dt 1990 yet it has that airy space sound to it and is very similar to the Sundaras. At the same time these are pretty aggressive. I think the strange thing is I have already noticed some odd change in tonality while sitting here for close to an hour very subtle could be just me.
I’m unsure about how it’d change them. We’ll see what they come up with. The pad swapping system for the PM-50s is a big plus though lol. So fucking easy.
I definitely don’t think it’s lacking at all. Cleaner? Maybe they could, but the warmth feels intentional. Not a basshead’s headphone. As far as I can tell, that balance is intentional. All up to personal preference 
I would call imaging and soundstage equal to or better than the Sundaras. The on-ear / pads / warmth lead to a feeling that everything is closer and more up front, but I find the staging / soundstage stuff is still there. Sundaras are just realllllly big and really airy in comparison which gives them a feeling of a bigger soundstage. Sundaras are 5th row of a concert hall. PM-50s feel more like first row / in the band imo. It’s especially apparent in folk / acoustic music.
Those or Audeze’s (or a Campfire Andromeda) are my next purchase after the Eikons, but that’s wayyyyy down the line. Gotta upgrade my sources first. I’m definitely not a real V signature fan though. Prolly the reason I like the pretty much flat response on the PM-50s so fucking much. Like the 770 with Eikon pads has more edged bass and a definite V shape (and it’s pleasant), but I found myself coming back to an even response and defaulting out to the PM-50s. We’ll see if that changes.
Sidenote, it’s refreshing to have headphones where the mids are not recessed or emphasized, and feel just right to me. Like I can actually hear all the music and it doesn’t feel too colored. The bass isn’t like fuck me rumble, but the treble isn’t overly sharp or sibilant or bright. Flatttttttttttttttttttt. Which also might have a lot to do with the sources / amps I’m using.
at least from my experience it felt that the sundara edged out just a hair on staging. However, the pm-50 was definitely the warmer headphone and I felt it had a better detail and imaging to it and more in your face instead of that distant feeling you get from the Sundaras.
I do like a deep heavier style bass, just my personal preference. They did respond very well to me just placing them on a slightly heavier but natural bass increase, in the end sounded a hell of a lot better in my taste. Balance was superb and on point.
I think I am just partial to both. I love neutral but I love V signature provided its not horridly sharp. My only complaint on these aeon open x’s so far is honestly the heat build up and that clamp force on the jaw line. The heat build up is a hell of alot more than the other headphones I have trialed. Not sure how I feel on it overall comfort wise. Sound wise… astonishingly good.
1 Like
Hahahahahaha. I just got my balanced cable and the bass just got cleaned way up lol. Also the clarity / separation / stage just took a pretty sizeable leap up. I think a lot of it has to do with source maybe? The PM-50s might be really responsive to the amp they’re run off of.
Wish I had an equalizer though. I feel like these would take well to it.
Heat build up? From the cans electronics or body heat?
1 Like
The problem i see with your collection Falenkor is they all looke like they sound the same lol. all nuetral wise tuning. I think you should try a more fun headphone like one of the bass wood cups: fostex 00x/emu/denon. That extra bass is a lot of fun. Also the Sendy Clones. try a more aggresive headphone with close soundstage. theres nothing like it. exciting. Imo the Aiva sounds the best. Also the Helios has that more aggressive fun tunning.
I wouldn’t say the dt 1990s and the aeons sound the same by any means… They sound different. I own the Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon which is definitely a darker warmer headphone, DT 1990 which is a neutral bright, and now the aeon open x which is a v planar with different inserts to change the signature. I did think of trying the Fostex honestly think it was the purple heart I was looking at or something. as well as I think it was the sendy aiva? the one with the higher treble response as I prefer a higher treble in general. Plus you already know I plan to buy the helios which is a closer soundstage. Personally speaking I find the nighthawk aggressive.
Oh sorry forgot you ordered the Helios. let me know what you think. The DT1990s are neutral but lean towards bright from what i hear. And i wouldnt classify the Nighthawk as aggressive by any stretch of the imagination. unless we’re talking about aggressively dark! Aggressive or fun/exciting as i like to call it. has a V or W shape, detail, close soundstage and bright. at least thats how i understand it.
Thats what i meant was agressively dark. Agreed on teh dt 1990s leaning towards bright but they don’t have an extensive V shape like the dt 990s and are definitely more neutral they also have a huge sound stage and good treble. Meanwhile these aeons here are a V shape, are a planar, has alot of space to the sound, moderate sound stage, very laid back, very detailed, great imaging, fairly warm headphones. They sound nothing like the 1990s or the nighthawks for that matter. Nighthawks are incredibly unique honestly but I haven’t heard another planar that sounds like these yet which really intrigues me. Plus it uses a 4 pin xlr so makes me curious on balance setups being possible or whether it would be a proper upgrade or not.
I don’t know the 1990s, but own the Nighthawk Carbons, Aeon X, and Helios. Of the three, I’d say the Helios are the most aggressive and V shaped. The Aeon, I’d say is between the Helios and Nighthawk on the aggression scale, with a pretty big presentation. I personally find the Nighthawk and Aeon to be some of the most comfortable headphones available of what I’ve tried/owned.
Honestly, IMO, it’s very difficult to get to know and judge one vs another in a matter of a few hours. As others have mentioned, it can take a week of listening to nothing else to acclimate (mental burn in), especially with something like the Nighthawk, to really get to know a new headphone. Establishing a baseline/daily driver headphone that you know very well, then spending a week getting to know something new before going back to your baseline for comparisons and A/B testing is going to give you a much better feel.
1 Like
I haven’t tried the Helios but heard mixed statements on its actual shape of sound. I will definitely agree that Aeon and Nighthawk are super comfortable(however nighthawk has pads that dont fit me properly haha currently looking into possible alternatives to that if i can). I plan to sit with the headphones of particular choice for a couple weeks at least listening to just straight those particular headphones and I base a few things on comfort, cause to be fair who wants to wear a headphone that just doesn’t work on the ears or is super uncomfortable. Out of the 3 I think the Carbon has the most unique sound followed by aeon then dt 1990 since it caters pretty nicely towards a neutral bright. Carbon is definitely a very aggressive dark sounding headphone but in terms of actual aggression I can’t really compare it to any others as I haven’t tried a “True” aggressive type headphone just yet. Planning on it though. If I were to compare these three… I would say the dt 1990s have the brighter signature but has the best middle ground sound overall biggest sound stage fairly neutral on aggression vs laid back. The aeon is very laid back and very spacious large sound stage but smaller than the dt 1990s very V shaped and has a treble that shows but it doesn’t seem really as bright as a dt 1990 infact its a little on the warmer side which is odd. Nighthawk is straight up Dark aggression more in your face than the other two and is that kind of headphone that takes somewhere near center stage. Closer soundstage in comparison to the other too but still a little spacious
Btw anyone know if a balanced setup would be worthwhile on an Aeon open X? @M0N your pretty knowledgeable any idea? It does use a double 4 pin xlr barrel connector for a cable connection and they sell separately the same cable but with the 4 pin xlr connections instead. I was pretty curious when I saw the cable and it brought me back to when I spoke to rice about balanced amps and he mentioned he wanted a Liquid Platinum. Got me thinking how these would perform on a balanced setup. I am really hard pressed with these aeons… they have COMPLETELY shut down my sundaras I would even go as far as say these are just straight up better in every regard EXCEPT the highs… i do feel sundara had better highs but I can get over that. Already know that the dt 1990s probably wouldn’t be very good on a balanced modification and theres not much reason to do so. however, this particular headphone could give me a reason to look into this
If you have a balanced amp then yes, if not then no
I think if you wanted a balanced cable, the cheapest way to do so would be to get a solid periapt cable
I think you would really enjoy that amp, but it wouldn’t work well with the 1990 that you have (no way to be balanced without heavily modding, and the liquid plat sucks unbalanced). You can typically find the plat used for around like 450 ish from time to time
Interesting, personally wasn’t a big fan of the open x, glad you are liking them
hmm. If I will take the amp talk to my other forum post then. Thanks