interesting bit of news.
speaking of treble sparkle, the hd800s would be the perfect substitute headphone for that, in all ways i can think of its the opposite of the aeolus in all ways possible i feel like
although i havenât actually heard the hd800s for years and when i did hear it i listened to it on an RME adi2, so bucket of salt here.
but i feel like people would tend to agree but i donât know
Not a fan of the HD800. Thatâs swinging too treble hot for me and feels bass light. Nicer on a tube for sure the HD800, infact a tube fixes most issues with it.
understandable that!
Yep, understand where you are coming from indeed!
Love the Aeolus! I have found you can bring the sound closer to the Verite Open with the perforated hybrid pads. Not the same of course just a bit more detailed and a bit more neutral sounding compared to the cushy Aeolus stock pads.
Didnât know that, itâs why I love ZMFâs such a huge change with just a pad change.
Marello have you tried the Aeolus without the bopp filter? Would be keen to know your thoughts
No I havenât and I wouldnât unless I had Zach and his team do it just because I would be bummed out if my Aeolus got damaged in the process. I have the Verite Open, so if I am feeling like I need more resolution I just utilize those. The Aeolus for me is my kick back headphone and I am pretty happy with their sound as they are for that purpose.
Agreed. 
Iâm that way with the Atticus which is a similar variant.
Thatâs fair enough, I find the Aeolus to be one of the most aggressive headphones I have apart from my Sendy Aiva.
I hope you get the chance to review the T50 Modhouse Argon with some ZMF oval Cowhide pads. Youâre in for one of the most unique relaxed experiences youâve ever had.
Iâll have to try my Aeolus with those Hybrid Perf pads Iâm sure with the Bopp removed plus the pad change it would be a hell of a combo 
I havenât heard anyone call the Aeolus aggressive, maybe depending on the amp/dac itâs paired with it could be a bit more exciting sounding? Paired with a Feliks Echo MK2, Feliks Elise or a Bottle Head Crack and it doesnât sound aggressive to my ears with the stock Aeolus pads. What Dac and Amp are you using with it out of curiosity?
I second @MRHifiReviews , to my ears and with my chain they are stupid smoothâŠbuttery and fluidâŠIâve paired em with so different Schiit - Mjolnir and Jotunheim 1 & 2 and just so so smooth.
Also what other cans do you have apart from Sendy Aivas? I had a set of t50 Argonâs balanced and specâs with ZMF cowhide while I had my first Aeolus and I would reach for the Aeolus 9/10 times. If I really wanted some HEAVY beats the Argonâs but Aeolus had the better all around sound for detail and balance âŠand was chill as F - again subjective so to my ear.
Yeah the Aeolus doesnât sound aggressive with any tube amps. Relaxes the sound adds more width and depth to the soundstage. With any solid state pairing TA-30, 789 or a hybrid CTH its an aggressive headphone for sure.
When I hook it up my darkvoice with swapped tubes it sounds much more laid back
Edit: DAC: Geshelli Labs Enog / DAC in the TA-30
And before everyone pee pee poo pooâs the 789 for being treble harsh and having 0% dynamic range, when I talk about aggressive I donât mean treble hot in anyway I mean the attack of the Aeolus is insane its probably the fastest headphone out there. Its why it gives the Aeolus its exciting character.
It makes my other planars sound slow and the T50rp is renound for being insanely fast.
They are smooth but that doesnât mean laid back theyâre aggressive on solid state. On tubes no theyâre much more relaxed.
Elex, Ether CX, Fostex X00, T50 - Argons, DT 880 600Ohms and Aiva
It is a heavy sound the Argons and wide with some of the best imaging out there. [Probably not now with the Focal Clear MG] its not a direct comparison in regard to sound quality. But if I wanted chill and wasnât going to be on tubes I wouldnât choose the Aeolus. Even on tubes its relaxed, I wouldnât call it chill its always an exciting listen on my Aeolus. Its aggressive to my ear.
Aeolus setup is without a bopp filter and perf suede pads. [Even with the Bopp filter it found it still aggressive, I ended up removing it cause that bopp felt like a muzzle on the Aeolus.]
I could see how it could sound more energetic without the bop filter, the ZMF pads you are using and your pairing with the THX amp. That makes more sense based on the synergy you are creating.
I take them the complete opposite direction preferring them with tubes, leaving the stock Aeolus pads on 100% now that I own the Verite Open LTD desert ironwood. Of all the amps I listened to the Aeolus with the more clinical/clean amps were my least favorite for overall music enjoyment with them.
I fully agree, Once I heard them on my darkvoice it was over for any other amps. It turns the Aeolus into an exciting experience rather than crushing detail into my head.
I after some experimenting last night doing back and forth Bopp filter vs no bopp. The Aeolus bass and mids are almost the same it mainly changes whether its darker or brighter.
But now youâve got me curious about those hybrid pads.
I will say the only solid state combo I like was the TA-30. Iâll also be trying it on my Singxer SA-1. Iâd definitely be down to see you review that and I think it would be up your alley. I hear its a really smooth Class A with a lot of power.
Yeah I am interested in that one too, I am a fan of Class A!
Iâm very interested in this headphones⊠beginning to realize that I actually might prefer quite warm headphones, albeit ones that still provide detail, imagingâŠ
I was wondering if anyone had any strong feelings about this post, the first post, in this SBAF thread on the Aeolus. He basically says that while the Aeolus is awesome in ways, ultimately its detail capabilities are quite similar to the 6xx/650. He made it sound, overall, like the 6xx and Aeolus are really quite close in various aspects of their respective performance.
Already being the owner of a 6xx⊠I was wondering how true this is. Or if itâs just an example of an audio nerd being kind of idiosyncratic, making a bold claim for the hell of it, you know the type.
To be honest, the aeolus might be a slight bit higher preforming, but it really isnât that far off (if being run on a higher end amp). Personally I find the aeolus to be a pretty poor value from a technicality perspective, it just gets easily outperformed technicality wise by the majority of other options in the price range it sits in. It just really isnât a good value imo, feels like it sacrifices the majority of all aspects of what you would want in a headphone at this price point (sound wise) in order to be extremely unoffensive, and I really just am not a fan of that tbh. If you love the looks and the build/custom aspect fair enough, I just wouldnât buy one for competent performance in the price range imo. Iâd highly suggest going to an auteur/eikon instead for something that actually has decent technical performance, but thatâs not the same sound sig.
@granularclouds, I couldnât agree more. It just doesnât have any technical prowess other than soundstage, imo.
The Eikon is a better option. Itâs more detailed and dynamic, and still retains that ZMF soundstage. I havenât heard the Auteur, but I know itâs their more technical/neutral headphone.