Aeon 2 Noire channel imbalance, crackling, and passive electronics

[paudio]

Just an update:

Solved mine's problem after i opened it and sprayed some wd40 on the connector that connects the wires to the jack. I don't know about other models but in this one, dca strangely doesn't solder the wires directly to the headphone jack, instead it uses a type of connector which i believe was causing poor contact.

Since then the problem has completely disappeared, no more cranking the volume to return normal, no more imbalance issues.

A connector between the driver board and the hirose connector? Did you get a picture?

 

[paudio]

It's it like this picture?

Small black 2-pin connector on driver board

 

[Soulsound]

It's it like this picture?

Small black 2-pin connector on driver board

Yep

When i opened it i couldn't believe that a headphone in this price category was using cheap connectors instead of good ol solid soldering.

 

[paudio]

Yep

When i opened it i couldn't believe that a headphone in this price category was using cheap connectors instead of good ol solid soldering.

I don't think anything is wrong with a connector as long as it functions correctly. Both ends should be from the same manufacturer and so there shouldn't be any weird metal interactions causing an issue. Less to go wrong with proper soldering but I can understand why they might want to use connectors instead.

Edit: I see these style connectors all the time in lots of electronics that I repair. Don't think I have ever had an issue with one.

 

[icey.seri]

Yep

When i opened it i couldn't believe that a headphone in this price category was using cheap connectors instead of good ol solid soldering.

seems like it could be poor crimping? maybe carefully dip some solder on the contacts, though that might be tricky with the space available

 

[icey.seri]

Yep

When i opened it i couldn't believe that a headphone in this price category was using cheap connectors instead of good ol solid soldering.

I think I'll run this up their emails to see if they could try to identify this

 

[paudio]

I think I'll run this up their emails to see if they could try to identify this

Could be a bad joint or something weird with the connector material. I feel like it should be quantifiable measuring across the hirose connector versus across the traces on the PCB. Could just be a badly seated connector

 

[Soulsound]

seems like it could be poor crimping? maybe carefully dip some solder on the contacts, though that might be tricky with the space available

In my case it was definitely poor contact, not poor crimping. The problem completely went away after a simple application of WD-40 on the small pin connector.

I don't think anything is wrong with a connector as long as it functions correctly. Both ends should be from the same manufacturer and so there shouldn't be any weird metal interactions causing an issue. Less to go wrong with proper soldering but I can understand why they might want to use connectors instead.

Edit: I see these style connectors all the time in lots of electronics that I repair. Don't think I have ever had an issue with one.

Now i'm not saying it's the same problem as others could have been caused by different reasons, but there are similar reports of imbalance on Aeon models.

I think they could at least address the issue.

 

[orbs]

Just registered to reply that I'm also having this exact same issue.
Will contact Dan Clark to RMA them.

 

[paudio]

In my case it was definitely poor contact, not poor crimping. The problem completely went away after a simple application of WD-40 on the small pin connector.


Now i'm not saying it's the same problem as others could have been caused by different reasons, but there are similar reports of imbalance on Aeon models.

I think they could at least address the issue.

Could have been the connector got coated with something or had oxidized due to storage conditions. Would have to measure before and after reconnecting and then again before and after cleaning to know. Similar things can happen with the hirose connector and the end termination.

 

[paudio]

Thought I'd try and identify the connector and it's probably this one by Molex. It has gold plated contacts.

 

[Soulsound]

Just registered to reply that I'm also having this exact same issue.
Will contact Dan Clark to RMA them.

It is very unfortunate that such a great headphone suffers from a problem that could have been easily avoidable

Could have been the connector got coated with something or had oxidized due to storage conditions. Would have to measure before and after reconnecting and then again before and after cleaning to know. Similar things can happen with the hirose connector and the end termination.

I'm not an electrician expert, far from it, but i'm happy that i managed to solve my problem without having to go through a long and expensive rma process

 

[dzerig]

So I got an Aeon 2 Noire at canjam a couple months back, and recently, I've been noticing some channel imbalance with the right cup, where it'd be about 4, 5 decibels softer than the right. But I decided against going with an RMA immediately since I'd already RMA'd the original unit for mechanical issues. Interesting thing is, is that the channel imbalance comes and goes, after running some tests, I've discovered the following. Going to a loud volume, around 10db over what is considered a relatively loud listening volume, will result in a slight crackle in the right channel, and then going back down to a normal volume would fix the imbalance for some time. Also, when it has the channel imbalance, playing at the bass hump frequencies, 100-150Hz will result in buzzing in the right channel. I'm guessing this all but confirms that they are using passive electronics to achieve the bump in the lower? midbass. Have you guys found anything similar?

All but confirms? I hope you never get on a jury where my freedom is at stake!

 

[benni]

Edit: I see these style connectors all the time in lots of electronics that I repair. Don't think I have ever had an issue with one.

Did you see this in devices with relatively low impedance like these headphones with around only 14 Ohms?

I had the same problem with random impalence and crackles.
See the atteched pictures for my *solution* for my Aeon 2 open which is not that pretty, but it worked.

PS: I did not have warranty.

 

[Soulsound]

Did you see this in devices with relatively low impedance like these headphones with around only 14 Ohms?

I had the same problem with random impalence and crackles.
See the atteched pictures for my *solution* for my Aeon 2 open which is not that pretty, but it worked.

PS: I did not have warranty.

Did this permanently fixed the problem for you?

Mine started showing the same symptoms as before, i'm thinking about soldering to get rid of these connectors once and for all.

 

[benni]

After the soldering, the random changes in the stereo field and the crackling disappeared.

The stereo mid is not perfectly centered, but this could be due to quite worn ear pads. At least it stays there consistently, and I can equalize it.

 

[Soulsound]

After the soldering, the random changes in the stereo field and the crackling disappeared.

The stereo mid is not perfectly centered, but this could be due to quite worn ear pads. At least it stays there consistently, and I can equalize it.

Good to know.

I always suspected that the problem could be a bad contact, but as i wasn't sure i just applied a dose of WD40 which temporarily solved it.

 

[nalianth]

Did you see this in devices with relatively low impedance like these headphones with around only 14 Ohms?

I had the same problem with random impalence and crackles.
See the atteched pictures for my *solution* for my Aeon 2 open which is not that pretty, but it worked.

PS: I did not have warranty.

My right side was having the same issue making me think I was crazy until eventually finding this post months ago. I too tried wd40, cleaning/crimping the connector a little tighter... all for it to happen again within a few weeks making me have to crank the volume to "fix" multiple times a day.

After seeing your post today, I ripped out the solder gun and snipped right across that connector. I resoldered the original wires directly to the larger contacts and am happy to report it is working fine.

I am going to give this a couple of weeks and if all is well will do the same on the left side (I swear the right side is a tad louder now).

Thank you for sharing!

 

[paudio]

Did you see this in devices with relatively low impedance like these headphones with around only 14 Ohms?

I had the same problem with random impalence and crackles.
See the atteched pictures for my *solution* for my Aeon 2 open which is not that pretty, but it worked.

PS: I did not have warranty.

Yes. Often laptop speaker assemblies are even lower impedance. I couldn't find an issue with my imbalanced drivers at the connector and DCA replaced them.