Dan Clark Audio AEON RT Review (closed headphone)

[Dan Clark]

@Dan Clark : If I get you right, open headphones have the advantages mentioned above, but lack bass energy. In your first post you mentioned you prefer a more natural frequency response with the ability to push the top and bottom without breaking it. So - if isolation is NOT a requirement, but sub bass IS (from time to time...) - would the open headphone used with EQ reach the bass performance of the closed version but with better soundstage?
And - since I think a bit like @Francis Vaughan and his idea of an Aeon DSP - which version of the Aeon headphones is best concerning THD and group delay? Aeon RT or 2? Open or closed? Since these factors cannot be modified with an equalizer...

I was trying to make a general statement on closed cups and energy storage, apologies if I was unclear. We put a lot of effort into this and from ETHER Flow on now achieve sub-bass parity with our open designs through the architecture and tuning of the driver. AEON 2 headphones are also close but not identical above 1K. So no, for sub-bass open vs closed in our line is not an issue. That said, soundstage and perception of bass are really complex.

The biggest difference is that the open models in the AEON/AEON 2 lines are they have more energy from 100-300Hz which makes them warmer sounding, and moves the "front of stage" a bit closer to the user. That said, the depth in the open is deeper. Be aware that some hear the soundstage as "smaller" for the open becuase the headphone is closer to the stage, while others hear the soundstage as deeper because the far-field sounds like reverb are further out on the open. This is a YMMV based on how you listen to and define soundstage. For my part I consider it the distance from front to back, not how far I am from the stage. I would say the open sounds more "intimate" because you're a few rows closer to the performance but I'd also say "larger space" because reverb is further away in the open. YMMV.

Sub-bass: Some people listen to the open and hear less sub-bass because there's more upper bass while others hear the same sub-bass and more total bass with the open. I suspect some people listen "through" the upper registers to hear the bottom, while some others the upper registers mask the deepest notes, but that's just a theory and again it's a bit of YMMV.

PEQ -4dB from 100-300Hz for the Open to align closer to Harman, if that is your goal, and it will move you a bit further into the audience from the nearest performer.

THD on all our models is very low, in many cases below what we can measure because there's so much compressor, motor, fan, and traffic noise surrounding us it's very hard to reliably get below 0.1-0.05% THD as ambient noise affects the outcome. All our models are at or below the noise floor of our office in THD.

Because of our driver design and the care we put into handling internal cup energy the group delay on the AEONs is almost identical, except that the closed A2 Closed (Blue) has a small blip around 200Hz where cup energy shows up. 1/24 octave smoothing applied to remove ambient noise.

 

[jannek]

@Dan Clark : Whoa. Thank you very much for this comprehensive answer. It is absolutely fascinating to get that insight and detail information directly from the creator. Thank you very much for this.

 

[Dan Clark]

@Dan Clark : Whoa. Thank you very much for this comprehensive answer. It is absolutely fascinating to get that insight and detail information directly from the creator. Thank you very much for this.

Sure! My favorite thing about tradeshows was having interested people discuss complex topics. Since we can't see people face to face, it's my "fix" to occasionally geek on responses. Sorry if I write "books" sometimes, I just dislike giving incomplete answers...

 

[Veri]

@amirm How would these perform paired with an amp like the Topping DX7? Have any measurements been taken with a high output impedance amp? I take it that using the XLR output of the DX7 would provide enough current, however I'm wondering if there would be any frequency modulation considering the impedance rating of the DX7 via XLR is 20 Ohms.

Planars tend to not be affected by higher impedance output (flatter if not entirely flat impedance curve, so no FR modulation) unlike dynamics, but you do need enough current out of the amp which is the limiting factor.

 

[BenF]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Dan Clark ÆON RT closed back headphone. It was kindly sent to me by the company for testing and costs US $500.

Oh hey @Dan Clark , btw I do ultra-long-term headphone reviews! Could you send me some pairs of your top headphones for testing? You'll be getting them back in... 2040?

 

[velasfloyd]

there is still a concept that I do not understand very well. These headphones need an amplifier that delivers enough current to sound good. Does this translate to volume? That is, if two amplifiers are able to reach the same volume for this headphone, with the same noise level, can it be said that the headphone will sound exactly the same in both? Or is it possible to reach the same volume but an amplifier, because it is limited in current, may sound "anemic" or some other qualifier that means that, since it does not deliver enough current, even reaching the same volume, it sounds worse?

On the other hand, there is something that I still do not understand from Amir's headphone reviews. Are they absolute or relative to price / category?
For example, we see that in DAC, regardless of the price, the measurements give absolute results… and then if one Dac measures better than another, even if it costs much less, this dac is better…. Regardless of the expensive dac having better construction, more options, features, etc. However I see, based on some comments from Amir, that in headphone you do not have to see the results as absolute. For example, at the moment the Aeon flow RT is the one that has had the best review, but still it is implied that the equalized Sennheiser 800S is in another category. So if a user wants to buy the best headphone in terms of sound now (regardless of its construction), not taking in consideration value for money, which one should buy? 800S or RT? from the measurements it appears that RT is better…. or maybe the $ 9 Sony?… or is the latter good just considering it's worth $ 9 and still the 800S is much better?

 

[Evgeniy]

thanks !

Very nice level's of distortions .
One problem with these headphones : stock versions ins't include velour pad's.

 

[Dan Clark]

thanks !

Very nice level's of distortions .
One problem with these headphones : stock versions ins't include velour pad's.

Velour kills the bass, can't hold a seal.

 

[Evgeniy]

Velour kills the bass, can't hold a seal.

partially yes.
But I use few model's AKG, Beyerdynamic, HiFiMan headphones with velour and hybrid pad's, and bass is fine, expecially with pad's from "memory" foam and velour (AKG).

 

[ShiZo]

I will test it soon. For now, it does not have the same performance as RT.

So does that mean you already have enough info to know the aeon rt measures better than the ether cx?

 

[swarley]

So does that mean you already have enough info to know the aeon rt measures better than the ether cx?

don’t think that’s what he said. Just stated that it won’t measure the same.

 

[solderdude]

Velour kills the bass, can't hold a seal.

hybrid pads .... (p)leather walls and velour material against the skin.

 

[Gurkerl]

there is still a concept that I do not understand very well. These headphones need an amplifier that delivers enough current to sound good. Does this translate to volume? That is, if two amplifiers are able to reach the same volume for this headphone, with the same noise level, can it be said that the headphone will sound exactly the same in both? Or is it possible to reach the same volume but an amplifier, because it is limited in current, may sound "anemic" or some other qualifier that means that, since it does not deliver enough current, even reaching the same volume, it sounds worse?

On the other hand, there is something that I still do not understand from Amir's headphone reviews. Are they absolute or relative to price / category?
For example, we see that in DAC, regardless of the price, the measurements give absolute results… and then if one Dac measures better than another, even if it costs much less, this dac is better…. Regardless of the expensive dac having better construction, more options, features, etc. However I see, based on some comments from Amir, that in headphone you do not have to see the results as absolute. For example, at the moment the Aeon flow RT is the one that has had the best review, but still it is implied that the equalized Sennheiser 800S is in another category. So if a user wants to buy the best headphone in terms of sound now (regardless of its construction), not taking in consideration value for money, which one should buy? 800S or RT? from the measurements it appears that RT is better…. or maybe the $ 9 Sony?… or is the latter good just considering it's worth $ 9 and still the 800S is much better?

Those are some interesting questions, I am curios to hear an answer as well. Have you found out more about that in the meantime?

 

[solderdude]

2 amplifiers that can go equally loud (without distortion) can still sound different depending on whether or not the amps have an output capacitor and how large the value of it is. It also depends, in this case, whether or not the output capacitor is in the feedback path or not.

2 amps, both with a similar power rating in say 300 Ohm can have totally different power ratings at 13 Ohm load.

When 2 amps have a similar power rating in say 16 Ohm loads and are designed for this they will sound the same, assuming they have a 'flat' frequency response (within 0.5dB from 10Hz to 40kHz).

Under a 13 Ohm load amps may measure react differently than under 32 Ohm load.

Where one person hears 'distortion' setting in may not be the same as for person B.

When 2 amps have a substantially different power rating (in the 13 Ohm load) the one with higher power rating can go louder without any distortion and thus sound 'fuller'.

Short answer... it depends on the used amp.

Output power (in a certain load) is directly proportional to measured loudness, not to perceived loudness.

 

[erniebert]

Thanks for this review!

I’m proud to say that my daughter’s name is Aeon, and she predates the headphone cognomen by a good number of years.

Been longing and wishing for any of the items in the Aeon series so that I could gift a pair to her.

On a side note a friend who’s quite the philistine suggested this, which he proudly describes as DIY audiophile earbuds:

 

[MC_RME]

That's the StereoCute 2 (TM), right?

 

[Music1969]

I have been wearing these for months and the pads have worn differently.

I noticed the same with my original Aeons. Change shape (permanently) so quickly.

My Focals are twice as old and kept their shape. @Dan Clark

 

[Music1969]

@amirm do you provide the raw data for FR plots? .csv or .txt file?

@Dan Clark does amir's measurement correlate with yours? So i can use his plot for EQ purposes?

 

[Atanasi]

On a side note a friend who’s quite the philistine suggested this, which he proudly describes as DIY audiophile earbuds:

Can you hear any mains hum with these? At least there is no DC.

 

[amirm]

@amirm do you provide the raw data for FR plots? .csv or .txt file?

I do. It is included in every review.