FJP
New member
Just thought I’d share this in case it helps anyone else.
I recently bought a pair of DCA Aeon Flows after a break from headphones. Those I had been using I found both physically and sonically fatiguing. They were uncomfortable on my head and seemed to put pressure on my ear drums, aggravating my otherwise mild and inconstant tinnitus. They all used dynamic drivers and included HD6XX, Focal Elear and HD800. While the latter were a huge upgrade in physical comfort, in sonic comfort it was not. After some research, it seemed like I should try dark planar magnetics built for physical comfort. Enter Dan Clark Audio.
I can wear the Flows for hours without issue. Where the other headphones bar the HD800 were like putting on ski boots, these are like putting on slippers. The darker signature and planar drivers seemed to be doing the trick, but what dispelled the sonic fatigue completely was the crossfeed delivered by the Goodhertz plugins, Canopener and Midside. Not only do I appreciate the increased realism of the reproduction with better imaging and a wider soundstage, having some of the left channel in the right channel and vice versa seems to make for a far less fatiguing listen. I don’t know why exactly but it is working for me.
The plug-ins work with Audirvana and equivalent applications. But there is a work around on Mac to apply them system wide for direct use with streaming platforms: SoundSource by Rogue Amoeba (which I recommend anyway). I am totally Windows illiterate so I can’t help there.
Anyway, that’s my journey. IMHO YMMV.
I recently bought a pair of DCA Aeon Flows after a break from headphones. Those I had been using I found both physically and sonically fatiguing. They were uncomfortable on my head and seemed to put pressure on my ear drums, aggravating my otherwise mild and inconstant tinnitus. They all used dynamic drivers and included HD6XX, Focal Elear and HD800. While the latter were a huge upgrade in physical comfort, in sonic comfort it was not. After some research, it seemed like I should try dark planar magnetics built for physical comfort. Enter Dan Clark Audio.
I can wear the Flows for hours without issue. Where the other headphones bar the HD800 were like putting on ski boots, these are like putting on slippers. The darker signature and planar drivers seemed to be doing the trick, but what dispelled the sonic fatigue completely was the crossfeed delivered by the Goodhertz plugins, Canopener and Midside. Not only do I appreciate the increased realism of the reproduction with better imaging and a wider soundstage, having some of the left channel in the right channel and vice versa seems to make for a far less fatiguing listen. I don’t know why exactly but it is working for me.
The plug-ins work with Audirvana and equivalent applications. But there is a work around on Mac to apply them system wide for direct use with streaming platforms: SoundSource by Rogue Amoeba (which I recommend anyway). I am totally Windows illiterate so I can’t help there.
Anyway, that’s my journey. IMHO YMMV.
