Question for those who already have this headphone. I just received mine about an hour ago and while I realize they need to be broken in for up to 200 hours, they sound very bright and somewhat weak on bass. How much change can I expect once broken in? I have yet to try any of the dampening pads and figure I'll wait till the stock headphones are fully broken in. My other headphones are Sennheiser HD 660 S which sound completely different and definitely warmer.
I'm sure you've found this out by now, but for those wondering the bass definitely comes through after break-in. They have a slightly warm tone once they loosen up completely, but also probably need amplification and will definitely let you know if your media is low quality. Make sure you aren't using badly compressed media, have a bit of extra power driving them, and give them time to break in. They aren't for bass-heads, but are definitely on the warm side once they break in.
OK, well these headphones are not yet broken in but after several hours of listening, I can hear quite a difference from my description above. While the clarity is still there, it is not harsh and the base moved from non-existent to something quite nice . . . tight yet smooth. Starting to really, really like these cans!
I have the original AFC and the HD 58x so probably a similar basis for comparison. The Aeons were brighter out of the box although I wouldn't say in a bad way. I ran them with the standard one-notch white filter for several months until I thought they started to sound slightly veiled and then moved down to the black foam. Try the filters and tune it to your ear. That's why they're included.
They sounded much less bassy at first. I doubt I'm at the 200 hour mark yet since Christmas, but I was initially using a combined 8db boost on bass which has since reduced to more like maybe 6db. They are for sure not basshead cans, but if you EQ in extra bass they replicate it with no complaints.
Dan Clark Audio confirmed that the headphones are the same except for the naming. Going forward this product will be exclusive to Drop will only be available through Drop for the foreseeable future.