Aune - AR5000

El buen Aune AR5000, recomendado, lo compre hace poco y es super dulce para escuchar horas y horas

**HD 600** \- excellent, natural tonality with its early sub-bass roll off being its only weakness. I wouldn't say the bass is just decent because I actually find the quality to be quite nice and tactile due to its slight mid-bass bump, but it doesn't have that much low end oomph and fullness for my electronic music. Extremely durable and built to last. Lightweight and CAN be comfortable after you give the out-of-the-box clamp force some wear time. Other downside would be the earpads wearing down too quickly which can change the sound to be warmer and down tilt the treble (and the earpads are expensive to constantly replace if you like the stock sound profile). **AR5000** \- a great all-rounder headphone for both music and gaming. The low end is full and warm with a lush, natural sounding midrange, and a smooth upper treble. Very comfortable to wear for long hours because its suspension strap helps a lot with weight distribution and has a nicely built metal-plastic construction that's handles smoothly with no creaky-ness. I've used my AR5000 quite a lot for my electronic and hip-hop music because the bass feels so full and enveloping on tracks like *James Blake - Loading*. It's also awesome for gaming because the drivers are angled slightly aggressive which presents a soundstage that has great forward depth to it and precise positional imaging. That's its party trick because things can sound intimate and close to your face or be far out in front of you. A nice bonus that it has lower distortion than the HD 600, so you can EQ a bass shelf to it and it can punch way harder. There are other headphones like the HD 550, Sony MDR-MV1, FIIO FT1 Pro, Sundara, and Edition XS, but since I don't own any of them, I can't offer a fair assessment of their sonic performance. From what I read, general consensus is that the HD 550 is a great alternative to the HD 600 if you want better bass extension but less than sweet sounding midrange. Sony MDR-MV1 is a V-shaped, fun sounding headphone that can be too bright. FiiO FT1 Pro is a slightly darker sounding planar alternative to the Sundara and Edition XS. Sundara and Edition XS are bright-neutral planar headphones that needs an amp and their comfort and build quality are hit and miss.

The differences between headphones is often imperceptible at first listen but become more obvious over time. The human brain is just not well equipped to make these distinctions on the fly. As for price vs expectations, more expensive doesn’t often equate to “better tuned”. Money will buy you resolution, but not necessarily enjoyment. I think you went into the experience with the correct mindset, which is “what tuning speaks to me?”. The most enjoyable headphones are not necessarily expensive. As for the AR5000 - I love this headphone. It has a unique quality to the tonality. Kind of like a hint of harmonic resonance or reverb. I prefer the tuning of the SR7000 to the AR5000 but the SR lacks this resonance characteristic. It’s also $300 more expensive than the AR which I feel was a marketing blunder on Aune’s part.

These are my favorite headphones below $600. They just sound so balanced and… nice. They aren’t really the best at any one criteria, but they are pretty good in every criteria. And they have this very unique quality to the sound, just a hint of resonance that makes music sound like it was mixed with the tiniest bit of reverb. It’s interesting.

I have the AR5000s and have been very happy with them. I bought them primarily for listening to music, but was pleasantly surprised by how good they were for gaming as well. I paired them with the Meze boom mic and I realized that I basically stumbled upon my endgame headphones 😄. As with any headphones, though, I recommend trying them out before you buy. See if there’s an AV speciality shop in your area, or find a vendor that has a really good return policy (many retailers, at least in Canada, won’t accept returns on headphones, citing hygienic reasons). Hope you find something that works for you!

Fellow gamer discovering audio here, first questions first: Are you looking for closed headphones (passive noise isolation) or open headphones (you can hear your surroundings and they can sightly hear what you're listening to)? Closed headphones: look into the Fiio FT1. They're currently very well praised and hit above their price point. Haven't tried them personally as I prefer open, but they're easy to look up as they're the most recommended closed headphones of the year. Open headphones I've tried and would recommend: R70x, AR5000, Ananda. All well praised with different sound profiles, so your preference matters. They're all very detailed and have good imaging for directional accuracy. Do you lean towards bass? ATH R70x is warm neutral and its "R70x Refine" variant had a limited run in North America that offered better bass. Incredibly comfortable and smooth, you could also get the classic R70x and switch pads down the line to imitate their Refine variant. Another headphone I haven't tried but have seen recommended with emphasis on bass are the Hifiman Edition XS. Do you prefer really clean mids? The Aune AR5000 were so CLEAN upon my first listening. I'm unsure how else to describe them aside clean, clear and so satisfying. Currently testing them out for both music and gaming. Maybe vocals are what makes it come alive for you? Hifiman Ananda really wow'ed me with how crystal clear vocals sounded. I had never heard vocals that way before. Some concerns over the Hifiman quality control, however. Also uncomfortable for smaller heads, but great for larger heads. The little Sennheiser 560s deserve a mention and were my entry level gateway drug, but I think you can skip them with your budget on hand. All of the ones I've mentioned are worth your few minutes watching some YouTube reviews or reading up on them. You'll see how well received they are and they're all great for competitive gaming and music. You'll just have to start somewhere and see if it fits your sound preference. Just like the first character you pick on a new FPS title. Lastly, in case you ask, the Fiio FT1 "Pro" just came out but haven't tried them, an unfortunately side effect of not being made of money. Hope this helped!

The usual recommendations for open headphones that can do competitive gaming are: $: Sennheiser 560s, the new ATH R50x, and maybe the upcoming ATH R30x in April $$: Sennheiser 490 Pro, ATH R70x (and new R70xa), Aune AR5000, Meze AER105, Hifiman Ananda $$$: Sennheiser HD800s I own the 560s and Ananda, and have tried the R70x, AER105 and AR5000. They're all great and how much you like them will depend on your ears preferences. Took me a while to understand, but it's like buying good shoes; everyone has a different fit and preference. Personally, the R70x and AR5000 were fantastic but I was looking for something with a bit more vocals. The AER105 were bass cannons to me, so if you like bass they're a bassy option. I haven't tried the rest so I cannot speak for them, but if you have any questions for the ones I've tried feel free to poke.

Current market disrupters for closed back are the Fiio Ft1 and open backs would be the Fiio Ft1 pro or Aune Ar5000. Insane value for money propositions. You will not find better under $300. I would get them before tariffs hit. Hifiman is great, but build quality seems to be hit and miss. The Edition XS is a potential pick if you like the sound sig and can find a well built pair. I mean honestly Fiio is putting out bangers in all categories lately. Daps, headphones, etc. I have their BTR17 Bluetooth adapter and it is a quality bit of kit. The Fiio FX17 iems are also reviewing well and I will be checking them out next. Yes, I am a bit of a Fiio fanboy. Also Razer is a Singapore brand. Just sayin.

AR5000s are a dynamic headphone so they have pretty good bass, I much prefer the bass on these to my edition xs, especially after EQ. There's definitely more bass heavy headphones out there, these are more mid-focuesed but I love them and the build quality is a significant step up from hifiman.

EQ is the way to get it all. AR5000 is good without. 105 AER likely has blunted detail like 109 Pro so AR5000 would be better from that perspective as well. X2HR are an easy comfy listen just a bit lofi and 130ish USD seems pretty pricy for them (often $80). HE400se, HD550 and Fiio FT1 are worth considering if you don't want to EQ. Ananda Nano with EQ is excellent for example, but almost unlistenable without.

Neither of the headphones you mentioned is more neutral than the HD600. I have all three. AR5000 is incredible, but slightly juiced. Pumped up bass and slightly exaggerated treble. The Beyer’s, unfortunately, absolutely have that crazy treble thing going on

Very happy with my AUNE AR5000. The amp makes a difference, so these aren't strictly plug and play. Very comfortable, solidly built, good overall performance. https://unheardlab.com/2023/11/27/review-of-aune-ar5000-a-worthy-contender/