Aune SR7000's Review - Balanced and Natural done right!
General/Build/Comfort/Packaging
Aune is well known for their dac/amp products, they produce desktop dac/amp as well as portable source which most of them are quite well received in the community, when it comes to releasing new products, they are also not rushing and making sure everything is right prior to releasing it. I have owned their older DAP with Class A Amp, the M2, a very musical sounding device but fall short on battery life, i have also tested the X1s GT and remember myself quite liking the sound signature.
Today I have the SR7000 headphone with me, essentially the AR5000's bigger brother which I had also reviewed previously. This is Aune’s entry into the premium headphone space. I must say, the outlook, build quality, as well as packaging are very impressive.
Let’s talk about the build quality, the whole unit is mostly made out of metal, hence it is very solid, not to mention it is also very lightweight. Packaging is also very good, very premium-ish packaging style, the inclusion of balanced and single ended cable, a hard storage case which has a compartment to store the cable as well, very nicely thought out.
In terms of comfort, the clamping force is just right, not too tight nor loose, the earpads are also very soft and have the properties of memory foam, I have no issue listening to it for several hours.
Gears used for this review
Aune S9C Pro
Shanling M1 Plus
iPod Classic 4
iBasso DX180
Aune SR7000 with AR3 4.4 Balanced Cable and Stock 4.4 Cable
Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far
Sound Impression
SR7000 to my ears has a neutral and a slight warm sound profile. The sub bass is quite linear, you can’t really hear it, but rather feel it when the track calls for it, mid bass has good enough punch without bleeding into the mids. The timbre is very natural to my ears and it doesn’t have any metallic sheen to it.
Bass
Starting with the bass, it’s safe to say the bass has very good speed, linear sub bass extension
It has a good punch, Slipknot’s People = Shit!, especially during the intense drumming during the opening, AR5000 has no sweat in keeping up
The sub bass has very good extension, although it doesn’t extend that deep, but the rumble is there whenever the track calls for it
The bass response is not basshead kind of presentation, but to my ears, they are sufficient and will present themselves well when the track calls for it
Bass has good texture overall and doesn’t sound thin
The bass doesn’t bleed into the mids at all
The bass presentation overall is very good with nice textures and controlled
Mids
The mids are quite detailed and lush
Vocal for both male and females has good textures and they never sound thin
Vocal positioning is neither too forward nor recessed, I would put it in words as such “few steps away from your face”
Upper mids are generally safe to my ears and not shouty even on higher volume
The mid range is good overall with plenty of details and doesn’t sound recessed
Treble
Treble from SR7000 is smooth but not overly dampened, it retains enough energy for details as well as air
Fast and snappy transient response
Very good resolution which is expected at this asking price
Detail retrieval is very good and micro details can be picked up easily
Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is very wide and has good height perception, as well as depth, being a closed back headphone, it is rather surprising
Instruments can be picked up easily where it is coming from,
It has good separation and layering
Very good soundstage and imaging overall
Driveability
The SR7000 is not hard to drive, but it does scale very well with amplification
Pairing it with the brand’s S9C Pro, with up to 5w on top from balanced, it has very good synergy with it, bass has better control and overall better dynamics, also a slightly thicker note weight, on Mode 1 of S9C, the SR7000 sounded more “accurate” or rather uncolored, but on Mode 2 of S9C, the SR7000 has better soundstage and slightly coloroured, in a way, more musical sounding
Just some interesting things that i have done to test, using Apple Dongle Type C to iPhone 15, the AR5000 can be driven to about 80% of its potential, that’s just how efficient and scalable it is, and i am not even maxing out the volume, roughly at 5/10 volume step
Comparison (Hifiman Ananda Nano)
First, the build quality, SR7000 definitely runs circle around the Ananda Nano in terms of build quality and comfort
The Ananda Nano is an open back planar magnetic driver headphones, in terms of tuning, the Ananda Nano’s sound signature is leaning towards a cooler and thinner note weight compared to SR7000
Bass is light in terms of quantity, sub bass extension is not as good, it does roll off quite early, but mid bass is quite punchy and has good speed and texture, but personally, I prefer the bass of SR7000 due to it sounding fuller and has thicker note weight
Perhaps the strong point for the Ananda Nano is the technicalities, the resolution and detail retrieval is slightly better compared to SR7000
Treble on the Ananda Nano is borderline hot and might be too peaky for some
Soundstage is rather 2D-ish, just slightly out of your head, but separation and imaging is rather good
Being a planar magnetic, it definitely requires some power in order to perform at its best, SR7000 however, does not requires a lot of power to sound good
Sound Impression on stock cable vs AR3 for SR7000 (This is highly subjective and if you’re not a cable believer, skip this section)
Bass doesn’t extend that much vs AR3 that gives a slightly better bass extension, perceivable especially on the sub bass
Soundstage is slightly smaller on stock cable vs bigger soundstage on AR3 cable
Mids seems to have better note weight on the stock cable vs slightly thinner note weight on the AR3
Treble is smoother on the stock cable, and sounds warmer vs AR3 which has a little more energy, and also more air which contributes to a slightly bigger soundstage
Overall, i would say pairing it with the AR3 gives the SR7000 a slightly different sound signature, a slightly more energetic SR7000 whereas the stock cable would render the SR7000 a tamer and smoother signature overall
Final Thoughts
The SR7000 is definitely one of my favourite dynamic driver headphones that I have tested other than the Grados which I have owned, being the brand’s second entry into the headphone market, they are definitely stepping up and they took the time to optimise and tune it properly and not rushed to mass produce the headphone. to the expectation in terms of sonic performance as well as build quality. and I'm really surprised by its capability in terms of the sonic performance as well as its technicalities. Not to mention that the price is highly competitive as well given what it has to offer. It doesn't require a beefy amp to sound good yet it does scale with better source and amplification. Priced at 599$, I wouldn’t say the price is very affordable, but the SR7000 definitely offers a very good value in terms of price performance ratio, this is a highly recommended headphone from me!
*The Aune SR7000 was sent over by Aune for the purpose of this review, I received no monetary compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review.
If you are interested in getting a pair, head over to their official store to grab one now!
Aune SR7000 Store Link - Non affiliated
Aune AR3 Upgrade cable Store Link - Non affiliated
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