Dan Clark Audio’s Newest – AEON CORE

Dan Clark Audio has announced the AEON CORE, a new closed-back planar magnetic headphone priced at $899.99 and positioned as the direct successor to the AEON 2. The AEON line has long served as the company’s most accessible entry into serious planar magnetic listening, sitting below the flagship STEALTH, EXPANSE and CORINA models while carrying some of the trickle down tech. With AEON CORE, Dan Clark Audio appears to be keeping that role intact, but with a fairly meaningful refresh under the hood.

The biggest change is a new planar magnetic driver designed around efficiency, sound quality and more affordable manufacturing. Rated at 97 dB/mW sensitivity, AEON CORE is described as Dan Clark Audio’s easiest-to-drive headphone to date. The company says amplifiers delivering at least 125 mW into 16 ohms should be enough, which puts the headphone within reach of many portable DAC/amps, dongles and desktop setups. For a closed-back planar at this price point, that might matter to some. Depending who you ask, planars can be known to be a little finicky at times with the gear they are paired with.

AEON CORE also represents a shift in tuning philosophy for Dan Clark Audio. It is the company’s first headphone voiced to a revised Harman over-ear target developed through research with Dr. Sean Olive. According to the press release, Dan Clark and Olive identified a measurement-related issue tied to the original Harman target and published an AES paper outlining a corrected curve for the measurement systems more commonly used by audio professionals. The result, according to DCA, is a slightly warmer midrange than previous AEON models, with vocals pushed forward without hardness and strings taking on more organic texture. While “warm” is an often misunderstood descriptor for audio, generally speaking “warmth” in the mid tones is affiliated with a higher end sonic signature, as long as it doesn’t come at the expense of detail.

Visually, the Dan Clark Audio AEON CORE also moves away from the familiar AEON look with a new aluminum and wood aesthetic, while retaining key comfort elements including DCA’s AEON earpads, titanium headband and self-adjusting suspension strap.

For the broader headphone hobby, AEON CORE could be a notable moment: a sub-$1,000 closed-back planar that is easier to drive, more portable-friendly and tuned around increasingly transparent measurement research. That combination of usability, science and price is exactly where the next wave of high-end headphone growth could thrive.

More info: Dan Clark Audio Aeon Core