These are by far the most amazing set of headphones I’ve ever used. I came from the HD 650, MDR-MV1, LCD-2 Classic, M50, DT770. Blows it all out of the water.
Aune Audio
Aune AR9000 Headphones
Regular price
$1,399
Sale price
$1,399
Regular price
$1,399.00
Unit price
per
Aune Audio
Aune AR9000 Headphones
Aune AR9000 Headphones
Regular price
$1,399
Sale price
$1,399
Regular price
$1,399.00
Unit price
per
No Fee 365-Day Returns*
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Cup style
More information
Open-back headphone designs are often higher-performance but have poor noise isolation and leak sound. Closed-back designs provide better noise isolation and leak less sound.
Open-back headphone designs are often higher-performance but have poor noise isolation and leak sound. Closed-back designs provide better noise isolation and leak less sound.
Open-Back
Wearing style
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Over-ear headphones sit over your ear and surround your ear with a ring of padding. On-ear headphones are padded but rest on top of your ear. In-ear monitors are worn inside your ear canal.
Over-ear headphones sit over your ear and surround your ear with a ring of padding. On-ear headphones are padded but rest on top of your ear. In-ear monitors are worn inside your ear canal.
Over-ear
Driver type
More information
Speakers and headphones use a device called a 'driver' to create sound. Different types of drivers have different strengths and weaknesses, but can all produce great sound. Common varieties include dynamic, planar magnetic, and electrostatic.
Speakers and headphones use a device called a 'driver' to create sound. Different types of drivers have different strengths and weaknesses, but can all produce great sound. Common varieties include dynamic, planar magnetic, and electrostatic.
Dynamic
Amp required
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Some headphones require the power of an amplifier to reach comfortable listening volumes.
Some headphones require the power of an amplifier to reach comfortable listening volumes.
Yes
Connectivity
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Connectivity refers to the method in which the headphones connect to the audio source. Headphones can be either wired or wireless.
Connectivity refers to the method in which the headphones connect to the audio source. Headphones can be either wired or wireless.
Wired
Portability
More information
DACs and amplifiers can either be carried around or meant for static desktop use
DACs and amplifiers can either be carried around or meant for static desktop use
Not Portable
Description
The Aune AR9000 is Aune's flagship open-back headphone, built around a 50mm dynamic driver that pairs a stacked carbon fiber diaphragm with up to 4mm of linear travel. That long, controlled stroke is the point of the whole design. Bass arrives with real physical presence, big dynamic swings stay composed, and music opens up the way it does from a good pair of loudspeakers.
The AR9000 sits at the top of Aune's Air Reference Series, the line that made Aune a serious name in open-back headphones. It is built for listeners who want speaker-scale sound at a desk or in a listening chair: put on jazz, orchestral, or electronic music and it answers with weight, air, and space.
Dynamics You Can Feel
Most headphones shrink the distance between a drum hit and the quiet around it. The AR9000 keeps that contrast intact. Kick drums land with a small pulse of moving air, bass lines reach into the lowest octave without smearing, and crescendos grow instead of simply getting louder. Aune rates the frequency range at 4Hz to 50,000Hz, and the low end is the first thing most listeners notice.
Tonally, the AR9000 stays balanced rather than boosted. In our first impressions, our review team called it one of the most normal sounding headphones they heard at its debut, and meant it as high praise: vocals sit exactly where they should, and the crucial 1kHz to 2kHz midrange region is filled in rather than scooped out.
A Driver Built Like a Miniature Loudspeaker
The punch comes from engineering borrowed from high-end speaker design. Aune's Omni-Stack Carbon Diaphragm layers continuous carbon fibers at precise angles with no cross-weave, so the driver is extremely stiff for its weight and resists the flexing that blurs fine detail. Zone-specific heat treatment then tunes damping across different areas of the diaphragm's surface.
Aune's patented Constant-Flux magnetic circuit keeps drive force consistent through the full 4mm stroke, while a new high-damping suspension with radial stiffeners holds that motion piston-straight. Behind the driver, a patented absorption and diffusion structure routes reflected energy through precisely shaped open and closed cavities instead of letting it wash back through the music. The audible result is distortion under 0.03% at 1kHz, fast clean transients, and separation that holds together when a mix gets dense.
An Open Stage, Angled Like Speakers
Open-back means the earcups are acoustically open to the room, which trades isolation for a natural sense of space. The AR9000 leans into this with Aune's Tilted Acoustic Matrix: each driver is angled so sound arrives at your ear the way it would from a speaker placed in front of you, not fired straight into the ear canal. Highly breathable mesh in both the front and rear chambers lets air and acoustic energy move freely through the housing.
The result is a wide, naturally layered stage with precise image placement and none of the pressure buildup that makes long sessions tiring. Like every open-back headphone, the AR9000 does not block outside noise and does not keep your music private, so it belongs in a quiet room rather than on a commute.
Built for Long Sessions
At roughly 430g, the AR9000 is a substantial headphone, and the fit is designed around that fact. A wide suspension headband spreads the weight across the top of the head instead of concentrating it at one point, and the breathable earpads keep air moving around your ears so heat never becomes the reason a session ends.
The headband assembly is all metal, and the floating frame carries the precision-machined lines of the Air Reference Series. A deep metallic finish and honeycomb acoustic grille give the AR9000 a restrained look that matches how it sounds: controlled, confident, and built to be kept for years.
Easy to Drive, Every Plug Included
With a 43 ohm impedance and 102dB sensitivity, the AR9000 is easy to drive by flagship standards. It reaches satisfying volume from modest sources, and a good desktop DAC and amplifier give its dynamics room to stretch.
The included 1.6m cable uses eight strands of high-purity silver-plated OCC copper and ends in an interchangeable plug system covering 3.5mm and 6.35mm single-ended along with 4.4mm and XLR balanced connections. One cable moves between a laptop, a desktop rig, and a balanced amplifier. An AuNest headphone case is included for storage and travel between rooms.
How the AR9000 Compares
The natural rival is the Sennheiser HD 800 S, the longtime reference among open-back dynamic headphones. Our first listen left us calling the AR9000 the punchier alternative: its midrange is more filled in, its bass carries more weight, and it trades some of the HD 800 S's diffuse, panoramic staging for a more focused, closer presentation. At 43 ohms it is also far easier to drive than the 300 ohm Sennheiser.
Within Aune's own lineup, the AR9000 stands above the AR5000 MK2, the headphone that earned Aune its open-back reputation on tonal balance alone. The AR9000 keeps that balance and adds the long-excursion driver, suspension, and acoustic control of a true flagship. At $1,399 it is priced against established flagships, and it is engineered to argue with them.
Key Features
- Aune's flagship full-size open-back dynamic headphone
- 50mm driver with Omni-Stack Carbon Diaphragm: continuous long carbon fibers, no cross-weave
- Zone-specific heat treatment for optimized diaphragm damping
- Patented Constant-Flux magnetic circuit with up to 4mm of linear excursion
- High-damping asymmetrical suspension with radial stiffeners for piston-like motion
- Patented multi-modal acoustic absorption and diffusion structure behind the driver
- Tilted Acoustic Matrix angles each driver for a speaker-like presentation
- Breathable mesh in front and rear chambers plus breathable earpads
- All-metal headband assembly with floating frame and honeycomb grille
- Distortion under 0.03% at 1kHz with Hi-Res Audio certification
- 8-strand high-purity OCC silver-plated copper cable, 1.6m
- Interchangeable 3.5mm, 6.35mm, 4.4mm, and XLR plugs included
- AuNest headphone case included
Technical Specs
| Product Type | Full-size open-back headphones |
| Driver | 50mm open dynamic driver |
| Diaphragm | Omni-Stack Carbon Diaphragm (OSCD) |
| Frequency Range | 4Hz - 50,000Hz |
| Nominal Impedance | 43 ohms |
| Sensitivity | 102dB SPL at 1kHz |
| THD | <0.03% at 1kHz |
| Maximum Linear Excursion | Up to 4mm |
| Cable | 1.6m, 8-strand OCC silver-plated copper |
| Connections | 3.5mm and 6.35mm single-ended; 4.4mm and XLR balanced |
| Weight | Approx. 430g |
| Dimensions | Approx. 220 x 195 x 115mm |
What's in the Box
- Aune AR9000 open-back headphones
- 1.6m 8-strand OCC silver-plated copper cable
- Interchangeable plugs: 3.5mm, 6.35mm, 4.4mm, XLR
- AuNest headphone case
- Quick start guide
Our review
Video review
Reviews
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Customer Reviews
Overall rating: 4.8 / 5 from 16 reviews.
Awsome awesome awsome!!!
These headphones are everything people say. Strong but very articulate bass, great timbre, no need for even a little eq.
The team at Headphones.com has been great. Even though backordered, I received the ARs within a few weeks. The ARs are very comfortable and feel substantial. Soundstaging is not supreme, just ok. Imaging, detail, clarity, depth...all very nice. The ARs require a minimal break - in and an amp. Driving these with just the iphone leaves them sounding muffled (and that's not a knock on the ARs). An amp makes them come alive...and, wow! So good. Haven't really needed to EQ, maybe some at the frequency a high-hat tap would be.
Love the sound of these, super happy addition to my collection! Very surprised how quickly these arrived off backorder.
Finally getting some decent listening on my pair of AR9000. I have so far tested with Raspberry Pi 5/Volumio feeding Shanling EH2 directly driving AR9000, the same Pi feeding SMSL SU-1 feeding JadeAudio GIGAS1 driving AR9000, and FiiO M33 R2R in desktop mode/Ultra Gain directly driving AR9000. I also own a K17 R2R that is the DAC/preamp in my reference speaker setup, but I haven't had a chance yet to try listening to AR9000 off of that. I have a somewhat eclectic mix of music/genres that I listen to, keeping separate playlists based on genres. It just so happens I use certain genres of music/playlists to test certain aspects of new equipment I purchase. For headphones, I am particularly sensitive to tonal balance and timbre (less focus on soundstage depth, layering, and forward projection, because I main reference system is a proper speaker setup that achieves levels of imaging that no headphone setup will ever come close to at any price anyway, a pair of MoFi SourcePoint 8 standmounts paired with an SVS SB-3000 subwoofer, a setup that plays 10Hz to 15KHz +/-3dB measured in-room with a UMIK-1 in REW, tuned with a Harman-style tilt [straight line tilt, not curve!]). For treble/high frequencies, I am particularly sensitive to excess high frequency energy. I use my Cantopop playlist as well as my metal playlist as torture tests for brightness, paying particular attention to sibilance with Cantopop, and the sound of high frequency percussion instruments with metal. There needs to not be excess sibilance in the female vocals, and cymbals/high hats should sound clean and distinct without turning the entire listening experience into nothing but a bunch of TSTSTSTSTSTSSSSSS. High frequencies are my primary reason for splurging on the AR9000. My previous open-back cans of choice where FiiO FT7, which I quite enjoyed for their very natural timbre and good subbass extension, but were too bright and lacked some body down low, so I relied on tone controls built into Shanling EH2 in order to soften the highs and add some meat on the bass bones. I prefer to have cans with the right tonality to begin with so I can listen with no reliance on specific PEQ abilities upstream or a DAC/amp with tone controls. After doing a ton of research, I decided the AR9000 might be my best bet to find the right tonality, and I am glad to say that after receiving them and doing some listening, can confirm that this is the case. For bass/low frequencies, I don't consider myself a basshead, and prefer punchy upper bass and deep subbass extension without excess boominess or bloat. Some would describe this as a preference for, "fast bass." For testing this, I have an extensive Hispanic/Latin pop and rock playlist (lots of cumbia and vallenato mixed with some bachata and salsa as well as modern rock/pop in Spanish) that I use for testing bass as well as a special Bass Test playlist that includes a mix of classical/orchestral material and electronic/synthetic material combined with other bassy rock & pop material. I use my classical/orchestral/extreme dynamic range playlist for testing bass/subbass extension. As mentioned before, I was relying on bass tone controls in Shanling EH2 to get just a little more bass out of FT7. Well, that's not needed anymore with AR9000. The bass is excellent, the best I've ever heard in an open-back, and frankly even more enjoyable for me than the best bass I've so far heard from closed-back cans or IEMs. My closed-back cans are currently Focal Lensys, which I chose because I felt my prior Sennheiser HD 480 Pro were too bassy (so you see proof that I am definitely not a basshead!). I like to use my closed-backs in cooler weather when I'm on the go, and also in moments when I am working from home and my kids are being too noisy. My IEMs (for when weather's too hot for cans) are CrinEar Reference, also far from basshead earphones. This should give everyone an idea of my bass preferences. Finally, as a vocalist, my primary concern with mids is timbre. Vocals need to have absolutely realistic, convincing timbre. Without this, I will automatically pass on the headphones or earphones that I am testing. Timbre of instruments in the mid range also are very important to me. For testing mids, I use my Cantopop playlist, my Latin/Hispanic playlist, and also my Jazz/Blues playlist (for instrumental timbre). To me, the vocals of AR9000 are absolutely spot-on. People sound as I would expect them to sound as if in the room or on stage with me, talking/singing to me. Convincingly real sounding, not listening to a recording of a person, but to an actual person. I can't personally think of higher praise with regards to vocal timbre than that. And if some of my musical taste seems peculiarly specific, please note that I am American-born Chinese-Dominican (grandparents all from mainland China, father from Hong Kong, mother from Santo Domingo/the Dominican Republic, and myself born and raised in a trilingual home in the Bronx and then Scarsdale in New York, before moving in my 30s to Cherry Hill, NJ). Bottom line: Aune has built my end-game headphone with AR9000, full stop. Search over. It's that good (per my own listening preferences, hearing sensitivity, and ear biology). -Ed
Great balanced sound. I will use it to listen to mixes in the studio.
Aune AR9000 — After All the Hype, I Expected Much More I bought the AR9000 largely because of the extraordinary amount of enthusiasm surrounding it. Review after review seemed not merely positive but exceptionally positive, often describing a headphone that competed well above its price. There were a few more neutral and even negative early-user reactions that gave me some pause, but they were badly outnumbered by the praise. Eventually curiosity won. So perhaps my expectations were unusually high. Unfortunately, the AR9000 never came close to meeting them. Even the unboxing was a bit of a letdown. At this price I expected something that immediately looked and felt special. Instead, my first reaction was that there was a lot of inexpensive-looking plastic. Nothing was actually wrong with the construction, and the headphone was very comfortable, but visually and tactilely it did not give me the sense of a premium product that I get from some competitors. The sound was much more complicated, because there were things I genuinely liked. The AR9000 is warm, extremely comfortable to listen to, and has excellent bass — deep, powerful and satisfying. With pop, EDM and some alternative music, many of my objections largely disappeared. Vocals could sound warm and attractive, and I can understand why some listeners have fallen in love with it. But my main listening is jazz and classical, and that's where the AR9000 lost me. The best way I can describe the problem is with Frank Sinatra. On my Focal Utopia, HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled and ZMF Vérité Closed, Sinatra has presence. He occupies a physical space in front of the band. There is a human being standing there singing, with the orchestra extending around and behind him. On the AR9000, I kept getting almost the opposite sensation. Sinatra's voice was there and perfectly recognizable, but instead of a person standing in space, it reminded me of a paper photograph of Sinatra hanging in front of the orchestra. The image was flatter and less corporeal. I could hear the singer, but I didn't get the same illusion that he was there. That distinction became increasingly important the longer I listened. I also found myself wanting more openness, air and texture in the upper frequencies. Acoustic instruments didn't consistently have the natural timbre and dimensionality I expected. With orchestral and chamber music, strings, instrumental textures and small details such as breaths were less explicit than I hear from headphones I prefer. The bass extended wonderfully and hit hard, but at times it was a little bloomier and intruded more into the midrange than I wanted. None of this makes the AR9000 a bad headphone. It plainly isn't. In fact, depending upon musical taste and tonal preference, I can easily imagine someone preferring it to considerably more expensive headphones. Someone looking for warmth, comfort, strong bass and a forgiving presentation may hear exactly what the enthusiastic reviewers heard. I didn't. And I think that's worth saying because the almost relentless praise surrounding the AR9000 was a major reason I bought it in the first place. My experience was much closer to those relatively few early reactions that were neutral or less enthusiastic. Once I compared it repeatedly against headphones I already knew well, particularly with Sinatra, jazz and classical music, I stopped wondering whether more break-in or more listening was going to change my mind. At $1,399, "pretty good" wasn't enough. I returned it. Strengths: Comfort, warmth, excellent bass, very enjoyable with some contemporary music. Weaknesses for me: Lack of dimensional vocal presence, less natural acoustic timbre, insufficient air and openness, somewhat plasticky presentation physically and, at times, sonically. Overall: 3/5
It was a great value. The headphones are great sounding in all aspects. Love them. Great price for the quality.
Not worth the money. My Focal clear are much more accurate. If you like your bass boosted way up, these might be for you.
It’s all about that bass… Still in the honeymoon phase but really enjoying the AR9000, especially the sub bass response. Great overall sound and these scale well with whatever you feed them with. Very comfortable for me - they feel very much like AR5000. My one nitpick is that they are largely plastic and at this price some higher end materials feel justified. That said, build quality is good and the sound is ultimately what I paid for. Included cable and case are high quality and the swappable cable end is a nice touch. Finally, they needed a few hours of burn in for the sound to open up - the sound opened up dramatically after just a couple hours of use.
Love these headphones.
These don't have the best build quality. The cups are plastic & they don't feel super nice in the hand, but they sound fantastic! The bass is phenomenal. These are a great buy for the price & sound comparable to headphones I paid more than double for. I always trust Andrew's reviews. His tastes align with mine & if he likes something, then I usually do too. I'm happy I ordered these after seeing his review. Andrew rocks! I would definitely recommend these to anyone who likes a heavier bass sounding headphone. These really thump.
At first I was listening with a tube amp and it was okay,but when I went to solid state amp all I can say is wow. It is by far the best headphones I have ever bought. I definitely think it is worth the money.
The thing that stands out most prominently for me is how these headphones reveal or open up the bass and sub-bass regions. I have read other reviews extolling their value to bassheads. I perceive that that description as the AR9000 emphasizing or elevating the bass relative to other frequency ranges. I wouldn't characterize the AR900 as such. To my ear, these headphones extend the frequency response further into the low-end rather than raising the low-end entirely. If the low-end signal is there, then it will be revealed by the AR9000 but it doesn't do so by bloating the overall response on the low-end. I consider this a critical distinction and results in sub-bass and bass that is detailed and well balanced with the other frequency bands. With regards to the mid and upper ranges, I find them well controlled and similar to how I perceive the HEDD D1. Although I should add that I'm an older listener with some hearing loss above 10khz, so I may not hear any spiciness up top if it exists. I also read a lot of comparisons with the HD800s. I very much like the instrument separation and imaging, but the HD800s still offers a much more expansive soundstage. There are some symphonic recordings that really shine with the HD800s and motivates me to keep it in rotation. However, I greatly prefer the timbre of the AR9000 and would choose it over the HD800s for general listening. For me, rather than compare it to the HD800s, I would compare the AR9000 to the HEDD D1, with the AR9000 exhibiting a more extended low-end but otherwise sounding similar. One interesting thing to note, despite having a nominal impedance of 43 ohm, I have to use a much higher gain with the AR9000 compared to other headphones in that range. It's easier to drive than the HD800s, but not by as much as I would expect from the rated impendences. I'm also surprised that the AR9000 sounded great straight out of the box and I haven't perceived any change over the course of several days of continuous burn-in (although as noted previously, I wouldn't be able to hear much or any changes that occur above 10khz). Ergonomically, these are quite comfortable with very generously roomy earpads. I appreciate the perforated earpads, which seem to be genuine leather (but I'm not 100% sure about that). The headband also seems to be leather and offers a generous width for comfort. That said, I still prefer the comfort/breathability of a Capra strap. It appears that the headband attaches underneath a cover plate with screws so it's possible that Capra will offer a strap with a factory-like installation. Or perhaps Aune itself could offer a perforated leather headband as an upgrade option. I'm not holding my breath for such, but at least there is the possibility for replacement when the old band wears out. With regards to the finish and design, the AR9000 has a very techno/industrial look to it. The metal parts have a gray cast that mimics titanium, which is a colorway I'm quite partial to. The hinges provide a wide range of swivel/tilt to the earpads. While they pivot freely, there is no wobble in the joints nor does the frame creak when flexed. Most of the pieces seem to be attached with machine bolts, so there is some hope of future serviceability. My only complaint is with the edges of the spring steel band. While free of burrs, there is still a pretty sharp edge. Not enough to cut or scratch you, but compare it to the metal edges of a Focal or a Hifiman, whose edges are slightly rounded and exude a higher level of refinement. That said, those edges are pretty much the same as those on the HEDD D1 (although the more exposed design of the AR9000 band makes it more apparent). Overall, I am very impressed with the AR9000. While it may be at the top of the price range for Aune, compared to offerings from other brands I find it a very good value. I'd describe it as offering top-tier sound at a mid-tier price. I love it.