Packaging and Accessories

This is my first Dan Clark Audio product review and it does happen to be a Drop collaboration at that. As such, I wasn't sure what to expect going in but a relatively small box was not high on my guessing list! The box is aesthetically clean, with a black base that has the Aeon writing in a shiny silver print in addition to a simple headphones logo and the DCA company logo itself. On the back is confirmation about the US-based design and manufacturing of these headphones, and you can add customer support to that too, given Dan Clark Audio is based out of California. The Drop partnership finally makes a showing here courtesy a sticker that also confirms the model inside as well as the hand-written serial number of the unit, for records. A single seal on the side keeps the contents in place during transit.


Opening the box reveals a carry case right away, with other accessories placed underneath. This includes a laminated quick start guide going over upkeep and use of the headphones, as well as a unique set of tuning materials and an associated guide. The Aeon Closed X at launch seemingly only came with one set of pre-installed tuning materials (1-notch white felt) which continues to be the case. However, the Aeon RT allowed for a total of four sets of materials that effectively dampened the higher frequencies to varying extents and now the Aeon Closed X follows suit with black foam, black felt, and a 2-notch white felt set seen above. I understand this is a minor update that has come forth at least six months ago based on talking to other customers of these headphones.


The carry case provided sells for $30 separately and is fittingly titled the Aeon case. This is a molded hard storage/carry case made of EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) that has the DCA logo on the front and a textured finish applied to the plastic all around, to add grip in the absence of a carry tag. More branding is seen on the zipper pulls, with the self-sealing zipper also helping add some dust and spill resistance. It's not the smallest of cases but still makes for a fairly portable solution inside a backpack or carry-on luggage.


The headphones come neatly placed inside the case with a separate compartment in the lining that currently hosts the cable inside a plastic pouch. There is enough room here to also accommodate a portable DAC/amp or even a reasonably-sized DAP to complete your portable audio listening chain. The headphones come with the pads almost touching each other, except for a small foam piece keeping them from experiencing any unwelcome wear. This is especially handy given previous batches of the DCA Aeon headphones had some pads with uneven foam filling that has since been resolved, yet would have been worse for wear out the box without the foam separator.