Aune SR7000

A stunning beautiful closed back with “Dragon Scale” technology

The Aune SR7000 is an exceptional closed-back headphone that follows the highly praised AR5000, showcasing Aune’s meticulous attention to detail in both design and sound performance.

With its large 50mm dynamic driver unit, the SR7000 includes some interesting technologies, though specifically the “Dragon Scale” Acoustic “meta-material” is probably the most interesting:

Specifically it reminds me a little of the Dan Clark Audio E3 with similar AMTS (Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System):

These “Meta material” designs are to dampen the excess resonances issues that typically plague closed back designs and these share some similarities with the “Meta” materials used by Kef internally in some of their speaker designs:

I believe Aune delayed the release of the SR7000 to get this “Dragon Scale” design correct and increased their R&D costs, so was it worth it?

Let’s find out but first let me show you the unboxing experience and the build quality:

Unboxing experience

The SR7000 arrives in a nice box:

Some useful information on the back - especially about the “Dragon Scale”:

Removing the outside sleeve reveals a nice presentation box:

Opening that box reveals the very nice carrying case:

Opening the carrying case finally reveals the SR7000 and the provided cables:

Taking everything out:

Design, Build Quality and Comfort:

The Aune AR5000 was a much praised and stunning design so it is no surprise that Aune effectively
used a very similar design with the SR7000. Here are both headphones compared from a few angles:

The Aune SR7000 obviously has a darker color scheme accented with golden lines, offering a sleek and sophisticated aesthetic, similar but subtly different from the AR5000: That ‘mesh’ was ‘open’ in the AR5000, but is obviously closed with the AR7000. And while there is still a slit around the edge of the ear cups, it is now closed where you could see internally with the AR5000:

Side of SR7000:	Side of AR5000:

Comfort

The Aune AR5000 was an incredible comfortable headphone and by effectively using the same design and only adding a slight increase in weight (390 gms compared to 348 gms) they have managed to repeat the levels of comfort with the SR7000.

The memory foam ear pads are similar in design to ones in the AR5000 and soft and plush:

Though they have used slight different materials with slightly more premium feeling earpads with more pleather.

The clamping force is just about right, and the headband shares the same comfort of the AR5000, basically if you find the AR5000 comfortable you will find the SR7000 comfortable.

Angled Earpad design

The SR7000 shares the same angled driver design - reminiscent of the HD800s:

Removing the earpads and looking directly at the driver you can actually “feel” the “Dragon scale” texture surrounding the driver:

Sound Quality:

Aune have done a remarkable job for a first attempt at a closed back headphone. Much larger and well regarded headphone companies like Hifiman or Audeze have struggled for years to produce a cohesive sounding closed back headphone, yet Aune have “almost” nailed it on their first attempt.

I used “almost” as there are a few areas where I think the SR5000 could be better. But let’s get into it:

Bass:

The SR7000 delivers deep, controlled bass with great precision. The low-end frequencies remain tight and clear without much bleed into the midrange. Tracks like “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish showcase its powerful yet well-balanced bass response, providing both impact and clarity. But I was even more impressed with Bjork’s Hunter where the precise imaging of the swirling percussive beats and midrange clarity were in perfect balance with the deep bass response. Other tracks like “Way Down Deep” by “Jennifer Warnes” sounded fantastic with just the right balance of deep bass.

While there is more bass here that the AR5000 this is still a “balanced” bass response, so less bass for a closed back than say FiiO FT1 or AKG K371.

Midrange:

The midrange is mostly neutral and uncolored, offering a clean and transparent sound. There might be a slight hint of extra forward vocal emphasis in some songs but mostly for a closed back this has excellent midrange.
Listening to the recent track “Ready to Go” by “Katherine Priddy” gave me a fantastic impression with precise vocals in harmony with each other while sitting just on top of the guitars, with excellent separation from the supporting instruments.

Treble:

The lower treble might be described as “dark neutral” which reminds me of many studio reference headphones. The upper treble is very refined without large peaks, this is the type of treble response that I think takes well to broad EQ without revealing any annoying sibilance. It extends well without becoming harsh or fatiguing, even during long listening sessions. On “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck, cymbals and high-hats are crisp, providing a nice sparkle without overemphasizing the highs.

I personally played around with some EQ of the upper treble region (because it was smooth) but this would be entirely a personal preference.

Soundstage and Imaging

The Aune SR7000 provides an immersive and engaging listening experience across a variety of genres. Audiophile classics like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” sound expansive and detailed, with the SR7000’s providing a good soundstage (for a closed back) giving each instrument room to breathe. Tracks with complex arrangements, like Miles Davis’ “So What”, are reproduced with exceptional imaging clarity and depth, allowing every nuance to come through clearly, this is where I believe the “dark neutral” tuning of the treble response helps with this clarity.

Specification and Measurements:

With its easy-to-drive design, the SR7000 pairs well with both portable and desktop gear, providing consistent, high-quality sound regardless of the source. Its 55Ω impedance and high sensitivity mean you’ll enjoy rich audio without requiring a powerful amplifier.
For example, while writing this review I listened at roughly 50% volume on my Macbook Pro.

Note: The following measurements were taken with my KB501X soft ear Pinna and a 711 clone coupler and are available on my measurement database here

Frequency Response

So lets start by looking at the frequency response: Mostly this is very close to the Harman OE Target, but I have highlighted 2 areas which you might want to EQ:

1. A slight mid-bass boost
2. That “dark treble” response

Note: I always check my measurements with others, even though people have different “rigs” but this is very similar to the Frequency response is that GadgetryTech got for his SR7000:

So I believe this is a pretty accurate FR measurement at least until we see some BK-5128 measurements.

Channel matching:

Note: This channel matching difference is mostly likely due to my measurement rig and not the headphone, but I provided here for completeness.

Distortion

Distortion looks pretty good:

And as a percentage:

Group Delay

Group Delay looks good with nothing strange for a dynamic driver:

Glasses

People asked me in other reviews to measure with different glasses so here are the effects of a thin and a thick rimmed glasses compared to no glasses:

Rotating the earpads

One interesting thing I noticed (initially by accident after I removed the ear pads) is you can easily change the bass response by a few dB’s with slight rotations (this was just a few mm on either directions) of the ear pads:

Remember those pictures of the angles ear pads - this is where that angle can have an interesting effect on the frequency response, obviously I tried more severe swivels but at that point the headphone was not comfortable to wear anymore, but you do have the ability to subtle change the bass response with a slight swivel.

Comparison with some other closed backs

So first with some closed backs that I have reviewed recently - you can see how hard it is to find a decent closed back: You can see the Aune in “Red” nicely in the middle of this mess.

Removing the “Crazier” headphones from this graph we get 3 more sensible closed backs:

Of these 3 - I think the FiiO FT1 is the better bargain (knowing its price) but the SR7000 has the better frequency response and is a better built headphone (though you pay 3x the price).

Comparing with some high end closed backs:

Again using Gadgetry Tech measurements here is a comparison with 3 other headphones:

I have highlight 3 areas in this comparison:

1. The bass region where the Sennheiser is less smooth than the other headphones
2. The “Presense” region where the E3 is a little “hot”
3. The recessed region where the Sennheiser and Aune have similar responses (and the Focal has a recession)

Which is better? It really depends on what you are looking for, the E3 is 3 times the price of the headphones Focal and Aune and the Sennheiser is a little cheaper.

Comparison with similar “tuned” reference headphones

Since, Aune have gone for a “dark” sounding headphone, choosing a common tuning technique used by companies like Audeze with their studio reference headphones to provide good instrument separation. Here are some similar headphones compared to the SR7000:

You can see that same recessed “dark” sounding “presence region” in all these headphones.

Some EQ recommendation:

While mostly I have not been listening to the SR7000 without using EQ, I did A/B switch with the following EQ for a few days:

Notice: In this EQ, I decided too just to EQ down the mid-bass region and increase the upper treble region and not EQ the “presence region” as while its not quiet Harman as you can see above in the measurements this is a common area where manufacturers choose “imaging” over tonality. I have it highlighted the PEQ values in eqMac in case you want to EQ that region also.

Rating:

There is currently a little bit of confusion about the price of the SR7000. I have seen it for priced at $599 and €525
in some retail stores while others seem to have it at up to $899. At the $599 price point, the Aune SR7000 competes very well in a highly competitive market and it definitely worth a 5-star pragmatic rating. But at $899 I think it is not as compelling an offering, so would only get a 4-star rating.

But the combination of luxurious design, comfort, and mostly excellent sound signature makes it a strong contender against the recently released Focal Azury’s or the Sennheiser HD620s. The craftsmanship and attention to detail in both sound and build quality justify the investment for those seeking a premium, comfortable closed-back headphone.

Conclusion:

The Aune SR7000 is another fantastic headphone from Aune and one of the best closed-back released in the past few years. Its beautiful metal design, innovative acoustic technologies, and tuning deliver a refined and enjoyable listening experience.

Whether for professional use or casual audiophile listening, the SR7000 offers exceptional value, comfort, and performance, making it a strong recommendation for those looking for a closed back.