The Aune AR-5000 are dynamic-driver open-back headphones retailing at 329 EUR

This is the first attempt in Headphone segment from the Chinese Brand Aune usually specialized in developing excellent
source gear such as desktop and portable Dacs and Headphone Amplifiers like the fantastic S17 Pro

Unboxing & Build Quality:

So the AR-5000 is a dynamic driver open-back headphone which is shipped in a beautiful looking box. The unboxing
experience is very basic though as expected in this price range. The accessories provided is a simple single ended
fabric cable ending in a 3.5mm termination, a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter and some paperwork. The cable is of decent
quality and length ideal for desktop use. The addition of a balanced option would have been nice though.

The build quality of the headphones themselves is great, they look and feel very premium although they are assembled
mostly out of plastic, but seems to be very high quality plastic. The hybrid perforated pads look nice and comfy
too.

Fit & Comfort:

This is one of the top contenders when it comes to fit & comfort regardless of price, i didn't feel any discomfort whatsoever
even after very long listening sessions. The pads feel very soft and spacious, the headband design is excellent and
the clamp force and weight distribution feels perfect at least to my ears and head.

Power Requirements:

No particular requirements here, these headphones are very easy to drive but are scalable with higher end gear.

Sound Impressions:

If i would have to use one word to describe the sound profile of the AR5000 it would be neutrality. The whole
frequency spectrum is well balanced, very detailed & resolving in the treble but not to bright, the bass
is well present and goes deep but it's not rumbly or bloated in any way. The level of detail, soundstage and
imaging is quiet impressive for the asking price. Overall this is a great headphone for critical listening
and performs very well with most genres of music with some exceptions. As this is a revealing headphone it
will showcase all imperfections in a record especially with some older tracks that are not so well
recorded it can sound a bit harsh and fatiguing at times.

Comparisons:

There are a lot of great headphones in 250-500 Euro price bracket so it's not easy for a newcomer like the
AR-5000 to find it's place and or to stand out from the crowd. But i think Aune has done an excellent job
with this headphone. When comparing this against the Fiio FT3 which is about the same price i find the AR-5000
to be superior in terms of resolution and comfort. The FT3 has a more premium built and better accessories but
sound wise i prefer the presentation of the AR-5000. Basically the same thing against the Hifiman Sundara
and the Drop/Sennheiser HD6xx both excellent headphones with maybe equal or even better performance in some
aspects but also with shortcomings in others. I see this more competing at as same level as a
Sennheiser HD660s2 or a Hifiman Ananda Nano both retailing at around 500 euros which is quiet a statement