Given that you like the VC, I’m guessing you’ll like the RAD-0.
If you get an Aeolus, think about which pads you want. The stock pads make the headphones very warm, which pairs well with classic rock. The suede Universe pads are favorites of those who want a more neutral sound. I have both and like both, but I discovered that I didn’t really use the Aeolus on a regular basis until I switched to the stock Aeolus pads, because that pushed the sound well away from the VO.
And I could casually say they belong here 
Torq, the man who has already sold any headphone he owns before he even decides to sell it 
It’s funny how “the ecology of headphones” works…how my own preferences flip/flop constantly.
When I got my blackwood Aeolus, I listened to them constantly for months & raved about them to anyone who would listen. I repeatedly had loans of my friend Anthony’s sapele Aeolus for weeks on end before this, so knew what I was getting into.
Eventually I got a silkwood VO and really fell in love with that one. The love affair continues–every time I listen to it I’m seduced all over again by that organic, slightly warm, but highly resolved sound.
And then a couple months ago I got a gently used Final D8000, and have listened to it often since. I wouldn’t call it a love affair, but I’m constantly surprised & gratified by things this headphone shows me. This is planar + resolution + musicality done right.
So the Aeolus has dropped off my radar. Haven’t heard it in maybe 3 months. But I’ve come to appreciate how changeable these little boom/bust cycles are with headphones–the Aeolus will come back around and wow me all over again sometime soon. It’s how I roll…
I completely agree. That’s why I haven’t sold my Aeolus.
Right now, I’m still in the honeymoon stage of my RAD-0 (my version of “planar + resolution + musicality done right” I suppose), but at some point, my VO and Aeolus will rejoin the rotation.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if I add to my ZMF collection in the future.
The Stratus and Aeolus is a pretty good pairing. Coming from A&S amps I did not really care too much for them and the Aeolus together.(I prefer VC and VO with A&S amps. The verites add an extra zing to the top end that the A&S amps love.) A dark amp mixed with a very rich warm headphone can sometimes be giving too much goo or become worn out quickly (missing more detail, etc.) but a DNA Amp with an Aeolus, totally different synergy. The DNA amp is bringing a lot more detail and clean top end to the table and the Aeolus is really smoothing it out well without getting too warm, but just enough. Since you are getting a Stellaris I’d still think about an Aeolus.
If you are going Stellaris (cant recall your DAC) then perhaps thinking beyond ZMF into something like a Utopia or the aforementioned Rad.
Have heard both on DNA - excellent. ZMF sounds fine (having heard Autuer and VO) but they are a sound sig Ive fallen away from and they simply dont show off great gear like those other two cans will. However, if you just dig that sound sig than be happy. I just wonder if an Aeolus might be “punching down”, yes I know that sounds snobbish, but hopefully you get what Im trying to convey.
Oh, I get it. The current DAC is Bifrost 2, which may be the DAC I sit with for when the Stellaris gets here. But to your point exactly, I may get a Holo Spring 3 KTE or Yggy (or who knows) by the time it gets here in a year to ensure it’s as optimized as I can. Not to derail tooooo much from ZMF, but there’s a good chance I add Rosson or the LCD-5 if it meets the hype.
Focal Clear and HD 800S likely stay no matter what. VC for when I want closed-back (and it is great) and then the Rad or LCD-5 as my wannabe “all star.”
ALSO: A motivator for a second Dac would be so the BF2 stays with the Burson and I have a separate solid state and tube station.
No need to rush and change out DACs. Holo or Yggy will be a step up for sure when the time comes.
However, with the Stellaris, DAC changes might actually be more meaningful as it should be able to fully reflect any sonic improvements - it wont be a bottle neck. Its an honest to goodness TOTL amp so at some point matching up with equally capable components will be beneficial.
I went form BF2 to Holo May - big difference in SQ but I think my chain can really resolve those differences so I was able to appreciate them easily.
Didn’t you say – two or three months ago – that you needed a mobile solution and had no space for desktop headphone setup? You and @andris set world speed records!
I’m impressed by you both and wonder where it’ll all end. Or if it’ll end.
If it will end is the better question. I am a man of very few hobbies. Each of them, however, I dive in with extreme gusto. I have found myself more or less exiting a long-term hobby in knife collecting. I had amassed more than 100 knives, some of which cost considerably more than an LCD-5, for a rough example. I have used much of that to start a college fund for my first (and quite possibly only) child, who was born just over one year ago.
As such, I have been able to simply move the funds from one hobby to this one, which I am finding more intrigue and fulfillment in. I have a nearly built out two-speaker stereo system and have re-arranged furniture to have a SS set up near where I work and then plan to build out the Tube station near the stereo system in more of a “lounge and enjoy” type of setting.
My mobile dacamp and Sundara’s will be mostly relegated to business travel, away from home meetings, etc.
Madness? Yes. Method? Ehhhh, a little.
Watch the video. Seriously. It’s amazing in every way. This is…method. Madness?
As someone who rarely leaves the house, I am already intrigued.
I can’t add any insight on Aeolus, but I can tell you I can’t imagine ANY headphone being better for jazz than either Verite or Utopia.
Same feeling for VC vs. VO?
That’s exactly what I’m finding. I worry for the future of my Aeolus.
I can’t say - I’ve only heard VO. I’ve never been able to ascertain the real difference between them, though the most common refrain when people are asked that question is that VC has more treble and a bit more soundstage (counter-intuitive, I know). 
I do have to give the VO props for that genre, it does do well with Jazz.
I had both VO & VC in my system in late 2018 for a couple weeks. Due to migraine & tinnitus (both often aggravated by closed backs), I couldn’t do much with the VC. But I sure did admire the sound of that headphone. Think of the VC as a VO that really pounds bass & dynamics in the manner of a closed back while giving up little in soundstage. The VC is somewhat more energetic in the treble compared to the VO, but otherwise has a tonal range and voicing similar to the VO (BTW, I own a silkwood VO and love it to pieces).
If I owned an Eikon (I did at one time–wonderful headphone) and a VC came into my life, the Eikon would be at risk. The VC does nearly everything the Eikon does, but a little bit better. The Eikon does have a touch more subbass than the VC, but you could say that about many other headphones.
Hope my Clears will do well then when they get here!