At €679, their 7.5wpc/32Ω fully balanced class A S17Pro amplifier with R2R volume and hi/lo bias option on two paralleled pairs of output transistors is aune's most upscale playmate for the SR7000. This catalogue also includes a model with integral DAC plus sundry portable players. The point is, aune strategically work well below the €1K mark with all their models, no exception. It's another part of the aune story that deserves highlighting. They position themselves as a brand for the people not aristocracy. In that context, the SR7000 is their current headphone flagship. When elsewhere this term encapsulates offerings for up to 10 x more, that's a delightfully sobering thought. At this precise junction, I was flat out of introductory things to say. It clearly was time to get hands then head on. First the tactile, subjective build and wear impressions.

In the flesh, the SR7000 weren't nearly as big as the promo materials had me think. Another surprise was the headband adjustment. Unlike competitors whose soft bands either slide up/down or secure by hidden elastic, aune move their headband and metal bridge together. The latter can't ever touch the skull. It in fact retains the same distance from the headband regardless of height. That I'd never seen before. Clever. For my tall egg head, max extension suited ideally. I suspect that even Cap'n Picard could wear these without coming up short. This adjustment range across 10 click stops spans 3 centimetres per side.

The band with 'Sea Reference Series' embossed looks like leather but feels like strong plastic. The ear cups themselves seem to be metal whilst their grill is likely synthetic as are the slider stalks. The up/down tilt on the cups has a wide range, the fore/aft swivel secured by hex bolt is intentionally limited so one can't lay these out flat. The pleather pads are exceptionally soft and impeccably snug over the internal foam to betray zero wrinkles. Their tall oval openings should also avoid touching all but the biggest of elfin ears.

The twisted black twin-lead 3.5" cable in its woven sleeves is properly non-microphonic and breaks out into single leads past the aune-branded metal splitter. The copper-coloured quad-braided 4.4" cable in translucent plastic sleeving breaks out into two twisted leads past its splitter. A 3.5/6.3mm adapter is included and the hard case in its fabric skin with faux-leather trim, dual zippers and a carrying handle is attractive and contains two stretch-band covered recesses for the cables. On wear comfort and industrial design, I'll rate them a full 10, on fit 'n' finish 9 to give the leathered-up solid metal types a small margin for luxo bragging rights. Meanwhile the cables get just a 5. That's my inner accountant's hedge. But make no mistake. Unless these lovely hard-plastic bits prove scratch-prone or discolour with skin oils, I prefer them to the not-stainless metal of my €6'000 Susvara. At 1/10th the scratch, that's a fat compliment for aune. It's testament also to high manufacturing acumen. With first hands- and head-on takes aced, how about my ears and their judgment?

Max extension + egghead = perfect fit. Beard optional.

First some user stats. The SR7000's 10cm Ø is 1cm less than my Final D8000, audio-technica ATH-A990z and Raal Immanis. Sensitivity is a bit less than Meze's 109 Pro. That can also be a function of what an amp's greatest power transfer is relative to Ω. In its lowest of 5 gain settings off the 4.4mm output, my FiiO R7 played loud at 80/120. Likewise for a Shanling M3 Ultra DAP. Off its 4.4mm output and low gain, I hit cruising altitude at 40/100. Clearly our aune is mobile ready and happily drinks from a smartphone or dongle DAC. With the Tord Gustavsen Trio's latest Seeing on ECM recorded at a very low median level, my Enleum AMP-23R didn't get past 9 o'clock. Finally, aune's 3.5mm connectors make it child's play to swap their leashes for aftermarket versions. I had an audioArt 6.3mm and Forza Audioworks XLR4 to avoid adapters.