New Australian audio company Audiofly!

Housing reminded me of the T-Jays...  However, dual-hybrid-drivers definitely will make them stand out.  There have been lots of dual hybrids coming out lately: Scosche (which aren't all bad, but aren't perfect either), Atomic Floyd (getting a sample soon), even these...  I'm sure there are more to come.  It's good to see companies attempting this as it is probably the most affordable way to incorporate great detail and clarity in the mid-high end while still not having the weakness in the bass. 

Looks interesting.....

haha... that someone must be me! I agree that Audiofly indeed seems like a very intriguing company. The real reason why they caught my eye is that they seem very well prepared with regard to marketing materials. This is often the most difficult part for a young, unknown startup to handle, and they're doing it with a good deal of panache. If they even sound half decent, they should at least be a good choice for more casual listeners to get a pair of well-made, stylish in-ears that sound nice to boot. The AF78 definitely does look the most interesting, however, with that hybrid setup. I haven't listened to any hybrid IEMs yet, but I might get to listen to the K3003 soon. Unfortunately, that might not be such a fair comparison.. haha

I don't know if they still have it up on their website, but they had a downloadable CES press kit that lets you see a little more detail about their manufacturing process and design details.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaLaoEh 

I saw someone post a pic of CES 2012 in ljokerl's thread, so after seeing the pic I decided to do a little research and made this thread so that more people would be aware of this brand and hopefully buy their products and post their impressions sometime soon. xD

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomscy2000 

haha... that someone must be me! I agree that Audiofly indeed seems like a very intriguing company. The real reason why they caught my eye is that they seem very well prepared with regard to marketing materials. This is often the most difficult part for a young, unknown startup to handle, and they're doing it with a good deal of panache. If they even sound half decent, they should at least be a good choice for more casual listeners to get a pair of well-made, stylish in-ears that sound nice to boot. The AF78 definitely does look the most interesting, however, with that hybrid setup. I haven't listened to any hybrid IEMs yet, but I might get to listen to the K3003 soon. Unfortunately, that might not be such a fair comparison.. haha

 

I don't know if they still have it up on their website, but they had a downloadable CES press kit that lets you see a little more detail about their manufacturing process and design details.

 

 

Manufacturing process won't tell you much though.  The only thing that will tell you squat about sound is FR graph, and even that might not be accurate.  I own one pair of hybrids, getting another soon :)  Then hopefully end up with a pair of these :)

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

Manufacturing process won't tell you much though.  The only thing that will tell you squat about sound is FR graph, and even that might not be accurate.

Yes, of course! I didn't really expect them to sound amazing; I do have a good feeling about their company as a whole, though. From Joker's short impressions, I don't think they'll be my cup of tea, and most likely are just average to above average, but at least he liked them better than the Scosche EM856:

Originally Posted by ljokerl 

Alright, my personal listening impressions from CES. I've broken them up into three categories. These are based on quick impressions but I do think I got a feel for what each set had to offer. Used for comparisons were the UM Miracle and VSonic GR07.

 

Brand	Model (Price)	Type	Notes
Sets I was impressed by and would have loved to write a full review of
AKG / Harman	K3003 ($1300)	Universal IEM (Dual armature, single dynamic)	Very musical yet quite neutral (on the ‘reference’ setting), great clarity and resolution. Surprisingly small and comfortable
	K550 ($300)	Closed, circumaural	Flat and pretty neutral, but punchy; good resolution, comfortable, excellent build quality, relatively easy to drive
	K495 NC ($350)	Closed, supraaural, noise-cancelling	Very comfortable, excellent noise-canceling circuit, fun, reasonably clear sound with ANC off
Altec Lansing	A1 ($499), A2 ($799), A3 ($999)	Custom IEM demo (single, dual, triple armature)	Silicone customs from ACS. Demo pairs were all impressive in their own right. A3 sounded flatter than Miracle and very smooth, with good reach and note thickness
Audiofly	AF78 ($200)	Universal IEM (single armature, single dynamic)	Similar bass to AF56 but better treble extension, clarity, and quality. Bit of bleed in the midrange. Good fit & nice design
Etymotic Reseach	EtyKids ($50)	Universal IEM (dynamic)	Surprisingly resolving and very enjoyable overall, esp. for the price. 300ohm impedance limits volume.
House of Marley	Exodus ($150)	Closed, supraaural	Clear, well-balanced, good detail, comfortable
Skullcandy	Mix Master Mike ($300)	Closed, circumaural	Easily the best thing I’ve heard from Skullcandy. Rich feature set, nice design and isolation, balanced sound with a bump in the bass, very clean and enjoyable. Would be happier at $200 price point
Sony	XBA-1 ($80)	Universal IEM (single armature)	Great clarity, well-balanced, and seems to be priced very well
Sets I was not unimpressed by but would need more time to evaluate properly
Audiofly	AF56 ($100)	Universal IEM (dynamic)	Bass-heavy but not terribly muddy. Good fit & comfort
Bell’o Digital	BDH-something ($25)	Universal IEM	Quite clear and reasonably balanced for an entry-level set. Bass was flabby but for $25 I’d give it another try
House of Marley	Zion ($100)	Universal IEM (dynamic)	Bassy and a bit boomy but not unpleasant
	Name unknown ($200)	Universal IEM (dynamic)	Bit more balanced than Zion and very nice slim form factor
	Stir it up ($200)	Closed, supraaural	Less controlled & clear than cheaper Exodus
	Redemption Song ($200)	Closed, supraaural	Less controlled & clear than cheaper Exodus
	Name unknown (price unknown)	Closed, circumaural	Unreleased circumaural headphone. Nice construction and very comfortable. Tuning not finalized; did not sound as good as Exodus
Moshi	Clarus ($200)	Universal IEM (dual dynamic)	Dual dynamic (7+15mm) sport-style canalphone. One of very few consumer-class earphones at CES that was not bass-heavy. Pretty good balance and clarity but some of it comes from uneven treble. Feels quite big when worn.
Scosche	RH1056m ($230)	Closed, circumaural	Surprisingly balanced for a Beats clone. Clean, punchy bass and smooth all around
Sony	XBA-4 ($350)	Universal IEM (quad armature)	Quite bass-heavy for a high-end armature, seemed to have more treble unevenness compared to XBA-1
Westone	ES5 ($950)	Custom IEM demo (5x armature)	Surprisingly bassy even next to UM Miracle. Great resolution but the tone seemed a little off as a result of the bass boost. Would really need more than 10 minutes to evaluate properly.
Sets I was not impressed by
House of Marley	TTR Destiny ($300)	Closed, circumaural, noise-cancelling	Muddy and congested. Only works with ANC on
Logic3 / Ferrari	R300 ($300)	Closed, circumaural, noise-cancelling	Muddy and boomy, top-end roll-off, poor clarity. Only works with ANC on
Scosche	IEM856m ($250)	Universal IEM (single armature, single dynamic)	Hybrid (BA+dynamic) IEM. Sibilant, harsh, and boomy. Was told it only sounds good with an iPhone and the Scosche EQ app
	RH656md ($130)	Closed, supraaural	New on-ear headphones. Sounded boomy and flat
Skullcandy	Aviator ($150)	Closed, circumaural	Crap all around

 

Just for fun and because I took notes on it, I’ve compiled a list of the quality of the staff at each booth. This in no way says anything about a particular company – just trivial observations on my part. I did try to find the right person to talk to at each booth.

 

Staff both very knowledgeable and very helpful:

 

AKG / Harman

Altec Lansing

Etymotic Research

Sony

 

Staff helpful but not well-versed in Audio:

 

Audiofly

Bell’o

House of Marley

Moshi

Scosche

Skullcandy

Westone

 

Staff not knowledgeable and not particularly friendly/helpful

 

Logic3/Ferrari

Sennheiser

TDK/Imation

Damnit...there are so many new IEM's to be released, that AF78 looks promising, as well as Dunu's 4x BA IEM...

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomscy2000 

 

Yes, of course! I didn't really expect them to sound amazing; I do have a good feeling about their company as a whole, though. From Joker's short impressions, I don't think they'll be my cup of tea, and most likely are just average to above average, but at least he liked them better than the Scosche EM856:

 

 

But Joker's impressions aren't about manufacturing...  Manufacturing basically shows you how it's tuned (won't tell yo uwhat the tuning is) and how it's built...  As for the Scosches that Joker didn't like (boomy and sibilant/harsh), the boominess does go down, same with the sibilance and harshness.  Although boominess goes away, that treble still remains hotter than I'd like..

Huh? I continue to be confused by what you're trying to tell me; I'm going to try to break it down, because it seems like we're not really on the same page, or at least don't think we are.

(1) I like Audiofly's manufacturing process and build quality, as well as their marketing. No, none of this has anything to do with SQ, but it's important regardless, especially to people who aren't obsessively concerned about SQ. I referenced the press kit simply because the OP wanted to learn more about Audiofly, not necessarily about the SQ only.

(2) Joker's impressions on the SQ tell me that they won't have my preferred sound signature, but it doesn't mean that others won't enjoy it. With that being said, he did mention that the AF78 was similar in bass quantity to the AF58 (which were cited as bass heavy) and there was a small amount of bass bleed into the mids, which tells me that one, they're probably bassier than average, and two, they could probably use better control. It's not to say, however, that they have bad bass, just that they're not up to very exacting standards.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

 

But Joker's impressions aren't about manufacturing...  Manufacturing basically shows you how it's tuned (won't tell yo uwhat the tuning is) and how it's built...  As for the Scosches that Joker didn't like (boomy and sibilant/harsh), the boominess does go down, same with the sibilance and harshness.  Although boominess goes away, that treble still remains hotter than I'd like..

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomscy2000 

Huh? I continue to be confused by what you're trying to tell me; I'm going to try to break it down, because it seems like we're not really on the same page, or at least don't think we are.

 

(1) I like Audiofly's manufacturing process and build quality, as well as their marketing. No, none of this has anything to do with SQ, but it's important regardless, especially to people who aren't obsessively concerned about SQ. I referenced the press kit simply because the OP wanted to learn more about Audiofly, not necessarily about the SQ only.

 

(2) Joker's impressions on the SQ tell me that they won't have my preferred sound signature, but it doesn't mean that others won't enjoy it. With that being said, he did mention that the AF78 was similar in bass quantity to the AF58 (which were cited as bass heavy) and there was a small amount of bass bleed into the mids, which tells me that one, they're probably bassier than average, and two, they could probably use better control. It's not to say, however, that they have bad bass, just that they're not up to very exacting standards.
 

 

Manufacturing, like you said says nothing about SQ, but you earlier stated something along the lines of I want to see the manufacturing process to see how they sound (unless I read it wrong).  As for Joker's impressions, I was simply stating that they were not based on manufacturing process, just SQ. 
 

I have a review sample of one of their products. I won't say which model just yet, but I will say that I'm quite impressed. Bass, mids and highs are all impressive, as well as the soundstage. This may give the GR07 some stiff competition. More to come later. I need more listening and some additional background information. I am quite impressed at the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

Manufacturing, like you said says nothing about SQ, but you earlier stated something along the lines of I want to see the manufacturing process to see how they sound (unless I read it wrong).  As for Joker's impressions, I was simply stating that they were not based on manufacturing process, just SQ.

This is a bit late, but yeah, I think you might've read what I wrote wrong... but whatever, we were pretty much in agreement the whole time!