Aurisonics Impressions, Reviews & Discussions Thread - Page 185

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vlooienuker 

Awesome! How much is the stealth without the bassport? And with all these new updates done from the 1.2 to 1.3, will it remain the same price?

Stealth will only be available with the bass port. Yes 1.3 same price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurisonics 

Stealth will only be available with the bass port. Yes 1.3 same price.

Oh ok, sounds good. So every other design like black rhodium or gold, etc has to have a bassport?

Considering that no one got their AS-2 yet the new revision must be kinda big o_o Can't wait to get a listen to these babies.

Also the hearing protection as I'll be going on a vacation soon will be hitting live houses everyday haha.

Quote:

Originally Posted by naoo 

Considering that no one got their AS-2 yet the new revision must be kinda big o_o Can't wait to get a listen to these babies.

Also the hearing protection as I'll be going on a vacation soon will be hitting live houses everyday haha.

I believe I (also possibly jpmilner) have the newest AS-2 revision, or at least have the new drivers.

After having traveled, done some live engineering, and spent plenty of time on pleasure listening with them, here's a few impressions I wrote to another Head-Fier. Until my AS-2s arrived I'd used the ASG-1.2s daily since around May. As a caveat - I have a slight seal issue on my right earpiece. It's not as snug as the left, so I have less isolation (working on this with AS) - please take that into consideration.

Signature-wise, I would say they are still pretty laid-back - the lower/mid-mids are the focal band, but they still have great transparency across the board. I am a basshead so have my ports all the way open and they definitely deliver sub-bass. To my ears there is no bass bleed into the low-mids. There may be a slight dip in the lower treble, but this is improving with burn-in. The rest of the treble is not necessarily prominent, but is incredibly clear and accurate and in no way recessed. What I mean by this is that even if a track may seem dark as a whole, I can perfectly isolate the reverb of a guitar, the different tone of stick ping on every cymbal - though laid-back, the signature isn't unbalanced in any way so as to mask any part of the spectrum, to me. There's no sibilance to my ears.

I feel they have already improved greatly with some burn-in. At first the low-mids felt a bit bloated but they have tightened up and no longer overshadow the bass and mid-/high-mids.

Also, the new drivers may make amping more beneficial for a more neutral signature - it feels to me like the new dynamics have greater sensitivity (or lower impedance) than the BAs, so amping (and I'm only using an E17) audibly improves clarity and treble volume. They still sound great straight out of my phone or laptop, but I definitely amp when convenient.

The soundstage is huge in all directions, and I've caught myself checking over my shoulder to investigate a sound I had never noticed or correctly placed even in my favorite, most-loved tracks.

Though I can pinpoint some weaknesses, I feel that they really excel at at everything I've thrown at them. With something like Madeleine Peyroux, my head resonates with the pluck of the bass, and the cymbals just wash soothingly through the room. With Beats Antique, they can reach the lowest and highest ends of the spectrum and push and pull my eardrums with every pulse of synth on either end. With John Mayer they can present a very intimate, house-concert like proximity and presence of instruments, or with Fleet Foxes they can completely swallow you in the recording space.

Hopefully my seal issue is a minor one and easily correctable - once I can get that taken care of, the AS-2s will have comfortably displaced the remainder of my headphone library.

I'd be glad to answer more specific questions or give impressions on specific tracks too if it would help.

I don't know if you have the new driver. One way to tell is are the AS-2's significantly louder than the ASG-1's at the same volume from source?  If yes, you've got the new driver

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinicus 

[things]

EDIT: I read your post over, it sounds like you indeed have the new driver.....I hate you just a little right now. Very Jealous. Why aren't any more coming out? Seems a bit odd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenman345 

I don't know if you have the new driver. One way to tell is are the AS-2's significantly louder than the ASG-1's at the same volume from source?  If yes, you've got the new driver

EDIT: I read your post over, it sounds like you indeed have the new driver.....I hate you just a little right now. Very Jealous. Why aren't any more coming out? Seems a bit odd.

Moving from ASG-1.2 to AS-2 I drop the volume by ~5 on my E17 to achieve the same perceived loudness. Also, Andy told me so:

Sorry, I phrased that first sentence poorly.

I'm sure they'll go out in the sale-day orders as soon as possible - who knows, there may be even more enhancements in the works. I'm sure if AS is intentionally delaying anything it's for very good technical reasons.

No worries about the first sentence. And yes, they did say they can confirm you have the latest, but never said the final revision of the driver. I guess my driver or yours might not be the production one they use for the rest. I think the delay is more because, as they said, they've already been putting out the ASG-1.3 model to dealers. They're mighty busy over there

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinicus 

 

Sorry, I phrased that first sentence poorly.

 

I'm sure they'll go out in the sale-day orders as soon as possible - who knows, there may be even more enhancements in the works. I'm sure if AS is intentionally delaying anything it's for very good technical reasons.

My wife just called Aurisonics to ask if she can add the stealth finish to her ASG-2 pre-order (the ASG-2 is for me, but she pre-ordered it for me as a gift).  Anyway, the pre-order only had the standard finish but with bass port option.  They were able to upgrade the order for her.  Thank you, Aurisonics.

Here is the price break down: standard finish ($500); stealth finish (+$150, include bass port). My order already included bass port so the upgrade only cost $80 more.  They even honored the 25% pre-order discount, so it's really $60 more.  I think it's a great deal if anyone is thinking about doing the same thing.

The best news: they told her they will be shipping the ASG-2s very soon.  So...Brace yourselves, the ASG-2 is coming.

The ASG-1.2's are an interesting beast.  I really do have a love/tolerate relationship with them but I feel like the sound kind of grows on you as you keep listening.  When I first plugged them in today (haven't listened for a week or 2 due to time) I couldn't do anything with EQ to get the sound I was looking for.  Finally I picked a setting and just left it on.  It's not perfect but there's something about the current sound I like.  I was just listening to "Let Me be your Star" from the Smash soundtrack and I think what got me was the ability to hear the 2 distinct voices while the leads were doing a duet.  

The thing nagging me is that I really enjoy the vocals and drums are right on par but sometimes the rest of the music kind of blends together.  It really depends on the genre.  I really can't wait to hear the AS-2.  Not sure what I'll do with these just yet. 

Looks like things are gonna start shipping soon: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=609751282374980&id=209300975753348

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenman345 

Looks like things are gonna start shipping soon: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=609751282374980&id=209300975753348

Time for people to start getting EXCITED!! (all over again) ...

Man, I can't wait for my ASG-2 with bass port... I thought I get them in February, but it seems that now March will be the audio month - ASG-2 and the new replacement silver cable from UM :)

Yeah, Andy just gave me an update on email too saying they're going to be ready. 

Can't wait for them and hopefully fit's perfectly!

Is it just me or do you guys feel like this is going to have a V sound signature... 15mm dynamic and 2 tweeters... I dont know, probably just me.

It's you.

Dynamic drivers are capable of a rich midrange and bright treble. Balanced armatures are capable of warm midranges as well. Consider the Sony EX-1000 as an example of a 15mm dynamic with a treble emphasis.

It's not as overly simple as you might be thinking.

In the case of the AS-2, there is no crossover, which is something to consider further.