[vwinter]

Bah. Double post again. Stupid mobile site.

 

[eke2k6]

We're all just waiting on more impressions.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Quote:

I'm a little surprised that this thread isn't getting more action right now tbh.

Got off the phone with Andy of Aurisonics earlier this morning. I'll probably mail my G-1 in on Wednesday. He said ETA after receiving them would be a couple of weeks as they will be slotted into the queue of whatever they have going on... so... Hmmmm... I had assumed that they had built up a surplus of units, but apparently this isn't the case. Hopefully the turnaround won't be too long... 
 
Took a picture of my G-1 a second ago, it's held up pretty well in that year and a half : 
 

 
I'm wondering if the curved lines on the new logo of the G-2 will pose some problems for me... 

 

[vwinter]

Maybe I just assumed anyone who was gonna get one here would have exclaimed their excitement. Which means at the moment to me, it looks like everyone is just standing around the pool going "after you..."

 

[Aurisonics]

Quote:

Got off the phone with Andy of Aurisonics earlier this morning. I'll probably mail my G-1 in on Wednesday. He said ETA after receiving them would be a couple of weeks as they will be slotted into the queue of whatever they have going on... so... Hmmmm... I had assumed that they had built up a surplus of units, but apparently this isn't the case. Hopefully the turnaround won't be too long... 
 
Took a picture of my G-1 a second ago, it's held up pretty well in that year and a half : 
 

 
I'm wondering if the curved lines on the new logo of the G-2 will pose some problems for me... 

Everything is built to order all by hand in Nashville, TN. We have tried to build ahead on stock and we build generics non-stop but they are usually sold before we get the stock built up.

 

[Sopp]

My ASG-1 is on its way to Aurisonics. Hope I can have them back before the end of this month.

 

[kyuuketsuki]

My ASG-1 is on its way to Aurisonics. Hope I can have them back before the end of this month.

For the upgrade or some other reason?

 

[Gilly87]

+1
Quote:

We're all just waiting on more impressions.

 

[Sopp]

Quote:

For the upgrade or some other reason?

 
Upgrade to ASG-2 with stealth finish.

 

[audionewbi]

congrats, looking to future reviews. 

 

[qqexpress]

Hey howd you get started on the upgrade program?

 

[whoever]

if anybody interested, i'm selling my asg 1.2!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/663904/fs-aurisonics-asg-1-2

 

[kyuuketsuki]

Quote:

Hey howd you get started on the upgrade program?

 
I'm wondering the same. Even though I'm waiting until the summer at least. Also probably until after I buy a good portable amp.

 

[jpmilner]

It has been a very busy several months for me; between changing agents and learning 4 new shows I have been too swamped to write my impressions of my AS-2.  But after 4 months of almost daily use, I feel like it's past time that I write down my impressions.  So... here goes.
 
 
 
Something that resembles an intro:
 
This is my first foray into custom IEMs.  This is also my first joyful exploration of top tier IEMs in general.  I have been using a variety of mid tier IEMs, orthodynamic monitors, and studio monitors to listen critically to music and to work on my various voice over projects.  Because I am on the road 6-10 months out of the year I am always on the lookout for a way to reduce the size and amount of gear that I travel with.  Traveling with a full size set of cans just got to be an inconvenience when you are already traveling with 4-5 music scores, an ipad, a laptop, a portable HD, an Apogee ONE, a shotgun mic, a digital camera, etc.  
 
I also have a great deal of trouble getting an appropriate seal with universal IEMs.  With my EQ-7s, I spent more time fiddling with them to try and get a good seal than I did actually listening to them.  Forget listening to them on the plane as well!  I was also dissatisfied with the sound that I was getting from my IEMs.  For me, the options were either get custom tips or get custom IEMs.  I chose custom IEMs.
 
I spent the better part of a year researching companies and reading reviews.  In the end what sold me on the AS-2 was the fact that I got to listen to a demo set.  Andy was awesome to deal with on the phone and he was able to overnight a set of demo units to me because I was about to take off for another gig.  I was instantly hooked.  I had never heard a set of IEMs that sounded more like my studio monitors.  The sound was intoxicating.  So off my impressions went and the waiting began.
 
When I got my customs... well... they barely leave my skull.
 
Sound:
 
When I first opened my packaging and put the IEMs in I was a little disappointed in the bass response.  It was fat and bloated and not at all what I had heard in the demo set.  I was profoundly disappointed.  But I burned them in for 2 days and the difference was amazing.  Gone was the bloated booms and flaccid thumps of a bass drum.  Everything tightened up and rattled your teeth.  I would describe the sound as being warm and detailed.  The bass is warm and powerful, but it never outshines the detail in the treble.  The mids lift the voice right out of the mix.  But be warned that your experience will vary based on the quality of the recording.  I have a variety of file qualities from FLAC down to the lowest of MP3 encodings (cassette tapes of live recordings from the 60s+ won't sound any better if you record them in FLAC) and I can honestly say that the better the recording the more these shine.  
 
In general, these sound very analog.  The bass is warm, rich, and very very powerful if the music calls for it.  And yet the bass is just another color in the available palette of sound.  From the stuffy sound of some of the early Black Keys albums to the intimate detail of Bon Iver, I have been blown away by what these are capable of.  They deal with the thick sound of bands like HUM and Failure with a lift in the voice and a rattle in your chest and then turn around and treat classical with a smoothness in the strings and a ringing in the brass that I have never heard out of a set of IEMs.  
 
The imaging of these is also terrific.  I have been listening to a recording of Salome with Birgit Nilsson and Eberhard Wächter from 1962.  When Jochanaan sings from the cistern I caught myself looking over my shoulder because the voice was coming from behind me.  The sense of space and openness was a new experience for me in a set of IEMs.  Likewise, with a live recording of Der Ring des Niebelungen from Beyreuth in 1953 you could hear where in the house the microphone was placed.  You can hear every cough (annoying) and murmured word that the audience says.  I can go on and on about hearing new things in live recordings that I know very well, but suffice it to say that every bit of detail that is in the recording is there and reproduced beautifully.
 
For recording, you will hear every problem with your sound booth, equipment, etc.  Every time you upgrade one component in your recording gear you find a flaw with something else.  I listened to recordings that I submitted for jobs that were highly praised and was disappointed with some detail that I had never heard before; my cat jumping down from the couch downstairs, my wife shutting the basement door, etc.  These were details that you couldn't hear on my monitors, but were suddenly apparent with the AS-2.
 
Build Quality:
 
The fit on my AS-2 was perfect the first time.  I know this isn't necessarily the norm, but that was the case for me.  These seem so well constructed and solid.  The recessed sockets are extremely secure.  It took effort to remove the cable from the IEMs.
 
The isolation on my set is incredible.  For travelling on the airplane, it is a joy to be able to listen to music at a comfortable volume rather than having to turn up the sound to what I am sure is a damaging level.  Your head had better be on a swivel when out and about if these are in your skull.  If I am walking around and listening to music, there is an almost dangerous level of isolation.  I feel like you have to be paying the same kind of attention to your surroundings as if you were riding a motorcycle.  It is something that I have never experienced before with a set of IEMs, probably because of my constant fit problems with universals.
 
When I got my AS-2 with the stealth finish (Thank you, Dale!) I was blown away by how beautiful they are.  But after 4 months this is really my only complaint with the headphones.  Some of the stealth finish is flaking off of the canal portion of my set.  I have been in contact with Aurisonics since it started happening in the beginning of March.  I don't know if there was something wrong with just my set or if the stealth coating isn't capable of dealing with the kind of daily use that I put them through.  I have not sent my set back in yet, because I am travelling abroad and I really don't want to be without them just yet!  Aurisonics has been awesome about dealing with this and will be fixing this very very minor problem.  After Dale has seen my set, maybe they can way in on whether or not I just abuse my set or what might be wrong.  In the grand scheme of things, this is so minor that I struggled with whether to mention it or not.  This could all very well be my fault... I do listen to them daily for extended periods.  And more importantly, Aurisonics has been a wonderful customer oriented company to deal with.  I will happily continue to buy their products for years to come.
 
To make the longest post I've written on head-fi longer:
 
I really couldn't be happier with my decision to purchase my AS-2s.  The flaking of the stealth finish on the canals has been my only real issue and at the end of the day I am so in love with the sound that I can't even say that it detracts from enjoyment of them.  If I had it do do over again I would buy these again in a heartbeat.  They have become my personal favorite headphones that are capable of everything that I need out of them.  The warm and detailed sound has won me over with the visceral power of the dynamic drivers combined with the detailed clarity and excitement of the BAs.
 
Edit:
I took a couple of minutes today to take a couple of pictures.  They still look gorgeous after 4 months of near constant use.
 

 
 

 

[gnarlsagan]

Nice impressions! What other mid tiers have you had, and how does the AS-2 differ from them in bass, mids, treble and detail?