[REVIEW] Aurisonics AS-2's - Like being a kid in a candy store with a bag full of quarters - Page 2

Woah woah woah, it's not $400 for chrome plating. My shells are polished as well. Its $300 for chrome plates and $100 for polished clear shells. They polish the shells by hand and the plates need to be sent to a third party to be chromed. Each custom IEM's plate is unique, unlike the ASG-2's and ASG-1's, so they cannot order large batches of chromed plates to use for customs. These are only extra aesthetic options and are not necessary for you to have a great sounding CIEM. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassadian 

Base price is nice.  But an extra 400 dollars for chrome plating.  That's ridiculous at best.  Fine craftsmanship from Heir Audio, and by fine I mean amazing, isn't even close to that price tag.  Ridiculous :\.  Disappointed, I guess I'll have to skip on aesthetic options.

Sorry for the double post, I haven't opened the bass port. I have only software based boosted the bass. No need to turn the port open any when it sounds so great from factory. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsiCore 

So the base model already has the bass adjustable porting and comfort tip?

 

When you open up the bass port, what frequencies of the bass are boosted - equally from lowest to highest bass, more midbass or more subbass?

Sorry, but no. I just rather not touch them. If you're a basshead like I was before I got these, they will satisfy your temptations without the bass port being opened. I just don't wanna mess with them as they sound perfect for me. These are not like other headphones or CIEMs or IEMs in the basshead department. They are well balanced yet powerful CIEM's. They hit hard and deep. As I mentioned before, a user had a pair of generic models they tried and they had a pair of mg6pro's and the bass didn't compare. The AS-2's are well tuned and balanced, but great amount of presence of all the ranges. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsiCore 

 

Would you mind to check it out? I would like to know, how does the boost differ between the software boost and the port boost (yeah, I'm a basshead ;) Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I used a Pico Slim for most of my listening time and I did not use EQ on a regular basis either.  I was always blown away by the deep bass. I do not feel it is necessary to open the bass ports up as I like the sound as it stans now and software can replicate the effects when I desire the extra bass. The ports seem to work like the mg6pro's vents work. The port opens a vent to allow more or less air into the chamber with the dynamic driver. 

Thank you, I appreciate that. Sorry to hear that you are upset about the aesthetic pricing. The chrome plating is absolutely stunning though, I get heads turning wherever I go with them in. I would happily pay for chrome plates on my AS-1's I ordered if I did not already have different aesthetics picked out. Aurisonics has a great array of customizations that people will definitely love when they are fully announced. For now, I have the AS-1 version of the Black and Red render that appeared on the Aurisonics facebook page picked out. This is Head-Fi, don't you know you gotta feel sorry for your wallet?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassadian 

I meant to say.  Nice review.

Great questions, glad you like the review. 

Noise Isolation. They are rated for 26dB's of isolation, and I am not gonna question that. I find that I have been yelled at through my house for a few minutes before I notice someone at my door because I didnt hear them, even when i just had the AS-2's in and was looking for the right song, so they weren't plugged in yet. 

Leak of sound? Not at all. I asked a coworker of mine to tell me if he heard anything as I turned my volume up. It reached the point where I didnt feel comfortable turning it any louder because of it being a lot higher than my normal comfort listening level and they still did not hear anything. This is also dependent on if you open the bass port or the ambient port (if you get one on your pair of AS-2's).

I am more than satisfied with the software based bass boost. I don't like touching things that if i can't get it back to 100% perfect how it was then I will be annoyed when I listen to them. Fear is mainly no way of knowing how open or closed they came and if I turn one ear i gotta attempt to turn the other ear equal amounts to have them tuned right (i think). Way too many variables and I honestly don't care if I never try them out, I know Dale and Aurisonics did an amazing job with them and I enjoy them how they were intended to be heard from factory. The ZO2 though can boost the bass ridiculous amounts. I have made my head uncontrollably rattle by using the bass boost. I literally could not control my head enough to stop it from shaking around and the entire time I heard the midrange and treble as clear as without the ZO2 and the bass was just cleanly and amazingly giving me the feeling of being in front of a huge subwoofer. Lots of fun, not advisable for long periods. I did this for maybe 5-10 minutes tops on a few occasions just to have some fun with it and test out how well the AS-2's could scale. It's really hard to notice any change in quality of the other ranges when you boost the bass, and that's what I wanted to find out, so mission accomplished.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisSC 

Thanks for the review.

 

Its too bad you don't want to mess with the bass ports because I'm sure a lot of people are interested in how they affect the sound, but its your IEM so its your choice.  Do you feel like once you open them, you won't be able to return them back to how they were set?  Can you get any feel for how open they are when Dale sends them out?  I guess I'm just surprised that curiosity didn't get the better of you, especially when you could compare that natural bass boost to the zo2's software bass boost.

 

How's the noise isolation?

Do they leak a lot of sound?

 

Again, thanks.

Yes, sometimes I forget the mantra too. It's easy to do that once you got the AS-2's though. At least in the CIEM department. I've grown to want better sources and amplifiers and audio files since I got the AS-2's. They are uber revealing and it's magical to hear some great vocals on them and all the other qualities that add so much depth to the music you listen to. I went to a concert on June 23rd where I saw an artist I like a lot, and I can tell you that I have been able to feel like I am still there ever since, just because I have the AS-2's. They truly handle 3D imaging and the soundstage amazingly well and beautifully done in a neat packaging that fits my ears perfectly. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassadian 

 

  This guy.  I guess I must admit I forgot the Head-Fi mantra/motto.