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james444 said:

 
Eke, I was only talking about bass signatures, as heard with my test tracks (e.g. Markus Schultz's Progression album). And I'm not saying that I heard a 10db drop, just that I wouldn't be surprised if your pair measured similarly to Unity's better driver, provided the FX700's graph is accurate. You may well be right about other explanations for perceived differences between the FX700 and ASG-2, but based on my (admittedly short) listening, I don't feel confident to predict that a graph for your pair would look significantly less rolled-off in bass.

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No worries. I'm not arguing that the FX-700 doesn't have more sub-bass. It has tighter impact all the way down for sure. 
 
I feel sometimes like we argue here over nothing. I said in my main review that I wish some of the energy in the mid-bass could be lent to the sub-bass.
 
What I am arguing against is the way it's portrayed by Rin's graph, and his and Inks' general assessment. I know I hear strong sub-bass still at 40 Hz, with it only really starts dropping off at around 30 to 25 hz, though I still hear movement around 10Hz. Add in the certainty of Inks' assertions when there is a very strong possibility of error in the process, and I'm in "argue mode".

I emailed dale to see if my unit has touched down. This shall be fascinating indeed.

Thanks for the reply inks. How does the EX1000 bass compare to the 7550's? I think soundbear said he came from that phone and likes the AS 2's he got back from dale. Also think audionewbi said the ASG 2 reminded him of the EX1000.

The Tralucent S/G cable.
This was a long time coming.

Here's the problem ABing cables: It's annoying.

Besides there's being way too much time between listening through the cables, I am almost positive that there is a slight gain shift when changing cables and this makes me feel like any impressions in regard are not standing on the firmest ground...

That said, I'd say there's an audible difference and between the stock G-2 cable and the Tralucent cable. There's a little less warmth, like James said. What stood out a bit more was that it seemed like separation and layering increased/improved a bit, improving imaging, and that the low end was cleaner/tighter. This might very well be due to less warmth, but it also might be a reflection of a better signal being transmitted by the cable. I will tentatively say that I feel I can tell them apart ABX.

Now that said, I would rather buy a better IEM than spend $700+ on a cable for the changes here. This is also no indication of this cable's performance on other IEMs.

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unityispower said:

Music_4321, buddy, friend, pal...

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unityispower said:

... would you say the bass on the ASG 2's you tried match Tiny's 1.3 graph or Rins? Somewhere in the middle?

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I don't have the G-2s with me anymore (they were shipped this morning) to be able to test sub-bass levels properly with test tones, but my ears told me it was closer to Tinyman's graph.
 
I honestly don't / didn't have any issues with the ASG-2's low end, except that I preferred a little less mid-bass, but then again, I also prefer a bit less mid-bass on the FA-4s, though the latter is more linear in the bottom-end. I had more issues, though not serious, with the treble and the transition from mids to treble.
 
Unfortunately, I find that all this discussion (arguing?) of the ASG'2's imperfections makes it sometimes seem like the ASG-2s are a bad IEM. I think overall they're a very nice-sounding IEM, but my personal sonic preferences lie elsewhere. I think some people would be very impressed even with the ASG'2s as I heard them.
 
One question I'd ask people (but not expecting an answer, really) is, just how important is sub-bass? Sub-bass is mostly—and I insist on the word "mostly"—felt rather than heard, and if an IEM has good or plenty of sub-bass, when you turn the volume up, it can add to a feeling of 'rattling your brain' or the so-called 'rumbling" associated with sub-bass, an uncomfortable feeling that may lead / add to fatigue. This is not unlike the sometimes exaggerated emphasis some people put on frequencies above 12khz.
 
Getting a balance of mid-bass, mids and treble, while achieving a fuller / more robust, more headphone-like type sound, seems to be much more difficult to achieve; these frequencies are really key in our music appreciation AND perception, particularly the midrange (which, of course, includes upper bass and lower treble).
 
On the other hand, we're talking about an expensive product ($550+), so perhaps some people would like a little more sub-bass and more linear mids & treble, but this IEM was not intended to be a Hi-Fi listening device, but a musician's monitor. Perhaps Dale / Aurisonics should keep the current ASG-2 as it is and come up with a new product altogether that caters more to non-performing musicians.

and now as our wisest of wise has spoken up we all bent in agreement nod.

+1, Music, agree on most your findings, if speak about tuning you and James hit the nail on the head, upper mids transition to trebles is exactly where i felt bit congested sound, but for bass i wish bit linear transition, actually i misspelled frequencies since after a bottle of good wine, ASG2 issue is too aggressive mid bass masks much of what we would find in sub bass... However, however, i agree that ASG2 was not planned HiFi or linear and fun element with them exceeds all nitty gritty complaints. I am still missing this "hooligan" IEM

Tralucent S/G cable update.

Just tried the ASG-2 stock cable on the 1p2 and I think it hurts the 1p2 more than the S/G cable helps the G-2. To speak in an exaggerating manner, it kind of just sucks the magic out of the 1p2.

Carry on.

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unityispower said:

I emailed dale to see if my unit has touched down. This shall be fascinating indeed.

Thanks for the reply inks. How does the EX1000 bass compare to the 7550's? I think soundbear said he came from that phone and likes the AS 2's he got back from dale. Also think audionewbi said the ASG 2 reminded him of the EX1000.

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The EX1000s bass is simply sublime. One of the best bass responces out there IMO. It's pure quality and the reason why I held onto the EX1000 for as long as I did. The MDR-7550 is also really good but not quite on the same level as the EX1000 in this regard. It's bass is less controlled and there is more bass quantity. I actually prefer to have more quantity though. That was the only thing I could gripe about with the EX1000 bass. I wanted a bit more quantity. Quality was 100% there . Ultimately the EX1000s bass was what prompted me to get the MDR-7550 after reading a few headfiers who also had problems with the EX1000s treble but not so on the MDR-7550. So I ended up caving in and purchased them. I don't regret that at all. It was well worth the money.

gintaras said:

and now as our wisest of wise has spoken up we all bent in agreement nod.

+1, Music, agree on most your findings, if speak about tuning you and James hit the nail on the head, upper mids transition to trebles is exactly where i felt bit congested sound, but for bass i wish bit linear transition, actually i misspelled frequencies since after a bottle of good wine, ASG2 issue is too aggressive mid bass masks much of what we would find in sub bass... However, however, i agree that ASG2 was not planned HiFi or linear and fun element with them exceeds all nitty gritty complaints. I am still missing this "hooligan" IEM

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Music and you are spot on. I have plenty of choice for a cold flat iem like er4, f111, miracle, uerm and I love and still use er4 for that purpose. But the last thing I need is to have my asg2 to sound like or plot like anything like them. I bought them specifically for a highly resolving fun and edgy sig - which it delivered in spades. It even has a very nice mid for vocal!

I felt it is a bargin at the base usd550 price just for the transparency. I paid way more for the custom shell option and still feel it is worth every penny. It won't provide me with a consistently quite good performance across ALL genres like a w4, but with the right ones it sounds as GREAT as any totl iems.

Can't wait for mine to come back.

im getting my ASG-2 on tuesday from a fellow headfier
 
really interested in just exactly how these sound considering how polar the impressions have been

I wondered same thing recently, received mine last week. Im gonna say it all depends what else u have heard. Seems like most of the "bad" reveiws are ppl who have heard many other high end customs, fit ear, tralucent, etc. myself, ive had a few nice iems, ath cks 1000, jvc, earsonics....these blow those away imo. So i definately say they are great for price. Better than sub $500 iems, as they should be, but not quite as good as $1000+ iems, and i dont expect them too

Mikaveli, cannot agree since many who heard ASG2 also had listened to 1K+ $$$ IEMs. i have 1p2 with silver gold cable and applying your logic i assume i must not love ASG2, however i liked a lot what i heard.
 
KKCC and H20 summed up this phenomenon very well, ASG2 is not about accuracy, it's all about fun and intimacy of music listen. i admit 1P2 outclasses ASG2 in many respects, still i see ASG2 as my second IEM to compliment 1p2 and it costs less than FitEar TG334 or Parterre which i would love to hear but not sure if price would smile to me.
 
Besides my purpose of having portable setup perhaps makes me even more critical about any IEM i listen because i compare this to my high-end system and my ultimate goal is to receive same kind of pleasure and sensations which i must suspect is nearly impossible for any IEM irrespective of price because proper front end most often will easily outshine IEMs or headphones.

Quote:

gintaras said:

Mikaveli, cannot agree since many who heard ASG2 also had listened to 1K+ $$$ IEMs. i have 1p2 with silver gold cable and applying your logic i assume i must not love ASG2, however i liked a lot what i heard.
 
KKCC and H20 summed up this phenomenon very well, ASG2 is not about accuracy, it's all about fun and intimacy of music listen. i admit 1P2 outclasses ASG2 in many respects, still i see ASG2 as my second IEM to compliment 1p2 and it costs less than FitEar TG334 or Parterre which i would love to hear but not sure if price would smile to me.
 
Besides my purpose of having portable setup perhaps makes me even more critical about any IEM i listen because i compare this to my high-end system and my ultimate goal is to receive same kind of pleasure and sensations which i must suspect is nearly impossible for any IEM irrespective of price because proper front end most often will easily outshine IEMs or headphones.

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That is kinda going along with what i am saying.  Im not saying if u heard $1000 iems u cant like asg2.  Im saying if u have heard top of lines rigs, u could have a stricter judging than if i am comparing it to jvc fxz 200, cks1000 etc.  For exaple, someone had said asg became congested at certain times compared with the 1+2, but i would never of came to that conclusion if i had only heard the jvc, monster, etc. 

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mikaveli06 said:

That is kinda going along with what i am saying.  Im not saying if u heard $1000 iems u cant like asg2.  Im saying if u have heard top of lines rigs, u could have a stricter judging than if i am comparing it to jvc fxz 200, cks1000 etc.  For exaple, someone had said asg became congested at certain times compared with the 1+2, but i would never of came to that conclusion if i had only heard the jvc, monster, etc. 

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The thing is though, the 1P2's specialty is it's soundstage. It's why people flock to it.
 
As for tonal balance, what's hardly mentioned is how thin the 1P2 sounds right after switching from the ASG-2. IMO, instruments aren't as tactile anymore, and vocals lose the magic they had on the ASG-2. 

mikaveli06 said:

I wondered same thing recently, received mine last week. Im gonna say it all depends what else u have heard. Seems like most of the "bad" reveiws are ppl who have heard many other high end customs, fit ear, tralucent, etc. myself, ive had a few nice iems, ath cks 1000, jvc, earsonics....these blow those away imo. So i definately say they are great for price. Better than sub $500 iems, as they should be, but not quite as good as $1000+ iems, and i dont expect them too

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Sound "quality" is only very loosely tied to price, if at all. Many expensive high-end iems have glaring flaws imo.

Agreed completely there. While sound quality isnt tied to price, expectations of the quality is. Also, in general speaking, those with higher priced iems have probably heard more iems/cans in ge.eral. As most ppl start lower and upgrade over and over, most ppl dont go from apple earpods to customs, hd 800 etc. sothey again have broader range of products to compare.

Example....only steak u ever had was sirloin or round (lower iems), and one day u get a nice portehouse or ribeye (asg2). U could not compare ur steak as strictly as someone who had $300/lb kobe beef.

Though it is possible someone still likes there sirloin the best.