Upon entering the Copernicus Center in Chicago, I found myself walking into a small little audio get-together. Tucked towards the back corner of the room was the little Aurisonics booth with Banana stands holding up the ASG series IEMs: 2s, 1s (revised 1.3), and 1S. To the right stood the beauties enclosed in their casing. Between them a showcase of gorgeous, shiny faceplates.
Dale was there helping out a few people who all seemed to be very intrigued and impressed with the ASG-2. Throughout the hour and half I spent up there you’d see a person step up, skeptical about IEMs. In general, they all had something in common… The belief that IEMs couldn’t handle bass properly. Long story short, after hearing the ASG-2 they left believers. It seemed that everyone that demoed the 2s liked them quite a bit.
Since the 2s were being demo’d, I took to the ASG-1S first They looked absolutely gorgeous in their polished shells. Upon listening, the tuning was definitely an improvement to the 1.2s. The midrange proved to be sweeter in contrast. The new shell design fit wonderfully. In short, from the 1.2, the bass is more controlled, treble more present, while the upper vocals took a bit more stage.
I had emailed Dale before about my ASG-1.2s. My measurements found something really odd… They didn’t measure properly at all (extreme mismatch). Dale was able to diagnose the problem with a few breaths, literally. The bass port got clogged with something.
Dale offered to fix the problem for me. This sort of problem just showed how, on the IEM level, everything is extremely tiny. Tiny things are extremely sensitive. A port the size of a human hair getting clogged caused nearly a 10 dB drop in bass.
The 2s were free now, so I took an audition; bass port set low, but not minimum. I feel like the 2s are a lot like the Westone W4. They don’t do anything wrong, they just are enjoyable and a fun to listen to. Accuracy takes a step back, musicality takes a step forward; they present the music to you in an effortless fashion.
As expected, Dale wanted to show the effects of the bass port. The next question came out… How much do you want it turned up? Well, I decided to push the IEM to the limits.
My worst fears diverted, the bass port bumped the sub-bass and maybe a bit of the low bass. That said, regardless of where the bass port was set, I found the IEM to still sound great technically.
Preference came to mind when talking about peaks. How there were a few people who didn’t like the spike that was in the original 1s. He then pointed out that I was one of the ones that liked the original ASG-1 and its spike. He offered to repair my ASG-1 with that original signature; I could also go the route of the 1.3. I went ahead and demoed the 1.3.
From the 1S, the differences were minute really. Dale described the 1.3 as being a little more refined than the 1S. I want to say I agree with him, but it could be the placebo talking. Either way, the 1.3 are great IEMs nonetheless. It’s been a while since I heard the 1.0/1.1, so I elected to go with the 1.3. I don’t regret that decision.
The conversations we had took several shifts. Some of which I can talk about, some I can’t. Dale knows audio. He is confident in his knowledge, but does it in a very fun manner. He’s got lots of experience in the past and lots of plans for the future. I can’t spoil anything, but the future looks bright and promising.
I came in around 2 PM that day; a little later than I would have wanted to come in; we can blame traffic for that. Left around 3:30. I have to say, the hour and a half flew by quicker than I expected. Dale is a great guy with a fun personality; approachable and knowledgable.
Oh yeah, the AS(G)s also come with a case that doesn’t require you to have a personal The Hulk to open now. No more demonstration videos necessary.
If they haven't, I'm in for a treat 
I don't remember too much of a change over time on my asg-1... Though its been so long I probably forgot. Their toe tapping nature makes you forget stuff pretty easily though.
If you compare with a relatively stable headphone, you do take out the head burn-in element from the game. You essentially show that it can't be your brain adjusting to a signature (cause when compared directly to another signature, the differences would remain the same). So you are stuck with driver burn-in or tip break-in. I've heard the ASG-1.0/1.1 burn-in and the ASG-1.2 burn in. I feel the 1.3s I have on hand have already run their 250 hours
*I know someone wants to come around and flame me about the tip break-in statement... If you do decide to, know I have some old Etymotic tips that show that tips do in fact break in...
. I'm pretty surprised though. Really having heard people hear "miraculous" changes in headphones, I never really bought into it. I wouldn't say that these had a "miracle" change, but in a way they did. If only for the simple fact that I no longer have a huge need to EQ. They are now at the point where they can hold their own with almost any music. I think I may still need to EQ for certain select songs, but otherwise, this might be the first portable headphone I may never ever need to touch the EQ with, which is rather nice.Not to take anything away from Aurisonics, but obviously people who have little-to-no prior experience with high-end IEMs will be blown away by the ASG-2
Yeah, which is why I have been switching between my very stable headphones. I did get used to the sound signature though. For so long I used headphones that were V shaped or otherwise. Never really neutral or midforward. So it did take some getting used to. Have to say I'm enjoying it. And from what I've seen in other reviews and in my initial review, if they sound like ASG-1.2s then they aren't fully burned in yet. It is like they start off as 1.2s and undergo a transformation into 1.3s.
Hey, I said if I heard it I'd believe it
Well here is the thing, they aren't TOTL. They are rather high end, yes, but they aren't TOTL. They are often compared to TOTL so that is a good thing. I demoed them back to back against the vaulted 1P2s. And felt that the differences weren't enough to warrant a $600-700 price difference. Which is saying a lot.
Now the TG!334s... That is another story. I think it is the clarity of the fully BA design that did them in. Not only did the TG!334 have comparable soundstage, but its level of detail was something else. They weren't as fun, but they technically sounded better. I'm thinking now I need a pair of BA IEMs for critical listening. I don't think dynamic driver IEMs can match the accuracy of BA. But darn it if I don't love the timbre that dynamic drivers produce. If I can find a BA that can produce a natural timbre I'll be torn to say the least. I'll start on my BA quest after I finish my home set up quest.
As for dynamics not being able to be as accurate as a BA, HiFiMan RE272; nuf' said.
The ASG-2s weren't designed really as detail monsters... They are designed more to be a warm, inviting sound signature that is entirely non-fatiguing. This sort of signature does have its drawbacks, but very favorable for its inoffensive sound. So don't expect the ASG-2 to really produce the high detailing that you'd expect from an IEM that was designed for that
