[music_4321]

Quote:

It would be more like $560 usd, which is around 430€

Let's say the price was $560 USD — when you factor in import duty / taxes, handling fees & foreign exchange commission fees, the final price for EU countries can easily be ~550€ (~$710 USD), and even more if shipping turns out to be (much) more expensive.

 

[Tom Yum Goong]

Let's say the price was $560 USD — when you factor in import duty / taxes, handling fees & foreign exchange commission fees, the final price for EU countries can easily be ~550€ (~$710 USD), and even more if shipping turns out to be (much) more expensive.

Exactly :-\
But they are still worth considering for me, if these IEMs really can keep up with other ones that are quite a bit more expensive.
Really looking forward to some more reviews!

 

[Mimouille]

Quote:

I can answer the 1plus2 versus AS-2. I'll do more of a comparison in my AS-2 review thread, but they have different signatures.

The bass on the 1plus2 is not adjustable, it is slightly behind the mids, so not for bassheads. It is really excellent, but only if you want the signature. The AS-2 or ASG-2 will have more mid-bass, so a bassier sound.

One issue that the $1,400 1plus2 has is that there are some mild flaws with the timbre. In the mids, there is a raspy sound to strings. The treble sizzle is slightly sibilant and the cymbals sound slightly strange.
The warmer, thicker, mid-bassier AS-2 does better with timbre in these areas. It can have some issues with timbre is the bass vent is turned up in the lower mids, but this can be corrected by adjusting the bass vent. If you like the aurisonics' signature, then you've saved $600 for the custom fit AS-2 or $950 for the universal ASG-2. That's really unbelievable.

The 1plus2 obviously is excellent, I wish it had better timbre as I notice the rasp. Several others have heard it as well. However, as is common for audio, many-even the majority- don't mention or mind it.

May I ask what sources / tips you are using for the 1Plus2 ? Some of the things you mention about them being "raspy" do not occur with adequate source / tips in my experience.
 
Otherwise if I read between the lines here (without a huge effort that is to say), what I hear is:

1. People should buy the Aurisonics and save money unless they like timbre flaws and raspy mids
2. The vast majority of US 1Plus2 users do not have a refined enough ear to hear such things

 
Is that more or less it?
 
Another thing that is interesting is that Dale from Aurisonics, reportedly from a meeting where he heard the 1Plus2, also thought they were "raspy" (he used the exact same term). So you are not alone in hearing this apparently.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

Let's say the price was $560 USD — when you factor in import duty / taxes, handling fees & foreign exchange commission fees, the final price for EU countries can easily be ~550€ (~$710 USD), and even more if shipping turns out to be (much) more expensive.

 
That's unfortunate 

.
 
Well, the base price of the ASG-2 is $500, and shipping should be a maximum of $50-60. $100 import duties on a $500 item seems like quite a lot. I think Aurisonics has/had/will have a distributor in the UK/Europe, so hopefully that alleviates the troubles for Europeans.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

 
That's unfortunate 

.
 
Well, the base price of the ASG-2 is $500, and shipping should be a maximum of $50-60. $100 import duties on a $500 item seems like quite a lot. I think Aurisonics has/had/will have a distributor in the UK/Europe, so hopefully that alleviates the troubles for Europeans.

 
Depending on price of the item when shipping from outside of the EU you have to add between 25-30%. Shipping is sometimes included in the price of the item itself, subject to the same % increase, so in your example of $560 the whole thing becomes around $150 more expensive for us living this side of the pond, that's over 25% from the original price of $560. 
 
That can sometimes make this sparrow quite grumpy.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Aurisonics has worked out distribution deals in parts of Asia, so hopefully they'll have some way of selling to Europe as well. My 334 are being delivered today. Wish I had the G-2 to corroborate your statements Eke!

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

 
Depending on price of the item when shipping from outside of the EU you have to add between 25-30%. Shipping is sometimes included in the price of the item itself, subject to the same % increase, so in your example of $560 the whole thing becomes around $150 more expensive for us living this side of the pond, that's over 25% from the original price of $560. 
 
That can sometimes make this sparrow quite grumpy.

 
 
Come to America! We have lots of freedom to spare for you ...
 

 
 
 

Aurisonics has worked out distribution deals in parts of Asia, so hopefully they'll have some way of selling to Europe as well. My 334 are being delivered today. Wish I had the G-2 to corroborate your statements Eke!

 

Finally.
 
I'll be sending my ASG-2 back with the 334 for the 334's owner to have a go at it, so there'll be at least one other set of impressions.

 

[Sinocelt]

Quote:

Depending on price of the item when shipping from outside of the EU you have to add between 25-30%. Shipping is sometimes included in the price of the item itself, subject to the same % increase

 
Not "sometimes," in my French experience. 

 
 

Aurisonics has worked out distribution deals in parts of Asia

 
Really? Where? I'd love to try the ASG-2, see if it can really (to my ears) compete with the excellent TG!334.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

 
 
Really? Where? I'd love to try the ASG-2, see if it can really (to my ears) compete with the excellent TG!334.

 
I know they  have a preorder with Musica Acoustics, though the price is higher than MSRP.

 

[eke2k6]

Flat-4 comparison will be out tonight.

 

[gnarlsagan]

After much consideration I'm selling my ASG-2. The major problems I have are with the mid-bass emphasis and corresponding lack of sub-bass. Like eke said earlier, the bass port affects mid-bass more than sub bass, so if I want an acceptable amount of mid-bass then sub-bass extension suffers.

Honestly with mid-bass where I want it on the ASG-2, I can discern more sub-bass detail on the ER4S!

Also the mids. Trent Reznor's vocals on Pretty Hate Machine by NIN are buried, and there is sibilance on just about every "s".

I could say more but the ASG-2 just isn't what I'm looking for, and these issues keep me from enjoying them on a lot of tracks.

If anyone's interested send me a pm.

 

[EveTan]

Quote:

After much consideration I'm selling my ASG-2. The major problems I have are with the mid-bass emphasis and corresponding lack of sub-bass. Like eke said earlier, the bass port affects mid-bass more than sub bass, so if I want an acceptable amount of mid-bass then sub-bass extension suffers.

Honestly with mid-bass where I want it on the ASG-2, I can discern more sub-bass detail on the ER4S!

Also the mids. Trent Reznor's vocals on Pretty Hate Machine by NIN are buried, and there is sibilance on just about every "s".

I could say more but the ASG-2 just isn't what I'm looking for, and these issues keep me from enjoying them on a lot of tracks.

If anyone's interested send me a pm.

Wait, what does mid-bass and sub-bass mean again? Like what example/sound would correspond to that range?

 

[gnarlsagan]

Sub-bass is the really low bass that rumbles. Mid-bass is higher up. 

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

After much consideration I'm selling my ASG-2. The major problems I have are with the mid-bass emphasis and corresponding lack of sub-bass. Like eke said earlier, the bass port affects mid-bass more than sub bass, so if I want an acceptable amount of mid-bass then sub-bass extension suffers.

Honestly with mid-bass where I want it on the ASG-2, I can discern more sub-bass detail on the ER4S!

Also the mids. Trent Reznor's vocals on Pretty Hate Machine by NIN are buried, and there is sibilance on just about every "s".

I could say more but the ASG-2 just isn't what I'm looking for, and these issues keep me from enjoying them on a lot of tracks.

If anyone's interested send me a pm.

 
I'm not surprised 

 
Given the fact that you thought even the GR07 MKII was too bassy and bright, it was only a matter of time.
 
I also don't find vocals to be buried at all. However, you're coming from the ER4, which has a pretty sizeable bump that starts at 1Khz. 
 

 

[gnarlsagan]

Quote:

 
I'm not surprised 

 
Given the fact that you thought even the GR07 MKII was too bassy and bright, it was only a matter of time.
 
I also don't find vocals to be buried at all. However, you're coming from the ER4, which has a pretty sizeable bump that starts at 1Khz. 
 

 
It's true the ER4 is my benchmark. The reason that it has a bump at ~2kHz is because that's how sound from a diffuse field reaches the eardrum. Mid-frequencies are boosted by the shape of the ear. Iems bypass that boost, and so they need to reproduce it to mimic sound from the air. The exact boost that everyone needs is different, but for me the ER4S (with red filters to warm it up just a bit) sounds the most like sound coming from a diffuse field. Experiments with many people have shown that those people report that iems with a bump at ~2kHz sound the most like a reference speaker. Without the mid-emphasis, iems don't sound like realistic sounds to me, and to people involved in these experiments. If people had reported something differently, then we would have a different diffuse field reference. Why more iem companies don't use the DF target baffles me. This is how TOTL full size headphones and speakers sound (with a bit more bass compared to the ER4S admittedly). I'm not actually sure most companies are following any target whatsoever, since people will buy just about anything these days. 
 
When listening to the ASG-2, too often all I think about is MID-BASS and TREBLE SPIKE, which is very distracting. For many tracks it isn't as apparent, and they sound quite accurate, but those tend to be simple acoustic tracks. But for albums by Muse and Queen, for example, vocals are just missing the mid/upper-mid emphasis, and then "S's" and "T's" are quite forward and sharp comparatively in an unnatural way. Freddie Mercury should sound strong and forward especially in the upper registers, which is not the case. He actually sounds a bit behind in the mix on most tracks. 
 
 Eke do you think the sub-bass is too far behind the mid-bass? And how about the treble compared to the GR07? I think the ASG-2 is definitely more treble forward than the GR07.