Aurisonics Rockets – initial impressions
I picked up the Aurisonics Rockets recently after discovering their ASG series (see some of my previous reviews), so was looking to hear what Dale and his team could do with a micro-driver and some titanium shells compared to my previous micro-driver experience (the Flare R2A).
About me: newly minted audiophile, late 30s, long time music fan and aspiring to be a reasonably inept drummer. Listen to at least 2 hours of music a day on my commute to work – prefer IEMs for out and about, and a large pair of headphones when I have the house to myself and a glass in my hand. Recently started converting my library to FLAC and 320kbps MP3, and do most of my other listening through Spotify or Tidal HiFi. I am a fan of rock, acoustic (apart from folk) and sarcasm. Oh yeah, and a small amount of electronica. Not a basshead, but I do love a sound with some body to it. Please take all views expressed below with a pinch of salt – all my reviews are a work in progress based on my own perceptions and personal preferences, and your own ears may tell you a different story.
Tech specs
· Drivers: 5.1mm Precision Micro-Dynamic
· Frequency Response: 18Hz to 22kHz
· Impendence:16 ohm +/ 10% @ 1kHz
· Sensitivity: 105dB@1mW
· Passive Noise Reduction: NRR 26dB
· Construction: Precision Machined 100% Titanium shell
· Cable: Proprietary Quad-Weave aramid Cable
Unboxing
The Rockets arrive in a tin the same size as a box of well known breath mints, and the first thing that strikes you is how small the shells are and how much the packaging “suits” the overall ethos of the Rockets (sturdy, no-nonsense and able to take a good battering). Included in the mint-tin is a nice pocket friendly leather carry-pouch with an embossed logo and separate pocket for tips/accessories on the side, an assortment of Aurisonics proprietary SureSeal tips, some tri-tab and anti-loop attachmemts for securing the IEMs in your ears in different manners, and the IEMs themselves. The packing is simple but stylish, with the clean lines of the tin and the classy leather pouch bring a nice premium feel to the enclosed contents.
Build quality
The build quality of the Rockets is possibly some of the highest grade (and definitely hardest wearing) I have seen on an IEM to date. The IEMs themselves are made out of titanium, and are barely bigger than the 5.1mm micro-driver they encase. The shells are totally sealed, giving the impression of small metal pharmaceutical tablets attached to two cables. The name Rockets most likely comes from the look they take on when the “Tri-tab” fittings are slid over the barrel of the IEM – these are designed to help grip the surfaces of your ear to ensure stability and once you get used to them, they do provide a good anchoring solution. They also look like the tail section of a 1950s rocket (or any car from that era with fins), so do look quite unusual. The reason they are needed is due to the cable exit from the IEM shell – to keep the size small, the cable exits at the rear of the shell, not along the bottom side, so the IEM and cable make a straight line when inserted into your ear, rather than the cable pointing down at a right angle. Aurisonics also include some anti-loop ear guides which grip the conch of your ear if you want to wear the cables over ear (which is otherwise pretty difficult), which slide on in the same manner as the tri-tabs and are a nice touch.
The cabling on the IEM is non-removable, but built from quad-weave aramid material, which is capable of holding weights more in line with an industrial block and tackle without snapping, rather than the paltry 5 or so grams each earpiece weighs. This is terminated in a rubberised 45 degree 3.5mm connector, which again looks built to last. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the angle, this means it doesn’t sit quite flush with your DAP or phone when inserted, which can be a minor irritant. This also means that the cable is prone to microphonics when not worn over-ear, which can detract from the experience somewhat. As an overall impression, the Rockets exude the sort of build quality that makes you think that they will be around a lot longer than their owners (did I also mention they were waterproof? If not – they are). In fact, you can probably imagine James Bond taking a pair out his ears and garrotting a bad guy with the cord before putting one of the IEM shells in his trusty Walther after he runs out of bullets and using it to take down the main villain (or at the very least, the villain’s cat)*, they are that impressive.
*Please don’t try any of this at home – leave it to the fictional British spy fraternity
Ergonomics
While the IEMs are minute, the exit of the cabling does make them slightly more difficult to obtain a good fit if you are moving around, necessitating the Anti-Loop/Tri-Tab systems. Personally, they can feel slightly awkward and in need of readjustment after a period of time unless I am using Comply foam tips to aid with the retention, but I do have very large ear canals, so those people with more normal sized ears will probably find the fit very secure.
Sound quality
Test gear:
LG G Flex 2 (with and without Brainwavz AP001 mini-amp)
Sony NWZ-A15 (as above)
Sansa Clip+ (Rockboxed, amped as above)
Microsoft Surface Pro 2 (straight from the output jack)
Test tracks (mainly 320kbps MP3 or FLAC/Tidal HiFi):
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B. / Wasting Time
Blackberry Smoke – The Whipporwill (album)
Slash – Shadow Life / Bad Rain (my reference tracks for bass impact and attack, guitar “crunch”)
Slash & Beth Hart – Mother Maria (vocal tone)
Richie Kotzen – Come On Free (bass tone)
Otis Redding – various
Elvis – various
Leon Bridges – Coming Home (album)
Foy Vance – various
Blues Traveler
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (album)
Sigma - various
Rudimental – various
Rodrigo y Gabriela – various
Mavis Staples – Livin’ On A High Note
General notes on the sound signature
Coming from the ASG series, I was interested to hear what the engineers at Aurisonics had managed to achieve with a single 5.1mm driver, compared to their previous 14.2 and 15mm bass-monsters. The Rockets provide a different sound signature, with the emphasis being on a far more neutral presentation across the board. The famous Aurisonics mids are still in attendance (and in fact could probably be considered the star of the show), but this time are flanked with a neutral lower end and a smooth, slightly rolled off treble. These ‘phones are a little too musical to be considered truly neutral in my ears, but do provide a more balanced approach than the bass-heavy ASGs (the 1Plus excepted). Another overall observation since starting to listen to these IEMs is the ease with which they deal with quick or intricate passages of music. These things are
quick. While that seems like an odd thing to describe a headphone as for the non-audiophiles out there (which I count myself as), what I mean by that is that when you are listening to some blistering drum solos from someone like Mike Portnoy of the Winery Dogs or some serious guitar workout, the notes all fire in staccato succession rather than muddling into each other as they can with some less precise IEMs I have heard. While not a deal breaker for me either way, this is one of the first IEMs I have heard that has given me such a clear impression of speed.
Highs
The highs on the Rockets are close to my ideal signature – clear, with decent substance but no sibilance or screech. Compared to some IEMs, they might not hit right to the top of the spectrum in the same way as something more treble-heavy like the Echobox Finders, but the tonality is very natural and pretty much perfect for my preference. Due to the lack of that final dash of “sparkle” up top, the IEMs are pretty non-fatiguing for extended listening. You are never left with a feeling that there is anything major missing from the higher frequencies, with cymbals sounding crisp and lifelike but never overpowering, and a decent level of crunch to rock guitar when needed. Fans of treble-heavy presentation may find these a little too smooth for their personal preferences, but for everyone else, I don’t imagine there will be many complaints.
Mids
Full, tonally beautiful and just out and out musical, the mid-range of this IEM is a thing of rare quality. There is a beautifully natural tonality it imparts to male and female voices (in common with some of the other Aurisonics stable) which really sucks you into the music, and leaves you feeling like you are listening to the singer in person rather than through a set or earphones. There is a smooth, liquid quality to the presentation, which leaves the notes hanging in your ears just long enough to wring every drop of emotion possible out of them before moving on to the next one with a fresh sense of wonder. Apologies for the superlatives, but the mid-range really is THAT good – from the dulcet tones of Mavis Staples to the chugging guitar work of Slash and Blackberry Smoke, the full smooth sound is a pleasure to listen to. Guitar music is pretty well handled by the tiny micro-driver, making these an excellent choice for those of you with a leaning towards more guitar-based fare. These are not the most detailed in presentation due to their smooth nature, but do leave you with an impression of the detail under the surface so never feel lacking in that area. Texture and placement of instruments is also very well reproduced, lending more to that authentic “feel” you get when slipping them in to your ears. This is a very vocal and mid-centric IEM, so the forward nature of the presentation suits it down to a tee.
Bass
The bass is of a very high quality, and of average quantity compared to the other Aurisonics range. There is a lovely blend between mid-bass “blast” and sub-bass “purr” which extends reasonably deep, but not quite as deep as its other siblings. Texture is excellent, and when bass is present in a track, the Rockets will serve it up to the listener in decent quantity, without bleeding at all into the lush midrange or higher frequencies. These could not be described as a basshead headphone, but the quality and just north-of-neutral quantity should be more than enough for the average listener to be happy with. The speed of the driver helps with this, as it copes well with complex drum beats and passages of high-speed music, lending authority and weight to the bottom end of the sound spectrum.
Soundstage/separation
The Rockets have a reasonable soundstage for something so small – it isn’t gigantic, but more than enough to give a slight “out of head” feeling, with a good spread from left to right. Separation and layering of instruments are both excellent, however. Despite the lush presentation, it is still easy to pick out positional cues in an almost 3D soundscape on tracks like “Better Man” by Leon Bridges, which is a trick that is difficult for IEMs with a much larger soundscape to play with. Something else that helps in this regard for me is the isolation offered by these tiny earbuds – as they are totally sealed, the level of noise attenuation is excellent, which really helps cut down the external noise and filter out any unwanted background sounds, leaving you free to concentrate on the music.
Amping
These can be played from a phone or DAP without amping, but you will need to give them more fuel than usual due to the lack of sensitivity. Amping with either the Fiio or Brainwavz provided more than enough power to make them flex their muscles properly, and they give the impression of being able to scale quite well with more powerful sources.
Comparisons
Flare R2A – while these are also a micro-driver IEM, and my previous daily driver, they have a slightly different presentation to the Rockets. The R2A are less lush and more “pure” than the Rockets, with a slightly warmer bass response and slightly more rolled off treble. They are very evenly matched apart from that, with the R2A winning on soundstage, the Rockets winning on build, and just about fighting to a tie on the actual sound produced in other areas.
MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 – I have only recently acquired these, so this is just an initial imporession, but the P1 is a sharper sounding and more “V-shaped” presentation than the Rockets. The P1 edges it in definition and detail in the treble, with a little more crunch to proceedings than the Rockets while still remaining non-fatiguing. The mid-range on the P1 is more laid back than the Rockets, but very well presented, so that would be down to personal preference. Bass is roughly similar on both, with excellent texture but with the Rockets having the slight edge on speed. Again, a very close call.
Overall conclusion
The Rockets are a very impressive piece of engineering, and are a very musical and entertaining listen. They fall just a hair short of being my favourite IEMs to date due to the fit and placement issues I get (due to my large ears) and the tiny bit extra I would like to hear in the treble. That does feel very much like picking Einstein up on the way he wrote the “E” when he wrote down his famous theory of how we are all relatives (or something like that) – these are a brilliant sounding IEM, and for those of you looking for something which is on the musical side of neutral, with great mids, a build that wouldn’t look out of place in an Iron Man movie and an overall musicality that is hard to ignore, these will fit the bill nicely.
), excellent ergonomics and isolation. On top of that they’re also waterproof (IP 65 rated).
