Aroma audio Ace

I got these from @MusicTeck for a 1 day audition (initiated and funded by me). I was so impressed with my Aroma Audio Jewel that I wanted to see what else Aroma had to offer in the form of the Ace, a flagship IEM they originally released in 2018.

I listened for about 8 hrs over the course of my 24 hr audition period, mostly in the "Ace" (balanced) setting, with some time in the "Jack" (bass) and “King” (vocal) settings. Credit to @audio123 , his 2018 review was the only English language instruction I could readily find on the switch settings.


I listen primarily to trance and rap (~65% between the two) with the remaining being pop, metal, r&b, and other EDM genres.







Overall, I was very impressed and can't believe these have been out since 2018 with very little western presence or hype. In a world where Odin is ~3k USD, and Trailli 6, I'd say these are appropriately priced. I judge pricing mostly on technical attributes (detail retrieval, imaging, dynamics, etc.)



The overall sound signature is more towards the analytical side, but mid centric (Odin not Evo, Fourte not trio, Ely/Phonix not Ext....) The signature is a bit warmer in Jack mode, but the overall character isn't changed substantially.



Soundstage: Width on par with Jewel, which as far as IEMs are concerned is only bested by Trailli imo (slightly). Layering is a bit better on Jewel



Detail Retrieval: Best I've heard > Utopia, Jewel, Odin etc... I could hear the pic scratching guitar strings, tambourines jiggling slightly at the end of each hit. This perception of detail though, may be related to the treble



Treble: Extension is good, plenty of air, on par with Jewel. The lower treble (and upper mids) sound boosted with some added weight to the notes, likely contributing to the perception of detail I was hearing. I think this is very unusual as you run the risk of making something shouty/shrill/harsh etc... but that is not the case here, its boosted, but smooth. And I tend to be fairly sensitive to this region.



Mids:

I think this is a midcentric IEM. The tuning of the mids is very familiar, so I'm thinking Jewel mids were borrowed from the Ace. They're forward across the spectrum with that upper mid specialness that the Jewel has. Vocals (male and female) sound exceptional and really shine as there's less bass competition.



Bass:

Extension is good and it is not anemic by any means, (actually boosted, even in Ace mode) but you will not mistake this for DD bass. It is very well executed BA bass, impact good, decay a bit faster than I'd like, but in keeping with the more analytical tone. Subbass is present but not much rumble. Caveat to all of this is the fact that I daily drive DD bass and have done since I sold my U18t ~2 years ago. In jack mode the bass is slightly boosted and the upper mids slightly reduced, but the overall character is not substantially changed.



Underpinning all of this is an overall clarity that I've grown accustomed to with the Jewel. Likely due in part to the exceptional imaging.



Easy to drive, volume at 30 on low gain with my DX300.



These are great for pop and anything vocal focused (probably best I've heard for vocal oriented music), most of my Trance/Edm, and did exceptionally with the few classical pieces I tried (piano sonatas, horn and violin concertos). Essentially anything that doesn't feature a prominent (intentionally overwhelming) bass line, that includes a lot of contemporary rap. But, one example that just did not work was Come Back Baby - Pusha T (don't listen with children or if sensitive to profanity.....) The vocal (mid) was competing with the very prominent bass line and the treble was an afterthought, overall sounded off and incoherent. I couldn't replicate this with any other song, but this one was continually off.



For my music, Jewel still reigns supreme of the summit-fi analytical options, but I can see a good number of people preferring the Ace. I can see these being extremely popular in their home market and they are definitely a competitor and worthy of demo/purchase in the west. These belong in the top tier IEM discussion and based on what I've heard, the pricing is relatively justified.



PS: I tried the "King" vocal setting briefly, but that experience made think these could find a place in my collection which already includes the Jewel. It shifts into an inverted V signature with less bass and slightly less detail, going against everything I stand for, but it sounds so good with vocal tracks.