[BS5711]

At the point that you are testing it at, everything under 400Ohms will sound like crap whether it is variable or not. There is a pretty good reason for the 1/8 rule of thumb. So, all graphs measured with a source that is within this 1/8 limit will look the same(ish) (it might look a bit different, but only because of the differing power structures of the source amplifier).

Having said that, you are right that the NP are indeed variable in impedance (rising as the FR rises), because of the very nature of their design (in fact all BAs are variable), made using inductive parts. Which, as you cited is the exact opposite of an ortho dynamic driver, having no inductive parts. But, at this level of output impedance, anything with lower impedance will not sound good. Having such a low impedance, the NP really needs to have an output impedance of less than one for proper sound reproduction. Any higher than that, and you start to skew the FR curve. This actually would also hold true for any sort of transducer.

Also, because you used the LO into your IEMs, it will exacerbate the poor sound reproduction because as @firesign pointed out, it isn't meant for headphones/IEMs. Assuming it is a true LO, this means that there is NO voltage swing, and we all know that you need that as you turn up the volume to properly dampen or excite the drivers. If you want to properly test using a high output impedance, I would order some (varying) filters that will add more output impedance to the mix, and use the PO where the amplifier can properly do its job.

Thanks but I don’t want to test anything.

I used the LO of the Gryphon because it was an easy high impedance source that I had to hand. I know with a planar IEM off the same LO source it makes no practical difference to the sound so it was a convenient quick and dirty check in the impact of a very high output impedance to very crudely establish that the impedance versus FR of the NP was indeed nowhere near flat.

I was therefore interested what that plot looked like just for academic interest.

I have several sources that have an output impedance of between 0.2 and 1.0 ohms so I am good in terms of what is technically appropriate.

It seems that perhaps that plot isn’t readily available, all good.

 

[Danx3k]

So, just a small update on my Aurora impressions, having had the iem now for about ten days.

To put it simply - I’m in love. I think the Aurora is amazing and the tuning suits me perfectly.

Despite maybe thinking pairing it with my Cayin RU-6 would soften the treble being an already relaxed-treble iem, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It makes an extremely smooth and lush sounding iem even more smooth and lush- with even more warmth but without taking away the details up top.

This particular pairing puts a smile on my face every time I pop the iem’s in and listen to some music.

The Aurora also fits my ears and canals much easier than my other iem’s from Penon - I find their nozzles to be too short for me. I understand this is personal and different for everyone due to our unique ear anatomy.

I recently purchased the Penon Turbo, after the Aurora, but before it arrived. Whilst it’s a very good iem, it didn’t have that special “wow” factor for me. So, whilst I can honestly say I liked it, didn’t love it, as I do with the Aurora and my 10AE.

I’m so impressed with what Aür did with the Aurora that I sold my Turbo and I’m now looking to purchase either the Alita or Neon Pro.

So far, I’m leaning towards the Alita, but I’m still flipping from one to the other on an almost hourly basis .

I always thought I loved energetic treble, and whilst I do enjoy it, the Aurora has come to make me realise I love a more relaxed smooth organic sound even more. So, I think the Alita may suit me more so.

Anyone who’s on the fence about the Aurora, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a fantastic iem, and my favourite iem to date and slightly favour it over my also loved 10AE. Whilst I love the bass on the 10AE, I also slightly prefer the bass on the Aurora. It’s just the right amount of that beautiful voluptuous bass for me to sound coherent with the rest of the frequency range.

 

[SweetCans928]

I’m so impressed with what Aür did with the Aurora that I sold my Turbo and I’m now looking to purchase either the Alita or Neon Pro.

So far, I’m leaning towards the Alita, but I’m still flipping from one to the other on an almost hourly basis .

I always thought I loved energetic treble, and whilst I do enjoy it, the Aurora has come to make me realise I love a more relaxed smooth organic sound even more. So, I think the Alita may suit me more so.

You might find that Alita and Aurora are too similar sounding. Not trying to deter you, just sharing my experience. When I first got Aurora I was a bit disappointed by that similarity, but came to appreciate them even more thanks to their slight differences. I've definitely been impressed with Alita and how it manages to sound so clear and detailed while being relatively dark and weighty, and it is nigh unbeatable with male vocals. It tends to take a minute or so to adjust to Alita's sig, but once I do, I don't find anything(treble) to be missing anymore. And Alita has pretty great technicalities too, kind of reminding me a bit of the IER-M9 with its resolution, separation, and imaging chops.

I find Aurora even more natural and organic sounding than Alita, because of the increased brightness. But it isn't just that - the bass is more satisfying as well(while having a bit less quantity than Alita). The mids of Aurora also have an airier sound to them with slightly better texture imo. I prefer vocals overall on Aurora, but if you prefer male vocalists, Alita wins. Luther Vandross, Lewis Capaldi, Frank Sinatra etc with Alita is enough to make a dude swoon. Aurora is very swoonable too, but with both male and female vocals.

And of course they both have awesome, distinctive aesthetics in common!

 

[Danx3k]

You might find that Alita and Aurora are too similar sounding. Not trying to deter you, just sharing my experience. When I first got Aurora I was a bit disappointed by that similarity, but came to appreciate them even more thanks to their slight differences. I've definitely been impressed with Alita and how it manages to sound so clear and detailed while being relatively dark and weighty, and it is nigh unbeatable with male vocals. It tends to take a minute or so to adjust to Alita's sig, but once I do, I don't find anything(treble) to be missing anymore. And Alita has pretty great technicalities too, kind of reminding me a bit of the IER-M9 with its resolution, separation, and imaging chops.

I find Aurora even more natural and organic sounding than Alita, because of the increased brightness. But it isn't just that - the bass is more satisfying as well(while having a bit less quantity than Alita). The mids of Aurora also have an airier sound to them with slightly better texture imo. I prefer vocals overall on Aurora, but if you prefer male vocalists, Alita wins. Luther Vandross, Lewis Capaldi, Frank Sinatra etc with Alita is enough to make a dude swoon. Aurora is very swoonable too, but with both male and female vocals.

And of course they both have awesome, distinctive aesthetics in common!

Thanks for your insight and sharing your experience. I’ll think it over, over the weekend.

The NP aesthetics are really nice, but the Alita looks pretty special to me (From the images).

I just assumed that as I really love the sound of the Aurora then the Alita would be a no brainer as a straight forward upgrade, but I guess that may not be the case.

 

[gooberbm]

Thanks for your insight and sharing your experience. I’ll think it over, over the weekend.

The NP aesthetics are really nice, but the Alita looks pretty special to me (From the images).

I just assumed that as I really love the sound of the Aurora then the Alita would be a no brainer as a straight forward upgrade, but I guess that may not be the case.

It'll probably be an upgrade in some ways, but Aurora will have pros over Alita considering it came out after Alita (can learn from feedback and what they've learned in their tuning) and being a DD+BA hybrid vs. All-BA for Alita. Kinda like how (on a much smaller scale) Simgot EW200 has some positives over EA500 since it came second but EA500 still has some distinct upgrades over EW200

 

[SweetCans928]

Thanks for your insight and sharing your experience. I’ll think it over, over the weekend.

The NP aesthetics are really nice, but the Alita looks pretty special to me (From the images).

I just assumed that as I really love the sound of the Aurora then the Alita would be a no brainer as a straight forward upgrade, but I guess that may not be the case.

Well, most of the reason I prefer Aurora over Alita is just tuning preferences, and/or driver composition. That's about as subjective as it gets, so huge grain of salt and all. Alita has better technicalities. I'm sure for some people it will in fact be a straight forward upgrade, especially if you want an even more laid back/smooth experience.

 

[Leonarfd]

After lots of Aurora and other IEMs lately, its back to give my precious Aure some time forward.
I think my new Silver Palladium will match perfectly on Aure, was about to go to bed but tried some songs now.
And I am in love again, will probably be a late night after all

 

[F700]

After lots of Aurora and other IEMs lately, its back to give my precious Aure some time forward.
I think my new Silver Palladium will match perfectly on Aure, was about to go to bed but tried some songs now.
And I am in love again, will probably be a late night after all

This is the beauty in our hobby… starting a listening session and never know when it will stop

 

[SweetCans928]

That is the most metal splitter I've ever seen!

 

[Scubadevils]

This is the beauty in our hobby… starting a listening session and never know when it will stop

100% - and indeed why a collection is fantastic to have, we take a break from a set for a while as we enjoy something else, and then the great joy when we revisit again. Variety is the spice of life

 

[F700]

100% - and indeed why a collection is fantastic to have, we take a break from a set for a while as we enjoy something else, and then the great joy when we revisit again. Variety is the spice of life

We are blessed enjoying our tunes, the old favorites and the new ones, or anything in-between, through amazing transducers of many kind and very capable sources. What a blast.

Revisiting you said? Indeed mate, our SD-cards, streaming libraries or music servers are full of (almost forgotten) gems.

 

[emdeevee]

We are blessed enjoying our tunes, the old favorites and the new ones, or anything in-between, through amazing transducers of many kind and very capable sources. What a blast.

Revisiting you said? Indeed mate, our SD-cards, streaming libraries or music servers are full of (almost forgotten) gems.

This ^^^

Love finding the hidden gems! I find about one a week!

 

[anyone007]

Done with the 200 hours burning time of Aurora and currently enjoying its musical bliss. I had high expectations with Aurora and the brand itself due to its positive reviews and impressions and I gotta join the bus. I've been spoiled by Penon's house sound for quite some time and made my other IEMs a bit lackluster due to my tuning preference, however, the Aurora did not fail to deliver. I'm in awe with what I'm hearing.

The sub bass is well-tuned. Comparing it to EST50, the quantity is lesser but has better and deeper rumble, which you don't hear quite a lot nowadays. In terms of mid bass, I’d say that this is a bit better than the Volt’s. It’s more rounded plus a more natural decay. Both the sub and mid bass are fully taking advantage of the dual dynamic drivers. It has that dynamic driver signature.

In terms of midrange, this easily outperformed my Serial and 10th AE (though it's not like it's their main focus). With my current gears, only Volt can match it. Quality wise, they are almost on par with Volt’s being a bit fuller and thicker sounding. Both are very resolving and engaging. There's even a very, very subtle distinct sound of Aurora's midrange compared to Penon's in general. I can't seem to put it in words and describe it since it's so nuanced that I can't hear it casually unless I do a critical listening. Maybe it's the drivers used? I have no idea. lol But I'm enamored of it.

The highs fell a bit short compared to Volt's refinement but understandable due its incredible EST drivers and implementation, but sounded more or less if not better than EST50's (maybe due to implementation & drivers? or Abel is just that good? lol).

I switched the tips to TRI Clarion Tips to add a bit of refinement, and a more pronounced and analogue-ish effect on its treble. What's amazing though is how detailed Aurora is and can handle complex passes while sounding incredibly smooth and natural.

Soundstage wise, it’s more or less like the Volt as well. Incredible depth, and above average in terms of width. I haven’t tried any cable rolling yet to improve or shape further the sound. I want to enjoy its default sound first to the fullest.

Anyway, obviously it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, some might say that it has a safe tuning, and I would agree. Nevertheless, it’s truly enjoyable and musical. I would even describe it as “intoxicating” as it pulls you deeper into music and listens for hours without fatigue.

It's my first Aur Audio IEM and I already have a very good impression of the brand. This jumped right away at number one on my favorite IEM ranking list alongside with the Volt in terms of musicality and enjoyability.

I’m looking forward to the soon to be released tri-brid. I wish it would have the IT07’s sub and mid bass (it’s still the best I’ve heard to date), and maybe a more analogue timbre. Maybe Abel will surprise us with a more complex and better tuning.

Oh well, back to music.

 

[Nosibilance]

Thanks for your insight and sharing your experience. I’ll think it over, over the weekend.

The NP aesthetics are really nice, but the Alita looks pretty special to me (From the images).

I just assumed that as I really love the sound of the Aurora then the Alita would be a no brainer as a straight forward upgrade, but I guess that may not be the case.

Alita is a true audiophile type of iem with superb resolution and detailed without sounding analytical. NP on the other hand is the life of the party with high energy to both bass and treble. Really boils down to what you are looking for.

 

[zikarus]

Thanks for your insight and sharing your experience. I’ll think it over, over the weekend.

The NP aesthetics are really nice, but the Alita looks pretty special to me (From the images).

I just assumed that as I really love the sound of the Aurora then the Alita would be a no brainer as a straight forward upgrade, but I guess that may not be the case.

I have neither heard the Alita (to me for sure the most beautiful looking of all AüR) nor the Aurora. But after reading all the impressions about those and owning the Neon Pro and Aure I guess the Neon Pro could be the perfect complementary IEM to the Aurora because it seems to be tuned quite differently. I am tempted myself to sell my Aure and go for an Aurora instead. Only withstanding to date because of the upcoming Ascension

Anyways, the NP is a monster, pure fun and still my personal favourite and No. 1 IEM (by quite a margin).