[marklivia]

Shameless plug for my Aurora sale on the US side of the pond. In the classifieds.

 

[ssantan2]

Shameless plug for my Aurora sale on the US side of the pond. In the classifieds.

Great seller, I bought my Aure's from him

 

[dududuckling]

Happy New Year to all!

Here were my initial impressions when auditioning the Ascension (~USD730, 1DD 5BA 2EST) prior to my purchase.

My Ascension came in yesterday and having gone on an adventure through my playlists… this has only solidified my opinion that the Ascension is beyond amazing. I am fortunate to have the luxury of auditioning several mid-fi to flagships in the heart of Singapore every now and then; this is useful for giving some context to the latest and greatest in the portable audio scene. While I admit that auditory memory is largely unreliable in the absence of A/B comparisons, personal notes on what I typically lookout for should still hold some grounds for where I'd rank these among all that I've tried.



All testing was done via Ascension (with Azla Sednaearfit Shorts for the thick bores) -> Athena cable -> JDS Labs E3 Mk2 (4.4mm version)

• I mostly used the previously released Aurora for the sweet vocals of acoustic tracks. While being able to competitively handle complex arrangements with fine articulation, the relaxed treble and pillow-ey bass (in comparison) do not accurately convey the energy of fast-paced rock and metal which are the mainstay of my music library.
• Both Ascension and Aurora are clearly not meant for bassheads but are certainly aimed at providing a "fun analytical" and "relaxed analytical" presentation respectively.
• Since tuning an IEM is a balancing act, I haven't heard many products that manage to strike such a fine balance throughout the whole FR. The Ascension does precisely this, which might be arguably more challenging to accomplish.

• In terms of tuning, the Ascension essentially "fixes" the Aurora's weaknesses for my music preferences
• (A) The treble is better extended, but conservatively so - just right. In today's market, there seems to be a trend to overly boost the upper treble "air" frequencies for detail in the name of extension. To my ears, said IEMs won't sound outrightly sharp but end up being fatiguing in the short to medium term as if there were some sort of nauseating ringing. The Ascension has achieved a tasteful amount of extension in boats without the associated fatigue for my tolerance.
• (B) In my initial impressions, the bass wasn't a standout feature during my short audition. However I can now say that it delivers impact when needed. Quantity is sufficient for a level of "fun", with impressive technique in its quality. There is some heaviness behind its punches for bass heavy songs. For songs without distinct synthetic bass beats, I can accurately discern the power and fine detail behind the growl of the bass guitar lines, all within a busy 4-5 piece band mix - impressive. The N54 magnet DD also seems to be working its magic in the midrange, giving a "heftiness" to it which was absent in the Aurora. The only other IEM to have given me this sensation is the 64 Audio Volur on the m20 module, maybe because both use the new-fangled N54 magnet DD for the lows.
• (C) Lastly for the mids, the relative lack of ear gain on the Aurora makes me want to turn the volume up to "hear clearer" on fast-paced tracks - but only to get uncomfortable loudness in return. On the other hand, I can set the Ascension to play at a comfortable volume for long periods. This is even more impressive as the Ascension is not smooth-sounding and instead takes on an intensely detailed presentation. It nails the balance of energy within the midrange hence there is no need to crank up the volume to compensate for anything; set it and forget it.

• Apart from tuning, the Ascension excels in these 3 main aspects:
• (1) Coherence - The "heftiness" of the DD's impact blends perfectly with the BAs and ESTs. The other IEM which does this blend perfectly is the Symphonium Triton; but the Triton's overall timbre (even in the bass) felt more skewed towards the plasticky side of the BAs.
• (2) Timbre - With the "heftiness/heaviness" and excellent coherence mentioned above, I cannot discern any dreaded plasticky BA timbre.
• (3) Technicals - resolution, layering and imaging are top-tier.
• The overall cohesiveness in the blend of frequencies culminates in somewhat of a true speaker-like presentation to my ears, when drawing upon limited experience in a treated room with some HEDD stereo monitors. This is extremely subjective, I recall other IEMs marketed to be so but do not sound anything like that to me. Nobody is wrong - we all just perceive things differently.

• Regardless of price, you could ask me to list a complaint/con of any IEM I've tried and I could probably give you at least a couple of things on its sonic quality I feel could better suit my taste. I do not have any negatives or even nitpicks on the Ascension for now - I'm well aware this could change in a week or month but we'll see. Perhaps the Ascension fits my HRTF to a tee, but there simply isn't a deficiency or excess in quantity of bass-mids-treble for myself.
• I might do an update when any significant negatives come up eventually. This is not to say that the Ascension is perfect for all; the Ascension excels in the tuning direction Abel envisioned for a balanced signature prioritising sheer transparency. I do not think it is fair to state negatives such as "not for bassheads" since it was not designed to be so. It's like a flathead earbud review which reads "lacks isolation" in the negatives…

• Having Ascension and Aurora (~580USD, 2DD 6BA) in my collection, they complement each other well. Unless you're an avid collector, I would whole-heartedly recommend just getting the Ascension which is a league above.
• Having said that, I suspect that the relatively small difference in price between the Ascension and Aurora may reverse-cannibalise AuR's own more affordable Aurora. The Aurora remains a great IEM for the price but the Ascension is a mile ahead, being an amazing IEM at any price.
• What about versus the similarly priced Neon Pro? I've only tried it twice and I'm not the best person to advise. I'm sure that there are other users on this thread who can better answer that. From my limited experience, my takeaways were that (1) NP can get much bassier with the switch for those who want a good thumping and (2) unlike Ascension, NP still has a hint of BA timbre; likely made apparent from how bassy it could get using just the BA woofers. Having the chance to do a short comparison when trying the Ascension, the Ascension is still way up my alley.

AuR has truly ascended solidified itself among the greats with this new release, with another banger alongside the NP. If "analytical fun" is up your alley, the price to performance here is unbeatable. I've long given up the idea of an endgame but the Ascension has taken its place as my main reference in my rotation, hopefully it'll scratch my upgrade itch for a little while.

Does this make me a shill? Reading back upon my word salad, maybe. But hey, don't take my word for it. Take other impressions which don’t read as strongly as mine into account… and form your own opinion if you get the chance! All I can say is that the Ascension is truly something special and I see this as an absolute win for us consumers.

Now here are a couple of snaps showcasing how the Ascension's holographic faceplate changes under subtle changes in lighting. It doesn't look this intense under normal lighting conditions as seen in other photos. I love that it mostly looks black from afar but shimmers upon closer inspection. I don't think there's anything else on the market that looks as unique as this. Kudos to Abel on the design.

Spoiler: Extra Ascension pics

Couldn't resist taking a few more of the Aurora while I had my photog setup going.

Spoiler: Extra Aurora pics

Happy to discuss and answer any questions

Thank you for your detailed review. This and along with @leonardfs review solidified my choice in getting the Ascension over the Aurora. I intend to primarily use it to listen to female vocals, slow and relaxing, a bit of jazz and country, like Hailey Loren, The Highwomen, etc., pairing it with Eletech Raphael, supposed an organic sounding cable that might pair well with R-2R Cayin RU-6 or the smoothest ESS DAC/AMP that I know, Shanling UA5.

 

[Leonarfd]

Thank you for your detailed review. This and along with @leonardfs review solidified my choice in getting the Ascension over the Aurora. I intend to primarily use it to listen to female vocals, slow and relaxing, a bit of jazz and country, like Hailey Loren, The Highwomen, etc., pairing it with Eletech Raphael, supposed an organic sounding cable that might pair well with R-2R Cayin RU-6 or the smoothest ESS DAC/AMP that I know, Shanling UA5.

Sounds good.

My full review is out later today or tomorrow, just want to go trough it some more.

Teaser, new favorite AüR is now Ascension

 

[happyblack]

Teaser, new favorite AüR is now Ascension

That's why you decided to sell Aurora..

Great deal, by the way. I'd definitely consider it if I hadn't had them.

 

[Leonarfd]

That's why you decided to sell Aurora..

Great deal, by the way. I'd definitely consider it if I hadn't had them.

Yeah, that and I want to have less in my collection. It's always about what each person preffer in sound, I tend to like more energy and more warmth.

Made a product page on Ascension today, if more want to share a review or thoughts on it.

 

[nikbr]

Yeah, that and I want to have less in my collection. It's always about what each person preffer in sound, I tend to like more energy and more warmth.

Made a product page on Ascension today, if more want to share a review or thoughts on it.

I want to believe that even when I get my Ascension, Aurora will still satisfy me but in a different way, with different genres. Aurora takes 10min of listening to adapt to every time, but then I cannot take it out of my ears and hours just pass on by. It's wonderfully lush.

Edited a typo.

 

[ssantan2]

Sounds good.

My full review is out later today or tomorrow, just want to go trough it some more.

Teaser, new favorite AüR is now Ascension

Ditto, found tips that work (spinfit 155) and sound wise I don't think there is anything I would want to change.

 

[Leonarfd]

My review is out on AüR Audio Ascension, feel free to read if of any interest.

Past month with Ascension has been very enjoyable, and I admit it didn't win me over at once.
But over time it has grown to be my faovorite model from AüR Audio, a organic sound that is warm and natural.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/aür-audio-ascension.26970/review/32735/

Cheers.

 

[dududuckling]

My review is out on AüR Audio Ascenion, feel free to read if of any interest.

Past month with Ascesnion has been very enjoyable, and I admit it didn't win me over at once.
But over time it has grown to be my faovorite model from AüR Audio, a organic sound that is warm and natural.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/aür-audio-ascension.26970/review/32735/

Cheers.

Thanks for this! Looks to me like the Ascension is the Aurora v2.0, better than it in every which way. A very well written review, thank you so much!

 

[BS5711]

My review is out on AüR Audio Ascension, feel free to read if of any interest.

Past month with Ascension has been very enjoyable, and I admit it didn't win me over at once.
But over time it has grown to be my faovorite model from AüR Audio, a organic sound that is warm and natural.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/aür-audio-ascension.26970/review/32735/

Cheers.

Excellent review Leonard. Nice to read a review put together with care and attention to detail not only in the context of the IEM but in the preparation of the words themselves. I write and review a reasonable number of engineering reports in my work and I like reading a well written review put together in a style that I can connect with.

Not sure I need the Ascension with Neon Pro and recent Solaris purchase but never say never of course

 

[bgillis]

Not sure I need the Ascension with Neon Pro and recent Solaris purchase but never say never of course

Same thing for me. Still loving my Neon Pro though

 

[FranQL]

 

[Leonarfd]

Congrats my friend with the special colored Aure

 

[nikbr]

Whenever you decide to sell --->