[hungryewok]

that's interesting
I remember reading somewhere that Abel was not a fan of tuning switches.

 

[BS5711]

Image of Aehta from the AuR FB page.

Not a great picture but they seem to have the same sort of shape as Neon Pro and Ascension maybe with less of a “wing” and they don’t look especially big despite ten drivers a a block of three switches.

 

[Nosibilance]

Image of Aehta from the AuR FB page.

Not a great picture but they seem to have the same sort of shape as Neon Pro and Ascension maybe with less of a “wing” and they don’t look especially big despite ten drivers a a block of three switches.

It seems to be more similar in shape and size to Aurora.

 

[nikbr]

It seems to be more similar in shape and size to Aurora.

Yep, there does not seem to be any so severe cutout for helical crus in concha as there is with NP/Aure/Ascension. That's what worries me about my personal fitment issues, possibly.

 

[helloh3adfi]

I like Aurora shape the most, but your ears may vary.

 

[Nosibilance]

I like Aurora shape the most, but your ears may vary.

Aurora is criminally under appreciated...

 

[microzyma]

Yep, there does not seem to be any so severe cutout for helical crus in concha as there is with NP/Aure/Ascension. That's what worries me about my personal fitment issues, possibly.

I've never had an iem fit better than Ascension, though my big ears are easy to please. I've had customs that fit worse. Also, because they are lightweight, they are in my ears for hours and hours with no strain.

Been playing with tips and found my various foams tamped down the spirit in the treble too much. The bamboo tips mentioned earlier in thread were interesting in that they evened out the response, but killed some bass, as even the largest set didn't fill my ears enough. Best tips for me so far were the mediums that Aür included. They got it right. I'll go on a tip pilgrimage next week but so far pretty pleased with what I've got.

Had to change the cable to something more portable friendly and immediately was bummed out by the sonic penalty. Staged closed in, timbral contrasts suffer, bass weakens. I've got something that I hope will be better on order, but the stock cable has a full, natural sound, if not as detailed as another (and even more unwieldy) one I've got. It's a pity for me that it's blue and somewhat resistant to sitting easily in my jacket pocket.

Went back to my local shop in Tokyo (e earphones) and had a run of the wall again to compare. Ascension coming up nicely, and while the other units I was considering were all cool in their own ways, I'm thrilled that I followed my gut after stumbling on a head-fi post comparing it to Prestige LTD. I will sit out the Aehta but if it's got a bone conduction driver I might be too curious.

This Abel fellow. How did he come to be such a badass? Is there an interview with him somewhere where he talks about his tuning philosophy, music tastes, tech background and the like? The company is interesting to me because everything people have tried to point out as detriments have (for me) turned out to be features. There just seems to be a lot of thoughtful care that goes into this stuff and I'm very impressed.

 

[BS5711]

I have been playing with tips lately also, Ascension and Neon Pro because to me they are very similar in fit.

I was using the H570 but after longer sessions I found the material is a just a touch firm and causes me some irritation after a few hours, no good when I often wear tham all day while working.

I moved to absolute exact copy of the KBear07 from "ISN Official Audio Store" on AliExpress that are the same as some tips that came with a Shanling IEM. They are cost effective, sound great, are super comfortable for me and highly importantly are a smoke grey rather than white so they visually match the Ascension and Neon Pro beautifully which is critical if you are anal retentive like me !

The brothers:

 

[BS5711]

From FB:

Can someone tell me about bone conductors ? Seems like a gimmick but I have to assume that is not the case if some pretty decent IEM are using them. How do they work when the IEM is intentionally isolated with a silicone or foam gasket in the form of the eartips.

 

[ssantan2]

From FB:

Can someone tell me about bone conductors ? Seems like a gimmick but I have to assume that is not the case if some pretty decent IEM are using them. How do they work when the IEM is intentionally isolated with a silicone or foam gasket in the form of the eartips.

BCs are very hit or miss depending on implementation and your own ear anatomy. From my experience they vibrate the shell so fit is very important. The more direct contact your ear has with the shell the more you get. That's likely why they changed the shape, so that it's will mesh with more ears

 

[microzyma]

From FB:

Can someone tell me about bone conductors ? Seems like a gimmick but I have to assume that is not the case if some pretty decent IEM are using them. How do they work when the IEM is intentionally isolated with a silicone or foam gasket in the form of the eartips.

Maybe one of the experts will talk about how they affect an iem. I read the work of Alfred Tomatis years ago and experienced his method using bone conduction through the skull. It seems to me that bone conduction is a facet of sound apprehension that is natural with loud music in a room, but hasn't been typically addressed in iem.

 

[BS5711]

Unless the bone conductors work exceptionally I hope one of the switches turns them off.

Just me but I prefer simple and nothing bugs me more than additional complexity that doesn't actually work really well to make it worthwhile.

If an IEM is supported on silicone tips and soft ear tissue I struggle with how it is going conduct tiny vibrations ..... but I have been wrong before today, just ask my wife !

 

[samandhi]

Can someone tell me about bone conductors ? Seems like a gimmick but I have to assume that is not the case if some pretty decent IEM are using them. How do they work when the IEM is intentionally isolated with a silicone or foam gasket in the form of the eartips.

BC is basically just a way to hear things via vibration, thereby passing sound through bone conduction. This just means that it bypasses your outer and inner ear, going directly to the nerve itself. Doctors have used this method for hearing aids for those that have hearing loss in the outer and/or inner ear (they still cannot rectify this if there is nerve damage though).

In and of itself, BC is pretty simple, and you could make one using common items at home. Heck, Beethoven finished some of his best works using BC. It was very very simplistic so there was not a lot of audio clarity or high resolution... He would use a rod between his teeth and touching a vibrating part of the piano as he played.

Also, you might keep in mind that there are a lot of companies that claim BC when it isn't. There is a simple test for this. If you have a set that claims BC, hold it between your teeth and if you hear sound (not coming out of the tips or the normal route), then you have the right thing. These companies are taking advantage of people not knowing what BC really is and how it works. They assume that because they say they are using a piezoelectric transducer, that this automatically means BC.

Yes, piezo drivers can be (and frequently are) used for BC, but they can also be implemented as air conduction, rather than bone conduction.

You can make your own (for example) by taking the motor from something like an electric toothbrush, solder a rod onto its metal casing, wire it up to a 3.5mm connector, plug it in to a source, press play, and put the rod between your teeth, listen while still having your ears to hear other things...

 

[samandhi]

Unless the bone conductors work exceptionally I hope one of the switches turns them off.

Just me but I prefer simple and nothing bugs me more than additional complexity that doesn't actually work really well to make it worthwhile.

If an IEM is supported on silicone tips and soft ear tissue I struggle with how it is going conduct tiny vibrations ..... but I have been wrong before today, just ask my wife !

Honestly, if used in conjunction with other drivers it is ok, but to hear it alone, it is NOT high fidelity. They are getting better, but they haven't refined it enough yet to be more than like listening to an old school mono radio...

Generally, it is really tough to get any sort of good bone conduction via an IEM because there is no good place inside your ear to get good contact with bone. If you do a search for bone conduction earphones, the most common are the ones that make contact with your jaw bone below your ear. And even if it DID work this way, every time you moved or open/closed your mouth, you would lose the sound that it makes temporarily.

Just my $.02, but I think that it isn't "ready for prime time network" yet (as they used to say about Saturday Night Live).

 

[DingDongMonster]

When BC is done right. It will bring on another level of tactility. The Canpur 622B comes to mind. There is no buzzing where your ear vibrates. What you get is a crispy quality at the bass edges. Like bacon. Too crispy, it’s a crunchy oil stick. Not crispy, it’s just soggy. Just right and it’ll never be the same again.

Of course it’s all conjecture by moi at this point. It’s a good guess since the charts show a focus on the bass area. If you’re going to create a bass head IEM and throw in a BC. Abel is not going for big bass, but erection inducing quality bass. Yes. It sounds wrong. Abel giving you an erection. You know you want it. Crispy bacon and all.

Also, fun stuff. Go check how much the Canpur 622 costs.