josesol07
100+ Head-Fier
ditto here, switching from qudelix 5k to Ibasso DC07Pro in high gain as a DAC, and using a Shanling M5s as a digital transport, the sound improvement on the P5+2 is fantastic!!.
Aful Performer Impressions Thread
- Thread starter szore
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o0genesis0o
Headphoneus Supremus
If you like the P5 that much, there is no reason to buy P5+2, since it is a bit different.
I find P5+2 (let's call it P7) an upgrade because it fixes various of the perceived problems o the original P5. The original P5 was impressive in the market at that time due to the value (and let's be frank, it looks like a tiny Monarch II, right at the time when Monarch was the kilobuck king). I mean, it was at least as resolving and technical as Blessing 2 for less money, and arguably more enjoyable tuning and better treble quality. But, it was not THAT technical that can break out of its price bracket and challenged the better ones in $500+ to $1000. The tuning of P5 was also kinda ... odd if I listen carefully, though on a macro level, the frequency response curve is beautifully balanced into a V-shaped signature and all peaks and dips are smoothened. The bass is big but also somewhat gooey and could be more punchy and textured. So, I was positive about P5 but it was not quite good enough to enter my rotation.
P7 fixes all of that. It's technical enough for me to not feel lacking (though, tbh, I want more than that now. I want Cantor-class technical performance. But that's another story). The dual woofers have a unique sense of elasticity and can reveal the details / textures of basslines well. The tuning has been adjusted from V-shaped to a more neutral-warm, "cozy" sound signature (male vocals like John Denver and Johnny Cash are beautiful on P7). So, in other words, P7 is different from P5. Like, another take on the "more-musical-less-neutral" tuning of AFUL, but not as far from neutral as their Explorer model.
In summary, if you get P7, you get more nuances and details, but the sound signature is also more mild and "cozy" vs the more dynamic V-shaped of the P5.
Sad state of AliExpress...
Instead of 1215€ plus 30€ for delivery... what an bad image for Aful...
Hifigo is the only other shop to provide the PolarNight?
It seems Hifigo the official distributor.
That price is quite high though. Polar NIght is $180 on hifigo webstore, which should not be that much Euro. Not sure about the experience ordering from Europe, but I like to order from Hifigo (and Linsoul, to be clear) from Australia. It seems they have some local warehouse or some sorts of channels that allow them to bring products here very quickly vs normal Aliexpress.
Justthisonce
New Head-Fier
The rep said they're expecting to release it in three to four months' time
AFUL has recently launched its first pair of HiFi earbuds, the AFUL Polar Night. Today’s video is going to be all about the Polar Night and its performance in 2025. The pair houses a large-sized 15.4mm dynamic driver unit along with AFUL’s self-developed technologies to produce a fantastic sound response. With a dual-resonance, dual dampened design, the Polar Night is able to produce a solid bass region. It has good punch in the mid-bass section. Combined with a sweet and musical midrange, the pair provides an immersive experience for me. Treble region is mostly safe and sound, it produces good level of details and doesn’t get sharp at all.
Design is also quite good for the pair, and with included foams, the pair provides good wearing comfort as well. To my surprise, the pair also provides decent level of isolation, not to the extent of IEMs but sure enough better than the other earbuds that I have owned/tried to date. People might have two questions in their mind, Earbuds in 2025? Yes they still exist and they still make sense to audiophiles if they are done well. And the second question would be, $180 for earbuds? Well, the Polar Night offers great clarity and a rich tone, it is probably targeting the flagship earbud market and considering that, it is a bargain price imo.
Design is also quite good for the pair, and with included foams, the pair provides good wearing comfort as well. To my surprise, the pair also provides decent level of isolation, not to the extent of IEMs but sure enough better than the other earbuds that I have owned/tried to date. People might have two questions in their mind, Earbuds in 2025? Yes they still exist and they still make sense to audiophiles if they are done well. And the second question would be, $180 for earbuds? Well, the Polar Night offers great clarity and a rich tone, it is probably targeting the flagship earbud market and considering that, it is a bargain price imo.
Singaravelan
Headphoneus Supremus
Sounds good.. going to skip it as I have one bud... Penon Conductor with bc...huggeee sound.
Any word on the new aful Planar? Quadbrid understandably has got noticed at the Singapore canjam.. did you hear anything from your friends there about the planar?
o0genesis0o
Headphoneus Supremus
Have been enjoying my unit quite a bit. It’s less isolating than my usual daily driver Cantor, but still decently isolating, so it works very well for background music.
Also great for focused listening, of course. I can’t believe that those engineers in AFUL lab successfully pulls another “MagicOne” here. The polar night also receives pretty good feedback from Aussie circle here, which is surprising.
Nope, no impressions. My friend tested the quadbrid, but he has no memory about the planar, meaning it was nothing out of ordinary.
My friend mentioned that the quadbrid sounds very different from Cantor. It’s warm and “musical” vs the laser sharp precision of Cantor. However, he also suggested Aful to improve the clarity of the quadbrid since he found it less resolving than Cantor
Singaravelan
Headphoneus Supremus
Have been enjoying my unit quite a bit. It’s less isolating than my usual daily driver Cantor, but still decently isolating, so it works very well for background music.
Also great for focused listening, of course. I can’t believe that those engineers in AFUL lab successfully pulls another “MagicOne” here. The polar night also receives pretty good feedback from Aussie circle here, which is surprising.
Nope, no impressions. My friend tested the quadbrid, but he has no memory about the planar, meaning it was nothing out of ordinary.
My friend mentioned that the quadbrid sounds very different from Cantor. It’s warm and “musical” vs the laser sharp precision of Cantor. However, he also suggested Aful to improve the clarity of the quadbrid since he found it less resolving than Cantor
Ah interesting. It seems Aful initially wanted two extremes: ultra bright and then this warmth. If you remember the Cantor was deemed ultra bright before a canjam and quadbrid swings other way. They of course then course-corrected Cantor, shading out that extrabrightness.
Am awaiting more reviews on the Sym Giant to go for the bassy warm, and save up a few hundred by doing so. But the thing is I can either plump in for the Quad or Giant and I definitely expect the quadbrid to be the better iem (my aful bias).. But with Cantor (which I have now lost to a friend over a bet for 2-3 months) in possession, am thinking it would be prudent to swing to other extreme towards giant.
Btw try having the P8 on left ear and Cantor on other ear.. it doesn't jar at all. Was surprised, started as silly experiment but heard that way for 3 days straight. My way of trying to keep p8 in circulation! Also shows how both are in similar frequency ballpark though the rest of stuff varies of course.. but twas a nice experiment.
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FreeWheelinAudioLuv2
Headphoneus Supremus
Was the AFUL Planar even there? It's quite strange that nobody even mentioned it or even took a picture. We got pics of the Polar Night and the Quad, but no planar?
Have been enjoying my unit quite a bit. It’s less isolating than my usual daily driver Cantor, but still decently isolating, so it works very well for background music.
Also great for focused listening, of course. I can’t believe that those engineers in AFUL lab successfully pulls another “MagicOne” here. The polar night also receives pretty good feedback from Aussie circle here, which is surprising.
Nope, no impressions. My friend tested the quadbrid, but he has no memory about the planar, meaning it was nothing out of ordinary.
My friend mentioned that the quadbrid sounds very different from Cantor. It’s warm and “musical” vs the laser sharp precision of Cantor. However, he also suggested Aful to improve the clarity of the quadbrid since he found it less resolving than Cantor
The AFUL Polar Night is the best earbud I've heard in years. Not since the vintage Sony MDR-E805 has a bud had bass this good. It's punchy and resolving (buds neve have rumble, so don't ask), better mids (cleaner, more detailed, and yet musical), and incisive and airy treble than my JZ32 or any other buds that have crossed my path. These also fit comfortable (I use bass foam covers and not the stock donuts), and I had moments where I forgot I was wearing these buds. Well done, AFUL! Thank you HiFiGo! Full review coming soon...
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o0genesis0o
Headphoneus Supremus
The planar might be a “meh”. But it’s better that than the quadbrid, at least for me, since I want to buy the quadbrid. Personally I couldn’t careless for full-ranged planar IEM in general. On my hands for review at the moment, I have a cheaper single DD that is as resolving as a rather well-received planar IEM, whilst having none of the timbre problem. Unless the latest batch of full-range planar gets way better, I don’t see their point.Was the AFUL Planar even there? It's quite strange that nobody even mentioned it or even took a picture. We got pics of the Polar Night and the Quad, but no planar?
The AFUL Polar Night is the best earbud I've heard in years. Not since the vintage Sony MDR-E805 has a bud had bass this good. It's punchy and resolving (buds neve have rumble, so don't ask), better mids (cleaner, more detailed, and yet musical), and incisive and airy treble than my JZ32 or any other buds that have crossed my path. These also fit comfortable (I use bass foam covers and not the stock donuts), and I had moments where I forgot I was wearing these buds. Well done, AFUL! Thank you HiFiGo! Full review coming soon...
I have quite a line up to compare with the Polar Night here, btw. FiiO, Dunu, TGXears, NiceHck, VE. It’s going to be fun.
FreeWheelinAudioLuv2
Headphoneus Supremus
That's why I skipped the Aether, and had no desire to purchase the Quantum or the Timeless 2. I've probably digested more planar IEMs in the last 6 months than any other minus hybrids. I'm kinda burnt out on them, and even my Letshuoer S08 is actually really really good, and that $80.00. But again, AFUL makes so many good gears, that you know, the curiosity is certainly there. Same with the Quad.
MD Rohit
1000+ Head-Fier
AFUL Polar Night
AFUL is back again, and this time they’ve entered the earbuds game with something that feels truly refined.
With a smooth & warm tuning, rich vocal performance, and a surprisingly solid build — the AFUL Polar Night might just change how we look at earbuds.
In my full review, I’ve gone deep into sound analysis using tracks from artists like Michael Bublé, Gregory Porter, and TakéDaké — breaking down the tonality, staging, and technical side of things in simple, real-world terms.
If you’re into musical, relaxing sound with great character, this might be a set worth checking out.
Read the full review here:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/aful-polarnight.28063/reviews#review-37682
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d m41n man
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
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Was the AFUL Planar even there? It's quite strange that nobody even mentioned it or even took a picture. We got pics of the Polar Night and the Quad, but no planar?
The AFUL Polar Night is the best earbud I've heard in years. Not since the vintage Sony MDR-E805 has a bud had bass this good. It's punchy and resolving (buds neve have rumble, so don't ask), better mids (cleaner, more detailed, and yet musical), and incisive and airy treble than my JZ32 or any other buds that have crossed my path. These also fit comfortable (I use bass foam covers and not the stock donuts), and I had moments where I forgot I was wearing these buds. Well done, AFUL! Thank you HiFiGo! Full review coming soon...
Thumbs up! I agree with your insights on the AFUL PolarNight. This would adhere to flathead afficianados and in comparison to previous earbuds I've owned, these do stand out. Not iffy with impedance matching and musically pleasing right out of the box with most sources. Quite airy but inoffensive with its treble presentation. Lastly, it just sings especially with male vocals and jazz.
Sharing my impressions on the AFUL PolarNight as well - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/aful-polarnight.28063/review/37694/
o0genesis0o
Headphoneus Supremus
Folks with Polar Night should test it with ASMR videos recorded with real HATS. I'm surprised by how precise the positioning of the sound is. Like, super precise, moving up and down, left and right at a nuanced level. AFUL is not joking about treble extension of these.
Justthisonce
New Head-Fier
Was the AFUL Planar even there? It's quite strange that nobody even mentioned it or even took a picture. We got pics of the Polar Night and the Quad, but no planar?
The AFUL Polar Night is the best earbud I've heard in years. Not since the vintage Sony MDR-E805 has a bud had bass this good. It's punchy and resolving (buds neve have rumble, so don't ask), better mids (cleaner, more detailed, and yet musical), and incisive and airy treble than my JZ32 or any other buds that have crossed my path. These also fit comfortable (I use bass foam covers and not the stock donuts), and I had moments where I forgot I was wearing these buds. Well done, AFUL! Thank you HiFiGo! Full review coming soon...
The Aful planar was quite rubbish, to be perfectly honest. I really really hope Aful significantly tweaks it before release
The quadbrid, though, is stellar. The reps at CanJam said they're intending to release it in three to four months and the projected price is 1200 USD. The prototype easily trades blows with many IEMs many times its projected price
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SuperJunee
New Head-Fier
Any new thoughts on the PolarNight so far?
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