EarWerkz Supra vs Aurisonics Rockets
Tips: Comply T series on Supra and Sennheiser biflanges on Rockets.
Sensitivity: Supra is more sensitive and Rockets require about 5 more clicks on the iPhone for similar volume.
Source: iPhone 5S
Bass quantity isn’t too far off, with the Rockets seemingly having a hair more, but focus of bass is a little different. The Supra bass seems more linear without any roll off in sub bass, whereas the Rockets bass seem to have a bit more mid and upper bass presence, and slight roll off under 50hz. The Supra bass feels lighter on its feet, quicker, with better deep bass rumble. The Rocket bass feel fuller with more punch and with a bit more decay in direct comparison.
The midrange of the Supra immediately strikes you with its clarity and airy nature. There is absolutely no masking from bass or treble, just pure, innocent clarity. In contrast, the Rockets bring the midrange slightly forward of neutral and vocal intimacy is its bread and butter. Here the Rockets carry a slightly thicker note, which accentuates the lovely vocal intimacy but it doesn’t have the clarity, airiness of the Supra. The Rocket note through the midrange is softer in character, with rolled, smoothed edges. In direct comparison the Supra’s midrange is sharper in character (not to be confused with harsh), like someone who enunciates every syllable perfectly or perhaps etched in space.
While the midrange is the first focus for me, it’s treble that makes or breaks an iem for me over the long haul. Odd peaks or dips really grate on my nerves. The Supra treble is super airy and sparkly but never sounds harsh or piercing to me. It takes what I loved about the K3003 treble but tones it down a bit, making sure to never cross the line to shrill and annoying. The airiness, the sparkle, the brassy tone, all without any of the nasties that can easily be found in many iems. The Rockets also have that fantastically realistic, brassy tone but do not possess the soaring air of the Supra. This is part of what gives the Supra its wide open feel and what I instantly fell in love with and raved about during the EP-2 demo.
As many of you may know, distortion guitar crunch and texture is something I pay very close attention to, as most of library consist of guitar driven rock. The Supra’s clear and bright nature produce superb distortion guitars. Grit and crunch are abundantly clear with razor sharp definition. Even though the Rockets are softer and thicker through the midrange, it also has a rawness to its upper midrange, producing very believable distortion guitars with excellent sustain but grit and crunch lag a little behind the Supra here.
Following my focus on distortion guitars, next up are acoustic guitars. The Rockets really shine here in note weight, sustain of string vibrations and realism of fingers sliding over the fretboard. The airier nature of the Supra produces these same sounds just a bit thinner and sharper, falling just short of the Rockets realism.
I chose to do my first comparison with the Rockets because it’s one of my favorite iems I’ve ever heard in all my time on Head-Fi. It’s a serious bang for buck offering that competes well above its point in my opinion. Well, I feel the same way about the Supra. Very few iem I’ve heard in any price bracket offer the sense of clarity, air and openness the Supra possess. When it comes to much pricier models and offerings, sure those will possess some technical proficiencies in resolution, layering or imaging but when it comes to value and performance, as well as some of the best tonality on the market, it just doesn’t get any better than the Rockets, and now the Supra.
