[QWERTYY]

New to the Fender scene. Just picked up a pair FXA2 on sale at Long and Mcquade in Canada for $139Cad and very impressed with the sound and overall build quality. My only concern is the longevity of the MMCX connectors. Not because of anything Fender has done but just my general experience with every MMCX IEM I have owned.

I really like the signature of the FXA2. It's not a balanced signature but it has pretty good detail retrieval for a bass oriented IEM and I appreciate its slightly forward midrange along with relaxed but complete treble. Not gonna win any treble lovers over but is great for anyone who suffers from treble fatigue.

I love the sound signature of the FXA2 as well but the MMCX connector/cable for mine have already started to break with my left ear piece randomly cutting out whenever I move my head. Thinking of getting the Fender Nine but I'm not sure if it'll have the same sound sig as the FXA2. If anyone here has heard both, I'd love to hear a comparison (especially in terms of bass). Thanks!

 

[Peregrinator]

Recently bought the Fender FXA7 Pro, and this is the best IEM I ever had before. Crisp highs, clear mids, and a deep punchy bass. Frankly this is the highest quality bass I ever heard before! I am a basshead, so this is really important to me.

For a reference, these are my previous IEMs I am able to compare the FXA7 Pro:

• Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 EB
• M-audio IE-20 XB
• Sony XBA-H3
• Sony XBA-N3

 

[Nusu]

Recently bought the Fender FXA7 Pro, and this is the best IEM I ever had before. Crisp highs, clear mids, and a deep punchy bass. Frankly this is the highest quality bass I ever heard before! I am a basshead, so this is really important to me.

For a reference, these are my previous IEMs I am able to compare the FXA7 Pro:

• Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 EB
• M-audio IE-20 XB
• Sony XBA-H3
• Sony XBA-N3

I had Aurisonic ASG 2.5 and 2 and FXA7. FXA7 have 30% of bass quality and deep of ASG2. Source: iBasso DX90 / Cowon P1. I think Fenders FXA11 it's more like replacement of Aurisonic ASG. But the price for 11 it's very high.

 

[Peregrinator]

I had Aurisonic ASG 2.5 and 2 and FXA7. FXA7 have 30% of bass quality and deep of ASG2. Source: iBasso DX90 / Cowon P1. I think Fenders FXA11 it's more like replacement of Aurisonic ASG. But the price for 11 it's very high.

My previous IEM was the Sony XBA-H3, and I loved it. This is a hybrid 3-way IEM with a large 16mm dynamic driver plus two BA. Unfortunately, after more than 4 years it was broken.

I bought the Sony XBA-N3 as a successor. This is a 2-way hybrid with a 9mm dynamic driver, and one BA (highs). Despite its downsized dynamic driver, it has sufficient bass, however I was definitely missing the BA for the mids. I felt that there is „hole” in the mid-range.

Compared to the Sony XBA-N3 the Fender FXA7 Pro has a solid, clear mid-range, with crisp highs. Despite that it has only a 9mm dynamic driver, it has slightly more bass than my XBA-H3. I am using foam ear tips for a perfect sealing, because none of the original silicone tips matched to my ears.

Once I owned a Sennheizer IE80. This is a 1-way IEM with a single dynamic driver. It has a “Tuneable Bass Port” feature, and indeed when I adjusted it to its maximum level the bass was really powerful. However it has an adverse effect on the high and mid-range.

Since ASG 2.5 is a hybrid 3-way IEM, am I right to suppose that adjusting its “Tuneable Bass Port” has no adverse effect on the high and mid-range?

 

[jmills8]

My previous IEM was the Sony XBA-H3, and I loved it. This is a hybrid 3-way IEM with a large 16mm dynamic driver plus two BA. Unfortunately, after more than 4 years it was broken.

I bought the Sony XBA-N3 as a successor. This is a 2-way hybrid with a 9mm dynamic driver, and one BA (highs). Despite its downsized dynamic driver, it has sufficient bass, however I was definitely missing the BA for the mids. I felt that there is „hole” in the mid-range.

Compared to the Sony XBA-N3 the Fender FXA7 Pro has a solid, clear mid-range, with crisp highs. Despite that it has only a 9mm dynamic driver, it has slightly more bass than my XBA-H3. I am using foam ear tips for a perfect sealing, because none of the original silicone tips matched to my ears.

Once I owned a Sennheizer IE80. This is a 1-way IEM with a single dynamic driver. It has a “Tuneable Bass Port” feature, and indeed when I adjusted it to its maximum level the bass was really powerful. However it has an adverse effect on the high and mid-range.

Since ASG 2.5 is a hybrid 3-way IEM, am I right to suppose that adjusting its “Tuneable Bass Port” has no adverse effect on the high and mid-range?

Tunable bass port opens for more air movement hence more bass slam the 2.5s bass is alot more powerful than either of your sonys and the Fender. To have the bass slamming while keeping the treble present you either close the port half way and/or get a Silver upgrade cable. Also a bright dac and a good amp. Example a Hugo or ifi black

 

[Peregrinator]

Tunable bass port opens for more air movement hence more bass slam the 2.5s bass is alot more powerful than either of your sonys and the Fender. To have the bass slamming while keeping the treble present you either close the port half way and/or get a Silver upgrade cable. Also a bright dac and a good amp. Example a Hugo or ifi black

That is interesting, it was exactly the same with the IE80. If I opened the “Tuneable Bass Port” more than 50%, then the bass started to oppress the high and mid-range. The fact that this is the same with the ASG 2.5 is a valuable feedback to me, so thank you for that.

 

[ansonchc]

Crinacle's impressions of the thirteen six:

Initial impressions: I buried my face in my hands for a good 5 minutes while listening to this. Even ignoring the blatantly horrendous channel matching, this thing sounds more like a cheap chifi dynamic driver IEM than a flagship hybrid from a Western company. Zero upward extension, transients are slow and laggy and worst of all, nothing sounds *right* on these. Fender guitars better sound proper on these else they're literally good for nothing.

Couldn't find his initial impression but from his ranking and frequency chart, his pair of THIRTEEN6 looked imbalanced and quite notably different. Perhaps there's a reason why Fender has yet to further expand their availability on the custom models...? Don't necessarily agree with the 0 upward extension comment but they hey, I only tested the demo units with my under-powered setup so.....

 

[ClancyMagnus]

Almost exactly 6 years ago I came on this forum and read through numerous reviews to choose a new IEM to purchase. I wound up going with the ASG 1.2 revision based on some recommendations posted and was thrilled with my purchase. For the last 6 years I used them daily/while exercising/sometimes sleeping with them in. LOVED THEM! Would tell people about how great they were all the time, constantly referred to as my "best ever purchase". Only problems I ever had was the cables, had to replace 3 times in 6 years but that's not too bad. They got intense use, pockets, backpacks, dropped often, and never had any other issues.

Then disaster struck. Last weekend they dropped out of my pocket while on a snowy hike, and after doing the hike again in reverse I couldn't find them. I was quite literally depressed for a couple days, especially after borrowing my girlfriend's Shure SE215s which I absolutely hate. Almost no bass, irritating on the high end, and awful borderline painful (sibilance?) "s" sounds when listening to talk radio like NPR.

I became more depressed when I started looking online and found that there are no options to buy the ASG 1.2s again used and the next closest model, the ASG 2.0/2.5s, are also almost impossible to find (except one seller asking $1,100!). So I started looking for other options. I wanted to stay with Aurisonics, but discovered they are now a Fender product. The reports on this forum and other reviews suggested that I stay away from that standard MMCX connector that are on the later Aurisonics models and the Fender FX line. So I landed on the newest Fender offerings where they finally went back to the excellent 2 pin connector. What I was looking for in an IEM was the insane bass response that I was so accustomed to with my ASG 1.2s which had those massive 15 (or 16?)mm drivers. I don't have $800-$1,800 to spend, so unfortunately the higher end models and the biggest driver Thirteen-6 were out of reach. Comparing the Nine and Nine-1 I wasn't convinced going more expensive would give me any more of what I was looking for. So I went with the cheapest, $99 IEM Nine.

First impressions of the Fender IEM Nine; these sound pretty good. Way more bass than those damn SE215s, nice and warm in the mids and lows, but nothing like my old beloved ASG 1.2s. There is also a bit of ear fatigue happening, which I haven't had an issue with for the past 6 years. Maybe this could be due to not burning in these new Nines long enough, I seem to remember the ASG 1.2s being a bit harsher right after I got them. Also could be that I am just not used to listening to IEMs with good response in the upper ranges. Reading back old reviews some folks said the ASG 1.2s were really lacking in treble. But I had become accustomed to and really loved that about the 1.2s, I could absolutely crank the volume and the bass would slap my head without the treble becoming irritating. These Nines have only a fraction of the bass at the same volumes, and the highs start to be a problem for my ears.

I'm going to give the Nines a week to see if they start to feel/sound better, but I'm not wholly convinced. Great IEMs for $99, at least compared to the couple others I have tried, but not living up to my ASG 1.2s

Can anyone give a recommendation for a ASG 1.2 sound-alike?
Looking for something around or under $400, could be an older model that I buy used, but really want to get back the experience of those ASG 1.2s. Any other bass heavy IEMs that maybe don't have the greatest treble and are tuned similar to the old ASGs? Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Disclaimers:
-I am an entry level IEM user. 99% of my listening is done plugged straight in to a smartphone. I know some/many folks on here use more sophisticated stuff like amps and EQs, but I only have/will only be using a smartphone

-All my very limited knowledge in this area has come from reading these forums, so apologies if I'm saying contradictory/incorrect things in my descriptions

-I listen to mostly house music, some reggae, some classic rock, some funk. Don't dabble much in jazz or classical, at least in my daily listening

 

[jmills8]

Almost exactly 6 years ago I came on this forum and read through numerous reviews to choose a new IEM to purchase. I wound up going with the ASG 1.2 revision based on some recommendations posted and was thrilled with my purchase. For the last 6 years I used them daily/while exercising/sometimes sleeping with them in. LOVED THEM! Would tell people about how great they were all the time, constantly referred to as my "best ever purchase". Only problems I ever had was the cables, had to replace 3 times in 6 years but that's not too bad. They got intense use, pockets, backpacks, dropped often, and never had any other issues.

Then disaster struck. Last weekend they dropped out of my pocket while on a snowy hike, and after doing the hike again in reverse I couldn't find them. I was quite literally depressed for a couple days, especially after borrowing my girlfriend's Shure SE215s which I absolutely hate. Almost no bass, irritating on the high end, and awful borderline painful (sibilance?) "s" sounds when listening to talk radio like NPR.

I became more depressed when I started looking online and found that there are no options to buy the ASG 1.2s again used and the next closest model, the ASG 2.0/2.5s, are also almost impossible to find (except one seller asking $1,100!). So I started looking for other options. I wanted to stay with Aurisonics, but discovered they are now a Fender product. The reports on this forum and other reviews suggested that I stay away from that standard MMCX connector that are on the later Aurisonics models and the Fender FX line. So I landed on the newest Fender offerings where they finally went back to the excellent 2 pin connector. What I was looking for in an IEM was the insane bass response that I was so accustomed to with my ASG 1.2s which had those massive 15 (or 16?)mm drivers. I don't have $800-$1,800 to spend, so unfortunately the higher end models and the biggest driver Thirteen-6 were out of reach. Comparing the Nine and Nine-1 I wasn't convinced going more expensive would give me any more of what I was looking for. So I went with the cheapest, $99 IEM Nine.

First impressions of the Fender IEM Nine; these sound pretty good. Way more bass than those damn SE215s, nice and warm in the mids and lows, but nothing like my old beloved ASG 1.2s. There is also a bit of ear fatigue happening, which I haven't had an issue with for the past 6 years. Maybe this could be due to not burning in these new Nines long enough, I seem to remember the ASG 1.2s being a bit harsher right after I got them. Also could be that I am just not used to listening to IEMs with good response in the upper ranges. Reading back old reviews some folks said the ASG 1.2s were really lacking in treble. But I had become accustomed to and really loved that about the 1.2s, I could absolutely crank the volume and the bass would slap my head without the treble becoming irritating. These Nines have only a fraction of the bass at the same volumes, and the highs start to be a problem for my ears.

I'm going to give the Nines a week to see if they start to feel/sound better, but I'm not wholly convinced. Great IEMs for $99, at least compared to the couple others I have tried, but not living up to my ASG 1.2s

Can anyone give a recommendation for a ASG 1.2 sound-alike?
Looking for something around or under $400, could be an older model that I buy used, but really want to get back the experience of those ASG 1.2s. Any other bass heavy IEMs that maybe don't have the greatest treble and are tuned similar to the old ASGs? Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Disclaimers:
-I am an entry level IEM user. 99% of my listening is done plugged straight in to a smartphone. I know some/many folks on here use more sophisticated stuff like amps and EQs, but I only have/will only be using a smartphone

-All my very limited knowledge in this area has come from reading these forums, so apologies if I'm saying contradictory/incorrect things in my descriptions

-I listen to mostly house music, some reggae, some classic rock, some funk. Don't dabble much in jazz or classical, at least in my daily listening

Get a 2.5. Seen one for sale for less than 500 usd in the headphone sales section.

 

[ClancyMagnus]

Get a 2.5. Seen one for sale for less than 500 usd in the headphone sales section.

good shout. I thought all those listings were already sold, but one guy still hadn't actually sold yet. Bought for $280

thanks!

 

[mochill]

I was going to buy that asg2.5 but he told me someone paid the full price he wanted (☞ ͡ ͡° ͜ ʖ ͡ ͡°)☞congrats on the gem and enjoy.

 

[ClancyMagnus]

Sorry to swoop in on that, but had to do it!

You can at least be happy knowing they're going to a loving home


Question for the thread in general;
Would it be a crime to connect these ASG 2.5s I'm getting to a blutooth cable, or would that diminish the sound quality?

I've seen mixed messaging, some people saying the new Bluetooth technology is a lot better so someone like me might not notice any difference

 

[mochill]

I would stick to wired

 

[jmills8]

2.5 needs good power. Needs a good neutral dac plus a good silver or copper silver cable will help.

 

[mochill]

I got the asg 1.5 2 weeks ago and rekindle my long for aurisonics, I got a seriously good deal on it I want the asg2.5 always but couldn't afford it at 1000 dollars, so I wanted it at 240 but lost that deal. Now I just found 2 new iems to replace it, tralucent ref. 1 and asg rockets