[-y0-]

I got a chance to listen to the prototype 2 series from Aurisonics for a few days. It just angered me because I recently bought the mg6pro instead of waiting for the AS-2. The 2 series did everything better than the mg6pro including even the bass. The mg6pro's bass sounded muddy and uncontrolled compared to the Aurisonics. The only other IEM that wowed me like the 2 series proto was the Merlin which still didn't wow me as much as the Aurisonics. It's just something you have to hear, def the best I've heard to date. The proto is also visually stunning with its glasslike shell and metallic faceplate. I'm def going to invest on the AS-2 when it's available, no doubt.

 

[ulogin]

Quote:

Time to fill you guys in on what I heard today at the NYC Spring Head-Fi meet up.
 
I had the opportunity of plugging my AS-2's into an amp feeding UERM's and UE 18 Pro's generic versions, and the opportunity to control separate volume and A/B them. I must say, the AS-2's are a different beast. The UE 18's are what I first listened to against the AS-2's as when I hadn't listened to the AS-2's recently, I liked the UE 18's (earlier in the day). I gotta admit their was lots of bass to the UE 18's but I felt it was at the sacrifice of the rest of the levels with the fact that the sound felt congested and not as rich as the AS-2's did.
 
I then decided I had to take a listen to the UERM's which had been a goal of mine to get at some point because of their tuning and status of them as a solid CIEM. I started A/Bing them and found the sounded quite complementary to each other. I should point out I had one ear with the AS-2's and the other ear with the UERM's or UE 18's at any given point. I tried matching the volume of the UERM to the AS-2's and when I found that sweet spot I was hearing all types of things to compare between the two. First off, I felt they both handled the music quite well but you can clearly hear where the UERM's are BA based and the Dynamic driver of the AS-2's is just a powerful beast that competes with the BA's in speed but also has more impact without any sacrifice. The BA's in the UERM caused it to sound a bit thin in comparison, but not something I noticed as much earlier in the day when I tried them out without the AS-2 in the other ear. 
 
I want to point out I am not saying the UE models are bad or anything. As the representatives clearly and often repeated to me their CIEM's are all designed for a certain sound signature and that each model is different and a direct comparison cannot truly be made. Each pair I tried on was quite unique and interesting to listen to but I felt that the AS-2's really satisfied my needs right now more than the UE offerings. They were extremely nice and I hope to see them again and maybe hear a future product that will appeal to my liking. 
 
I chatted with Dale after the meet up and he asked how i liked the A/B between the UE18's and the AS-2's, both of which he is an owner of. It turns out some of my thoughts about the differences are in the same vein and thought as Dale has. The overall experience made me appreciate so much more how amazing the AS-2's are and how Dale is really doing a great job. At the end of our conversation Dale said that UE is doing their thing but that he is doing well with his business and Aurisonics is just gonna keep putting out stuff the way they want to, not something meant to be a direct competitor to UE products. 

I would have gone if I knew Dale was there...

 

[kenman345]

He was considering going up to 5 days ago when he decided he had too much work to be able to make the trip. Otherwise he would have gone. The meet up went well and it seems people are excited to do one again in the fall, so maybe he'll come to that one with something really epic to show off..... (wait....he has ASG-2's to show off already)....hmm.....what shall the future hold?
Quote:

I would have gone if I knew Dale was there...

 

[jrkong]

OK, I've been talking with Dale for a while and he sent email to me which might answer a few questions we all might have regarding the AS series overall and the AS-2 and the ASG-2:
 
 
About the term "digital hybrid"
Quote Dale Lott:

Also something has always been bugging me: why do you call the ASG-1's hybrids? I don't really see how the term applies, can you please explain that?
 
The term "digital hybrid"  refers to the technology implemented. Our process including manufacturing is all digital and this includes the ASG series. Other companies print shells digitally and use software which is pretty much becoming a standard these days, however, we developed an exacting science behind utilization of dynamic drivers with advanced algorithms that we calculate air volume and flow to ensure the dynamic driver works most efficiently in each custom shell or new generic design. The placement of the larger driver is also done with an advanced algorithm to ensure optimal fit and shell thickness. Just look at the ASG-1 driver from the bottom and you can see how close the driver is to the edge yet still fits. However, the old fashioned craftsman skills are still utilized and you will see a lot more of our craftsmanship soon from an aesthetics perspective. Thus a digital process coupled with great old fashioned craftsmanship = digital hybrid.
 
As of late you may have also noticed the 2 series is now a hybrid of BA and dynamic. However, our monitors required something different in the BA department something unlike anything on the market to ensure the smooth response and large sound stage we are known for stayed intact. This becomes available in our AS-2 custom series later this month...

 
AS-2 drivers:
 
 
Quote Dale Lott:

The balanced armatures came as a huge surprise to say the least and was definitely not what I was expecting. I remember Kenman and I were talking the other day because I wanted to see the AS-2b's polished finish and I asked him if he could just take a picture of the nozzle so he could avoid anything sensitive, he said no. I understand why now. So is it safe to assume that the AS-2 uses the BA drivers to handle the mids and the highs and the dynamic to handle the bass?
 
The dynamic is full range and handles the full range as it does this well. The porting in the 2 series however, increases the bottom end even more so than in the 1 series Rev 1.2 thus the need for more top end. So why buy one when you can buy two at twice the price so we added two tweeters to ensure the top end augmented the bottom end quite well. As you may have seen a few people have heard this combination of late and can confirm the above claim.

 
ASG-2's late release:
 
 
Quote Dale Lott:

[size=11pt]The ASG-2 will follow later only due to the availability of parts in the quantities necessary to keep up with demand. We can handle the AS-2 release however, the ASG-2 will reach a larger audience and thus we will need a larger stock of parts.  Don't want to start selling it then you have to wait 6 months to get it. That's not how we roll...[/size]

 

[vwinter]

Thanks jrkong- interesting stuff.

A bit of thinking out loud and a question for anyone that knows the science I guess:
If the Dynamic is full range, not that it isn't crisp, but I expect the BA to be crisper at the top end, wouldn't that result in an overlay of the crisper BA highs on top of the less so dynamic highs?

The effect on the sound I can't really fathom... I guess it would help coherency over just using a crossover somewhere splitting up the response between Dynamic and BA. It seems like it would effectively increase presence but inherently limiting clarity?

I would imagine it took some crafty programming to get the two to line up well based on the differing impulse responses.

I need to hear this now. It's warping my fragile little mind.

 

[ulogin]

I wonder if that implies something about pricing...
Quote:

So why buy one when you can buy two at twice the price so we added two tweeters . . . .

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Considering that Kenman stated that the AS2 could clearly hang with the lIkes of the UERM and UE18 and pull ahead of both in some respects, I don't think clarity will be an issue at all lol. I know Anaxilus has the UERm and the ES5 and considers them technically about on par. I'm expecting the AS2 to have better bass presence, and especially sub bass presence, a bit better clarity, but to be outclassed in the mids by the ES5. Which would make it a perfect compliment for those electronic tracks where I want more slam out of the Westone. This is all speculation of course, but things are sounding quite positive since people who have A/Bed the phones are those who own one custom or another

 

[tdshain]

Quote:

I got a chance to listen to the prototype 2 series from Aurisonics for a few days. It just angered me because I recently bought the mg6pro instead of waiting for the AS-2. The 2 series did everything better than the mg6pro including even the bass. The mg6pro's bass sounded muddy and uncontrolled compared to the Aurisonics. The only other IEM that wowed me like the 2 series proto was the Merlin which still didn't wow me as much as the Aurisonics. It's just something you have to hear, def the best I've heard to date. The proto is also visually stunning with its glasslike shell and metallic faceplate. I'm def going to invest on the AS-2 when it's available, no doubt.

How would you say the impact of the bass compares to the merlin and mg6pro, more or less power?

 

[vwinter]

Oh I have no doubt they will be legendary. The praise seems to be pretty unanimous. I'm just trying to wrap my head around why it works.

 

[jrkong]

Quote:

I wonder if that implies something about pricing...

Worry for your wallet is what it means

 

[ulogin]

Quote:

Worry for your wallet is what it means

 
I do lol...
 
Not saying that ASG-2 uses Knowles, but I remember reading that Knowles' dual BA driver costs around $70. So hopefully, ASG-2's upgrade will cost less than a hundred for us early adapters...

 

[project86]

Quote:

 
 
Not saying that ASG-2 uses Knowles, but I remember reading that Knowles' dual BA driver costs around $70. So hopefully, ASG-2's upgrade will cost less than a hundred for us early adapters...

 
But remember that this is a proprietary design, so it shouldn't necessarily cost the same as an off the shelf unit. 
 
Also let's keep in mind that the AS-1b is $599. So if we are talking about a comparable AS-2 with adjustable venting, we have to start at $599 and work our way up from there. Then if we add in customization options like chrome faceplates, things could get expensive pretty fast. Not that this is unusual - all reference level customs approach or exceed $1k anyway. 

 

[jrkong]

Quote:

 
But remember that this is a proprietary design, so it shouldn't necessarily cost the same as an off the shelf unit. 
 
Also let's keep in mind that the AS-1b is $599. So if we are talking about a comparable AS-2 with adjustable venting, we have to start at $599 and work our way up from there. Then if we add in customization options like chrome faceplates, things could get expensive pretty fast. Not that this is unusual - all reference level customs approach or exceed $1k anyway. 

Yeah don't be too surprised if your dream AS surpasses 1K it's a total possibility but it probably is worth the money.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

I'm thinking that the AS2 will clock in at around $900+, this seems fair and cost competitive as well. As Project86 mentioned, most reference level customs clock in at 1k+, so they'd be undercutting the competition by a few hundred or slot right in with them at that price. Given that the bass price of the ASG1 is $300 and the AS1 is $600, I'm guessing the ASG2 will follow that same pricing scheme and retail at $450-500 which would place them amongst top tier universal pricing while delivering performance more in the realm of phones such as the K3003 and FitEar 334 if early accounts are anything to go by. Upgrades to the 2 from the 1 will likely be $150-200 which I think is fair.

Also, I recall Kunlun mentioning in his AS1b review that the bass for the mg6Pro and the AS1b were both awesome. So going from Dale's comments of the AS2's porting resulting in even MORE bass presence than the 1 rev. 1.2, and Shane's report of seemingly limitless treble extension from the proprietary BA drivers, this thing is going to be a flippin beast

 

[ulogin]

Quote:

Yeah don't be too surprised if your dream AS surpasses 1K it's a total possibility but it probably is worth the money.

Dale: Are you reading?   ; )