This is a bit overdue, but I recently had a chance to meet up with
@tawmizzzz and audition the Aure Elixir (DD / BA hybrid).
Wanted to post some impressions as these are relatively unknown IEMs but they certainly should be on more people's radar. For reference, my current daily drivers are the 64 Audio Nio with the M15 module. I primarily listen to death, black, post/shoegaze and prog metal. All listening was done off my iBasso DX300 with a mix of downloaded Spotify "high quality" tracks and local FLAC files.
Now bear with me as I'm still quite green at describing what I hear in technical terms. Regardless, it was enjoyable to A/B another IEM that sits in the same realm as the Nio for a couple hours and make some comparative notes.
I've never considered myself an out-and-out bass-head but it's ultimately what's drawn me in to liking the Nio so much. I CRAVE the visceral impact of kick drums and it delivers in spades. It's the first thing I listen for with metal and suffice it to say the DD of the Elixir yields plenty of texture and slam, too. Super-fast double bass kicks come across clear and punchy (Obscura's recent single Solaris), with more speed and separation between kicks compared to the Nio. With the M15 module installed the Nio has both more sub and mid bass presence than the Elixir, and reaches a bit deeper, but it does sound a touch bloated in comparison on faster passages. I personally love the quality and quantity of bass the Nio delivers but can certainly see how it may be considered overdone by some. On occasion it will start to overpower the lower mids but I find this is usually mix dependent. The bass quantity of the Elixir is solidly middle ground between the MX and M15 modules on the Nio. For tech death metal with triggered double bass the Elixir is noticeably more coherent than the Nio.
The midrange of the Nio is what I'd describe simply as "full" sounding. Thick. The Elixir's midrange is slightly elevated compared to that of the Nio and heavily distorted guitars come across with more crunch and edge which I find enjoyable. The Nio midrange tuning is very safe and the Elixir doesn't do anything risky here either, but I for sure notice more note detail, separation, and edge, to guitars (the leads / solo's littered throughout Drawn and Quartered Congregation Pestilence is a prime example) on the Elixir. The Nio presents guitars with a dense note weight whereas the Elixir leans things out a bit. Arguably more realistic on the Elixir but I still really enjoy the way the Nio presents guitar notes.
The treble of the Nio is decidedly safe as well and is why I can listen to them for hours on end as blast beats and cymbals rain down from poorly mastered black metal albums. I'm somewhat treble sensitive but even with raw black metal both the Nio and Elixir handle things without glare or fatigue. The treble is noticeably more extended on the Elixir whereas the Nio treble is softer and even blunted at times. Cymbal strikes sound great on both, with the Nio dialing things back a bit in terms of sharpness. Again, though, this yields an easier listen to my treble sensitive ears. If you’re after more treble presence and extension, then the Elixir gets the nod here for sure.
I have a somewhat difficult time hearing and describing soundstage on IEMs (coming from open back headphones) but the Elixir presents what I hear as more width and height compared to the Nio. The Nio sounds slightly deeper front to back but less 3 dimensional (maybe less holographic is the term here?).
All in all, both the Elixir and the Nio are highly competent and enjoyable hybrid IEMs for metal / rock listeners. If I had to TLDR this, I'd say the Nio presents more bass (both quantity and texture) and has a fuller, thicker sound across the mids and treble compared the Elixir. The Elixir is a more balanced, detailed and airier monitor compared to the Nio. If the Nio bass is too much, and/or the mids/treble come across as too smooth/thick, then the Elixir should be under hard consideration.
