Initial impressions.... using Chord Mojo w/stock cable(love it!)+tips.
It sounds like ZAX with A) slightly smoothed treble(no more bothersome peaks!), B)
HUGE BASS BOOST, C) fantastic, full-bodied vocals.
I hear only a very slight amount of hiss/noise when plugging into Mojo. Most IEMs I've tested produce about twice as much noise/hiss. They actually fit pretty well, so far. It's a weird fit, kuz they are so huge, so it feels rather unnatural, but snug enough. And that adorable little yellow bag..? To die for!
I can't believe how much bass this has lol... ZAX has about 53:47% treble:bass balance; AST is like 43:57%! Easily the most bass I've heard in an IEM so far. This thing is nuts. Imagine your ideal bass level, then add 25% bass boost ontop. The clarity is still quite sharp like ZAX, how I like it, but it's definitely being overtaken by the bass a bit. The treble is very, very pleasant/enjoyable... I have nothing but love for this treble! A smoothed out ZAX -
exactly the treble I wished for. I can throw bright content like The Killers, Weird Al, P.O.D. or Mech at AST and the treble is acceptably smooth compared to ZAX. This bass, though... Damn. They really dialed it up to 11 here. (o_o) This has MORE bass than VK4!!!
Because of the tremendous, underlying bass throughout the mids, and the excellently/
perfectly honed-in treble(I could listen to this treble all day! I am shocked. The texture & space/separation/air is so good. FD5 you failed me!!!), these also have the
best vocals I've ever heard, very likely. If not, the dull Oxygen has the best. Rather addictively good. Yes, I've never heard Weird Al sound this good & smooth before... The problem would be the building-shaking bass these have. Let's see if IEMatch+ can soften it up... Yep, the bass tones down a lot on ultra mode, but so does the treble. Have to EQ that bass down manually, to get rid of this extra bass warmth & power.
Metal, jazz, Chili Peppers, Buckethead, Pink Floyd and
all elec guitars sound great. This fast, detailed, clear, wide open, non-peaky treble is
killing it.
Imaging and depth is quite impressive, too, with very nice sense of space, but most of the time the bass overpowers it, so you will notice it more the less bass there is(ambient & orchestral sounds just gorgeous/intoxicatingly smooth & engaging). I see ZAX having slightly flawed(peaky) treble + satisfactory bass, and AST having overkill bass + perfect treble. Pick your poison. I think ZAX is still winning, for much better balance, unless you EQ the AST bass down, then you have a serious winner. Maybe tips with holes in them, to eliminate a seal, would cut the bass?
Or going tipless?
(Is that even legal anymore..?)
Too much bass never hurt anyone, Grandma always told us younglings at the hifi battlestation. OK, Grandma; I have to make a small exception here ;P
AST - ZAX - FH3
So many songs sound great on these... but here's one that works well with their Turbo Bass. Full note weight, all the way through the whole FR, I love it!