[REVIEW] Aurisonics ASG-2 & 2.5 (with many comparisons)

[eke2k6]

Quote:

 
My ASG-1 and AS-2 were sent back to Aurisonics 6 weeks ago. Now I am still waiting.

 
That sucks. Have you emailed them for an update?

 

[Sopp]

By this week according to the last reply. The priority is to have my AS-2 fixed. I thought they were quite busy so just kept waiting quietly.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

By this week according to the last reply. The priority is to have my AS-2 fixed. I thought they were quite busy so just kept waiting quietly.

 
They are, but 6 weeks is a long time. I just got mine back after a 2.5 week absence. I haven't taken it out of my ears for the last 6 hours.

 

[UnityIsPower]

My ASG-1 and AS-2 were sent back to Aurisonics 6 weeks ago. Now I am still waiting.

What was wrong with the AS-2's? Stealth body with gold plates right, hit your link up.

You sure are following the advice given in your AS-2 post about being patient. LOL.
http://sopp06.blogspot.com/2013/04/aurisonics-as-2.html?m=1

 

[Gintaras]

Quote:

Spoiler: NAD. National Association of Ducks

Duck family disapproves this message.


Look at the adorublenez!

Do you ever loan your stuff G? Do you charge? Time limit?

 

 
not, i plan to do this for one item but frankly speaking i buy for listen pleasure and so i do not keep various rigs to replace the stuff which would go on loan.
 
what particular item you talk about loaning? if you based in Europe should be no problem. otherwise postal expense can be too high for everyone. you do not send this in cheap uninsured post i guess. i know to Americas this might be around 50$ one way.

 

[Gintaras]

Quote:

... Now I'm hungry.

 
haha...... got it 

 

[Kamakahah]

Background:
 
I've opted to spend most of my funds towards my desktop rigs, and only made small purchases in the portable department. I'm finding myself using my portable equipment as much as much desktop, and sometimes more depending on the season. 
 
$600 is a lot of money for me to spend right now, I'm a saver, a future planner, and prefer to only expend excess funds that I can mostly justify as a valuable/useful purchase. 
 
I've been eyeing the ASG-2 on this thread and it seems like a gem for the price. This hobby comes with steep diminishing returns, so I'll ask a few questions in order to determine if it has the value I'm looking for.
 
Outside of the ASG-2, I've been considering these: http://www.head-fi.org/t/663051/new-custom-iem-company-custom-art-discussion-review-and-appreciation-thread
Seems like a great value when to check the current exchange rates. A good entrance into the world of customs. I have small ear canals that can be pretty picky. I don't feel that these will blow my mind like the ASG-2, but they seem to be a good on the go option.
***Unfortunately, the sale price ends tomorrow, so time is a factor. 
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions:
 
Couple of quick questions. I've read quite a few pages, but I apologize for missing post 567 that I'm sure answers my exact questions. (joke).
 
1. Does the ASG-2 share sound signature with any full-sized headphones that you are familiar with?
 
2. How does the ASG-2's sound quality compare to full-sized headphones in the same price bracket? 
(Removing the factors of portable vs full-sized and everything that comes with that, focusing only on sound quality)
 
3. Many headphones scale with better amps/dacs/etc. Putting that aside, does the ASG-2 require $300+ worth of equipment to be magical, or I can get most of its magic from a (Example ahead -->) C&C BH + Colorfly C3/Clip+ (ie. lower price setup)? 
 
     a. Any recommendations for portable amp/dac/daps setups that pair well with the ASG-2?
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appreciation:
 
Thanks in advance to those members for taking the time to answer my questions. Every opinion helps me closer to my decision. 

 

[FlySweep]

The IE800, Inks' (modded) W4, and the F4 arrived today.
 
The IE800 is terrific.  I've been listening with it for just a few hours.  The very smooth signature definitely leans to the warmer side of neutral.. but it's executed in an articulate, refined manner.  Sub-bass is awesome.. though it's jacked up a little too much for my taste.  It brings the bounce in no uncertain terms and remains impressively clean while doing so.  The midrange is stunning.  It leans to the warm side, but it possesses some of the best depth, dynamics, and clarity I've heard from an IEM (custom or otherwise)... all delivered in an impeccably smooth manner.  Vocals, in particular, have a wonderfully realistic quality to them.  Treble could stand to have a little more body and better presence in places (Eke nailed it with his "cymbals sound like they're getting hit with chopsticks' analogy), but it's wholly non-fatiguing, detailed, and serves a complimentary role to the mids and bass.  Tweak the treble for a more rounded presence, tune back the sub-bass a few dBs.. and you've got a tremendous phone, IMO.  There's not much in the universal IEM game that really interests me these days, but the IE800 is one of the few phones I would seriously consider buying.  It's something I could see myself enjoying for a long time.
 
Quick note about Inks' modded W4: very impressive.  Much better than the stock W4 (which I was, ultimately, not impressed with).  The modded W4 flattens out the stock W4's godawful midbass hump and gives a more linear treble response.. these two changes provide better midrange clarity.  The modded W4 is still on the warm/bassy side, but much better behaved than the stock W4, IMO.  The modded W4 reminds me of the IE800's "runty, little brother".. and that's a compliment, btw.  Nice job by Inks.
 
F4 Sui.. nice.. but it's pretty 'meh' to my ears (so far).  Clean, slightly dry mids.. nice detail and balance.. but on the whole, I'm left feeling underwhelmed.. muttering to myself, "this is what the fuss is about?"  I'm not hearing how/where this is some kind of "uber-clear, resolution beast" with a really unique signature. I've only used it very briefly & maybe I need to play with the fit, though.

 

[audionewbi]

I got my ASG-2 for 499 AUD which includes delivery and 10% GST tax and it is the clear frost style. I do not know why the american market prices are higher. 
 
As far as your question goes I cannot answer question 1 but question 2 goes I think it is preference related but I prefer the ES10 over ASG-2 however ES10 has horrible sound isolation, comfort wise it can give your ears pain due to their on ear design but sound wise they sound clearer than ASG-2. 
 
As for question 3 once again it comes down to what you like. Out of my ipod nano 7G the sound as good as they sound from AK120. AK120 improvement over ASG-2 is very subtle. However add in O2 and the dynamic driver used in ASG-2 really starts to perform their best but you would not have known this till you try it first. Meaning the sound you get right out of ipod nano 7G is really good enough, they will not make you wonder on how to improve it as they do not provide a urge for one to do so.
 
3a)My recommendation is for home use ODAC+O2 and for portable ipod nano 7G and transportable ipod nano7G+O2. You really need a neutral amp with ASG-2 as the last thing you want is add more bass to them. 

 

[Gintaras]

audionewb, i understand Australia is a paradise for portable music gear while Hong Kong is portable Mecca :-D
envy you, 499AUD sounds like damn too good to resist, i wonder what shipping costs for Europe and which site you found them?

 

[audionewbi]

Quote:

audionewb, i understand Australia is a paradise for portable music gear while Hong Kong is portable Mecca :-D
envy you, 499AUD sounds like damn too good to resist, i wonder what shipping costs for Europe and which site you found them?

Australia is far away from my ideal paradise of headphone, almost all my purchases are blind purchasing. I've made my decision based on reading reviews. If I get lucky and I could convenience my friends/relative to purchase something I get to try it than. 

 

[UnityIsPower]

Old post by Aurisonics
https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=209300975753348&story_fbid=563523753664400

 

[cn11]

Quote: Originally Posted by FlySweep 

The IE800, Inks' (modded) W4, and the F4 arrived today.
 
The IE800 is terrific.  I've been listening with it for just a few hours.  The very smooth signature definitely leans to the warmer side of neutral.. but it's executed in an articulate, refined manner.  Sub-bass is awesome.. though it's jacked up a little too much for my taste.  It brings the bounce in no uncertain terms and remains impressively clean while doing so.  The midrange is stunning.  It leans to the warm side, but it possesses some of the best depth, dynamics, and clarity I've heard from an IEM (custom or otherwise)... all delivered in an impeccably smooth manner.  Vocals, in particular, have a wonderfully realistic quality to them.  Treble could stand to have a little more body and better presence in places (Eke nailed it with his "cymbals sound like they're getting hit with chopsticks' analogy), but it's wholly non-fatiguing, detailed, and serves a complimentary role to the mids and bass.  Tweak the treble for a more rounded presence, tune back the sub-bass a few dBs.. and you've got a tremendous phone, IMO.  There's not much in the universal IEM game that really interests me these days, but the IE800 is one of the few phones I would seriously consider buying.  It's something I could see myself enjoying for a long time.
 
Quick note about Inks' modded W4: very impressive.  Much better than the stock W4 (which I was, ultimately, not impressed with).  The modded W4 flattens out the stock W4's godawful midbass hump and gives a more linear treble response.. these two changes provide better midrange clarity.  The modded W4 is still on the warm/bassy side, but much better behaved than the stock W4, IMO.  The modded W4 reminds me of the IE800's "runty, little brother".. and that's a compliment, btw.  Nice job by Inks.
 
F4 Sui.. nice.. but it's pretty 'meh' to my ears (so far).  Clean, slightly dry mids.. nice detail and balance.. but on the whole, I'm left feeling underwhelmed.. muttering to myself, "this is what the fuss is about?"  I'm not hearing how/where this is some kind of "uber-clear, resolution beast" with a really unique signature. I've only used it very briefly & maybe I need to play with the fit, though.




 
Re: the SUI.... in the several day demo I was fortunate to be able to do, I heard them just about identical to shotgunshane's previous impression. That is, to me they were very impressive at first. But the more I listened, the more I found that lower treble/upper midrange area to be quite hot and biting. Turning them up to any sort of 'foot-tapping' volume would induce that harsness. They were fine at lower volumes...
 
Also, the midrange tone was a bit thin and dry, and a touch recessed. Overall that robbed them of any natural 'humanness' in feel to voices. But I would say the unbelievable detail and huge dynamic range was very, very impressive. I recall putting them in my ears and listening to the first track, and my jaw was probably hanging open (idsynchrono could confirm that I bet). Regardless, my experience with the SUI has me highly curious about any updates to the models, and I'd love to hear the Kaede at some point. 

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

 

Re: the SUI.... in the several day demo I was fortunate to be able to do, I heard them just about identical to shotgunshane's previous impression. That is, to me they were very impressive at first. But the more I listened, the more I found that lower treble/upper midrange area to be quite hot and biting. Turning them up to any sort of 'foot-tapping' volume would induce that harsness. They were fine at lower volumes...
 
Also, the midrange tone was a bit thin and dry, and a touch recessed. Overall that robbed them of any natural 'humanness' in feel to voices. But I would say the unbelievable detail and huge dynamic range was very, very impressive. I recall putting them in my ears and listening to the first track, and my jaw was probably hanging open (idsynchrono could confirm that I bet). Regardless, my experience with the SUI has me highly curious about any updates to the models, and I'd love to hear the Kaede at some point. 

 
As per MuppetFace's suggestion, I tried them with foam tips. I was lucky to have some long barreled foamies on hand, which evened out the sound for me.
 
Again, it wouldn't be a daily phone for me, but it would be the audio equivalent of the occasional cold shower.
 

---

 
Some extra thoughts about the ASG-2:
 
This is a very transparent/revealing phone, with a touch of politeness. Most revealing phones react to poor mastering with the same gusto as explosive diarrhea. The ASG-2 instead lets you hear the artifacts and poor mastering without spitting it in your face...similar to flatulence vs diarrhea.
 
Apologies if anyone is (was) in the middle of a meal.

 

[Carlsan]

Quote:

...  
F4 Sui.. nice.. but it's pretty 'meh' to my ears (so far).  Clean, slightly dry mids.. nice detail and balance.. but on the whole, I'm left feeling underwhelmed.. muttering to myself, "this is what the fuss is about?"  I'm not hearing how/where this is some kind of "uber-clear, resolution beast" with a really unique signature. I've only used it very briefly & maybe I need to play with the fit, though.

 
 
Keep in mind that the Sui is the entry level. The Kuro is the improved version of the Sui, and the limited production model, Kaede, is the high end. I have the Kuro, and a Kaede is on the way.
The Kuro certainly has a unique sig to my ears with very crisp highs and detail while still bringing in the bottom end nicely done.