[Nimweth]

Thanks for sharing! I saw that on yamaha’s thread. But meh…that $5k is as expensive as Yamaha motorcycles….

As a trivia, Yamaha started the world first “Planar” headphone, and they named it as Orthodynamic HP-1 back in 1976. I have HP-1, and couple of YH series because a very unique sounding characteristics back then when only a sizable companies had participated in Planar drivers. The design of HP-1 is still “modern” and relevant even a half a century waged in, also it’s still running and sound. I’m storing HP-1 with silca-gels to avoid moister along with Sennheiser’s world first electrostatic headphone, and for the sake of humanity, may donate to a museum when I find myself not contend enough to store these two historic archives.
Here is ref pic of HP-1, it was designed by an italian designer, Mario Bellini, you can see his signature on the headband.

Italian Design x Japanese engine could not go wrong. (Japanese design Italian engine…a nightmare)

It costed around $200 back then, with inflation adjustment, around $950 USD for today.

I hope Yamaha makes a more budget friendly one, hopefully around their offering price range of Yamaha Drums, that’s around $750 for the standard one, then I’m in!

Actually I think the Wharfedale Isodynamic headphones were the first planar model, dating from 1972, predating the Yamaha by 4 years.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Actually I think the Wharfedale Isodynamic headphones were the first planar model, dating from 1972, predating the Yamaha by 4 years.

Ah! Isodynamic, yes I totally forgot. That’s also Planar one. Great invention from UK. I recall Japan back in days was mostly good at improving existing technologies than inventing. Thanks mate!

 

[AmericanSpirit]

AüR Audio Neon Pro (with RSV and EJ07M)
Gear used & streaming service: Cayin RU6 on balanced output & Apple music

Hello People of portable audio,

Please allow This is gonna be my first-time writing / sharing about a product I personally really like. But first a little bit disclaimer, I bought all the items with my own money and nothing for free and also, I’m one those guys who perceive 64audio U12t as just an ok iem, so you guys might question my thoughts written here but it’s ok. It is what it is. Everything is personal as everyone has different ears, so what I hear might not what you’re gonna hear.

So, I am going to share a bit about AüR Audio Neon Pro (10BA set), an iem from a small brand in Singapore with a master tuner from China.

Gonna make it short with a bit of comparison with the RSV and EJ07M (even though it has a different config) because it has similar price range and the NP is priced at $650.

Neon Pro is an all-rounder IEM that is very engaging. It has a switch to turn the bass down by 3dB and it affects the graph from sub bass all the way to 600Hz.
How is it engaging? for me personally, an iem must have an impact on the mid bass presentation such as kick drum and bass guitar and Neon Pro has it.

I start with this point because this is the thing that I found lacking the most in RSV and even more on the EJ07M. I watched HBB review on the RSV and I did confirm that for me personally it is a bit lacking/muted and I sometimes did lose some of the engagement from a song.
Song to test it out: Little Dragon – Another Lover https://youtu.be/1ZW25hXzNV4


The sub bass can go very low when it’s called to and mids, especially when we compare it with the RSV, nearly has the same presentation and sounds natural to me.
Song to test it out: Alina Baraz and Galimatias – Pretty thoughts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrHw9BDa3OE


Treble of the NP is never fatiguing just like the RSV but it has more energy/gain that gives more sparkle but still not sibilant. This is also the 2nd point that I found lacking from the RSV that makes it a little bit less engaging.
Song to test it out: Jimmy Browm – It’s gotta be you https://youtu.be/L8UC5hTmx9s

and especially listening to this song, the NP sounds expansive (this might be the word for it) and also immersive.

Instrument separation and clarity is good on the Neon pro and it has detailed sound that makes me question what is the benefit of having EST on the EJ07M. I honestly find that NP is even more detailed than the RSV and EJ07M.

As for the soundstage, I personally still learning how to define it and differentiate one to another so I cannot say much about it.

So, all and all, Neon Pro is an IEM that I categorized as an all-rounder, very engaging and musical (the most important factor) that every time I put it on, I always find myself moving and nodding my head. #notshilling

RSV and EJ07M are not a bad IEM, certainly there are people that love them to the upmost and it's good. But having to compare the three of em, I find that the Neon Pro is better for me by identifying what is lacking on the other two.
If I only have the RSV or the EJ07M with none to compare I would just find with either one of em.

On a side note: I bought the RSV and EJ07M to learn how to understand FR and cross checking it with the sound and I must say Harman target IEM is probably not for me. There might be some exception, but for now, AüR Audio certainly know how to tune their IEM and not just follow the trend.

FR courtesy of: AKROS

FR looks nice.
Hope more reviewers to try These two.

For RSV, it’s hit or miss really depending on your gain spots, if you have your pinna gain spots right at 3khz where Softears tuners have set as anchor point, their tuning to RSV is not to render out that 10BA’s power /energy/layering /textures, but to provide an ultimate quasi-realistic hearing simulator. With 5BA penta driver —only 1BA as a super tweeter (this will recude minimum harmonic distortions over 10khz where things gets complicated), 2BA for mid, 2BA for sub woofer, a bare minimum setup—Softears had done a mastery piece of low-distortion and perfectly liner phase, and state of art loudness status management gear. If it fit with your spot, it’s one and the only gear that you could never get away. But it misses, I totally agree with that you have mentioned in the comparison. They are different animals, one is VR simulator, another one is ultimate movie theater

Thanks to bring AuR Neon!

Just googled very few reviews. I found our fellow head fier nymz’s review and it seems it wasn’t his cup of tea
https://nymzreviews.com/2022/02/13/aur-neon-review/

I think I’ve mistaken Allure’s fr with Neon’s…. Neon’s FR looks like a bass-head IEM with V-tuned treble, you probably will have a very wide sound stage as a benefit with a sacrifice of natural tonality.

Hope they revise that FR to something like this; non-harman dark-neutral approach

If you find Neon perfectly fitting with your preference, you also may find GS Audio ST10 amusing.

US $430.00 | GS AUDIO ST10 10BA Hybrid Driver HiFi In-Ear Earphones with 0.78 2pin Detachable Cable IEMs for Audiophiles Musician OEM ODM
https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0FJqky

It’s a copy of Vision Ears’s setup, full of high-end Sonion and Knowles, 10BA, bass-heavy V-shaped, I also have one of ST10.

A detailed FR chart I obtained directly from GS Audio

12db of bass floor, and whopping 20db treble boost! With 10BA high-end devices, it’s a hot dog made with premium A5 Rank Wagyu Beef and USDA Prime chateaubriand steak.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Actually I think the Wharfedale Isodynamic headphones were the first planar model, dating from 1972, predating the Yamaha by 4 years.

You might be right if you do a google search

 

[Nimweth]

You might be right if you do a google search

I didn't need to Google it, back in the early 70s I used to visit Hi-Fi exhibitions and after hearing the Isodynamic at a show in London one of my friends bought a pair of the Wharfedales. They sounded very good but needed a lot of power to drive them.

 

[G777]

You have to wonder why the Vernus was so limited. I have a feeling it was due to just how good it was meaning in the scheme of things. You cant have a $220 IEM outdo your higher end IEMs. It was both fan service and as much as people clamored for dunu to sell the vernus, they probably knew it was competing with their more higher end IEMs.

If any of you guys got lucky to get a Vernus. You are just that. Lucky. I have yet to own a comparable dynamic IEM for the price point. I think Penons Vortex comes the closest in value at the price but Dunu should make them permanent part of their line up. But I bet they have their reasons why it was in limited quantities.

There were rumblings on how the Vernus and Falcon Pro essentially share the same driver as the Softears Turii. Falcon Pro is tuned quite different from the Turii but Vernus is pretty close. I suspect they wanted to avoid conflict with Softears/Moondrop so they kept Vernus limited edition and the Falcon Pro as the standard product.

 

[chickenmoon]

There were rumblings on how the Vernus and Falcon Pro essentially share the same driver as the Softears Turii. Falcon Pro is tuned quite different from the Turii but Vernus is pretty close. I suspect they wanted to avoid conflict with Softears/Moondrop so they kept Vernus limited edition and the Falcon Pro as the standard product.

I haven't heard the Vernus but I have both Turii and FP and they aren't close in performance despite them reportedly sharing "essentially" the same driver, the Zen Pro is much, much closer to the Turii in that respect.

 

[Jmop]

No W1 is the latest generation soft and sticky crystal silicon that doesn’t depreciate like old AZLA xelastec. CP100 Plus is the half-transparent soft silicon, same with most of SpinFit CP series except anomalies like CP500. To my knowledge, so far Softears UC, and AZLA xelastec crystal clear ( or in US they call it Xelastec 2 ) uses same material. Moondrop is still behind in base materials, their Spring Tip (SpinFit copy with wide bore) is pretty close to the latest generation soft silicone but a bit too soft to stick on ears.

W1: https://a.co/d/c7WEyYc
UC: https://a.co/d/fq8imtn
Xelastec Crystal: https://a.aliexpress.com/_msm8PBO

You know both AZLA and SpinFits are core ear tip makers and the market leaders, these new generation tip surely is a thing that will change the game. A high performance sport tires they are

The latest silicon feel better and sticks better than ones, also SpinFit mentioned that W1 is designed for the latest hybrids/tribrids. W1’s bore is pretty big, so it does a good job moderating the hybrids’s nozzle outlet. W1 also has the “Spiral fit” or SpinFit tech and acoustic chamber that sometimes does a tremendous job altering bass transients response.

Thanks for the links! And the info.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Thanks for the links! And the info.

I may have xelastec one wrong though. The xelastec clear one (I actually ordered) didn’t say Xelastec at all Anyway it looks nice and clear, I need those crystal clear silicone tips as many as possible thesedays. W1 is 80% hitter, it matches to most of my IEM. Now it’s on Wu. Better hit ratio than CP360.

 

[Jmop]

I may have xelastec one wrong though. The xelastec clear one (I actually ordered) didn’t say Xelastec at all Anyway it looks nice and clear, I need those crystal clear silicone tips as many as possible thesedays. W1 is 80% hitter, it matches to most of my IEM. Now it’s on Wu. Better hit ratio than CP360.

Lol I actually had passed on xelastec cuz I didn’t wanna deal with lint magnets.

 

[baskingshark]

For Final Audio fans, they have a new IEM released on 23.12.22.
The A5000: https://final-inc.com/products/A5000-jp

Apparently it is based on the A8000 (using google translate for the above link).

$242 USD (¥32,800)
6mm DD

Sensitivity: 100dB/mw
Impedance: 18Ω

Might possibly be harder to drive due to the lowish sensitivity.

 

[o0genesis0o]

For Final Audio fans, they have a new IEM released on 23.12.22.
The A5000: https://final-inc.com/products/A5000-jp

Apparently it is based on the A8000 (using google translate for the above link).

$242 USD (¥32,800)
6mm DD

100dB/mw
18Ω

Might possibly be harder to drive due to the lowish sensitivity.

Definitely not Apple dongle friendly I wonder if this unit has international release.

 

[baskingshark]

Definitely not Apple dongle friendly I wonder if this unit has international release.

I am very glad you have joined the dark side of finding capable amps/sources to pair with the Final E5000! Sorry for your wallet!

 

[Jmop]

For Final Audio fans, they have a new IEM released on 23.12.22.
The A5000: https://final-inc.com/products/A5000-jp

Apparently it is based on the A8000 (using google translate for the above link).

$242 USD (¥32,800)
6mm DD

100dB/mw
18Ω

Might possibly be harder to drive due to the lowish sensitivity.

Final should really can that design..

 

[o0genesis0o]

I am very glad you have joined the dark side of finding capable amps/sources to pair with the Final E5000! Sorry for your wallet!

Mate, I find sources to pair with my Andromeda

Joke aside, strong battery-powered DAC/AMP (e.g., Topping G5) sounds good. I think they are sweet spot in price / performance for portable sources. DAP are very expensive to reach that level of sound.