[orifiel]

Still without time to do this, but this IEM deserves a bit of good words…
The AK/VE Aura cames in a beautiful leather like box, with tips, 2 cables and a leather case…one of the best IEM presentations that i have the pleasure to see, undoubtedly the inheritance of Vision Ears.
The sound is very good, as @twister6 says, it’s the best iteration of the Phönix series (obviously IMO), i sold the Phönix OG to afford this and i don’t regret it.
A more precise and defined sound, but with a hint of naturalness in its perfect measure, less warm than Phönix OG in favor of a more “audiophile” tunning, but without abandoning the warm touch…
IMO the best tips for it was the Azlas that came in the package, the Leo II + Ares S Bespoke cable enhance the mids and hide some part of the bass, the Aura + First Times produce a sound more Phönix OG alike but with enhanced details and soundstage.
After testing I can say that I liked sticking with the original cable better, which I want to change to a Chiron Nova when I can afford it…

Crossed post with one of the Aura threads, thanks again to the Watercoolers, his positive opinions and the Twister6 review give me the enough hype to jump into this purchase

 

[warrenpchi]

ngl, I kinda wants that leather IEM scrotum.

 

[Scubadevils]

This is where I spend as much time as possible, a quiet corner of East Ireland - no broadband, poor cell signal, so typically lots of music, chatting, reading, swimming, and walking - and of course eating and drinking Oh and I love to write reviews here, and take photos of my gear while listening to music - it’s a meditative and therapeutic experience!

Locked up today however for the winter, not back for four months Anyway, it literally is my ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’ - song now in your head?! …favourite Black Mirror episode too.

The same beach a few weeks ago during the summer…

 

[linux4ever]

This is where I spend as much time as possible, a quiet corner of East Ireland - no broadband, poor cell signal, so typically lots of music, chatting, reading, swimming, and walking - and of course eating and drinking Oh and I love to write reviews here, and take photos of my gear while listening to music - it’s a meditative and therapeutic experience!

Locked up today however for the winter, not back for four months Anyway, it literally is my ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’ - song now in your head?! …favourite Black Mirror episode too.





The same beach a few weeks ago during the summer…

Ocean view...wow. It's definitely a meditative & therapeutic experience by itself. With a good DAP & iem/headphone, it is going to be terrific. Relish it

 

[Auricon]

ngl , I kinda wants that leather IEM scrotum.

http://plussoundaudio.com/accessories/general.html?store-page=PLUSSOUND-Leather-IEM-Bag-p569723018

 

[warrenpchi]

http://plussoundaudio.com/accessories/general.html?store-page=PLUSSOUND-Leather-IEM-Bag-p569723018

Thank you! My scrotumnal needs have now been met!

Wait a tick... @Eric Chong y u no do dis?

 

[wolfstar76]

Thank you! My scrotumnal needs have now been met!

Wait a tick... @Eric Chong y u no do dis?

https://elementechnology.com/collections/accessories
Many are sold out though.

 

[Auricon]

https://elementechnology.com/collections/accessories
Many are sold out though.

@Eric Chong doesn't offer leather IEM baggies... YET

 

[aaf evo]

Getting moulds done is literally one of the most painful things for me it probably also adds up as to why I’m not a fan of universals. My poor ears feel like they’re about to burst

 

[fejnomit]

With boutique IEM you pay kilo bucks for a certain party trick or for a different music presentation, nothing more.

Yes but those party tricks can make all the difference. Especially, for me, if those tricks are better layering and imaging and depth, then those tricks are priceless to me. Contrary to the opinion stated above, I cannot happily forget them and adjust and listen to a set that lacks the best of those technicals. If those technical aspects are weak in an IEM, I can never not hear that - in other words, I am always aware of that lack. And unfortunately, I have found that it costs money to find that particular set of "party tricks" to the degree that they satisfy me and I am not inclined to move on to another IEM.

 

[warrenpchi]

A harsh statement would be, while not always true: With boutique IEM you pay kilo bucks for a certain party trick or for a different music presentation, nothing more.

Yes but those party tricks can make all the difference.

As @fejnomit pointed out, one of the reasons why diminishing returns can be easy to ignore at the summit-fi level is because: when everything else has been addressed to a satisfactory level, and those "party tricks" are all that are left to address in terms of improvement, they become everything.

 

[Deezel177]

I can listen to customs all day. That said, I can listen to good-fitting universals all day too. The trick with customs is a) getting excellent moulds, and b) getting excellent fit. If either of those two aren't 100%, you'll be going back and forth to adjust the fit which, if you factor in shipping costs and time, can be very costly and protracted.

To balance the scales consider this when it comes to customs:

1. Resale is more difficult. Even if the company reshells, it will cost you (or the buyer) and you'll generally lose more money on a custom reshell. Personally, if I'm getting a custom, it's a commitment for life (or the long term), unless the monetary loss is irrelevant.

2. Comfort depends on a perfect fit (see above).

3. You lose the sound tweaking ability of tip swaps. This can be a pro or a con, but once you go custom, the sound is the sound. You can still cable swap of course.

4. Maintenance is important. There's no tip and usually no mesh covering the nozzle, so you need to be careful to maintain the customs and clean them regularly.

All that said, a good pair of customs that fit perfectly and sound great become and extension of your ear, and feel effortless to use. Just know that it's not always sunshine and rainbows.

Oh, I should note that it's common practice to get new ear molds every few years anyway, as our ears change with age, weight loss/gain, etc.



ASP was all the rage a decade ago, particularly when enthusiasts were keen on creating portable stacks to replicate desktop listening experiences. But like many mfgs, they took an industry backseat when DAPs tried to become all-in-one devices. Glad to see them getting some love again.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve personally found the concerns around CIEMs (especially how they fit) to be a tad overblown. I could just be incredibly lucky, but out of the 30 or so customs I’ve owned, I’ve only had to refit 1, and that’s because I foolishly turned my head to look at something as the moulds were being taken, which changed the shape of that ear a tad.

I‘ve had moulds made both with and without bite blocks, as well as with my own fingers in place of bite blocks. I’ve had moulds taken one ear at a time while I put my head on a table with the filled ear facing upwards (that audiologist was pretty weird ). I’ve even had moulds taken by a local audiologist who’d never done full-ear impressions before. She’d only done partial ones for hearing aids, and I had to teach her how to do it based on my experiences in Singapore. The customs that came from every one of those scenarios fit me with pretty much the same degree of comfort and isolation, only differing in how each brand chose to trim the moulds.

Over the past year, I’ve also lost 20kg in weight, and all my customs pretty much fit the same. And, I don’t have some magical, universal-like canals either. The reason why I heavily prefer customs is because my canals have very tight bends. Some universals only fit on one ear for me, and I’ve been told once that my ears can’t fit certain models of CIEMs because of how twisty they are. So, I don’t know. Again, I could just be very, very fortunate, but I don’t think CIEMs should be as feared as they are in some parts of the community.

 

[wolfstar76]

Getting moulds done is literally one of the most painful things for me it probably also adds up as to why I’m not a fan of universals. My poor ears feel like they’re about to burst

I thought once you got the digital scan from your ears or molds, you don't have to do it anymore?

 

[freeryder05]

I thought once you got the digital scan from your ears or molds, you don't have to do it anymore?

It depends. Some companies will only take physical impressions while others will take digital. Also the life span of physical impressions is pretty low.

I have had to do physical for each of my CIEMs

 

[aaf evo]

I thought once you got the digital scan from your ears or molds, you don't have to do it anymore?

Eh you don't really, I've been using STL files from 2019 and all the CIEMs I have bought using them have fit great. But since it has been a few years I'd rather just get a fresh set of moulds done/updated STL files

My Jewel CIEM was built from STL files, so I'm sure the Fei Wan would be okay using that method too but I'll play it safe here and just get everything redone. Then these STL files from Aroma should last me a few years.