Another day, another IEM

The AüR Audio Neon Pro arrived yesterday, looking very nice here with the Effect Audio Eros S 1st anniversary edition cable:

Initial impressions are great! They have a bass switch, which increases (or decreases depending on how you look at it) the bass by 3db. I’ve tried them in both, think I prefer off, but can see the use case for both. It certainly makes them versatile. I got them with the upgraded Athena cable as well which also seems extremely good.

Full review will be coming, as it’s my own set it won’t be rushed out. The Aurora is also on the way, I didn’t immediately enjoy the bass on the Aurora on the tour set but since it’s been gone I’ve missed it (always a good sign), so bought one! My impressions were as follows (originally posted over on head-fi):

Packaging and build – the tour package was just the case, IEM, cable, and tips so cannot comment on the retail packaging. The build seems fine, very solid, standard two pin. Faceplate is lovely and the included cable is quite nice in terms of look and feel, performance was fine.

Setup – I used these for a little under a week, I would have had about 30 hours on them. There were mainly used on my desktop setup (Tidal -> (Tidal Connect) – > iFi Stream -> Sony TA-ZH1ES -> Aurora) but did also drive them off my little Zen Stack via Bluetooth, and my FiiO Q7.

Specs:

Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Impedance: 19Ω 
Sensitivity: 104dB (@130mV)

Driver Config:

Bass (2): Dual Opposed 7.5mm pu+peek DD with N52 magnet 
Midrange (4): E-Audio Improved RAB Dual Drivers 
Treble (2): Knowles Dual Tweeter

Completely handmade IEM.

50-100 hours burn-in is recommended, as this is a tour set (and I’m the third) I assume they’ve got close to 100 hours now, I didn’t notice any change during my time with them.

Pairing impressions:

I really enjoyed these from the TA-ZH1ES and FiiO Q7, however did not like them from my Zen stack at all. My assumption is that this was due to it being over Bluetooth, from my iPhone, using AAC. I find that AAC sometimes seems bump the bass up a little and based on how these are by default it really didn’t work for me.

Sound Impressions:

Bass: Bass has OK texture to it, not overly hard hitting, but the quality is decent. There is an overall soft/fuzzy feeling on the bass to my ears, a little laid back. Listening to a track that has a good kick drum, you don’t get the impact of each kick, it somewhat flows between the kicks like a wave. I was doing a decent amount of A/B on the bass with some other IEM’s to confirm this. As interesting implementation of bass that will suit some but not completely to my tastes.

Mids: My favourite part of the Aurora, male and female vocals both come across nicely, they have the right amount of weight across both which is really nice. Instruments sound natural. Everything is a little warm leaning (my preference).

Treble: Rolled off, lacking air. It’s deceptive, the drivers are doing a good job as there is plenty of detail, and they handle busy tracks extremely well, but as it’s recessed you end up getting a little bit of a dark feeling overall and if you don’t pay attention, you can miss the detail.

Soundstage and Imaging: Soundstage is relatively small and imaging is OK. While instruments don’t fall over each other, and you can pick out placement if you pay attention, it’s more of a 2d canvas wrapped around you to me, rather than a 3d field.

Overall sound impressions: The bass is implemented in a way that isn’t to my normal liking, however when taken with the mids and treble I quite enjoyed my time with them. They’re not an in-your-face IEM, but nice to pop in and relax with. I’m listening to Lang Lang – The Disney Book on these while writing this review and it’s a lovely relaxing listen.

In terms of comparisons, I only really have the Meze Advar and Sennheiser IE600 within the vicinity of these (both single DD). The Advar’s have been my daily drivers for quite a while and really suit my taste and these did nothing to change that, if anything it solidifies what I look for in an IEM. Popping the IE600’s in and the difference in soundstage is night and day, the IE600 delivers an expansive soundstage which gives a lusher representation of the music that you’re listening to for me. These are both a little spicy in the treble though, so they certainly don’t suit everyone’s taste, but for me they do. These were the two I was flicking between for the bass comparison, and both are much more defined in their impact.

Overall: For a slightly laidback experience these are nice at their price point. I’d recommend giving them a listen if you have a chance, or if what’s been described suits you maybe take the plunge. As an upgrade path from some of cheaper IEM’s in the market these are a great step and don’t think you’d be disappointed – I’d easily recommend to someone if these suited their preference. They’re great with vocal focused tracks across both male and female vocalist. If I owned them, they would be my lazy weekend IEM’s to have while relaxing with a drink.