[nikbr]

Great to hear another recommendation Nik.

I left it for several hours and came back for another listen to reassess my earlier observations.

Nothing changed I am pleased to say.

I went through probably a couple dozen songs from Diana Krall, to Boz Scaggs to Beastie Boys to Soundgarden to Incubus to Rage Against the Machine and Metallica plus others. These were songs I know well and some have elements in them that I know are a decent test or I just know how they should sound.

Everything had an additional level of crispness and crystalline clarity that seemed to be missing with other tips. I swapped from the A&K PA10 amplifier to straight out of the M11 Plus and the PA10 might have been contributing a little to the difference but it seemed the majority of what I was hearing was due to the Coreir tips.

They are stupid expensive but I ordered a couple more pairs just to have them on hand. I don’t see me changing anytime soon.

Probably not coincidentally my previously preferred tips on the Neon Pro were the H570 which also have a big bore and more or less straight pipe off the end of the BA tubes. They are akin to a silicone version of the Coreir which go some way to achieving the same effect but the metal core kicks that up several notches and seem to really suit the Neon Pro sound, at least when stuck in my ears.

Looking forward to trying them on a set of Aurora.

Indeed. Very impressive. I'm intrigued in that other Al core they offer, too. Haven't tried them on Aurora yet, but that one currently has, guess which, H570. Haha. Those are amazing too, no doubt about it.

 

[DingDongMonster]

You got me intrigued with some Coreir tips. Anyone got experience shopping at https://www.jaben.com/products/pentaconn-coreir?variant=45621994783001 ?

Jaben is one of the major shops in Singapore. I usually just go down and buy it, familiar faces always get a discount. If you are shipping out of Singapore. You might want to check the charges first.

 

[firesign]

Do you eq the subbass on NP? What EQ do you use on Aurora nowadays? You mentioned -2dB for midrange?

Yes, I do EQ the subbass on NP.
I don't have the Aurora, I sold it long time ago.

 

[firesign]

I am not so sure adding sub bass only would not upset the balance of the Neon Pro tuning.

No, it doesn't.
It sounds really well. I like it more than without the EQ.

 

[firesign]

I have been listening to the Ascension this morning and did a comparison with the Neon Pro on a couple of songs that really sounded nice on the Ascension, frankly, as per my comment above, everything sounded great on the Ascension off the PA10 amp.

Immediately the Neon Pro sounded just a bit less refined by comparison on the same tracks, one of which is shown on the photo I posted above.

Every person with Ascension that knows my taste in sound has said that Ascension won't be my thing.
I don't like thick low mids, and Ascension has thick low mids. That is a instant "not for me".
But I would like to try it, like the Aetha.
And I have decided not to blindly buy anything else.

 

[BS5711]

Every person with Ascension that knows my taste in sound has said that Ascension won't be my thing.
I don't like thick low mids, and Ascension has thick low mids. That is a instant "not for me".
But I would like to try it, like the Aetha.
And I have decided not to blindly buy anything else.

I understand your sentiment but I don’t hear anything that sounds thick to my ear and I would like to better understand what others are describing.

Just for interest sake, probably mine not yours, do you have a track and timing within that track which would demonstrate the sort of sound that you prefer and that would be ruined for you by thick lower mids ?

 

[firesign]

I understand your sentiment but I don’t hear anything that sounds thick to my ear and I would like to better understand what others are describing.

Just for interest sake, probably mine not yours, do you have a track and timing within that track which would demonstrate the sort of sound that you prefer and that would be ruined for you by thick lower mids ?

Yes, many songs I listen are like that (I only listen metal).
For example:
Amon Amarth - First Kill
An Abstract Illusion - I'm the heavens above...
Megadeth - Holy Wars...

For me, Aurora has thick low mids. And everybody says Ascension has thicker low mids than Aurora...

The important thing to understand is "we listen differently". I have friends who likes thcik low mids over anything else. And I hate thick low mids... For me, thick low mids sound unnatural (and bloated, and muddy). For other people, they sound natural...

 

[BS5711]

Yes, many songs I listen are like that (I only listen metal).
For example:
Amon Amarth - First Kill
An Abstract Illusion - I'm the heavens above...
Megadeth - Holy Wars...

For me, Aurora has thick low mids. And everybody says Ascension has thicker low mids than Aurora...

The important thing to understand is "we listen differently". I have friends who likes thcik low mids over anything else. And I hate thick low mids... For me, thick low mids sound unnatural (and bloated, and muddy). For other people, they sound natural...

All good, I totally understand we all have preferences and beyond a very basic level of sound quality and tuning that is all this hobby is about.

I am not judging I am simply interested in understanding, it’s just in my nature to do so, it’s a curse !!

I will have a listen to some of those tracks on my Neon Pro and Ascension to compare and hopefully understand.

 

[microzyma]

I definitely do hear extra fullness in the midrange with Ascension. It's not a neutral nor energetic set by any means. You can listen to Miles Davis' version of It Never Entered My Mind without being beheaded. You might find commercial metal sounds a bit less menacing, though pleasing in a different way. Poorly recorded 80's thrash and punk are given new life though.

It's an all-around set that clearly shows the differences between recordings, but rarely punishes bad ones. Everything sounds good, at the expense of some of that excitement you get with well recorded music and a more energetic tuning. It just has other charms. Jesus, I sound like a shill

 

[Empros]

Met Mr. Nicholas today to collect my two Athena cables I ordered previously. Decided to get them to pair with my Ascension after seeing how good they look and reading the positive reviews in this thread.

In hand, the build quality is wonderful. It’s a great budget friendly non-limited edition alternative for those who missed out on the Effect Audio Ares S x Cadmus 2023 Christmas cable.

Mr. Nicholas was also very kind to allow me an audition with the Aehta, with both the godfall cable (not pictured below) and my newly brought Athena’s. (Please forgive the subpar photography)

Fit wise the Aehta is actually really comfortable with nozzle shorter than the Ascension. Tips used were divinus velvet in M size.

In my brief time with the Aehta, all listening were done with: bass switch off, mids and treble switch on. I must say the Aehta sounded really good. The bass was well controlled and textured, mids were well tuned and I personally felt the treble was still well extended.

My personal collecting philosophy is to keep only 1 IEM of each brand, but I have decided to break that rule and placed an order for the Aehta.

Thanks again to Mr. Nicholas for letting me audition. And thank you all for taking the time to read this.

 

[zikarus]

Met Mr. Nicholas today to collect my two Athena cables I ordered previously. Decided to get them to pair with my Ascension after seeing how good they look and reading the positive reviews in this thread.

In hand, the build quality is wonderful. It’s a great budget friendly non-limited edition alternative for those who missed out on the Effect Audio Ares S x Cadmus 2023 Christmas cable.



Mr. Nicholas was also very kind to allow me an audition with the Aehta, with both the godfall cable (not pictured below) and my newly brought Athena’s. (Please forgive the subpar photography)

Fit wise the Aehta is actually really comfortable with nozzle shorter than the Ascension. Tips used were divinus velvet in M size.

In my brief time with the Aehta, all listening were done with: bass switch off, mids and treble switch on. I must say the Aehta sounded really good. The bass was well controlled and textured, mids were well tuned and I personally felt the treble was still well extended.

My personal collecting philosophy is to keep only 1 IEM of each brand, but I have decided to break that rule and placed an order for the Aehta.


Thanks again to Mr. Nicholas for letting me audition. And thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Welcome to head-fi and sorry for your wallet

 

[nikbr]

Athena is great and I found a new pairing for it. Easy on the eyes and pleasing for the ears.

 

[Empros]

Welcome to head-fi and sorry for your wallet

Thank you for the welcome and the condolences for my wallet. May it rest in peace .

 

[Empros]

Athena is great and I found a new pairing for it. Easy on the eyes and pleasing for the ears.

This looks so good!

 

[BS5711]

For example:
Amon Amarth - First Kill
An Abstract Illusion - I'm the heavens above...
Megadeth - Holy Wars...

I listened to those three songs with Neon Pro and Ascension powered by my iFi Diablo to better understand.

I first listened to some of my own tracks to make sure I was hearing the IEM as normal and especially the Neon Pro with my recent swap to Coreir tips. I was and they still sounded fabulous !

I then fired up the three tracks above and did some back and forth between Neon Pro and Ascension. I settled on ‘First Kill’ for a final comparison because it seemed to be the most testing of the three, in my estimation at least, metal isn’t my thing.

To my ear the vocals are not dramatically different, but of course a difference that is subtle to me might be significantly important to you since this is your genre. Instruments all sounded good to me.

However, I can totally understand why people say the Neon Pro is exceptional for metal, they really are. The incisive nature of them, the clarity and BA speed are fantastic. On ‘First Kill’ to my ear I absolutely preferred the Neon Pro’s BA bass, it just seems to be a better fit for the fast punchy bass. The Ascension was fine but the added sub bass didn’t seem to be any benefit, not sure if that is because there isn’t much sub bass on those tracks or just that the fast punchy mid bass dominates so much the sub bass doesn’t get much of a look in.

Frankly, and as much as I like the Ascension, it is totally outclassed by the Neon Pro for those tracks. It’s more easy going character just doesn’t compete with the insight into the music that the Neon Pro’s 10 x BAs bring.

I suspect you are right, whether it is the lower mid range or other reasons I believe you would be disappointed with the Ascension if metal is you main or only listen and you are currently using the Neon Pro.

If you haven’t already you might try the Coreir on the Neon Pro. To my ear they are an incredible match that enhance everything I find good with the Neon Pro’s tuning. They seem to enhance the clarity and remove some sort of resonance to my ear.

Edited to add: thank you for humouring me and my enquiring mind on this comparison. It was a good learning experience and gave me better insight into the virtues of the Neon Pro and has made me enjoy them even more. I might even listen to a bit more Amon Amarth in the future