AFUL Explorer 1DD+2BA Hybrid In-Ear Monitors

Implementation > Driver Type or Count
This is a universal constant in audio, IMO. For headphones AND speakers.

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AMEN, my brother!

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I’ve definitely stopped getting automatically excited at product announcements just because a DD is over a certain diameter, or made of a certain material. For this exact reason.

There have been several releases which huge DDs that are bass light.

And ‘beryllium coated’ covers such a huge range of semantics (a stray bery atom here and there vs much fuller plating) even before implementation (dampening, cavity, resistors, crossovers, shell material, fit in the ear…)

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The Hiby ,Project Ace, rhe iBasso T3-154 both perfect examples of bass lite bigger Dynamic Drivers. I was expecting more boom boom :boom: :sweat_smile:

Off the top of my head FiiO have dropped several with large diameter DDs not really contributing much low end.

I have a FiiO FH7 and yes it is light in the bass…

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Hello Friends,

I got my hands on Aful P7 early thanks to the good courier company people lol. Here’s a graph.


You guys can check out my impressions on my YT as well.

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First impressions of the Dos?

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Liking so far, the bass is the standout, again, i am realizing I am particularly sensitive to BA timbre so anything not a planar i have to listen at a lower volume on most tracks, it is way less peaky than the Explorer unit i had, also this is off a BTR15 bluetoothed which is most of my use case also Spinfits, i do not like these with Dunu SS. I’m really quite curious how these would be compared against the Dynaquattro, to maybe see if no BA’s is the answer. i will say also that S08 treble is pretty much perfectly inoffensive with planar detail, I could chase that dragon as well for treble

EDIT: I also wanna say this is fresh outta the box i still have prolly not even 5 hours on em, and library cant stress that enough.

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This is so on the nose. These have been my top two sets, but it depends on my mood.

From the beginning I was pretty sure the Explorer wasn’t for everyone, but for the folks that it hit the right way, it is amazing. I think we have had so many different version of bright treble, it is just nice to see something a bit different.

I am looking forward to hearing your impressions.

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I think if they want dynamics and contrast they can go for the cinco. I’m eyeing on that or Dynaquattro for my next IEM but still kinda rethinking abt dropping 250€ for a hobby i just got into lol. Kinda wanna start slowly working my way from the lower price brackets but I don’t think I can find similar tuned IEMs under 200 like the Ziigaat bros. Maybe Performer 5 but heard the bass can be hit or miss

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AFUL has done it again with their latest IEM release, the Performer 5+2. I’ve really enjoyed my time with it – the sound quality is outstanding, and it’s giving serious competition to other IEMs in the $300 range. Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for something impressive in this segment.

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As an Explorer user and fan, I’m afraid to get this one and never touch the Explorer again lol.

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Explorer is slightly bassier and darker than this, but performer 5+2 is a clear setp up.

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How is the bass on the 5+2? Explorer is bassier, even with 1DD?


Bass is near identical on graph, but the mids/treble is lower on the explorer so you should perceive more bass quantity from it.

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@Rikudou_Goku do you know where the planar driver is taking over? BA treble seems to kill me for some reason returned the explorers

Generally, Ultra-high FR is usually referring to 10k+.

If the “similar to the knowles 30095” is anything to go by though.


That driver starts working from 5k.

But then there is this

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Thankyou for the breakdown

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Hi, I have a question for all those who own the Explorer. I’ve seen some reviewers—though not all—mention that they require quite a bit of power. I’m planning to use them only with a DAC dongle, which I’m quite happy with. It’s a Cx31993 Jcally JM7 that works pretty well, 1Vrms.

With this dongle, I usually listen to music at around 60% volume while walking down the street, and it’s pretty loud tbh. The IEMs I typically use all have a single driver, including the venerable Blon 03, the Tangzu Wan’er, and the Dunu Titan S. They all reach roughly the same volume level when maxxed out and/or at 60%

This will be my first hybrid IEM, so I’m not sure to what extent this might impact the power requirements or if, specifically, the Explorers—as some reviewers suggest—do indeed need more power. Should I consider buying a more powerful DAC dongle along with the Explorers? Or would the JCally JM7 be enough on its own?

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