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

IEMs / Other In-Ear Monitors (IEM)
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First of all, the nominal impedance of 300 ohms is simply an average; it is not inclusive of the variations in impedance at different frequencies. The HD600 shows very substantial peaks in impedance, especially near 100 Hz, where it may rise above 600-700 ohms. This forces the amplifier to provide higher voltage for the same current and, consequently, more power to drive these effective frequencies. Additionally, though a sensitivity rating of 97 dB SPL/mW is calculated at one frequency (1KHz for HD600), real music spans a continuous spectrum of frequencies, all at different levels of driver efficiency. Lower frequencies, where the driver might be less efficient, will require more power to reproduce in balance and with accuracy.

Higher power is also needed due to the dynamic range and transients in music. Also, the rated power values you’re seeing are continuous (2.5V RMS and 20mW for 90dB SPL) but music possesses transient peaks that may be several times the rated values; thus, a relatively large amount of peak power is required from the amplifier. For instance, ten times the rated power may be required by transient peaks, so the amplifier should be able to deliver such bursts to avoid any distortion and keep the sound clean. In addition, the quality and capability of the amplifier are very important. High impedance headphones require more voltage swing, current delivery on a consistent basis from an amplifier. Some amplifiers do struggle with this kind of headphone, having either a high output impedance or being limited in some way regarding voltage swing capability.

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Yes it is certainly true that the curve is not flat on this and it does go up to around 500 ohm.

Which I already factored in, its the +20db headroom i included, which means that the peak loudness is 110db but average would be 90db (this is an overestimation as it should be around 10-15db headroom IRL).

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Ordered Explorer last night for $90 during Amazon sale. Eager to hear them!

Edit: Yeah, I’m stoked to get these. But I also thought this simple post might return this thread to its intended purpose, discussion of the Explorer! :slight_smile:

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That’s a great deal for Explorer. Do let us know your impressions.

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+20dB headroom might seem like a lot but few genres have very high dynamic ranges and transient peaks that can demand much more.

Classical music, for example, can have peaks that are 30-40dB above the average level. The short bursts of sound (like drum hits or orchestral accents) can be significantly louder than the average signal level. To reproduce these accurately, without clipping or distortion, requires ample headroom.

A peak 20dB above the average level means the power needs increase by a factor of 100 (since power scales with the square of the voltage).

I’ll try and put this into perspective with some calculations. Suppose the average listening level is 90dB SPL with a power requirement of 20mW. Adding 20dB headroom means the peak SPL would be 110dB. Since 20dB represents a 10x voltage increase, and power is proportional to the square of the voltage, the power requirement would be

20mW × 10(2) = 20mW × 100 = 2000mW or 2W. In a real listening environment, peaks can sometimes exceed this. Providing only +20dB headroom might be sufficient for certain music types, but it’s not ample for genres with a really high dynamic range.

Just to clarify, I’m not in disagreement with anything that you said, I’m just saying that even though +20dB headroom would seem to offer good enough cushioning on paper, in reality it calls for more. Dynamic peaks, especially in genres with wide dynamic ranges, can exceed the +20dB headroom, requiring significantly more power to be reproduced accurately without distortion.

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Classical dynamic range mastering is the audiophile (over)reaction to the pop/rock loudness wars that we needed.

Overall it’s a little practically frustrating & theoretically redundant at the levels used given equipment restrictions (and the peak instrument capability use which doesn’t shift for outliers & digital silence over recording and modeled instrument placement levels) but I commend the want to be faithful to the reproduction always + gives me an excuse to have a powerful amp. Though equally with some extreme occurrences we have to call it what it is - which is bad mixing since the individual track DR numbers are likely to be substantially less when analyzed under scope.

Thanks for bringing this rarely talked about but important consideration up :+1:

Not sure if you have seen this but may be informative if your interested

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108

Ordered the Explorer this morning…

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I actually sent mine back today.

It’s very well engineered to be completely inoffensive and scalable, but it did nothing for me emotionally. The bass contributed more to warmth than ‘hitting’ at all or having much texture to it.

While I’d still recommend it to others and think the tuning shows good technology and skill, it doesn’t work out for me.

I decided it could be something to do with lacking ‘dynamics’, in as much as the quiet/loud hard/soft didn’t have enough contrast with each other.

Which again is why it’d be a great set if you didn’t want to be thinking/feeling about what you’re listening to, but for me that isn’t a use case I have.

Nothing sounded poor for timbre or anything, I can’t fault it in any zone but the package as a whole didn’t promote itself to me over other sets I could be listening to.

Genre wise I’d rec it for EDM, getting immersed in some space and warmth.

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Dynamic Range

Similar to the blon bl-03?

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Not in my case, from memory I like the Blon’s bass. Perhaps more towards how planar bass adds quantity and warmth without adding any ‘force’.

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tighter and faster than the blon then? Along with lacking texture. No Sony DNA here I guess…

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Yes, it did show speed and it wasn’t as bloomy as the blon.

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Well rip. When will we have a proper sony copy…or a new sony to begin with…

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Got my mitts on the Aful Explorer today, and man, Aful IEMs are the most tip-sensitive I’ve tried.

My MagicOne were middling at best and not good with the stock tips until I tried them with Final Type E’s. Then they sang.

Same experience out of the box with the Explorer. Tried the medium tip with the blue bore, and the only difference between these and a bucket of shite-ola was the bucket. Tinny, hollow, no bass.

I sized up to the biggest stock tip, and the bass emerged. Much better. I bought these because I love the MagicOne – my favorite IEM – and I like how Aful is eschewing the tired Harman tuning paradigm with its tuning. I especially detest the shouty upper mids with Harman tuning, especially for vocals.

But in VERY early testing still with the largest stock tips, I think Aful may have gone too far in the opposite direction with the almost-flat upper mids tuning of the Explorer. Vocals sit back a bit too far in the mix for my tastes on some tracks. Elsewhere in the mids, electric guitars have nice bite. But the timbre of snare drums sounds flat-out weird. I’m in a band; I know what snares are supposed to sound like.

I also think these have more treble than most reviewers indicate. But it’s not very detailed or textured, as all have said. Not a hint of sibilance, though.

The bass is good and is definitely more mid-bass-focused than sub-bass, regardless of what the graph shows. I like that. My only criticism of the Kefine Delci – a fantastic IEM – is there’s a bit too much sub-bass bleed.

The soundstage and imaging of the Explorer also seem to be better than many reviewers indicate. Not ST7 level with a spherical, holographical stage, but still good. Almost on par with the MagicOne.

Still early days, and I’ll probably eat all these words in a few days. :slight_smile: But let’s just say I’m not blown away by these like I hoped with rock and alt-country, my two favorite genres. What tips are everyone using with these?

Thanks.

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You’re on to something here. This is my early experience today with these IEMs.

You NAILED it with your criticism of the lack of dynamics and contrast between quiet/loud/soft. These IEMs have a “wall of sound” sensation I’m not sure I like.

It’s not like the EA500 LM, which I still contend are more of a tuning experiment than a cohesively tuned IEM. Those sounded like Simgot’s engineers tuned the bass, mids and treble in isolation chambers and stuffed them into a shell without checking how they play together.

But the Explorer lacks control and contrast, at least in my early listening. A few reviewers said this set wakes up with volume. True, but that only exacerbates the lack of control and contrast.

The Explorer so far sounds like Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey trying and failing to sing with control and phrasing instead of screaming in every song. They just can’t do it.

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Yeah, the mids tuning on the Explorer is just flat weird. There’s a lovely sax solo at the end of the great tune “Spit Of You” by Sam Fender, and I can barely hear it because it sits so far back in the mix.

Man, these are disappointing so far. I wanted to LOVE these. So meh so far.

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So far I like Spiral Dot ++ the most (very balanced, less bass focus but still has rumble and impact) but I have a LOT of tip rolling left to do.

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I thinking maybe Dunu S&S might open the mids and harness the bass a bit. Not sure the wonky tuning of these can be rescued by tips, though.

We’ll see.

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Early report: Dunu S&S help. A LOT.

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