Welcome to the dedicated AFUL hub.
This thread is for all things AFUL: product news, impressions, comparisons, and community discussion.
Whether you’re following their latest releases or revisiting older models, here’s a quick look at AFUL’s journey so far.
2022 – Performer 5 & Performer 8
Performer 5: “perfectly balanced, easy-to-listen IEM”
Performer 8: “step up in clarity and soundstage, showcasing AFUL’s technical depth”
2023 – Magic One & Snowy Night
Magic One: “surprisingly coherent for a single BA design”
Snowy Night: “smooth, musical, fatigue-free listening experience”
2024 – Explorer, Performer 7 & Cantor
Performer 7: over 10,000 units sold, praised for “refined vocals, balanced tonality, and versatility”
Explorer & Cantor: commended for midrange clarity and immersive sound
2025 – Polar Night & DAWN-X
Polar Night: “spacious, cohesive, highly musical”
DAWN-X: “innovative design without compromising sound quality”
Hi. Are you affiliated with Aful or HifiGo by any chance? You post reads like an advertisement and this forum already has had a bad experience with HifiGo astroturfing shenannigans. Also, your activity on this forum only involves posts that are connected to products that are sold by HifiGo.
If you are affiliated, please have the decency to flat out say this from the start. You will get alot more respect this way and not be viewed with suspicion.
Hi.
To clarify, I am not affiliated with AFUL or HifiGo. My posts are focused on AFUL products because that’s where my current interest lies, and I wanted to share structured impressions in line with how Hifiguides threads are usually presented – short and concise.
I’m not here to advertise. Sound impressions are always subjective.
Regarding DAWN‑X, build quality and shell design are fair points to raise. Experiences can vary depending on fit and expectations - ie not your sound preference.
I have been interested in what happened to @SuperJunee. I recall that she made it clear that she is affiliated with HiFiGo. Apparently she was zapped just after the release of the Pula Unicrom. Did I miss anything which she did which would obviously be negative?
Thank you for the posts which show that she was pretending to be a customer in order to bump a thread. That is totally not okay to do since she is a representative.
I have no clue about the PR surrounding the Performer 8s. People are pointing out that the 8s doesn’t seem to actually have a passive radiator. Aful says that it is some sort of “RESInator” in one image yet calls it a passive “radiator” in another image. It seems that nobody can hear any noticeable difference in the bass quality if the vent next to the “radiator” on the top of the IEM is unplugged or plugged. Perhaps there is a very subtle difference. This resinator or radiator thing seems to be little more than a marketing gimmick.
I looked around on the hifigo website with regards to the Performer 8s. Apparently it is the bass port at the bottom of the IEM which can be plugged, and not plugging the port on the top of the IEM which is adjacent to the resinator or radiator.
lol. Guess that’s why it’s an invisible black sticker on top near the 2-pin. I’ll try it later…
I don’t think that’s right. Graphic show passive vent/switch ‘hole’ and bass vent. Plugging the ‘bass vent’ audibly cuts off bass below ~120Hz. Regardless, I’m really enjoying this set with no thought of needing to EQ. I hope it doesn’t get slammed for the useless port. I found another set of Squigs besides HBB that show zero difference open or closed.
Here is a Q and A copy and paste from HiFiGo’s website:
Q Will blocking the tuning port cause ear pressure?
A No. Performer 8S features a dual-vent design. The bass tuning vent is for low-frequency tuning, while a separate top pressure-relief vent with internal damping balances air pressure between the shell and ear canal and also fine-tunes the bass. Since they are independent acoustic paths, blocking the tuning vent won’t increase ear pressure. It will only affect bass response.
Anyway, I am wondering what would happen if the bottom Bass Vent is plugged and the top resonator vent is opened. Or is that what you tested? I saw the Bass Audio squigs which show zero difference between the resonator being plugged or non-plugged. Perhaps the idea is to either plug the top resonator ports to to plug the bottom bass ports? I don’t know.
Fresh Reviews posted a video about the P8s and updated his tier list. The P8s is in the A tier but he says that the P8s borders on A minus. The P8 is in the B plus tier. I don’t do gaming.
I’ve now tried it both ways, with top port open and closed and bottom port open and closed. Closing bottom still kills bass response regardless of the top port open or closed.
Thank you for trying the combinations. The marketing behind the resinator thing appears to be just a gimmick. Yet there is one possibility. Perhaps this a resonance between the dynamic driver and the shell which can be audible for bass notes at or very close to the resonant frequency. For example, I have the Edifier MR4 desktop speakers. The speaker cabinets are only 1/4 inch thick. I discovered the cabinet’s resonant frequencies by very slowly moving up through frequencies from sub bass (20 Hz) to high bass (300 Hz). The resonances don’t show up in fast frequency sweeps since the resonances take a fair fraction of a second to build up. I found an annoying +15 dB resonance at 128 Hz and an additional +8 dB resonance at 185 Hz. Note that 185 Hz is a half wave longer than 128 Hz. I used the Online Tone Generator tool at:
It might be interesting to see if you hear any resonances when very slowly sweeping from 20 Hz to 300 Hz with the resinator port plugged or unplugged. I am simply very curious. Thank you for the stuff which you have already tried.
hmm, if the resonance builds up over time I should be able to hear it with music playing. I must say the texture of the bass is quite good regardless.
The mids are very well done and the treble is not to AO Ra EST level but pretty close most of the time. At least it doesn’t annoy me like other MP have.
? I don’t see anything new there. It still doesn’t change plugged or not. I know he bashed them for unbranded drivers and non-functional PR but I still enjoy them…not sure they are up to the asking price though.
