It’s one of the best tips but you gotta make sure it’s a bit warm so it conforms to your ear better
if not, it’s super crazy stiff lmao also weird sizing
I got weird ears tho, I need Medium on left but I’m pretty sure I need XL for the right
This Album with the Titans is nuts
Did a quick A/B with the Explorers because of some curiosity I had and there’s literally no comparison.
Got me thinking that Kilobuck+ IEMs really don’t make sense in a vacuum, it’s when you directly compare them to lower priced IEMs that it becomes very apparent the extra money does get you to that next level. Sometimes to the next few levels.
What an experience. That’s what people don’t get. We’re not just buying IEMs and Sources here, we’re buying experiences. Money well spent 
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@domq422 I use this as a sustained bass test amongst other things, can shake the room, the bowed guitar made me think of them…
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Oof, thanks for the rec, brother. I’ll be jumping on this asap!
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I very rarely share my personal life on my thread but I felt the urge to give something of a life update and share some of the beautiful moments I’ve had with my family the last few days. I had a few days off from work after years or working non-stop and I feel totally re-energized to a degree I didn’t think was possible… it’s crazy what a few days of just pure relaxation can do for one’s soul 
Me and the big guy got a haircut together, it’s something of a tradition of ours. He was reluctant to do it and wanted to grow his hair out (I do the same thing, I only get 1 hair cut a year) but with school coming up, my wife and I decided it was time to get a clean cut to look fresh for his first day of 2nd grade 
once dad got in the chair and showed no fear of chopping the mop, he jumped in right after with no fuss. So proud of him.
The day before we spent some time doing errands, him and I, but we made time to check out a spot in Eastie he’s never been to and he really dug the view.
Arcade time with my nephew was super dope - so happy we still have these here near Boston!
Love me the museum of science in Boston. I’ve been 1000 times in my life but it never gets old. Not to mention, they added a ton of new exhibits!
The Franklin park zoo has a cool new art exhibit that lights up at night but in the day it still looks incredible! It’s a whole bunch of marine animals in these crazy, grand colors blown up 100x!
We built some toy model planes that cost us literally a buck and we had a great time - putting them together and throwing them off this ledge at a nearby park. Basically being free, and had so much fun.
I hope everyone is having/had a great summer if you’re here in the states! It’s been pretty good for us so far!
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Those are the special moments! Thanks for sharing.
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You love to see it!
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Truly special moments indeed. It’s too bad they come and go so quickly…
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yeah for the longest time when I had my Mext and didn’t have proper fit, I was really coping thinking “it’s better in some accounts yeah its worth the money” even though I was like “this was a financial blunder” compared to my Variations
then it clicked one day with spinfit omnis and you really go “oh now I get it”
duuuuuuuuuudeeeeee I want that snake plushie so bad
Enjoy those moments. As the father of three, ages 25, 23 and 19, the days in which kids are home and worship the ground upon which you walk are fleeting.
There are many things I like about being an almost empty-nester. Our kids are all good, responsible humans, so my wife and I savor the quiet time now knowing we did our jobs as parents when the larvae were in the formative stages.
Still, there are many times when I missing having the kids around. But it was our job to prepare them for the world once they flew the coop, and I think we did pretty well on that.
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Special times Dom🤙
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I love to see this! Cherished those memories, they are one of a kind. I’ve been strolling through memory lane recently with my oldest who is going to be 10 this year
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I bet it’s a very normal thing to feel the anxiety of wanting to do right by your children by being a good parent, I constantly feel that way with my son but I have to admit, he is such a good kid and I am truly lucky to have such an amazing little wingman by my side. I take him everywhere with me from the corner store, to the laundromat and everywhere in between. We always seem to conjure up some fun one way or another. Being an almost empty-nester is an entire other side of parent-anxiety I am completely unfamiliar with… but I know I have to prepare for it sooner than I think. Thank you for sharing this, brother. Beautifully written as per usual.
Man, the big one-O. My Nephew in the pics just turned 10 earlier this month and what a feeling that was. I remember holding him when he was a week old, falling asleep on our couch… now I can barely pick him up. He’s almost as tall as me! 
Thanks for sharing, brother. That’s an emotional time - I hope you enjoy it to the fullest!
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The Aful Explorer - The Chill One’
Pros: Stunning faceplate design
Very healthy assortment of accessories with a fantastic stock cable!
Nice included case
An easy to listen to signature, very laid-back
Excellent timbre and tonality across the board
Easy fit, small shells that are very contoured and comfortable
No pressure build-up for me
Mid-bass is impactful and very fun with a deep thump
Upper mids are flat, causing a lovely spacial effect at high-volume
Treble, while subdued, is surprisingly detailed and sparkly when it needs to be
Dynamic sound
Immersion is a strong suit
Cons: The bass is overshadowed by the mid-bass
Sub-bass lacks texture
Vocals suffer from being a little on the blunted side, lacking texture
Not the most detailed IEM around this price point
While not a con for me, the treble may be too laid back from some
Could be considered ‘dark’
No nozzle screen (I can’t stand this)
Transient definition in the mids
Full Disclaimer; This set of Explorers was part of a HiFiGo reviewer tour & I just happen to be part of the last leg of the tour. I was very fortunate to be gifted this pair by the tour group, so I wanted to thank you and HiFiGo for providing this pair for evaluation!
I also wanted to apologize for the lackluster photos for this review, I was running low on time this week.
Test tracks
Summary
- Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity
- Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control
- Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering
- Overnight - Parcels - mid bass punch
- Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test
- Justice - Neverender - Sub bass rumble and mid bass impact with treble sparkle balance
- Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass
- Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy
- Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass
- Wavy Maze - Goon - Mid bass
- Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals
- Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness
- Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth
- Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering
- Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test
- Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar
- Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid bass texture
- One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test
- Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed
- Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals
- Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering
- Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals
- Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness
- They Are Growing - Renata Zeiguer - Mid bass impact
Special Test Tracks for the Explorer*
Summary
- Justice - Neverender
- Justice - Incognito
- Justice Phantom Pt. II
- Justice - Audio, Video, Disco
- Justice - Safe and Sound
- daft punk - Derezzed
- daft punk - Alive 2007/Encore
- daft punk - Voyager
- DJ Mehdi - Pocket Piano
- DJ Mehdi - Signature (Thomas Bangalter Edit)
- Kavinsky - Pacific Coast Highway
- Kavinsky - Testarossa (SebastiAn Remix)
- Busy P - Pedrophillia
- Benny Benassi - Cinema (Skrillex Remix)
- Eric Prydz - Call On Me
- Eric Prydz - Pjanoo
- Eric Prydz - Opus
- Cassius - I <3 You So
Sources
Summary
- Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
- Topping D10s/Toppling L30
- Muse HiFi M4
- Fosi DS2
- FiiO BTR7 BT
Tech Specs
Three-Driver Hybrid Setup.
1DD+2BA Setup Per Side.
3D Printed Acoustic Tubed with Special-Shaped Resonator.
High-Damping Air Pressure Balanced System
Precisely Engineered Multi-Layered Electronic Crossover.
RLC Network Frequency Division Crossover Technology.
Self-Developed Wide-Frequency Response BA Driver.
Consistent High-End Sound Reproduction.
Eye-Catchy Cosmo Inspired Face Covers.
Easy to Power
Technical Information
Impedance: 26Ω±10%>
Sensitivity: 108dB/mW.
Frequency Response: 10Hz-30kHz.
Connector Type: 0.78m 2-pin connectors.
Cable Termination: 3.5mm/4.4mm.
If you’d like to purchase the Aful Explorer, follow this unaffiliated link to HiFiGo where it’s currently on sale as of writing this!
https://hifigo.com/products/aful-ex…DeRLUVvlWcDZVqViyDzbi324UuIWN0k57os8VlvWnYWmi
Fitment note ; The Explorers are one of the best-fitting IEMs I’ve ever graced my ears with. These remind me of a more molded, rounder Hexa and that’s a huge compliment as the Hexa not only fit my ears like a glove but also provided superb isolation from outside noises. The Explorers fit just as nicely but don’t attenuate outside noise as much, but they do provide a nice seal nonetheless. I never had any fatigue or pressure build-up while wearing and using the Explorers, for long periods of time. They also have great fit security as well - they were great and have become my everyday carry partly because of the great fit for my ears. One thing to mention is the lack of lip on the nozzle. I’ve had a few tips fall off both in my ears and randomly on my desk. Neither was fun - I found that Clarion tips work really well, but YMMV.
Summary - When I first put the Explorers in, I was not blown away in the slightest. In fact, they weren’t clicking with me or my library which is mostly Indie rock, usually with a female vocalist. Not the best combo for a low-pinna, dark treble kind of set obviously. The sound was somewhat compressed and as you can imagine the vocals were far too pushed back for my liking, keep in mind that I love low pinna tunings too. It just wasn’t working for me and I nearly packed them away after a quick session and called it right there and then.
Small backstory; when I was 12/13 years old all I listened to was Hip-hop, Rap, and EDM-type music. It was only just recently, about 2 years ago, that I started to really explore what other music was out there. One of my favorite duos in all of music, Justice, had their first live show in Boston earlier this month and I was very lucky to go, and front row mind you. It was a mind-melting experience and it really sparked my love of Dance music once again, especially French Touch style dance music. That’s where the Explorers come in. These are incredible for the dance music side of my library. I just didn’t think to check there. If it weren’t for that concert I went to, I most likely wouldn’t have even tried to listen to dance/EDM whilst I had them. I’m glad I did.
Bass;
The Mid-bass is impactful and powerful on my entire EDM playlist, it has a slightly soft character to it, but this, I think, is to its advantage. Initial transients aren’t as snappy as I’d like, yes, but the thump behind the kicks and the extremely natural decay is what sold me. Neverender by Justice sounds big and larger than life. The Staging also feels deep and vast, especially during that intro. The initial beat drop is just impossible to resist, I found myself replaying it over and over again for the first week I had them. Pocket Piano by DJ Mehdi has an extremely authoritative kick drum, and the Explorers eat that up. I believe the laid-back treble and upper-mid range somewhat contribute to a softer and blunter bass experience, but this set having a DD really does help. This bass response reminds me of a better version of the Symphonium Meteors. I felt like the Mid-bass on the Meteors was thumpy and powerful, but it lacked that initial attack snap-on drum kicks - While the Explorers don’t have the sharpest attack I’ve heard, I really do feel like It works wonders for EDM/Dance/Electronic music and it strikes the right balance. The elephant in the room, however, is the sub-bass. Simply put, compared to the mid-bass, it’s lacking and the mid-bass overshadows it quite a bit. Depending on who you are, this might mean a lot, or maybe you’re a mid-over sub-bass kind of listener. I prefer sub over mid, but I still think the explorers rock the house when it comes to the bass department, if these had the sub-bass texture and rumble to back up the mid-bass, we’d be talking market-breaking when it comes to bass.
Mids;
The mids may not be what the Explorers do well depending on what you consider “good mids”, however, the timbre and tonality are really top-notch. While the mids don’t have the best detail or overall resolution, the way they’re rendered is very pleasing to the ear. On my typical playlist with artists like No Vacation, Paramore, Wild Painting, etc. the vocals aren’t what I would call ideal. They’re slightly dull sounding and lacking that emotional stamp that a more boosted upper-mids would provide. Still, the timbre is very pleasing and extremely easy to enjoy. I did notice that when a song isn’t mastered/produced very dynamically, it can sound a bit flat with the vocals being so subdued. I will say, however, that Men I Trust sounded phenomenal. Really chill, laid back, and very immersive, especially at higher volumes.
Treble;
Probably the most surprising part of the Explorers is in the treble region. On a graph, it looks like an absolute divot, and yes, it is somewhat dark, but honestly, not as much as you’d think. I firmly believe what’s going on here is the way the upper-mids and treble interact is extremely important. The Explorers take a completely different approach from the Meteors in that the Meteors had Symphonium’s patented boosted mid to late treble and that really made the star of the show the treble. While the Explorers don’t force the matter and choose to be a lot more cumbersome to a degree. When the sparkle is needed, it’s there and it’s there in spades with lovely timbre. I will say that listening at higher levels than normal certainly helps the immersion factor here, truly highlighting the wonderful mid-bass slam, keeping the upper-mids at bay, while getting the treble to a point where it doesn’t really sound dark at all, but rather pretty balanced. Safe and Sound by Justice sounded great during the intro with those ghostly choir vocals. Synths sound slightly on the blunted side on songs like Testarossa by Kavinsky, but for probably the better. It’s very easy for these songs to come off as harsh, especially at a higher volume which tends to happen to me when listening to dance music.
Technicalities
It’s no secret that the Explorers aren’t the tech beasts of the bunch when it comes to the under $150 club. That’s going to go to the Simgots of the world. Detail retrieval is quite good on The Explorers, but overall resolution and transient attack is not something you’ll be jumping for joy over when listening to The Explorers. Instead, sit back and relax with these IEMs. The staging at higher volumes becomes very immersive with a fairly deep effect. The width is fairly decent as well, but the height isn’t anything to write home about. Overall dynamics are strong at higher volumes as well so that’s a huge plus.
Conclusion
All-in-all, the Explorers are not the tech beasts of the IEM world. But what they are is an immersive, fun, and dynamic listening experience with a larger-than-life presentation for EDM and dance music if that’s your thing. I did not listen to much rap on the Explorers but I assume that is also going to be a strong area where they excel. Combined with the laid back upper-mids, which gives the listener a silky smooth listening experience, with a healthy bass shelf and a treble that is deceivingly fun when it needs to be and you have yourself an IEM that might just be a specialist but it’s damn good at it. Depending on your ear shape and size, these have some of the best fit I’ve experienced around, above and below this price point no doubt about it and I totally forgot to mention that the stock cable is one of the most comfortable cables I’ve used, stock or 3rd party, no joke! The ear hooks are unusually plush and I dig it! Add all this up and what do you get? A set that’s fantastic for extended listening sessions, sleeping at night, or just general casual music, podcast, or movie enjoyment! I really do like the Explorers and I hope these impressions helped you decide if you were on the fence.
Happy to answer any questions if you have any, take care, and happy listening!
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Great take on the Explorers. They might be one of my cheaper sets I own…
But I can say I use them daily,and enjoy them greatly🤙
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Yeah, I own two Explorers. I use one at work and have one as a reference at home. It’s nice.
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Excellent review, Dom.
Same experience for me with the Explorer. Thought, “meh,” the first time I heard them. Disappointing. Rolled tips, gave more time for brain burn-in (I’m not a big believer in unit burn-in), and their strengths and truth exposed themselves to me.
Now, the Explorer is an easy everyday listen for me. A go-to set.
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Same here, brother. They’re at that sweet spot in my collection where they’re not a budget set with lackluster sound, they’re actually pretty great, but they’re also not a very expensive set I don’t feel comfortable bringing out of the house so they are truly my EDC!
Good call - Having that back up is always a good idea
thanks so much, Paul. that means a lot coming from you, sir 
You and I share the same brain on this set for sure, tip swapping and finding the right source is important with this set. I also noticed that If I’m listening to a somewhat brighter IEM for a while and then immediately switch to the Explorer they sound too dark and laid back. Brain Burn-in is incredibly important, that’s what was missing for me at first.
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Have y’all tried the Pula PA02? It’s on sale now on Amazon under $100 with applied coupon.
@ToneDeafMonk did a comparison in his review of the Explorer and found the PA02 have a better sense of presence and depth, surpasses it in presentation of vocals, guitars, more linear and dynamic, more emotional and engaging, better timbre & musicality, sounds more correct.
The Explorer relaxed, more balanced, a chill set at volume, lacking at lower volumes.
…watch the review
eep this up going to have to pay you a marketing fee.
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