AFUL EXPLORER REVIEW: You’d be AFOOL, to sleep on AFUL… Explore
Alright bad pun aside, these are probably currently one of my favourites at around $100 - and just to get it out of the way - the Explorers are not the most technical or resolving at around its price.
VALUE PROPOSITION & SOUND:
Value wise they’re not going to beat the EA500LM, the SUPERMIX4, Nova or the planars like the T10. The resolution and detail retrieval is fine, I’d say it’s average for the price, but the tuning is more unique than a lot of the other stuff.
At mid volume they are a very comforting and chill listen, smooth, non-fatiguing, and it’s a set you’d use if you want to focus on something else, or if you just wanna sit back and relax. The vocals are definitely pushed back at mid-volume, it’s not very forward, you’re not going to hear lots of the vocal details, they’re kind of soft because they scooped out the uppermids, and the same thing could be said with the treble.
There is a roll off past 15K, it’s not going to be very airy, not very sparkly, not super detailed in general, and it’s more of a dark set at mid-volume - Which is why I wouldn’t really recommend it at mid-volume unless you like dark sets, but where the Explorer shines is when you crank them up.
These have incredible scaling, super immersive, and very smooth even at higher volumes because of the tamer uppermids and the treble. The vocals also sound more forward now because they are louder, you hear it better, they sound a lot more natural but never gets fatiguing or sharp since there’s almost no gain around 3K.
vs DAVINCI:
The low-end is also surprisingly good, when I was A/Bing these with the Davincis the Explorer has faster decay and is a bit tighter to me in the mid-bass separation. It doesn’t slam as hard as the Davincis, the note-weight, impact, and overall thickness and fullness is still better on the Davincis, but you know, the low-end just feels a little bit cleaner.
If we’re talking overall resolution and detail the Davinci is still a step above the Explorer, at mid-volume the Davincis are just straight up better, they’re more complete, better extended and balanced while having that thick thumpy bass, but if you’re willing to crank it up, then I would take the explorer.
Because imo the explorer is just more unique, it’s a lot more immersive, and once you crank it up the staging feels bigger than the Davincis, it kind of wraps around you makes you forget what you’re doing, and it feels like you’re just swimming in the music.
vs LETSHUOER S08:
Compared to the S08, the Explorer has more sub-bass presence, it’s fuller sounding, bass notes hit deeper, it scales better, but it does feel softer, less resolving, and less detailed in the uppermids and treble. Low-end wise it’s not as tight and well-controlled as the S08 even though the S08 graphs a little more in the mid-bass. The bass in the Explorer lingers longer, and the S08 feels faster in the attack and decay because of planar vs DD, whereas you’ll get better impact and noteweight with the Explorer.
I like to think of it this way, the Doscincos (my unit at least) is the heaviest in the slam, whereas the S08 is the lightest impact wise but feels the fastest, and the Explorer sits in between the Doscincos and the S08 with a good balance of both speed and slam.
If you want something cleaner and more exciting, get the S08.
vs ZIIGAAT CINNO
Now versus the Cinno, the Cinnos are basically a cleaner version of the Explorer, focusing more on the vocals and treble, with more detail and resolution as well as having sharper imaging, but it does have a little bit of BA timbre. Sub-bass wise the Cinno can also be lacking to some people, whereas the Explorer’s low-end hits harder, deeper, and even though it’s not as detailed, they are smoother and fuller sounding.
Stage wise the Cinnos are more pushed back, it feels more opened but it’s not as immersive although you do get more air and nuance to the cymbals and vocals, vocals pop out more on the Cinnos, whereas the Explorer is overall bassier and smoother.
So it really depends, if you want a clean, neutral, and slightly airier sound that works at mid to higher volumes that still scales decent without hurting your ears, then go for the cinnos, those will be better for classical, instrumentals, indie, singer-songwriter, they replaced the Hexa for me as a neutral/clean set… But if you’re looking for something bassier, more intimate, scales better, then the Explorer would be better for hiphop, rock, r&b, lo-fi, and stuff like that.
So you know, take a chance, Explorer… a bit… Because both the Cinno and Explorer are good sidegrades and alternatives to the harman sound from the nova and supermix4, they give you a different flavour to your music without destroying your wallet too much.
vs CKLVX/PULA PA02:
At mid volume the CKLVX feels a little fuller in the low-end compared to the Explorer, and it also has more air with the stage being more pushed back - it’s not as intimate, and it works better at mid-volume, as well as being a little more detailed and resolving. However, the listening experience is fairly different on both of them because the Explorer excels at high volume, it’s more immersive and intimate, whereas the CKLVX is more of a mid-volume set, being airier in the vocals and treble, and more dreamlike.
vs MAGIC ONE:
The Magic One on the other hand is a lot warmer than the Explorer with the vocals popping out a bit more but also being huskier. It’s the warmest out of all of them, but the sub-bass isn’t as pronounced, it’s not rolled-off, but it gets overtaken by the mid-bass, so not the best for hiphop, jpop or EDM because it’s very mid-bass centric, so better for jazz and rock etc.
All in all the Explorer is either going to be a hit or miss with many people. If you don’t listen loud or have a lot of rock, hiphop, r&b stuff then probably pass on these unless you just wanna try them out. And for the rest of those on the fence… Explore a bit… because i think they are worth a listen at least.
Here is the Final Ranking (HIGH-VOLUME):
Tonality: A+/S- (8/10)
Tech: B+ (5.5/10)
Overall: A- (6.5/10)
Thanks for reading 