Aurisonics ASG 2.5 universal review

So my UERM went to service a while ago and out of panic of no serious backup IEMs I blind-bought ASG2.5 in desparation, completely ignoring that actually there are Canadian dealers of ER4 and I've been eager wanting to hear it. Part of me was also looking for a TH900 of IEM, which by descripton ASG 2.5 kinda fitted the deal. Yeah, f**k me, right?

The first thing to do was of course open the box and the inner box was somehow strongly glued on a side, which made it impossible to pull it out. Ah bad first impressions. Used a knife, opened the box, small clam shell case, some tips (which look a lot like condom), cleaning tool, bass dialing screw. Ah fit is excellent! Comfy!

OK if you're looking for a neutral signature, hit Ctrl+W now. This is a pair of severely colored IEMs. Gears used: AK100II, AK Jr, ALO Rx, GO V2 high gain. Reference point: UERM, now they have come back. Bass dials are always on the lowest position, as any dialing results in notable bleeding into the midrange. No eq at the moment.

Please also note I'm a big UERM sucker and this would involve some adaptation process from a dead-flat FR to a colored one. Let's make it clear - UERMs are maybe too good to be discussed with anything sub-$1000. It seems to me recently that I have to give up the hope to find anything sub-$1000 which ticks as many boxes as UERMs do. Oh well, in a nutshell, ASG2.5s have a quite agreeable and "modern" sound, distinctively distancing themselves from the UERM-approach "reference".

Feel free to point out any of my errors.

First thing first, this is the pesudo-TH900 in IEMs. Good news is it's got bass in quantity. Bad news is it's got sub-reference standard note quality. Notes are more rounded than UERM, presumably a coloration by slightly prolonging the decays, and my guess is to fake a full-bodied sound on every track. Unfortunately this also makes things a tiny bit fatter and slower than UERM. Not to the degree annoying though, but coming from UERMs I have to say it.

On paper it's got 41ohm nominal impedance and 123db/mW, seemingly easy to drive. Hell no, you need a certain amount of juice to make the 2.5s shine.

Overall sound is on the smooth side, but definitely no TH900 clear (TH900s' clearness is only rivaled by HD800s IMO, not even HD650s plays on the same level with TH900s on clearness alone). A big, flat soundstage, excellent in depth and width (better than UERM), but significantly lacking in air and vertical sense. Utterly inclinded to a 2D presentation. Instrument positioning is precise. Suprisingly, 2.5s were picking up good details, which means decent planktons. Not UERM-resolving, but certainly surprised me. Oh and bass. f'ing bass cannons. Extends low. But impact is significantly weaker than UERM. As said before, notes are rounded, and the results are weaker slams. Has a primitive fell of subwoofer-in-you-ears, but not quite well-done. Bass also slightly - just a little - protruding into mids. Sorry, but it seems to me only modern electronics and EDM works well enough. Midrange is a bit more "wet" and loose (particularly female vocals are a bit all over the place) than UERM, more forward, thus my guess is that the FR of 2.5 is not necessarily deep-U shaped. Maybe some minor spikes in the upper midrange. Some early early trebel roll off. No major glare, thus better compatibility with lesser recordings.

Um. So it's 699 US and 800 CA? At the end of the day, when I listen to the 2.5s for an hour or two, I don't complaint too much. It's nice, less shrill in the treble than UERM, more bass woofing working well with some modern stuff. But can the 2.5s make me forget about UERM? No. Somehow, it just doesn't get into my utterly shit, non-redeemable category.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Nice write up and I bet coming from the flat UERM you were shocked. Seems you use the word "colored" when a iem has bass? I can lable the UERM colored cause it has Loads of treble. I come from decades of live concerts and to me then every live show is colored cause all the shows have woofers that are similar to the 2.5. If you burned them in for 200 hrs and added a pure Silver cable the mids and treble would have opened up. I like BA IEMs but I prefer a floor standing speaker sound. Thanks for the read.

 

Yeah, it's all in what a person is coming from. I like a live music sound, too. That means real sub-bass extension is necessary for a realistic sound for me. The uerm did fairly well with bass, but there is roll off in the sub-bass, not ideal, and the treble is elevated and has rough spots.

I have the asg2.0, I'm sure the 2.5 is much better.

 

No.

 

Um, if I have the money for a pure silver cable, I'd sell the 2.5 and buy a new IEM that doesn't need burn-in or cable-matching. I don't do any cable thing, unless it looks good or provide me with balanced connectivity.

 

I've never seen the asg g2.5 mentioned in the same sentence as the UERM, let alone compared. Two very different IEMS to say the least. I have the older version, the 2.0,which I love. Ironically, I did own the Etymotic ER4P at the same time, again complete opposites.

I didn't enjoy the Etymotic, but still have the G2 after several years of owning them. I'll keep them forever, for me they are that good. Maybe one day I'll get the new and improved 2.5.

Either way, for bassheads or bass lovers, hard to beat the asg's. Just ridiculous amounts of bass. Never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Forgot to mention I have the Th900 as well, love those headphones. My first and more than likely last headphone purchase. Really love those. Sound as good as they look.