Aune is a brand that is somewhat known and established in the headphones community for their powerful desktop amp and dac units which have come in all shapes and sizes. What's not known about them is this new product that strays outside their normal headphone amplifier and digital-to-analog converter pedigree: the Jasper.
The Jasper is an in-ear monitor (IEM) that retails for $299 and is available from Linsoul.com, where I received this review unit. The Jasper is a single dynamic driver unit featuring a 10mm "Ultra Linear Driver with MGD Cone." MGD stands for multi-gradation diaphragm which along with its acoustic chamber, tries to reduce distortion with higher dampening and stiffness.
Unboxing
The Jasper comes in two color options, a dark metallic black, and a chrome metallic shell. The unit I received was in the darker black color. The packaging comes with a series of tips, a round suede-ish case, a cleaning brush, cleaning cloth, and a cable. The cable is all black, with mmcx connectors, and a rubberized sheathing, with a 3.5mm 90-degree angled connector. It reminds me a bit of the cables that come with some of the Sony IER-series IEMs.
The shells are all metal and are shaped similarly to a traditional Shure-style IEM. The outer-face has a textured grippy contour to it that I'm not sure if it serves a purpose besides being more easier to grip. I don't know if its a large vent. There is a small pin-sized hole vent on the inner face however. The nozzle is standard sized and has a medium insertion depth. Overall, the shell design is extremely comfortable for me to wear and I paired these mostly with Azla Xelastec tips.
Sound Impressions
The Jasper features a balanced signature that is slightly lean in the upper-mid range and low treble, with a open soundstage and a neutral-ish low end. It is a slight U-shaped signature, but does lean a little bright, but I don't think it over does it in this regard, but let's talk about it a little further.
First off, my listening impressions came primarily through my Lotoo PAW 6000 digital audio player, with some limited time playing off the Meizu USB-C dongle for my Samsung Galaxy S21 phone, and off the Schiit Jotunheim 2/Bifrost 2 combination. My music choices are scattered, but I do tend to heavily focus on jazz trios, indie rock, alternative rock, bluegrass/folk, and post-rock music.
After listening to a few tracks side-by-side between the Jasper and the Dunu Zen, another single-dynamic driver that just came out, a few things came to my mind.
First, the Jasper is more lean sounding. This presents a more open atmosphere that improves the width of the soundstage and I don't feel as closed-in and intimate with my music. For me, I prefer the additional width. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say its almost twice as wide and open.
The Jasper's low end measures with a little more body, but it doesn't sound that way. The Zen is very warm, relaxed, and filling. In comparison, I feel the Jasper is actually sounding a bit more neutral in it's bass presentation, with tighter and more focused attacked, but lacking a natural decay and a lush-filled low-end.
In some ways, I do prefer this more reference-neutral bass response, but there is something inviting and "musical" about the way the Zen presents in, which is more organic and natural, and something that engages me more than a cleaner palette.
The mid-range is slightly scooped on the Jasper. It's a little lean overall, and this is probably due to not only the mid-range recession, but the extra energy in the upper mids and low treble. This puts a lot of focus and energy into the spectrum that stringed instruments and female vocals reside in many of my tracks.
When compared to the Zen, they both have similar amounts of presentation towards this range, but the Zen is just a tad narrower and compressed in its midrange and treble area, while the Jasper is larger and grander. That's not really to say that the Jasper is a big sounding IEM. It really isn't. It is just more so than the Zen, and to be honest, the Zen is much bigger sounding as a whole, but just not in the large diffuse area way of a big sound, but more so in a grandiose, lush, big-bodied and engaging big sound.
Both of these are still limited on the bass and treble extension due to their single driver setups, but I do find the Jasper have a little bit better treble extension, and one that is quite admirable for being just a single dynamic driver, where in many cases, treble extension is sacrificed for mid-range.
The Jasper's resolution and clarity are pretty solid. I find that a lot of dynamic drivers in IEMs in this price class don't have the best resolution and and can typically be frankly mushy (see the recent SeeAudio Yume). The Jasper's DD isn't too bad! It's transient attack is on the faster-side which helps with some of its resolving power, and I'd say it can be comparable and even better so than the Moondrop Blessing series DD performance.
The Zen, in comparison, has quite good resolution, while showcasing it with a more rich and vivid sound, which makes it a tough one to beat overall in total technical performance.
Comparison to the Moondrop Blessing Series
But, back to the Moondrop Blessing 2 and the newer released Crinacle-collaboration Dusk. I had just received the Dusk and will be doing a full-feature in the near future, but I do think these are worthy comparisons for their similar price points. The Blessing 2 and Dusk are slightly higher priced at $320 and $330 versus the $300 Jasper price point.
I think the Jasper compares more closely with the Blessing 2 in terms of its tonal balance. It's low end is a tad more elevated, but does lack some of the punch that the Blessing 2 has. Both are lean in their overall presentation and the focus for all three is primarily into the upper mid-range. The Blessing 2 is brighter and more fatiguing of the three, with the Jasper coming in second, and the Dusk is tuned in a much more forgiving manner. They all share very similar soundstage and depth, but in terms of technical performance, I may have to give the nod to the Dusk and Blessing 2, due to their improved resolution and micro-dynamics.
Overall
The Aune Jasper is a really solid entry into the market for the amp/dac manufacturer. This unit puts a nice package together with a safe, but elegant tuning, decent to good resolution, and a comparable accessory set with a very easy to wear and comfortable shell design.
Aune doesn't shake up the market with this release, but instead, puts another solid product offering out there in a crowded under $500 space that keeps becoming more and more competitive by the day.
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