For some reason lately I've been writing only about new players (and a couple of interesting models are in the queue), the developers of the latter decided to just fill up the market with different solutions, but also quite often new headphones appear among the headphones. One of them became .
Vibro Labs is a small US manufacturer, they started with making cups for Grado, in addition, they worked well together with Zack and together created ZMF Vibro and ZMF Omni. And now the turn of the IEM has come. In the company, they did not pursue super-high-performance, and decided to dispense with two twin radiators with a balanced anchor. The case is printed on a 3D printer and is available in custom and versatile versions, you can choose what is more convenient for you. Another interesting feature of the headphones is the external covers (feysplety) of polished wood.
The price for this model is roughly on par with similar solutions from other developers - $ 600 for the universal model and 700 for the custom.
Specifications
- Emitters: 4 (2 twin radiators with a balanced armature)
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
- Impedance: 15Ω @ 1 kHz
- Sensitivity: 110 dB / mW
- Cable: interchangeable
Packing and delivery kit
Of the two variants of Aria, I chose a universal model, which allowed me to shorten the waiting time and get rid of the fuss with the sending of prints and a possible refi. So I got my headphones in a comfortable plastic case from Pelican, the kit included 3 pairs of nozzles from Comply, a cleaning tool and a cable. At the bottom of the case there is a card with the serial number of headphones, the name of the owner and the signature of the creator. For custom models, the delivery kit is the same, minus the nozzles.
Design and Convenience
One of the main chips of this model is the real-life feysplety. Luke, the developer of headphones, selects varieties of wood with an unusual pattern and makes the panels, bringing their polishing to an impeccable level. When buying there is an opportunity to choose one of several varieties, I stopped on a horse chestnut. For the custom model, you can also choose the color of the shells (smoky gray and honey-golden, both translucent). For universals used only smoky. The quality of the shell is not perfect, but not bad, although bubbles are visible on the inside, it does not spoil the look, only the face-screens are still visible to the outside.
The size of the headphones is typical for multi-driver models of other manufacturers, they will suit almost everyone, except for owners of very small ear shells. Due to the streamlined shape of the body, they comfortably rush for hours on end. Traditionally, for universal shells, one of the main secrets of success is the selection of attachments. I did not get any of the pens, so I used the usual silicone attachments from a set of other headphones, although you can also try Spinfit and hybrid nozzles. With simple silicone attachments, sound insulation is slightly better than average.
The cable for this model is interchangeable, a standard two-pin connector is used. The complete wire is very simple, it is thin in soft silicone insulation. Buying a better cable for this model will obviously benefit.
Sound
The following equipment was used for listening.
- NuPrime DAC-10H and Resonessence Labs Concero HP as DAC and Amplifier
- Apple MacBook Pro Retina 2013 as a source
- Fidelia as a player
- Lotoo PAW Gold, Fiio X7 and Luxury & Precission L5Pro as portable players
- High Definition Records in Lossless-formats (Dr. Chesky The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc and others)
Before listening to the headphones were heated for 48 hours, although for the reinforcement radiators this is an excess.
In general, the developer of headphones tried to give them a sound rather interesting than reliable. For this, the ARIA received a slightly V-shaped AFC and deep bass, which generally made them serve similar to Noble Audio Kaiser, at a price two times too small. Judging by the reviews on the Internet, the custom version differs in sound from the universal, offering a more massive and dark sound, but I could not check it out.
The bass is quite linear and leaves almost to the maximum possible depth, while it's slightly dry in the rebar, this gives the effect of dense and percussive bass, thanks to the massiveness there is even a feeling of using a dynamic radiator, but the bass speed and fast fading still give out the armature . Very pleased with the separation of low-frequency register instruments, they do not mix and each game plays separately.
The middle frequencies are slightly overshadowed, but the headphones do not hide emotions and nuances, this is a traditional reinforcement feed, full of micro-parts and the smallest sounds, so the selection of records and the source will have to come seriously. The imaginary scene is expected to be good in width and more than average in depth. Very good Aria succeeds in the separation of plans, the transfer of a real volume of tools, especially with good sources.
The upper frequencies are logically elevated relative to the midrange, in order to compensate for the accent on the bass. To the credit of the developers it is worth saying that the RF is well tuned, and if you are not a RF-fob, the upper-frequency range will satisfy you. It is well read, pleases with resolution and elaboration, but it does not break into excessive brightness.
Several traditional comparisons
Campfire Audio Jupiter. In a way, the opposite of Aria, demonstrating what a different result can be achieved by combining the emitters. The Jupiter is drier, smaller in bass, but still slightly more detailed, which provides this model with a very good monitor sound. Aria takes emotionality and pressure: a bit more bass is in favor of genres like rock and jazz.
Noble Audio Kaiser. As I already wrote above, Aria in some way are the "younger brother" of this model. And there and there is focus on the LF part of the range, compensated for HF and good midrange, a little reserved for the second plan. At the same time, of course, Kaiser is slightly better at working on the upper part of the midrange and high frequency range in general, plus more detailed on the LF. On the other hand - Aria cost more than two times cheaper, but the sound is lagging behind the "Kaisers" noticeably less.
Compatibility
Aria - the model is very sensitive, so pick up for them is not extremely powerful player that provides a low noise level, but it plays fast enough and in detail in order to reveal all the positive sides of the model. Of all that I've tried, the players from Luxury & Precision were expected to be the best, and L3 with its more neutral sound, perhaps, is even better for these headphones, especially if you change the wire to a balanced one. The Fiio X7 with AM2 amplifier proved to be very good, the sound is dynamic, lively and very incendiary. So much praise deserves Lotoo Paw Gold, its driving pitch well emphasizes the strengths of headphones, the main thing here is not to include a high gain, in order to avoid noise.
Of course, Aria is quite capable of playing almost any music, but first of all I would recommend them to fans of live emotional music: jazz, rock, blues, country, where you need drive and energy. To the quality of recording, headphones are quite critical (and for armatures it often happens), on a 10-point scale, I would rate them by 8 points.
As usual, a few tracks in the role of example.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five. One of the most outstanding things in the performance of one of the best jazz quartets. If possible, I recommend this track from the Time Out album released by Sony Music, K2HD was used in mastering, and this allowed to preserve all the smallest nuances. Great attacks of shock, reliable transmission of keyboards - all this succeeds ARIA and allows them to immerse you in this composition.
Hugh Laurie - Wild Honey. These white guys do not know how to play the blues, but it's good that they have some good guys, and this Briton, Laurie is just one of them, which is very strange for Schisandra. But he really feels the music and submits it so that you rock. If you throw the jokes aside, then the headphones from Vibro Labs are very suitable for such tracks: a nice bass base and detailed vocals - what is needed for these styles.
Europe - The Final Countdown. I understand that this track is already jammed so that to use it as an example - moveton, but it allows you to emphasize the strengths of these headphones as much as possible. Of course, in order to properly play the low-frequency rumble at the beginning, you need full-size headphones, and better - speakers, but it's Aria that gives, perhaps, the maximum possible for gags. Naturally, you can take something low-end oriented and drown in the bass wave at the beginning, but Aria allows you to enjoy and further composition - the same synthesizer reef, guitar solo, voice of the vocalist - everything transports at a time when trees were taller, overhead shoulders - wider , and rock musicians for some reason tried to look like girls.
conclusions
A very interesting model that goes against the tendencies of the market. While other manufacturers of top IEM try to stick as many drivers as possible and make the sound as neutral as possible, Vibro Labs decided to limit themselves to "only" four emitters and give out a sound with an emphasis on bass. Price list for Aria, of course, came out slightly higher than desired, but - on the other hand - it is quite comparable with other similar models that are present in the market. Therefore, I can safely recommend this model to wiretapping for everyone who wants to get a drive sound.
The article is based on materials .
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