Aurorus Borealis Measurements and Review

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Apr 12, 2020.

  1. tommytakis

    tommytakis MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Sorry didn't see this till now. here ya go
    [​IMG]
     
  2. tommytakis

    tommytakis MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    oh I meant revised rods + comfort strap to wrap around the seatbelt. I think they're slightly revising the angle of the rods so there's is less strain on it or something lol you should double check with Ruck and Eudis on the Aurorus discord!

    just the strap, not the rod lol

    haha I feel you on that. I actually think the chassis looks pretty cool with the open grill design. I just hate the way I look when I put it on my head lol
     
  3. sherm137

    sherm137 New

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    Agreed! The chassis looks very nice. It's just the headband. It honestly does look like headgear braces. It might be one of the ugliest headbands I have ever seen on a headphone.

    Do you have a link to their Discord? I can't find it. Edit: nevermind, I found it.
     
  4. tommytakis

    tommytakis MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    haha I'm not sure if the hifiman he 560 headband is going to get rid of that look? it's going to look similar but in black lol

    Anyways, I feel like we're deviating from the thread a bit so if you have further questions regarding the headband, feel free to PM me. Don't forget to leave an impression here once you get a good grasp on the sound!
     
  5. BURNART

    BURNART New

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    Thanks! :)
    Is this white baffle printed plastic or some kind of fabric?
     
  6. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    Think they mentioned fiberglass mesh
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Update on burst response attack and decay.

    Aurorus Borealis attack and decay (10 cycles)
    B1696 Aur Borealis.wav_atk.jpg

    For comparison, Elex
    B1696 Elex.wav_atk.jpg
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I found a way to make them work beautifully. No special amp required, although we can say this one is quite special. But the point is that any decent neutral amp can work... with the right source.

    IMG_20200502_214047.jpg

    No issue with the highs at all. This is with the Shure M95HE MM cart, which is warm and full bodied. Franken TC-750 is used as the MM phonostage.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2020
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Now using a solid MC, to take advantage of the transient response. Using RSA Nighthawk for phonostage (it's much better at MC than MM). Here is the Denon DL-103. Wow, fantastic synergy here. The tone is a bit more mid-centric, the bass is clearer, and the upper mids filled in. I've said this before, the DL-103 is such a good MC cart that we really don't need to spend much more - serious diminishing returns after this.

    IMG_20200502_221416.jpg
     
  10. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    Introduction:

    I have a soft spot for companies like Aurorus; small startups who try new things and engage heavily with the community. This is only enhanced by the aesthetic of the Borealis, which in a good way reminds me of a garage project. It has a certain charm to it even though it does look less "polished" than say a Focal or ZMF.

    Sonic Impressions:

    I find the Borealis most resembles the Focal Clear in terms of sound. They are both athletic, fast transducers with snappy transients and overall very clean decay, all while sounding very open (the Clear does still sound a touch more open, but it's a small difference). However, there are definite differences.

    If anyone here is bothered by the Focal "metallic" timbre (which is overplayed really), the Borealis has none of this. The Borealis driver has more of the traditional HD650 timbre, but unlike the HD650, there's no sense of "greyness" or "veil." It seems to have maybe a touch less overall grain than the Sennheiser, but if it is indeed less it's a small amount. Essentially if you like the dynamic driver sound, the Borealis has that.

    The overall FR of the Borealis feels like it was tilted clockwise versus the Clear. If the Clear is used as a reference, the Borealis is a bit warm. However, the Borealis does feel like it has some more "roughness" in the treble versus the Clear; some sort of sense where the treble isn't quite so refined. It's hard to describe, maybe some excess crunch. Anyhow, to me the treble lacks overall refinement versus the Clear.

    That being said, the mids and bass of the Borealis is absolutely fantastic. While it isn't as resolving as the TOTL stuff, it sounds very clean, fast, and precise. The bass in particular is very impressive; it has plenty of slam and heft, as well as being well-extended. Again, really echoes the Focal Clear in these respects, as the Focal is also well-extended and very dynamic in the bass and mids. However, the Borealis does indeed lay the mids and bass on thicker than the Clear. It's more similar to ZMF in this regard, although I don't think the Borealis quite goes to that extent.

    As alluded to before, dynamics and transients are snappy and very fast. Measurements by Marv in this thread show the Borealis as being the fastest amongst the dynamic driver headphones in terms of transients, and it definitely does sound like it is. While macrodynamics are a pleasure with this headphone, I think that the microdynamics aren't quite as good with Borealis; it might be tied to its plankton, but isn't as nuanced as the TOTL stuff. Although it's entirely plausible I'm a spoiled brat in this regard, so maybe I should shut up. No real complaints and certainly is not lacking.

    Where the Borealis really falls short in my opinion is stage. I've said over and over that soundstage in headphones suck and I stand by that statement. I maintain soundstage in headphones doesn't really matter unless it's so distorted in some way that it detracts from the performance. The Borealis is up there in terms of a stage that is bad enough to detract from the experience with the worst soundstage I've heard in a dynamic driver, over-ear headphone. It sounds a bit like a 2-blob, flat stage which is very small, noticeably smaller than even HD650. Imaging performance suffers as well due to this stage, basically just being played somewhere in that dual nebula. Like I said, I don't care much for stage, but I found the lack of it on Borealis to the point of slight distraction. I certainly would not game with it if I was a competitive gamer in any way.

    When considered overall though, the Borealis' sound is actually pretty good and I enjoy it for what it does. It's just not to my preference overall, and I personally would not buy one.

    Amp Pairings:
    • DNA Starlett: I think that the Borealis really benefits from a good SET amp. The Starlett kind of helps make up for the lack of stage and helps the treble region a bit, while complementing the timbre of the Borealis. Out of the amps I tried Borealis with, I found this to be the most optimal pairing
    • EC Ultralinear: Again, I know this is a one-off amp, but worth noting for pairings with amps that are clean with straight lines. It did slam quite a bit and had great tone in the midrange and bass, but the Ultralinear didn't seem to like the Borealis' treble. Kind of made the flaws in the treble obvious, and I think that's just a trait of the Ultralinear, where it demands transducers to have at least somewhat smooth treble to sound good. I thought the Ultralinear would help the Borealis' stage as well, but surprisingly it does jack shit to fix the stage unlike Starlett.
    • Schiiit Asgard 3: Eeeeehhhh. Not bad really, but a bit too mid-centric for my tastes and I don't think the Asgard 3 is strong in the areas where the Borealis is.

    Comfort:

    I usually don't mention comfort in my reviews due to its personal nature (some people hate the Focal band, I happen to like it). I appreciate that Aurorus tried something new with the seatbelt, but it just doesn't agree with me. Makes a hot spot on my head, and for some reason the pressure compared to other suspension bands I've tried was more localized on the top of my head. I'm not exactly sure how to solve this, but I didn't find the Borealis particularly comfortable. That being said, it is to my understanding that on new units Aurorus ships some sort of alternate band or solution to this; however I cannot review off of speculation and can only comment on what I have on-hand.

    Conclusion:

    In short, I think the Borealis is pretty legit sonically, but it just doesn't match my tastes. It is worth mentioning that despite it not matching my tastes, I never found it boring. If the comfort is indeed solved, I can comfortably recommend this as an alternative to the Aeolus or the Clear.
     
  11. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    I really regret not doing some pad rolling with the Borealis when it briefly at my place via Brencho. I have a strong hunch that some alternative pads could help give the treble that last bit of smoothness, maybe bring the upper mids just a touch more forward and improve the stage. Pads with circular earholes tend to be meh across the board in terms of spatial cues IME.
     
  12. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Just got these in. I'll be doing quite a bit of pad rolling but this is stock (as received)

    [​IMG]

    Right off the bat I'm noticing the hairscreen on the existing pads is quite dense woven fabric. Generally woven fabrics have a more localized effect on FR when used as front dampers than non-woven. I'd bet we'd see a more linear treble response if this hairscreen was removed and replaced with 1-ply of TP (which is non-woven) without any dynamic veil vs the stock hairscreen. I won't tear out the screens but just an idea.

    Also wishing I could tear open some of the rear driver vents but that'd be irreversible so I'll refrain from doing so unless I decide to buy a pair just to mess with. So I'll just stick to pad rolling and non-invasive simple damping to see what can be done here. Not a bad place to start. The slightly bowed lower mids do remind of Focal Clear, though the timbre is smoother and top octave a bit more tame here. Despite the transient speed there is a slight sense of macrodynamic strain next to HE6 or TH900 using modded EC Super 7. Note: the S7 always measures with a bit more presence below 30hz than my other amps.

    Modded HD600 black screen for reference on the same chain, taken minutes after the above:

    [​IMG]

    More impressions and pad rolling notes to come.
     
  13. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    POST 1/3

    Long post. Mods feel free to move to a new thread if appropriate.

    Rolled twenty-something pad types. There were more I wanted to try but wouldn't fit for one reason or another (too small, not enough lip / stretch). Will update over time with purchasing sources if requested. Not enough time to do subjective listening with each one but I'll narrow it down to 3 or 4 and give more robust impressions. Right now just posting pictures and measurements. I tried to take close up pictures so you can see the materials, ear cavity size, and perforation arrangement (or lack thereof) clearly.

    In terms of measurement procedure, I'm using MiniDSP EARS with an early SBAF comp curve. Flat line is close to perceptual neutral. Haven't changed this since I started posting measurements, so you can reference other headphones by using the link in my sig or by comparing to other threads I'm active within. I matched all of these at 1khz. I did apply a very light pressure when measuring just to be sure of proper seal, but certainly not pressing down to the extent of compressing the pad materials. Aimed for center positioning relative to pinnae, which generally gave the smoothest response with the fewest narrow dips in the highs. I'd call all of these measurements optimistic. If I could measure CSDs for each one I would!

    The question at hand when reading these measurements is to what degree the tonal response of this headphone is due to the pads vs due to the headphone itself (ie design, drivers, baffles, etc). Some aspects of treble performance seem consistent. Some pads have thick hairscreens, some have none. How do these things correlate? Are there any consistent aspects to how a pad's design will affect the tonal response of a headphone? Let's see if any patterns come through... Some surprises in here.

    Let's jump right in -

    Stock pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Alpha pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Alpha pad clone (circular fit):
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    AP2KTi Pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Auteur suede no perf:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Basic pleather circle:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Fuzzy circle:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Suede circle:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Unnamed ZMF pre-Verite proto pad (Be2 lambskin?):
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Cowhide version of above:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    (more to come, 20 image cap per post)
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2020
  14. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    POST 2/3

    Eikon non-perf (looks like protein, might be leather):
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Plush pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Plush pad type 2:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    HM5 Oval Hybrid Angled:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Flared pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Vesper Impact pads:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    LFF Code-X pad (HM5 oval angled pleather)
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Ori-like lambskin interal perf pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Sheepskin pancake pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    RAD0 hybrid pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    (more below)
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2020
  15. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    POST 3/3

    Oval 'shirt' pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Drop TX0RP pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    ZMF universe lambskin no-perf:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    ZMF universe suede no-perf:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Thick leather ori-like pad:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    ZMF Ori pad (ignore spotify notification):
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    (that's it!)

    NOTE - I am happy to drop a few of these in the tour shipment if there's interest, they can make their way back to me eventually.
     
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    Last edited: Nov 19, 2020
  16. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    More, we want MORE!!

    Thanks for doing all this work.

    The Plush pad looks "butt ugly" ;)

    "ZMF universe suede no-perf" and "Plush pad type 2" stand out as the most neutral/linear of the bunch.

    "Sheepskin pancake pad" is the most LCD-2 of the bunch :rolleyes:
     
  17. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    These results are quite interesting to me coming from HE6 and TH900 after rolling these same pads and getting very dissimilar results in terms of relative differences with those compared to here. AP2Kti and Sheepskin pancake give the most linear, least withdrawn upper mids with modded TH900, but here they seem most withdrawn. HE6 loves a wide and shallow ear cavity with fairly dense foam (solid lambskin Auteur pads are best with HE6 IME), not the same here. Huh.

    Those two you mentioned are two of my top picks too, along with the T-shirt oval pad. The Uni Suede non-perf feels a little like cheating because there's some thick open-cell foam as a hair screen that's a bit denser than HD6xx foam. Kills the dynamics a bit (edit, but then again, I have a feeling the stock pad hairscreen does this too).The others are more sheer and open, feeling more incisive on transients. I bet one of the others with the normal hairscreen cut out and replaced with 1-ply of my fav TP would get flatter treble than what we see with Uni Suede and also have sharper snap. Next thing to test.

    Marv also has plush pad v3 I sent for measurement on the Drop 177X GO thread that's proper sheepskin. I'd imagine that one might fare slightly better than the protein leather plushies. Same foam and dimensions otherwise. The plush pad v1 with all the wrinkles is actually the most comfortable pad in the world. It's like wearing air.

    edit: the TL;DR of all the posts above is that pad rolling is somewhat successful at reeling in the treble and filling out the lower mids. Probably close enough for most without further mods. Still, I'm very treble sensitive, and every time I took these off and swapped to my modded TH900 or a Senn it was a slight relief and I could turn it up a bit more.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2020
  18. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    [​IMG]

    Edit - this is the second round of impressions from me. My thoughts have changed a little bit, now I'm using an amp with lower output impedance and better bandwidth (EC S7 vs Valhalla 2 in this review -https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/aurorus-audio-borealis-australis.7650/page-5#post-295715 )

    Going to preface these impressions by noting that most of my listening hovers around 85db, but I do like to turn it up closer to 92.5dB+ for a single track or a few bars now and then. Just like with my speakers, I expect for a quality headphone to scale with volume and get more fun to listen to as I turn it up (of course with safety in mind and for short periods). As such, I am going to be relentless in this review, but I should state up front that in stock form, these are a good headphone and generally impressive given it's a small team project. All impressions with the stock pads, just to set a baseline before I start rambling about the sound with alternative options above.

    Regarding the bass - I don't necessarily think the quality is far better than my uber dynamatted heavily mass loaded HD600. I'd say deep note fundamentals have a touch more clarity and differentiation, but the sense of grip, sustain, and follow-through isn't quite there (though indeed slightly improved vs the Senns). It doesn't feel effortless, it feels like just enough. If anything I find myself wishing for a touch more midbass like I have on the Senns. Overall bass quality here is still much closer to the Senns than say my modded TH900 or HE6, though not a fair comparison given the difference in tech vs the HE6, and the fact that the TH900 has my favorite bass presentation of anything I've heard in my life including loudspeaker setups with multiple calibrated subs, room correction, etc. It's funny Hands mentioned he thought the bottom end became overbearing when he compressed the Borealis against his head - when I did this, it started to sound a little better to me. I do think I prefer the bass response of the Focals over the Borealis, though I don't have the Elex at home right now to compare directly.

    Regarding the mids - interesting to see other impressions saying these are a warmer sounding phone in the mids. I don't hear it that way at all. I think that the dip in the 5-6khz area cheats the ear into thinking the mids are fuller than they are. I do notice the slightly bowed lower mids, but the ear gets used to it after a while. The mids are fine but slightly on the lean side. The 5-6k dip does rob a bit of crunch and gives the mids a 'simpler' texture with less of that upper harmonic presence. This dip seems to persist with many of the pads as well. Sometimes good sometimes bad depending on the recording. Happy to see there's no 2k suckout which is ubiquitous in so many headphones. The fact that I don't have much more to say here is a good thing.

    Regarding the treble - I don't think the peak is an issue with 60% or more of 'normal' sounding recordings at most people's listening levels (75-85dB). If anything the 5-6k dip makes them feel more forgiving of treble most of the time vs the Senns, but the bounceback up at 7k makes it feel like most of the treble energy is just concentrated in the ridge even if it doesn't stick out subjectively as much as it looks on the graph. The treble feels 'simplified', if that makes sense. The more I turn it up the more annoying it gets. Senns hurt in the upper mids when you crank them. TH900 hurts in the bass (and I'm a sucker for it). These hurt in the treble like my HFMs did and most other headphones do. Still find these more listenable in the treble even compared to the modded HD800s I've heard.

    Regarding rendering of space - Soundstage is fine, I don't really care on that front. About as wide as my TH900s. I did notice that the imaging felt a bit diffusive with the stock pads compared to my HD600 and TH900s though. I do think the HD600 images better, but not by much. It's decent but doesn't stand out as a strength.

    Regarding the dynamics - I do hear these as being well-controlled but slightly damped on a macro scale. Then again, I listen to nothing but heavy hitters and do like to be slapped around by my headphone. Dynamics here are refined and they practice restraint. No jumpy Focalness. Less veil than a stock Senn. They're pretty good! I'm impressed with this driver given the cost and magnet assembly.


    Some conclusive thoughts of the stock headphone -

    I wish the driver's front face was a bit closer to the ear to get rid of as many HF reflections as possible and clean up the image a bit. Maybe then it wouldn't have that sense of 'simplification' that vaguely reminds me of a well-implemented balanced armature IEM. Then again, I can imagine that change bringing new issues in the tone. I wonder how swapping pads would have been different with a closer proximity. Regardless, the way things are now is clearly a well calculated compromise.

    Edit - now that I think about it, this headphone is a hell of a lot like Focal Elear, but tipped up instead of tipped down, and with smoother timbre and more diffusive stage. Campfire Solaris v1 also has a tonal resemblance.

    What's interesting about these headphones is that they definitely give that uncanny valley feeling - the closer we get to a perceptually flat response, the more obvious each small deviation becomes when listening to a full spectrum. This is the curse of shooting for neutral. Flat isn't really fun. If I didn't have all of these other amazing headphones on hand to compare to (all of which I've spent months or years tuning to suit my tastes), I would be floored by this headphone. But ultimately it's not for me. Then again, no off-the-shelf big-brand headphone should ever cost more and sound worse than these. The fact that this is a 2-person project is inspiring - bigger manufacturers have no excuse.

    Selected pad rolling impressions and attempts at light damping to follow.
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2020

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