AAW A3H Hybrid 3-Way CIEMs Discussions | Drop

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AAW A3H Hybrid 3-Way CIEMs

Mar 21, 2019

One thing to note, the case that is pictured on massdrop is not the case you get which is pretty disappointing as the case you get is a cheapo hard case that you could get on amazon for like 5 bucks. I thought maybe it was a mistake but since it has the AAW logo I have to assume its a bait and switch. Another thing to note, some of their face plates are premium and require more money even though they do not list which ones require additional payment. The face plate i got was $22 more for each side totaling to $44 extra that I was not aware of but reluctantly paid for anyways. The faceplate design I got doesn't look like the picture as advertised. (pictured below) Anyways the IEM's sound is okay, but a HUGE drawback was how little bass there was. The bass extension rolls off pretty hard at 40hz and between 40-120hz it's still substantially low. It's extension is on par to my $150 pair of M50Xs and is worse than the free pair of AKG IEMs that samsung gives you. Edit: Adding around 5-6 dbs to 10-40hz adds some of the weight that wasn't there, which is a lot to add... Edit2: Adding this much is what I would call a balanced sound, maybe a tinge bassy but if you're a basshead which someone on reddit said these IEMs were, you might as well add 6-8 dbs. The really frustrating part of the lacking bass is that it feels like it STARTS rolling off at like 120hz. Even if you're not a basshead, the roll-off was so harsh that the lower fundamentals of a cello were lost and sounded pretty lifeless without that soothing lower mids/upper lows that drives the rest of the harmonics. Because of the fact that a common instrument that isn't even used in bass heavy songs suffer from this , it's extremely hard to justify using them even for rock/classical. Don't even get me started with jazz/hip-hop/R&B. The mids are pretty clean and detailed. The highs are crisp, maybe a little hot but not super tiring. Instrument separation is good. All in all for $300 + fittings + international shipment + premium faceplates and not even getting the case as advertised + astongishingly lacking bass, this IEM is pretty disappointing.

(Edited)

Mar 21, 2019

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javan.dempsey

Apr 8, 2019

MananaManI'm not having quite the bad experience with the bass that you are, although I'll agree, they're not "bass-head" iems, they seem to handle me boosting well with the sort of bass-centric EDM I listen to (jungle, dubstep, dancehall, etc). Thing is, I got those AKG IEMs that samsung gives you also, and I didn't think much of them at all, even after reading they were great for what they were. Hows your fit? Does "manual re-positioning" have any effect on the sound for you? Fit for me on my left is perfect, and the sub-bass is definitely more prominent there, my right seems just a bit off and manipulating it makes a huge difference. I"m not sure I'll need to send in for refit yet, but maybe. I'm sure it's the fault of the impressions and not the iems though, but maybe my ears will adjust. I'll still be in the market for more bass-centric options, and I'll chalk up the confusions to being typical MD issues. My experience with AAW was great. I had higher hopes for the overall bass too, however that was based on the same random fucks on the internet that you read, and I think reviews that may have been the previous "non-hybrid" version of this model. Still, after reading your post a couple weeks ago, I was worried these were going to be unusable for me, but that's not the case for me. Not a huge step up in terms of sound from what I was using (Noble X's from the first drop), but more of a lateral move with custom fit. In that regard, I'd say the price was right, considering what it would take for me to get into something comparable. Any change of opinion after you've had some more time with them?

Apr 8, 2019

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MananaMan

129

Apr 20, 2019

javan.dempseyHey To be honest, not really. I REALLY wanted to love these headphones to the point I would try to trick myself into liking them especially because they have been my biggest expense on audiophile equipment. (Otherwise the most expensive headphone I have is the HE4XX or the M50x) I was wearing these IEM's pretty often whilst doing many different activities and I noticed that if I looked downward or when I would bite in a certain way the bass became more prominent. Not on it's own, you would still need to EQ it a decent amount but nonetheless it may partially have been effected by the bite block when I got my impressions done. Again, it would still need EQ but maybe with a db or 2 less. After giving it a long time I switched to my old AKG IEMs and I haven't looked back. Yeah the treble in the AKG's can be a little tiring and slightly tinny and maybe the mids aren't as detailed but it's a small trade off for a fuller sound. Albeit V-shaped. I believe that EQing to fit your own preference is normal. EQing to fix a product is not. Again, the fact that without EQ, a cello, an incredibly fundamental instrument, sounds incredibly thin with these things, it's hard for me to want to validate them. They're not unusable, but they're also not $300. I would probably pay like $50-80 for them without the customization. Currently looking at the Campfire Audio comets. Hopefully they can be my one and only. EDIT: also the whole bait and switch with the case and the """"premium"""" faceplates that secretly requires more money is enough to give it a big ew.

(Edited)

Apr 20, 2019

javan.dempsey

Apr 21, 2019

MananaManHonestly man, it sounds to me like you've got fit issues. Just because they're "comfortable" sitting in the ear , doesn't mean they fit correctly for the sound. I figured this out with mine, and will make a couple of points, after disclaiming, that I'm not trying to change your mind. I don't need anybody else to like them, certainly not to validate my purchase, but I'm hoping I can help you be happier with yours. This was my first set of CIEMs, and while they felt like they fit good, after a couple of observations, I realized some things. 1) It really did take a lot of time, and screwing them into my ears, consciously relaxing, and pushing them further into my ear canals than seemed necessary, before my ear canals started allowing the tips to enter far enough to really allow them to seal and direct the sounds properly. In fact, my ears were sore for a few days, and I was certain I was going to have to get them re-fit, probably with new impressions made by someone more experienced in taking impressions for IEMs and not hearing aids. I was getting a lot of inconsistency and had the bass cranked way up, and screwing the tips in further with the bodies leveraging across some of the higher parts of my ear forcing them to seal, and the sound became insanely better, and quite excellent. Which leads me to 2) I'm still not certain I don't need new impressions, and I still need a little more fit tweaking, however, they're starting to default to just putting them in my ear and sealing well, the way they are designed to sit in there. I think there may have been a few issues with my impressions frankly, and FWIW I went to an actual ear doctor, not just an audiologist, who specializes in hearing aids, so he was very comfortable taking impressions. However, he had to clean my ear canals quite heavily, even had me come back after taking drops for a few days, because I had a lot of wax, and he still wasn't thrilled with how clean they were when we did do the impressions. He also didn't have a bite block so I just held my mouth open the whole time, maybe too tense, both that and the cleaning, may have caused my ears to swell or make the impressions smaller than appropriate. This being my first rodeo, I don't know, but the doctor did say to let him know if they wanted me to redo them. In retrospect, I'm not sure how AAW could know, especially without having ever seen my ears. All the being said, two fit adjustments are included in the cost, and AAW specifically mentions, that it takes time for your ears to get used to deep canal insertion of CIEMs. I read that originally as "oh well if you aren't used to IEMs, coming from earbuds, but I've been using IEMS for a decade, won't be an issue", and then when they felt fine initially, I continued this assumption. If you're on your first custom IEMs also, it's a huge distinction, I'm learning. Lastly, I tried going back to the Noble X's, which are bassy universals. After getting my ears to "accept" the AAWs, it's obvious the bass is much more capable than the Nobles. Yes, they are tuned a bit more neutral, the Nobles are tuned darker, so they're a little more bassy without EQ, however, I can crank the low freqz on the AAWs, much much higher without distortion, which ultimately is far beyond what the Nobles can handle. I can't agree that having to use EQ to make the bass where you like it, is a flaw, as long as the drivers can handle it without distorting. That's a question of the company's choice for tuning. You and I may have been misinformed on that note, by reviews we read, but I never saw any advertising from AAW saying these were tuned for bass. In fact, the literature they include clearly shows these are not the best choice for bass and sub, in their line-up. That being said, they're booming for me now, and I only expect that to get better as my ears either finish accepting them, or I get the fit tuned a bit. (I still believe they're going to have to do a bit of build-up around the tips for me, since the seal is a little tenuous if I move around a lot, open my mouth, etc.) Your description of noticing big changes based on how your head is, read a very clear indication of fit probs to me, why don't you contact AAW and ask their opinion? As to the bait-and-switch for the case, I never noticed that, and got the case I saw photos of, but either way, I'm betting that's Massdrop's fault (which they're guilty of often), and not AAW's. I'm also, betting, the concern with faceplates, is exactly the same issue, massdrop failing on their responsibility. It's the risk here, but it's a reflection on Massdrop, and not the product or the producer IMO. It may be a factor in overall "value" proposition of the purchase, on a personal level, certainly, and that's not wrong, me personally though, I'd recommend separating those emotions from the actual IEMs themselves. With a little fit tuning, patience, and appropriately directed disappointment at MD, instead of AAW, your experience my change significantly. Mine certainly has. Good luck, and thanks for responding!

Apr 21, 2019

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MananaMan

129

Apr 21, 2019

javan.dempseySo you got the transparent case? I think its completely on AAW for asking for a premium when it's not listed. Sure, massdrops code monkeys maybe made an error and thats why its not showing up the price but the chance of that being the issue is like 1/1000. They have an option for a premium capri cable, they absolutely can list premium faceplates as well. I was told by email that I needed to pay extra. So they knew that I had selected a premium option on massdrop but I didn't pay a premium for it on massdrop's website. Instead of paying on massdrop they had me PAYPAL the shit to them. I almost didn't know if it was legitimately AAW who sent me the email. Also, i've tried jamming them up my ears before i made the original post but yeah it still needs EQ. My point in saying that that they need to be "fixed" with EQ is that any music would suffer without it, which is why i emphasized the cello. I get how equipment can have a sound signature but if it is lacking a major portion of the 20hz-20khz spectrum then I consider them to be flawed. That's my opinion anyways. I actually had the opposite experience with EQing. I was messing around with low frequency sine waves and i could't get them to substantially produce sub-bass from 32hz and below. They instead made this fluttering sound instead due to them just not being capable of producing a sound that low. This is with me jamming them in my ears. My HE4xx simply got a tad quieter when i pushed it to 25hz and my AKGs slightly fluttered a lil more at the same frequency but was still extremely satisfying pure subbass. But holy fuck the AAWs could not produce anything but a rattle at that frequency. It didn't get quieter it just rattled more lmao. I just checked and they said it had a frequency response starting at 10hz LOOOOL. Anyways, I still do not have a doubt in my mind that these are not worth 300 or even 250. Edit: Actually instead of the campfire comets, I'll go for the Tin T2.

(Edited)

Apr 21, 2019

javan.dempsey

Apr 22, 2019

MananaManWell, I'm not having that issue regarding low freq, so maybe there's an issue with yours specifically? Yeah, I got a square case with a black bottom, transparent top? That's what I saw in the photos, is that not what you got? On the price issue for certain faceplates, I asked about some customizations, and they told me upfront that certain faceplates were an added cost. I do believe it should have been listed on the drop, but frankly, considering how rampant this stuff with Massdrop , I'm still laying that blame on them. Every week I see some drop with majorly wrong info, photos of not-included accessories, etc., and while I would agree that it would be nice if AAW had made them correct it, it's not like it's an isolated occurrence, and the only time it does get fixed on other listings, is typically when some users complain in the discussion section. In every other retail type scenario (and I understand that massdrop is a bit different, so it's a little tougher, but they should be more than aware of it by now), the onus is on the person that creates the listings, to have the correct info. It's been constantly exacerbated by the fact that people creating listings for drops are evidently, regularly, copy and pasting stuff from elsewhere. Either previous drops, or other websites, even down to photos with accessories, sometimes updating later, sometimes not. I can't count the number of times I've seen this when checking out new or even repeat drops. Perfect example in this specific drop in fact, is the email we got from massdrop about impressions, that was taken from an Ultimate Ears drop, or instructions from them elsewhere, which led to a bunch of confusion for people as to whom to email for support (as it included info to email UE customer service with questions). This was clearly a Massdrop error, AAW later sent their own info out which was the actual pertinent info, specific to this drop. I'm personally willing to deal with this sort of stuff from MD, because I think they're bringing products to market which are interesting, sometimes great deals can be had, and any new enterprise, has some growing pains and learning curve, but there's clearly a lack of oversight when it comes to verifying the drop information and customer intercourse. Having known a number of people from my industry (custom knives), that have been approached or made items for drops, and a MD employee that organizes drops for such, it's pretty clear that the way businesses or makers are sold on participating in drops is the appeal of selling a batch of an item, reaching MD's customer base, with MD handling the point of sale aspect, and much of, if not all, the customer interaction. In the case of something like this that's custom fit, it's impossible to do all the customer interfacing , but getting the information right on their own website, has got to be their responsibility. It's certainly clear from AAW's website that certain faceplates carry a premium, and it seems to be the same for pretty much every other CIEMs out there. Not saying you should have known that , but whomever created the listing should have, or should have probably checked. Of course, AAW is not a US company, so there really may have been some communication issues in that regard. That said, this would have been the easiest drop ever to get a refund for once the extra costs were told to you. AAW would refund you automatically if you didn't send impressions in time, and regardless, MD would have to refund you for not making extra independent charges clear. If for some reason they weren't aware, at a minimum, someone should have contacted them, as you say, just in case it were a scam, and I'm sure they could have worked it out, or canceled the drop and had everyone refunded. Hell, maybe you should still contact them about it? I'd also contact AAW about your fit and low freq probs. Don't rule out a specific failure, I mean, even in the most state of the art manufacturing facilities, there are consistent failures, no matter how rigorous the testing. Don't assume it's just junk? Anyway, I hope your situation improves regarding this drop. I'd be curious to know if you do, or anything changes.

Apr 22, 2019

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