Aful Explorer: The Baby DaVinci – Nealz’s Take

Pro’s:

• Excellent Build Quality, 3D printed full-resin body
• Warm, smooth and organic sound quality
• Good quantity and quality bass
• Lush mid range with thick note weight and lower mids
• Smooth, non-fatiguing treble
• Good Imaging Performance

Con’s:

• Not a technical performer
• Lacks details and resolution
• Not for neutral lovers or treble-heads
• Sounds congested in busy tracks
• Intimate Soundstage

Disclaimer:​

HifiGo has offered me a small discount in exchange for reviewing the Aful Explorer and sharing my honest thoughts and opinions. If you decide to purchase this IEM based on my review and find that you disagree with this assessment. That responsibility lies solely with you. I strongly discourage relying solely on a single review for making purchasing decisions in the realm of audio gear, as preferences vary. You should conduct thorough research by exploring platforms such as YouTube, head-fi forums, and various Facebook audiophile groups and websites until you come to a final conclusion.

Non-affiliated Purchase Link: https://hifigo.com/products/aful-explorer?srsltid=AfmBOorsJzzPOHuiWY_i-ToE9Qk-wfxiOLCMf__NYN62gq7xN9txI4d3

Unboxing:

Aful Explorer has a minimal unboxing experience, the good quality cable is definitely the highlight here. What’s in the box:

1. A Pair of White Silicone Tips (S,M,L)
2. A Pair of White Silicone Tips with Blue Stem (S,M,L)
3. A Carrying Case
4. 200-core, silver-plated copper cable, comes in either 3.5 single ended or 4.4 balanced termination

I am glad to see Aful providing a choice of 3.5/4.4 mm cable option to the user, and the cable is high quality for the asking price. So most owners will not feel the need to immediately upgrade the cable of this set. The included ear-tips are a different story, both are narrow bore and exactly the same in every single way except for color. I would have preferred to see Aful include a wide bore option here, they have clearly cheaped out in this department. Good news is aftermarket ear-tips options are not that expensive.

Build Quality & Design:

The shells of the Aful Explorer are ergonomic and on the smaller side, with an average length nozzle. I don’t think even people with smaller ears will struggle with these shells. I was able to listen to them for hours without feeling any fatigue or discomfort. Aful has implemented a high quality 3D printed full-resin body for the Explorer. The build quality feels very premium for the asking price, and the aesthetics are fantastic as well. I loved the starry night theme. They could have used a smaller font for the “Aful” branding though!

The Tech:

Aful has implemented 1 balanced armature driver for High’s, 1 balanced armature driver driver for Mid’s and 1 Dynamic Driver for the Low’s. These are most likely customized BA’s as there is no branding mentioned on Aful’s website, they are the same ones that were used in the MagicOne model. The size of the dynamic driver isn’t mentioned in any of the marketing materials as well. The Explorer has multiple patented techs that AFUL has previously implemented in the Performer series, this includes RLC network frequency division, 3D Resonator crossover, high-damping air pressure balanced management system, etc. I personally find these to be marketing Mumbo jumbo. I am more interested in discussing the end result (sound quality), rather than all these fancy tech’s Aful has applied.

Sources Used During Review:

1. Cayin RU7
2. Hiby R4
3. Hiby R6 Gen III

I have observed that the Aful Explorer scales quite well when provided with good clean power. The vocals sound more forward, bass has better texture quality and soundstage is wider. The Explorer sounds cleaner with neutral sources like Hiby R4/R6 Gen III rather than warm sounding sources like Cayin RU7.

Sound Evaluation

Signature:

The Explorer is a fresh breath of air from the sea of Harman or even in some cases the new meta “JM-1” tuning. I find the Explorer to have a warm U-shaped tuning, it has a bass boosted signature without pushing the mids too far back. The upper-mids sound smoother compared to most Harman sets, And there is a better balance between mid & sub-bass. The bass quality is one of the best even in sub $200 price category. Although the tilt towards the warm tuning with meaty bass and lower mids will not impress those who are looking for neutral, warm and spacious sound.

Highs (3.5/5):

I found the Explorer to be dark sounding and lacking treble extension. It doesn’t have enough air or sparkle up top and lacks energy. The details are above average but aren’t completely veiled by the warmth in the tuning. Cymbal strikes and synths sound blunted and lacks definition. The Explorer struggles to keep up with faster and snappier genres of muck like Rock & Heavy Metal, it sounds congested. Treble sensitive folk will enjoy the smooth presentation of the Explorer while those looking for a more brighter and more airy sounding IEM will not be satisfied with the treble performance of the Explorer.

Mids (4/5):

Midrange doesn’t suffer from too much bleed from the transition of mid-bass to lower-mids. Instead there is a hint of warmth which adds density and thickness to the note weight and male vocals. Male vocals sounds textured, thick and more forward in the mix. Female vocals doesn’t sound artificially boosted like Harman tuned sets instead they maintain a good level of clarity and emotion. I do wish the Explorer offered a bit more resolution and details here, instruments like cellos, electric guitars and snare drums sounds recessed. The timbre of the instruments sound natural, I did not detect any hint of BA timbre.

Low’s (4/5):

This set maintains a good balance between sub-bass and mid-bass, although the sub-bass is highlighted more. It’s quite textured and dense and offers a deep reaching rumble. Mid-bass is well controlled, instruments like kick-drums, bass guitars and double bass have adequate note weight and body. Overall the bass offers a good slam and sounds authoritative. Although the Explorer offers plenty of low-end extension, bass-heads who are looking for sub-woofer like rumble and vibration might want more bass quantity.

Technicalities (3.5/5):

Aful Explorer is not a very resolving set, still it has good resolution and micro-details for the asking price. Like most entry-level warm sounding IEM’s, details and resolution is not fully compromised. Soundstage is rather intimate and the depth is average. Imaging performance is really good, instrument separation is rather average. The congestion in the lower-mids make instruments in that region sound blurry, separation there could have been better.

Comparisons:

Dunu DaVinci:

The Explorer provides near about 70% of the DaVinci’s performance at a much more affordable price. They have a very similar tuning which focuses on the musicality and fun factor rather than details and technicalities. Both have similar smooth yet dark sounding treble, DaVinci might have slightly better extension here. Mids sound very similar with thick lower-mids and male vocals. Female vocals have similar level of clarity and isn’t overly boosted. DaVinci does have better bass quantity and more slam. Bass sounds tighter and more textured on DaVinci as well. Both sets struggle with busy genres like Rock & Heavy Metal, both suffer from congestion. Aful Explorer has less noticeable BA timbre compared to DaVinci. Imaging performance is very good on both, DaVinci does have slightly better resolving capability and pulls more micro-details in the mids. Soundstage is intimate on both but DaVinci has better spatial depth and height.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a laid back, warm, organic and bassy IEM without sacrificing too much resolution or technicalities at the sub $100 price range, then the Aful Explorer is an excellent choice. It’s not really a detail or technicalities monster nor is it pretending to be one. The Explorer provides a soothing sound you can listen to for hours without feeling any fatigue. Aful Explorer can also be an excellent choice for those who want to try out the DaVinci’s tuning at a much lower price tag. I enjoyed my time with is set and it gets my recommendation.

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