AUNE Jasper Review
Transparent beauty
Pros: + Neutral and cohesive sound
+ Tight, controlled and well defined bass
+ Crystal clear and resolving
+ Very transparent
+ Spacious and precise
+ Comfortable and discreet
+ Great build quality
+ Good quality cable
Cons: – Bass is lacking in weight
– Forward upper – mids
– Bright treble
– Not forgiving at all
– Accessories are not on par with the competition
The Jasper was kindly provided from Aune free of charge.
This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it.
The selling price is €279.90 and you can order from the Aune EU retailer by using this – not affiliate – link.
Aune – store
Introduction
Aune Audio – Wuhan Ao Lai Er Technology CoLtd is a China based brand, very well known among the audio community for some excellent audio products consisting mostly of DAC and headphone amplifiers.
The Jasper is their first foray into the earphones world.
Design features
The Aune acoustics team spent three years developing the Jasper, a 10mm single dynamic driver earphone consisting of a multi-gradation diaphragm (MGD).
The materials have the characteristics of high damping, high speed and high stiffness.
The unique diaphragm makes it possible to vividly reproduce all kinds of music, even a whisper.
The combination of the specially-designed ultra-linear symmetric magnet system and the multi-gradation diaphragm (MGD) build the dynamic core with ultra-low distortion, providing the Jasper with constant power.
The carefully designed chamber helps scatter the internal sound waves and expand the soundstage with accurate and clear imaging.
The complete white paper behind the Jasper design is available here.
Appearance, Build quality and fit
The Jasper is available in two different colors, a black and silver metallic with a nice and shiny finish.
The build quality is very good.
The shells, which are made from metal (stainless steel it seems), are compact and have an elegant, curvy design which is anatomically shaped and beautiful looking.
The appearance reminds me more of a classy jewel than an earphone.
The compact size, the low weight and the moderate extending nozzles, offer a secure, stable, discreet and extremely comfortable fit with some very good passive noise attenuation.
Cable and accessories
The Jasper comes with an MMCX detachable cable which ends in a 3.5mm plug.
The cable is of good quality with a rubber sheathing reinforcement, it has minimal microphonic noise and it doesn’t get tangled.
Other than the cable the user gets three pairs of silicone ear tips, a rounded carrying case of good quality, a cleaning brush and a cloth.
The accessories pack is not very competitive, especially when we consider similar offerings from other brands that sell even lower than the Jasper and come with more premium accessories.
Notable examples are the FiiO FD3 Pro ($149.99) or the DUNU Falcon Pro ($219.99) that have detachable cables with interchangeable plugs, sound tuning tubes and more than 10 pairs of various ear tips.
Sound impressions
As per usual practice I left Jasper to burn more than 100 hours before commencing into listening sessions.
With an impedance of 32Ω and a sensitivity of 102dB/mW the earphone is very easy to drive although the use of an external USB DAC/amp is mandatory in order to get the most out of the Jasper.
I have mostly used the iBasso DC05, FiiO KA3, the ddHiFi TC35B Pro and the Violectric Chronos.
The tuning of the Jasper is mostly balanced and neutral with a little forward sounding upper-mids and a treble that is on the bright side.
Nonetheless it is not fatiguing nor harsh and such an approach makes for a lively, agile and sparkling sound signature.
Jasper is utterly transparent, very revealing and not forgiving at all when it comes to the quality of the recording or the associated electronics.
As such I would avoid matching it with forward sounding devices or listening to poorly mastered material.
The presentation is somewhat lean but crystal clear and highly detailed.
Jasper is able to resolve all the details with an effortless and fine way while keeping them as a part of the music rather than presenting them in a detached manner and becoming analytical.
Mids sound spacious and mostly neutral with some upper – mid emphasis that will favor certain vocals and instruments, potentially leading into mild shouting.
Timbre is lifelike with a flimsy texture that adds to the overall sense of airiness, giving the sound a very open and atmospheric character.
The low end is well extended without seriously rolling off and has a balanced tuning up to the mids with excellent technicalities.
It is tight, fast, controlled and well defined without any mid – bass coloring or muddiness.
Layering is the strongest point and Jasper is able to resolve complex and populated bass lines with great ease and definition among the instruments without masking any of them.
Dynamics are convincing with some intense and speedy attack but they lack on ultimate impact while the bass texture is fragile and not as full bodied to make it sound weighty.
Sound integrity is good, the Jasper is more cohesive and homogeneous sounding than competitive multi driver earphones although it may come as slightly less extended.
The soundstage is certainly above average, combining satisfying width with extra spaciousness and precise imaging, able to draw a wide open picture of the music.
In the end
If you don’t mind the relative lack of accessories and you need a highly transparent, resolving and neutrally tuned earphone that is not clinical or boring with the added bonus of the very comfortable and discreet fit then the Aune Jasper fits the bill and is a solid choice.
Copyright – Laskis Petros 2021.