AUDIOFLY AF140 MK2 Product Review

AUDIOFLY

Pros:

• Full bodied low end
• Low end extension
• Balanced mids and highs
• Package and accessories
• Price.
  

Cons:

• Would benefit with more highs extension
• Would be good to have more details on the mid to high region.
  

Disclaimer
Just to get this out of the way first. These IEMs were provided as a loan, free of charge, by Audiofly in exchange of my honest review/impressions. No request was made by the company in any respect and everything has been completely transparent from both sides.

Before even starting I would like to remember that I’m not a professional reviewer and I do this for fun and love for the music. Sonic impressions are completely subjective and in this case it’s my unique opinion, feel free to have yours, but always remember to respect your forum colleges.

• Introduction
  

Ok, I wrote a bit about my experience finding out about Audiofly on the AF1120 review here. On this one I will tell you a bit about Audiofly and their Pro range.

Audiofly is an Australian Company established in 2012 by a diversified group of people. On their own words “a fierce, rag-tag group of creative individuals, including musicians and music lovers, pop-culture nerds, coffee enthusiasts, foodies and beach freaks based out of Perth, enjoying the Summer vibes.”. Being in Australia for a few years already I totally reckon these characteristics around here and they definitely represent our way of life and that’s something I appreciate.

Those characteristics are clearly seen on their products. With simple and efficient design, great range of products and prices that can cover all styles and needs. Ranging from 1BA to 6BA per side IEMs, including the AF140 that is a Hybrid 1DD+2BA. One can go from a sunny Sunday brunch relaxed listening to perform on a stage to a detailed producing session. Audiofly’s range will cover all. That’s on the PRO side, they also have the general public product range mostly found on big electronic store chains (like BestBuy in US), as an audiophile, I will focus on the PRO series, sorry.

As per my reviews I will take a different road from most of the reviews around and will based on music that I like and what I love to listen on my daily basis. And, I’m not an “Audiophile music guy”. Later at the end I will make a couple comparisons with other hybrid IEM’s I have around at the moment. All listening will be made with original cables, Tidal, A&K SE100 and Dragonfly Cobalt (S10e and Computer)

Let’s start where everyone starts when they get a new baby at home…

• Unboxing and Presentation
  

The first impression when getting the AF140 box is, like the whole Audiofly Pro range, you will see details of the product all over the package, like someone going to a musician gear store and choosing your next IEM from the shelf. That’s not bad, I do like the packaging a lot, it’s informative and really nice. AF140 has a smaller box, compared to AF1120 and we will get to why.

Opening the box apple like products, means it takes forever to go over the inner vacuum, but with a scientific explanation to that time, it increases the expectation. Ok, in the case of the Audiofly Pro range, the expectation is well covered. The beauty AF140 shows straight away in grey and black accents. And, an EVA caring case, unfortunately not the same as the TOTL AF1120 that I loved, but totally understandable. Both are really well designed and the interior is also covered in velvet fabric like the AF1120 case. Even being smaller, the case still fits my daily portable setup easily.

I really like the cable, with an exemption of the y-splitter that I covered more on the other review. It is thin, light and feels durable. The cable colours also follow the IEM design, so it’s not a bulk buy cable like other brands. Nice touch in my opinion.

The feeling I have after going through the package, product and accessories is that they put a lot of attention to details from the outer layer of the box to the inner details of the accessories.

As usual, it comes with plenty of tips, airplane adaptor (who connects to these?) and a1/4” adaptor.

• Design and Comfort
  

Having the IEM on my hand and seeing that they packed a 9mm mylar Neodymium Dynamic Driver and a couple other BA for Mid and High on each side with this minimal formfactor is great. The shell on this model is Grey and black, so no way you can see what is inside, but seeing the AF1120 I can expect the best internal design and quality. The fit is perfect. The combination of stem size, diameter and angles are just spot on to my ears. No issues at all, even trying multiple different ear tips designs. For my other IEMs, I usually find one pair of tips that work and that’s it, no other pair of tips would work, not on Audiofly’s PRO range of IEMs. These are definitely the most comfortable Universal IEM I ever used. Better than SD5, Sony M9 and others. I definitely forget them in my ears even after many hours of listening sessions.

I did cover this a bit more on my AF1120 impressions, you can go that and have a look here.

But let’s go to what our colleagues here are looking for. How does it sound? I will make my comments basically around Hip-hop. Why? Because these definitely shine with modern music.

• Hip-Hop and a few things around the mainstream area
  

I usually listen to this range of music when relaxing and chilling, so I normally don’t want a full detailed gear, I do prefer a more relaxing one. On this expectation, the AF140 definitely hit the point almost spot on and I will develop a bit on that with a few songs as reference. I also want to sorry about the lyrics of a few of them, but those are Hip-Hop, so it’s expected.

To kick off my playlist I have Lil Wayne “How to love” and “Don’t Cry”, these songs have a really strong sub low kick and extension along the whole song, they also have some splash highs with Lil Wayne’s voice in between, so the gear needs to be really good in dynamics without being spiky. The Low end kick of the AF140 is amazing with really good extension thanks to the Dynamic Driver, where full BA IEMs don’t give the emotion needed by the songs. “How to Love” will show the slight V shape of the tuning with the mids a bit behind. In “Don’t Cry” Lil is placed really nicely within the staging and never overwhelmed by the DD driver, like the EE LX for example.

Still within Lil Wayne songs, you can find “lollipop” that is an extreme low end test to any gear you have, with some imaging and soundstaging to challenge any high end IEM. Not all of them can play this song without overwhelming the rest of the frequency range with the big low end kick and extension. For example, the so acclaimed Empire Ears LX gets completely overwhelmed by the low end on this one. A12t is another loved IEM that has an amazing kick, but not close to the DD extension of the AF140. While the Mids are placed behind, they are not recessed to the point of missing it. It’s true the AF140 won’t have the full details as the AF1120, but this IEM if for a different purpose.

Jumping now to Wiz Khalifa we have “Big Pride” and “what you deserve”. If you have a hybrid IEM, I strongly suggest you to give these songs a try. They have an amazing low end with constant plates high pitch and splashes that will tell you straight away if your IEM has good Low end, Dynamics or if it is spiky on the highs. With AF140, it is a big pleasure to listen to this song and feel the extension on both ends, within the whole frequency range you have a lot of side sound effects that makes you relax and just enjoy, that’s the word, “enjoyment”. Different from Lil Wayne, Wiz’s voice is placed right in the middle and balanced within the whole song. Again, this IEM doesn’t have the full details of the AF1120, on the other hand the AF1120 sounded harsh on these songs, just showing those IEMs fill different areas. Just throw “Black and Yellow” to the list and challenge the dynamics of your IEM again.

Going a bit to the newer times on Billboard hits. On Khalid’s “Better”, you can hear enough details here to enjoy and feel the intent of the producer, from strong kicks, light splashes and some piano with two different voice tones placed side by side and some back vocals to complete the range, perfectly placed on the balance. It lacks in details, for sure. But not to the point of wanting to throw away. Peacockaudio P1 sounded really bad on this one.

Are you a Bass Guitar lover and want to see if the AF140 is capable for monitoring? Give Wale “on Chill (Feat. Jeremih)” a go and you will see what I am talking about. On top of that the singers sound great on this one. Imaging and separation are really nice and no noticeable gap between sides. This is the kind of song that makes me really happy with the tuning Audiofly achieved on the AF140. Throw in Justin Bieber “Yummy” as another good sample for this check.

To finish I will jump to a guy that like a lot of complexity in his songs. Eminem’s new album is an amazing shine from the dark times he was buried in, it is a complex album with a lot of elements on the whole frequency range. AF140 made me smile going through this album, with a crazy balance between low and high peaks and extension and never overwhelming the mid area, felt like everything was perfectly placed and sometimes moving from side to side as smoothly as possible. Special attention to “Unaccommodating”, “Godzilla” and “Darkness”. The last one giving Goosebumps with the intimate tuning that felt like siting on my lounge with Eminem siting on a chair in front of me, with a TV just playing on the background.

• AF140 vs AF1120
  

Fat Joe, Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige “Lord above”, had wider soundstage and details on the AF1120, but sounded bright to me. While AF140 still had everything there, it was harder to put details on the things placed further. Still comparing the Bass guitar extension, the big Post Malone “Wow.” Is a good example to show how different tuning's are needed for different purposes within the professional area (of course the enjoyment area too). AF1120 sounded bright, detailed and full of energy in the higher area of the frequency range, but definitely missed the same energy on the lower area. AF140 just sounded Right, just right for the kind of sounds being reproduced. They would definitely complement each other, but I’m not sure about being better or not. They are totally different tuning's and different purposes.

• AF140 vs Peacock P1
  

Just going out of Audiofly range, I will start throwing one around the same price range. This is definitely prettier, but that’s it. The box and accessories feel cheap, really cheap compared to AF140. Sound wise, peacock sounded completely congested where the AF140 sounded much more refined, detailed and better tuned overall. They feel like sharing a similar sound signature, but AF140 is an example of how to do it right and P1 an example on focus on design and barely on sound refinement. No second thought on AF140 tuning and attention to details compared to P1.

• AF140 vs Noble Tux5
  

For sure Tux5 is on a totally different level of price. Also, the Tux5 is one of the best implementation of hybrids design for me. It has great and deep low end, but also really detailed, bright and airy upper range. AF140 have a nice lower end, not as big and full as the Tux, but as controlled as the last one. I would be happy with any of those if my focus was only in that area. When throwing in the mid-high portion of the spectrum, definitely the Tux5 sounded better, it has the level of energy, details and separation you find on the AF1120 and that can be missed on the AF140. Getting those side by side you have the real feeling of something is missing on mid to highs area and that the a balance between deep DD and energetic BAs can be achieved. But putting the price in perspective, Tux5 costs 5x more. Would one be happy to pay that much for that little bit of extra? That goes to each one to answer. If one is a bass guitar player or drummer, I personally think you will be well covered with the AF140 MK2.

• AF140 vs EE Legend X (why not?)
  

Ok, this one is just for the sake of comparing as I have both around. LX is my baby for when I want deep low end and just relax and this one is the king for that. Personally, I would never use the LX for monitoring. Comparing to AF140, as I mentioned, some of the songs the low end felt completely overwhelming the rest of the spectrum, while the AF140 felt more balanced. Lacking details on the mid to top end, but still balanced. While the LX gave full details everywhere. But gave me enjoyment and relaxation I was looking for with the songs. For 10x the price? Yeah, I will leave that to you guys, if you have a chance to compare both.

• Conclusions (for now)
  

Surely Audiofly wanted a different tuning and customer on the AF140 compared to AF1120. It feels like an opposite tuning, but at the same time feels like one complement the other and again they achieved that really well. They also managed to keep the price even more affordable compared to AF1120 and to other brands. That is a great positive point on what the company is doing and I hope they keep on that line with well-designed and tuned gear on an affordable price range.

The AF140, can be a good all-rounder for the music lover and specially if you’re looking for a deep DD sound on an IEM and your focus is below 1khz, you will find that on this IEM and will be pretty happy with that.

Keeping the things within Audiofly range, I totally think AF1120 and AF140 are an excellent complement to each other and good keepers for different mood and songs, what I missed on one I could find on the other and was always able to find joy on everything I played. I hope Audiofly will come with a new IEM that will take the best of both on a single product.