HiFi Mai Tai

The Roseselsa Aurora Ultra seems to have flown under the radar. It does have a very small cross sectional area and is one of those greys that is distinctly military in appearance but is the Aurora Ultra a high flying fight jet too fast and stealthy to have captured our attention or has this plane already been shot down and forgotten? Lets get to it. Lets find out in the Bartenders Roseselsa Aurora Ultra Review.

Roseselsa Aurora Ultra Review – The Cocktail:

The Roseselsa Aurora Ultra is a hybrid IEM that features a single 10mm dynamic driver and a 6mm Planar magnetic driver. It is the same driver configuration as the KZ Duonic which when reviewing the KZ Duonic I suggested might be a very important driver arrangement. I stand by what I said in that review and would argue the Roseselsa Aurora Ultra only reinforces the point that in the budget space more IEMs are going to adopt this arrangement. One DD and one PM IEMs may become the go to hybrids in the budget space replacing One DD and BA options. I don’t think such a shift would be a bad thing but only time will tell.

As is the case for all IEMs featuring planar magnetic drivers even those that only feature micro planar magnetic drivers the impedence is a little higher. Therefore I would definitely recommend at least a decent dongle DAC.

Drivers: 10mm Dynamic Driver & 6mm Planar Magnetic Driver
Frequency: 20 to 20,000 Hz
Impedence: 30 Ω
Sensitivity: 115 dB

Roseselsa Aurora Ultra Review – The Taste Test Setup:

Nothing particularly new to see here. The chosen eartips were the liquid silicon tips that accompanied the Aurora Ultra. I did not try any other tips.

DAC/AMP: Moondrop Dawn Pro 2
Cable: Tripowin C-01 4.4mm (Balanced)
Eartips: Soundcocoon/Stock (Silicon)

Roseselsa Aurora Ultra Review – The Non-Audio:

The Roseselsa Aurora Ultra is a mixed bag when it comes to the non-audio. It does very well at some things and not so well at others. Think hard about what is important to you. Think about the mission you are planning. What are your mission objectives? What are the mission parameters? Is it to get the job done or to look good doing it?

The overall cocktail package is excellent. This is certainly the captains quaters of IEMs packages. No ratings bunks to be found here. The offering of multiple eartip types, a case and a dongle dac is excellent. The DAC is very functional and perfect as a spare, back-up or small travel option. The case has clearly been designed with the frontlines in mind. Its big enough for your mission essential equipment and solid enough for the battlefield of life. Of course this toughness does have its downsides this is not a Jeep its a Mastiff. Its not going to fit in your pocket.

The build is reflective of the case. Its solid. Looking through the IEM shell there does seem to be a lot of glue. It looks a bit messy but nothing looks fragile. This is the forward command center after all a little mess is nothing when your in a war zone.

Sorry about the the tortured, sporadic and inconsistent military analogies but I will continue in a similar vein. The Roseselsa Auror Ultra is not the dress uniform of IEMs. This is not what you would wear to parades, formal dinners or meetings with foreign dignitaries on deck that can only be described as cocktail parties but for some reason are considered work. No, these IEMs are you overalls. The engineering corp would be wearing these as the crawl through oily engine rooms and under mud covered vehicles.

The big non-audio surprise was however not a pleasant one. It was more an unwanted grenade than an after-thought bottle of wine and generic card. Surprise birthdays can be wild. In this case I am building up to the comfort of this IEM. The Roseselsa Aurora Ultra are tiny. Really tiny. I had therefore expected them to be really comfortable. but for me at least they weren’t. Maybe they were just too small. I think its that they are too flat and so don’t have enough room between where the cable attaches and my ear and therefore it always rubs unpleasantly. Maybe my ears are too similar to trenches perhaps if the battlefield of your ear is flatter (ocean flat maybe) you will have better luck.

Accessories: Top Notch Nibbles (Ready for Battle)
Style: Undrinkable (You Won’t See it Coming)
Build: Dish Washer Proof (A Bullet)
Comfort: Perched on a Bar Stool (Rugged Rather than Luxurious)

Roseselsa Aurora Ultra Review – The Audio:

I very much enjoyed how these sounded. They have a balance to them. They are not neutral. I would say they are V-shaped. When I say balanced I mean that the boosting to the bass and treble is cohesive with each providing balance to the other and neither drowning, bleeding or pushing back the mids and vocals. Everything is balanced. No one particular area out shines the other. This is a military working together other IEMs can sometimes sound like the air support is firing on its own men and a bunch of soldiers got left behind or went to the wrong location but that is not what is happening here.

The bass hits as hard as a marine in a bar-room brawl but the bass certainly isn’t all about that slam and so there is good texture and good body. The slam as opposed to the sub bass is the focus but all-around the bass is highly enjoyable.

There is plenty of treble shimmer or sparkle. This does however come with some of that planar sound. That slightly off timbre. A slightly incorrect sound. It is only slight. Its probably not as noticeable as the weird things that happen in other IEMs such as the Kinera Celest Phoenix Call. The planar driver also brings some detail to the treble.

I thought the vocals were amongst the best of the IEMs I have tested around this price range. There isn’t really that smooth thickness and nor is there that sharpness that people tend to look for but again there is a balance. As a result both female and male vocals sound good. They aren’t thin and they aren’t muddy. The position of the vocals is also pretty neutral. Its nice not to be shouted at and nice to feel close to the action.

The Base Spirit (Bass): 77.13 % (Bring in the Big Guns)
The Modifier (Mids): 75.34 % (Advantage Blue Team)
The Sweetener (Treble): 79.42 % (Super Sonics Ready For Launch)
The Vocals: 79.51 % (Over & Out)
The Garnish (Details): 83.27 % (Battlefield Intelligence)
The Presentation (Technicals): 77.17 % (Contact Found & Classified)

Roseselsa Aurora Ultra Review – The AI Opinion:

This a new feature that I am trying out. How well will it work? I don’t know but here goes anyway.

In this section I have asked Google’s AI mode to predict a score for the to be reviewed IEM prior to publishing my review. To get this prediction I have asked that it predict a score based upon the scoring system employed by me here at the HiFi Mai Tai beach bar. That’s it. It is as simple as that. I could be doing myself out of the job here. But got to embrace the modern world etc. And if AI is gonna take my job I am going to go down fighting. Hopefully it proves itself rubbish and there is nothing to worry about.

So the Roseselsa Aroura Ultra. What does AI think?

The Base Spirit (Bass): 75.00%
The Modifier (Mids): 70.00%
The Sweetener (Treble): 80.00%
The Vocals: 75.00%
The Garnish (Details): 75.00%
The Presentation (Technicals): 80.00%

Compared to the recent reviews of the TRN Dolphin and KZ Vader Pro, AI and I are in rather good agreement. Perhaps there is hope for a future in which we do get a long. A future in which we can live side by side. Prosperous. Free. Happy.

Overall, I have rated these a little higher than AI but we both agree that it is the treble and technicals where this cocktail really shines. Additionally, we seem to agree that the Aurora Ultra are pretty good across the board. They don’t do anything badly. I wouldn’t want to speak for AI but maybe this has the AI stamp of approval. Given how often it seems to lie and make things up I am not sure what this stamp of approval is worth. But still.

Roseselsa Aurora Ultra Review – Summary & Comparisons

Might as start with the obvious comparison. The KZ Duonic. Looking at my ratings and the driver configurations would suggest these two IEMs would actually be very similar. And when it comes to enjoyment they are very similar. However, there are some key differences. The bass of the KZ Duonic is perhaps cleaner, bleeding into the mids less. This does mean that the mids are thinner on the KZ Duonic than the Rosesela Aurora Ultra which overall has a warmer sound. The vocals of the Aurora Ultra are much better benefiting from the thickness of a warmer sound. In the treble it comes very much down to personnel preference. Objectively the Aurora Ultra is the better treble, is more balanced, less piercing and has just as much airiness. However, the less refined and sharper treble of the KZ Duonic does enhance the detail of the sound and if you are not treble sensitive its energy may be more enjoyable. Considering the price from an Audio perspective only the Rosesela Auror Ultra cannot be considered a direct upgrade to the KZ Duonic but considering the complete package it can certainly be considered as a fair competitor.

My second comparison is against the TRN VX Pro+. These are similarly priced IEMs and again overall I have given them very similar scores. Overall, I think the TRN VX Pro+ is brighter and this shifts the balance reducing the presence of the bass compared to the Aurora Ultra. Both of these IEMs have well positioned vocals that balance clarity and body resulting in vocals that are neither thin nor thick. The treble is where the greatest differences are. To me the TRN VX Pro+ is the more energetic treble and delivers sharpness and more detail. Choosing between these two therefore becomes quite easy. Want better bass chose the Aurora Ultra. Want more treble chose the TRN VX Pro+. My choice would be the TRN VX Pro+ just because its more comfortable to wear.

So the Roseslesa Auror Ultra. Time for a summary.

If you are blind or have a love of all things grey then the Roseselsa Aurora could be just for you. This IEM focuses on sound above all else and in doing so delivers a balanced v-shaped sound that suits a wide range of music. Looking for something everyday then you can’t really go wrong with this one. Looking for a specialist or even something special then maybe keep looking.