Sound Impressions: Lows / Bass Reverbs
Overall, Alicante has a balanced, mild w-shaped sound signature that serves as an all-rounder. The bass is deep, lush, and dives far down. Alicante’s bass faithfully shows the characteristics I’d seek from a well-tuned dynamic driver. Low ends sound dense and tightly controlled, though the texture itself stays smooth and organic. Bass is also elastic, energetic, and agile – yet never gets bombastic or overly penetrating. Ultra-low extension is also impressively clean and bold, especially considering how calm and solemn the bass behaves.
There’s plenty of density and weight to the lows. With a warm, dark, and full-bodied tone, Alicante shows strong bass presence while not causing the sound to get excessively bassy. Sub-bass quantity sits around the level you’d expect from those that are V-shaped – stopping just before entering the basshead region. Those who want powerful bass would find Alicante plenty satisfying. Most listeners would find the bass to be the right amount unless you’re specifically after that ground-shaking bass boom.
What I particularly appreciate from Alicante is how the bass reverbs sound both lively and clean. BCD bass often comes with a certain boominess in exchange for that lively, holographic presentation. Alicante uses two dynamic drivers, yet the way its bass reverbs spread and come alive gives me a similar impression. At the same time, the placement stays orderly, clean, and thoroughly phase-accurate. Lows retain the holographic liveliness without getting sluggish or blurry.
Sound Impressions: Mids / Vocal Timbre
Vocals gently step forward. Alicante’s mids have a prominent BA texture, though it’s done naturally and stays cohesive throughout the range. While Alicante is quite an all-rounder that shows its charms across all three frequencies, the mids are nonetheless captivating. Timbre is very lush with neutral-bright brightness, accompanied by holographic imaging and a cohesive vocal flow that continues smoothly from the lows.
Body is neutral-thick, and the mids are packed with both detail and tone. There’s good depth to the vocals, along with a calm, solemn nuance. Interestingly, this gentle nuance would usually make the music sound all serious, yet Alicante’s mids fused this solemn feel with a cheerful and upbeat tone. Thanks to this, Alicante carries the weight and musical aura while sounding refreshing. Mids work equally well with male and female vocals, having leaner voices gain a more sensual tone, while deeper and meatier vocals come through clearly with plenty of richness.
Vocal separation is another impressive part. Alicante is highly detailed, resolving, and analytical, but the presentation doesn’t get overly technical or tiring. The texture remains smooth and velvety, with plenty of refinement packed into the smaller vocal details. There’s a good sense of separation between layers while the vocals themselves remain connected and naturally flowing.
Sibilance is also well controlled without killing off the upper-mid buildup. Alicante retains the shine and transparency that naturally develop through the mids, though it stops before turning shouty or spiky. Vocals remain adequately forward and neutral-bright enough to keep the presentation clear and transparent. Those particularly sensitive to treble may still find Alicante a tad bright or dry, but the upper mids themselves stay well controlled.
Sound Impressions: Highs / Soundstage / etc.
Alicante’s strongest strength lies in its rich mid-high technicality. It has some of the finest treble micro details I’ve heard from IEMs, including plenty that sit above Alicante in price. There are other IEMs around this range that extend the trebles just as well, though Alicante goes a step further when it comes to the fineness and resolution of those details. Trebles sit slightly lower in quantity than the vocals and take a small step back, yet their presence is still incredibly clean, detailed, and prominent.
There’s an expansive, open-ended feel to the upper range. I thoroughly enjoy how the sparkly, glittery treble details feel like they’re shining down from above, filling the upper headroom with lots of fine information. Alicante isn’t shy about exposing these small details either. Those who are sensitive to trebles in general may find the upper frequencies a bit overpowering, though detail-diggers who enjoy tuning into the smallest upper-end information should find Alicante very rewarding. Its treble performance easily punches above the price, enough for me to compare it with IEMs that are already well known for their treble performance.
What’s also interesting is how smooth the trebles remain despite all this detailing. Texture is extremely soft and smooth, with an elastic and natural feel rather than getting stiff or dry. There’s plenty of bling to the highs, but Alicante mixes that with a creamy, silvery texture that gives the trebles their own lushness. IEMs that push micro details this far can easily get tiring once the texture starts feeling rigid or overly sharp. Alicante goes quite daring with the treble detailing, yet AuR Audio seems to know where to stop. The highs retain all that shine, fineness, and resolution without tipping over too far into the unpleasant zone.
Soundstage is very spatial and immersive as well. Alicante puts a lot of attention into upper-end expansion, though the stage isn’t simply stretched upward. There’s a well-established bass foundation and plenty of low-end headroom underneath. IEMs with this kind of upper expansion can sometimes leave the bottom side of the stage feeling weak or less grounded, whereas Alicante manages to establish both ends quite convincingly. This gives the stage a more balanced weighting and center of gravity, with plenty of space opening above while the lows still hold the presentation firmly from underneath.
Next Page: Flagship IEM Comparisons (UM Mest Fortune / AME Igris) & Verdicts