Headphones — ROSESELSA Aurora Ultra

The Aurora Ultra is a wired hybrid in-ear monitor from ROSESELSA, the Chinese earphone maker founded in 2015 and previously trading as RoseTechnics. It pairs one dynamic driver with one planar magnetic driver in each earpiece, and the tuning was developed jointly by Mr. Xie of ROSESELSA and Mr. Takahashi of Tokyo Sound. The regular price is USD 49.99, and the package bundles a USB-C dongle so a phone or computer offering only USB-C output can drive the set directly.

Key specs that matter

The dynamic unit measures 10 mm and the planar unit 6 mm. Rated impedance is 30 ohm with a tolerance of 15 percent, sensitivity is 115 dB at 1 mW, and total harmonic distortion stays under 0.1 percent at 1 kHz. The quoted frequency response runs from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Each earpiece weighs 3.0 g without the cable. The detachable lead is 120 cm long, plugs into the shells through 0.78 mm 2-pin sockets and finishes in a 3.5 mm single-ended plug. Buyers can choose Silver, Iron Grey or Blue.

Engineering and use context

ROSESELSA calls the dynamic diaphragm a third-generation topology design, built from nano-materials with an optimised micro-structure and driven by Daikoku voice coils and rare earth magnets. The planar unit uses a dual-magnet layout and sits coaxially with the dynamic driver, an arrangement the maker says lowers distortion. The shells carry metallic face covers, and the housing contour was shaped from about a thousand ear canal data points to suit most wearers. The cable is a four-braid, eight-core construction in 5N OCC single crystal copper. SoundCocoon liquid silicone eartips come in the box.

Pairing

The bundled RZ200m dongle adapts the earphone plug to USB Type-C and is built around an ALC5686 decoder chip. Bought on its own it costs USD 12.99, and the SoundCocoon tips are also offered separately at USD 15.99. It handles PCM up to 32 bit and 384 kHz, draws a 3.0 to 5.5 V supply from the host and quotes 124 dB SNR, a dynamic range of 113 dB, distortion of -95 dB and 22.5 mW of output into 32 ohm. With their high sensitivity and low impedance, the earphones reach usable levels from that dongle, from phone headphone sockets and from portable players alike, so a dedicated desktop amplifier is optional rather than required.

Alternatives

Inside the ROSESELSA wired range, the QT9-MK3 steps up to a 1DD plus 4BA hybrid layout, also with a detachable cable.