Aune IR300

Aune Enters the IEM Market with Style and Substance

When a quality audio brand steps outside its comfort zone into a hyper-competitive market, you either get something half-baked or something exceptional. Aune has consistently delivered the latter. After establishing themselves as a respected name in headphone amplifiers and DACs, they surprised many with two outstanding full-size headphones — the AR5000 and the SR7000, both of which I reviewed and loved. The question was whether they could take that same confidence and engineering rigour into the IEM market.

This move is, in my opinion, similar to Meze Audio’s entry into the budget-to-mid-fi IEM segment two years ago with the Alba, and even more recently, Fosi Audio’s bold first IEM the IM4. All three companies arrived in the $100–$200 range not with a cautious toe-dip but with a genuine, considered statement of intent.

The IR300 is Aune answer, and hopefully in this review you will find out if it is as impressive a debut into the midpriced IEM market as Meze and Fosi Audio offerings. But first let’s look at the unboxing

Unboxing and Packaging

The box itself is modest — clean and professional without being extravagant with the specifications on the back.

The unboxing reveal tells you immediately this is not a budget afterthought. The shell is small, beautifully machined:

What you find inside is excellent for the price: the IR300 earphones themselves, three interchangeable tuning nozzles, two chamber tuning modules, a full complement of colour-coded eartips in multiple sizes and profiles, a 1.25m OFC cable, a 3.5mm plug, a 4.4mm balanced plug, a quick start guide, and a portable carry pouch. It is the kind of box that makes you double-check the price tag.

Build Quality and Design

The IR300 shell is genuinely small — machined from metal with a sculpted form that sits comfortably in the hand before it ever touches your ear. What I particularly admire about the design language is that the venting is treated as a feature rather than an engineering necessity to be concealed. The vent port is framed and highlighted as part of the overall aesthetic, giving the faceplate a purposeful, confident character.

The IR300 has already earned the slot in my bag previously occupied by the Meze Alba — my longstanding benchmark for a small, pocketable IEM that disappears into your ears on a long walk. The IR300 matches the Alba’s footprint while surpassing it in perceived build quality. The machined metal construction has that tactile solidity that makes the asking price feel like an oversight on Aune’s part.

Analog Tuning: Nozzles and Chamber Modules

This is where the IR300 does something genuinely unusual for its price bracket — it provides two independent, purely mechanical tuning systems that together give the listener a remarkable degree of control over the final sound signature, all without an app, a firmware update, or a digital equaliser in sight.

The first system is the set of three interchangeable tuning nozzles. Each nozzle subtly alters the frequency response at the business end of the IEM — primarily shaping bass body and upper-treble energy — so that the listener can shift the character of the IR300 from its default Harman-adjacent voicing toward something warmer or slightly more extended at the top.

The mechanism is a reassuringly solid screw thread. Rather than the fiddly press-fit arrangements that leave you wondering whether the nozzle is properly seated, the IR300’s screw system gives you a definitive, satisfying engagement every time.

The second system is the pair of chamber tuning modules. Where the nozzles act on the front acoustic path, the chamber modules work on the rear acoustic chamber of the driver itself — adjusting the back-pressure and resonance characteristics to produce a different kind of tuning shift, one that is more felt in the overall tonal weight and low-end density than in the treble shaping the nozzles provide. Together the two systems give you a meaningful matrix of tuning combinations rather than a simple A/B choice.

The manual provides a clear guide to the effect of each configuration, making the system accessible even to those new to the concept of mechanically tunable IEMs.

Eartips

The eartip selection is one of the most generous I have encountered at this price point. Multiple sizes and profiles are included, and Aune have added a particularly thoughtful touch: the tips are colour-coded to indicate not just size but their sonic character. This makes it easy to switch between options and understand the effect you are dialling in before the IEM ever leaves your palm.

The combination of three nozzles, two chamber tuning modules, and multiple tip profiles means that the IR300 arrives with an exceptional degree of purely analog sonic flexibility — a product engineered to be dialled in to the listener rather than demanding the listener adapt to it.

Cable

The cable supplied with the IR300 is excellent. It is supple, well-braided, and terminated with a solid metal 2-pin connector. The chin slider is machined metal rather than plastic — a detail that costs almost nothing to upgrade but that many manufacturers at twice the price still get wrong.

The included adapters elevate the package further. Both the 3.5mm-to-4.4mm and the 4-pin balanced adapters are machined metal and match the quality of the cable itself — these are not the lightweight plastic afterthoughts that typically ship as bundle accessories.

Sound Impressions

Testing was conducted over several weeks of daily use — primarily on long walks and in an open-plan office where passive isolation matters as much as pure fidelity. The default nozzle configuration was used for the majority of listening, with the included eartips tried across multiple profiles to confirm fit and sonic consistency. Sources ranged from a balanced desktop DAC/amp to a quality portable dongle.

Bass

The IR300’s low end is punchy and articulate — the hallmark of a well-implemented Harman-adjacent tuning. Sub-bass extension is present and satisfying without bleeding into the midbass, and the mid-bass itself has the kind of controlled, clean punch that lets kick drums and bass lines cut through a dense mix without smearing. There is genuine texture in bass guitar lines rather than a homogeneous low-end weight. Steely Dan’s “Aja” is a revealing test: the interplay between kick and bass guitar is rendered with the layering and articulation that only a well-controlled low end can deliver. The bass is never fatiguing and never absent — it is simply right.

Midrange

The midrange is voiced with intelligence. Vocals sit just above the instrumental bed — present and intimate without dominating the mix in the way that a more aggressively forward tuning might. There is good body to instruments, and the lower midrange avoids the hollowness that plagues more treble-led tunings at this price. Listening to Dire Straits’ " Brothers in Arms," Knopfler’s guitar has genuine weight and tonal density — it sounds like an instrument played in a room, not a processed signal. Vocal intelligibility is excellent across male and female voices alike, without any upper-mid glare.

Treble

This is where Aune’s tuning philosophy becomes most apparent — and most admirable. The IR300 has enough treble presence to retrieve fine detail and cymbal shimmer without ever crossing into the region that causes listener fatigue over long sessions. The sharp upper-treble energy that some IEM manufacturers use as a proxy for resolution is noticeably absent here, and that is a deliberate, confident tuning decision rather than a lack of capability. Listening to Nils Lofgren’s “Keith Don’t Go,” the acoustic guitar harmonics have genuine shimmer and air while the bite of the pick attack stays natural and never glassy. The upper octave trails away cleanly. For listeners who find bright IEMs exhausting, the IR300’s treble will feel like a revelation.

Soundstage and Imaging

IEMs are inherently constrained in terms of spatial scale relative to open-back headphones, and the IR300 does not attempt to overclaim. What it delivers is a well-proportioned and coherent spatial picture — width and depth that compares favourably with the Meze Alba and the Crinear Daybreak, the latter of which was one of my favourite IEMs of last year. Imaging is accurate and stable, with instruments sitting in believable positions rather than collapsing toward the centre. It falls just short of the Kiwiears Astral — still for me one of the finest-imaging IEMs I have heard at any price — but the gap is narrower than the price difference might suggest. Supertramp’s “Crime of the Century” is a demanding test for IEM staging, and the IR300 renders the reverb tails and spatial layering with enough resolution to make the experience genuinely engaging.

Comparisons

Meze Alba — The Alba and the IR300 share a small-shell form factor and a tonally balanced tuning philosophy, which is part of why the IR300 is set to replace the Alba as my default pocketable IEM. The IR300 brings a more sophisticated accessory package — more nozzle options, a superior cable, and a broader eartip selection — alongside a treble presentation I find slightly more refined and less fatiguing over longer sessions. The Alba remains a fine IEM, but the IR300 represents an evolution of the same idea executed with more ambition. You can read my full Meze Alba review for the full context.

Fosi Audio IM4 — Fosi Audio’s debut IEM carries a similar story: a quality electronics brand entering the IEM market with a first product that punches above its price. The IM4 has its own character and strengths, but the IR300 has the edge in build sophistication and the breadth of its tuning system. Both represent exceptional value at their respective prices; the IR300 is the more premium-feeling package overall. My Fosi Audio IM4 review covers those strengths in detail.

Crinear Daybreak — The Daybreak was one of my standout IEM recommendations from last year, and comparing it to the IR300 reveals two different takes on a broadly similar tuning goal. The Daybreak may have a slight edge in note texture and resolution at the very top of its register, but the IR300 counters with a more accessible and forgiving tuning, a more complete accessory package, and the built-in flexibility of the nozzle system. They are close enough in absolute performance that the choice comes down to fit preference and personal tuning preference. Full details in my Crinear Daybreak review.

Kiwiears Astral — The Astral sits at a different level of imaging precision and remains, for me, one of the finest-imaging IEMs I have ever heard. The IR300 does not dethrone it in that specific discipline, but offers a warmer, less analytical presentation that many listeners will prefer for everyday use and long-form listening sessions. The Astral is the choice for the listener who prioritises surgical precision; the IR300 is the choice for the listener who wants high performance without having to think about it. See my Kiwiears Astral review for the full picture.

Specifications and Measurements

The frequency response tells a coherent story. The IR300 measures with a Harman-adjacent target response — a gentle bass lift from the midbass downward, a well-controlled pinna gain peak in the upper midrange, and a measured treble that retreats from the 8–10kHz region associated with listener fatigue. Crucially, channel balance is excellent throughout the measurement range — not a given even at significantly higher price points.

The nozzle system’s effect on the frequency response is real and musically meaningful. The two graphs below show the variation across the three nozzle configurations — the differences are most pronounced in bass body and the upper-treble region, giving the listener a genuine tuning range rather than cosmetic variation.

Comparing against the Meze Alba and Fosi Audio IM4 confirms that all three share a broadly Harman-inspired philosophy, but the IR300 is the most controlled in the treble and the most even-handed across the midrange.

Against the Kiwiears Astral, the IR300 shows a warmer, less elevated treble — which maps precisely to the sonic impressions described above. Against the Crinear Daybreak, it is slightly warmer overall with a more relaxed upper register.

Distortion performance is reassuringly clean. Both the raw distortion graph and the percentage view confirm a well-controlled driver through its operating range, with no concerning peaks in the critical midrange.

Rating Explanation

Five stars across all four of my categories is not a rating I give lightly, but the IR300 earns each of them. The pragmatic score reflects a product that does what it promises, the tuning is thoughtful rather than fashionable, the build is a genuine cut above the competition at this price, and the accessory package is among the most complete I have reviewed at any price point.

The price score speaks for itself at €139 given everything in the box. The features score acknowledges the dual analog tuning system — three nozzles and two chamber modules — the colour-coded eartip selection, and the high-quality balanced adapter package. The measurement score reflects a clean, well-executed Harman-adjacent tuning with excellent channel balance and low distortion throughout.

The caveats here are inherent to the IEM category rather than specific failures of this product. Fit is personal, and while I prefer small IEM shells I know some people like the ‘chonky’ shells. The IR300’s default tuning — which pulls back from the upper treble with deliberate restraint — will not be right for every listener. Those who prefer a brighter, more aggressive top end may find it slightly reserved; those with unusually sensitive treble perception may find even this measured tuning slightly forward on certain recordings. Human hearing varies enough that no measurement rig can fully predict what will work for a given listener. This is why I always recommend auditioning IEMs at a CanJam event or local audio retailer before committing — the best measurements and reviews in the world cannot substitute for thirty minutes of listening with your own ears and your own favourite tracks. That said, the IR300’s tuning has been deliberately voiced for broad appeal, and the chances are very good it will work for most people.

Conclusion

Aune’s entry into the IEM market looks, in hindsight, inevitable. They have the engineering foundation, the tuning philosophy, and the manufacturing relationships to do this properly. The IR300 is not the product of a company dipping a cautious toe into unfamiliar water — it is the product of a company that understood what the $100–$200 IEM market needed and delivered it with confidence. Like their fantastic headphones the AR5000 and SR7000 that preceded it, the IR300 goes straight into my regular rotation.

It has already replaced the Meze Alba as a goto for long walks, but as a practical, daily decision. That is the most honest five stars I can give.