Looking for some guidance between the A8 vs A6. Been reading through pages of info here, and have learned a lot. These will be my first pair of CIEM, so that should be an interesting experience. The ADEL tech has my interest, as it seems to help you listen to your music at lower volumes. The by product of this appears to be less fatigue and allowing one to enjoy their music for longer periods of time.
I listen to a pretty eclectic assortment of music, but mainly EDM, pop and some classical. Songs have a lot of vocals within them and my preference has always been about clarity. I wouldn't call myself a basshead, but it like it tight, fast and relatively deep. I'll listen to a few rock songs when I'm in the mood, but the bulk of my music doesn't include it. Having said that, what do you guys recommend for the style of music that I listen to?
My current setup is a pair of Westone W30 and FIIO X5. I threw out the A8 and A6 because they fit in my budget. Only way to step up to the next level (A12, A10) is through some sort of sale from 64 audio (praying they have a decent sale for Black Friday this year).
Thanks in advance guys.
I'm not sure if this will help at all, but I thought I would share my impressions.
After getting involved with headphones, I started to become intrigued with CIEMs because I travel every week. The iPhone earbuds and the iPod Classic were not satisfactory anymore.
I became very interested in 1964 Ears even though I have a friend who sells Westone and one show sells JH Audio. I was going to order the V3’s…..then I moved up to the V6s – was about to order when I started reading about the Adel technology. I decided to wait for the A6 to become available.
Rachel at 64 Audio answered a bunch of questions and helped with the order process. They had a sale in September, and I jumped on it. The A6 was at the limit I decided I wanted to spend on earphones. It took the established 6 weeks, and it was enjoyable to check the website to see the progress. I also purchased a FiiO X5ii to mate up with the earphones.
I received the A6’s this past Monday, and they are beautiful – exquisite craftsmanship. I put them in my ears, and immediately felt a discomfort in my left ear (more on that later). I played a couple of acoustic / folksy tracks, and I was immediately freaked out thinking they may not have gone through QC…..that the BA’s that produce the highs were not hooked up…..there just didn’t seem to be any sparkly highs. I changed to some electronic based music, and yes…..there were highs.
Once I listen for several minutes…..I get used to the balanced sound (lows, mids, highs), and I really, really enjoy them. At first, the sound didn’t wow me due to the lack of highs, but listening for several minutes is very satisfying. Honestly, I would rather have diminished highs versus screechy or piercing highs…..I have no idea if that is what I would have gotten with other brands or not since these are my first CIEMs.
With further reflection….the A10’s potentially would have been the perfect set for me. In a sense, I’m glad I couldn’t demo both……I really would have hated to come to the conclusion that I needed to spend another $800 to get the sound I really wanted. I tried to EQ for more highs using the X5, but that made the sound thin and unnatural.
Well, the pain in my left year (high up in the upper ear – the Fossa where the Cymba contacts it) never got better. It wasn’t something that I would get used to, but something that needs to be fixed. I contacted 64 Audio’s support via email, and within an hour I received instructions to complete the RMA on their website. It was extremely simple, and I shipped them today.