[dhruvmeena96]

Very informative review.
Has anyone compared 64 Audio Nio with Sony IER-Z1R?

64audio Nio with MX or zero module is the best neutral iem surpassing ER4 for me
On other modules , the signature is safe but it's more of a warm on M15. M20 I won't recommend as it's V shape

Z1R is literal bass god on rumble and impact.
That 13mm driver seriously moves a lot of air in tiny eardrum.

U12T is better than both though
Old design but it hits hard like BA and rumble like DD

 

[Barone Birra]

64audio Nio with MX or zero module is the best neutral iem surpassing ER4 for me
On other modules , the signature is safe but it's more of a warm on M15. M20 I won't recommend as it's V shape

Z1R is literal bass god on rumble and impact.
That 13mm driver seriously moves a lot of air in tiny eardrum.

U12T is better than both though
Old design but it hits hard like BA and rumble like DD

Thanks. I have the MDR-Z1R so I can understand. Maybe I'll go with Nio due its interesting versatility (Apex modules).

 

[Curtisvill]

Fantastic review! Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and thoughtful review.

I am relatively new to the headphone/iem world, Covid has really forced me to adapt from my 2 channel set up to headphones with the house full and working from home. It has been an interesting journey for me as a fair amount of my purchases have been blind and based on reviews I have read on Head-Fi and elsewhere on the web. I feel very lucky as I do not have any purchases which I regret, and some that just blow me away.

One of the purchases that has blown me away is the Fourte, I cannot believe how big, rich, and detailed the sound is from such a small piece of gear. When I listen to the Fourte I wonder if I ever need to listen to my ZMF VC again, don't get me wrong the VCs are amazing it's just that I find the Fourte that good. I go back and forth between which I like better, but then I remember they are both fantastic and have their time and place in my rotation.

I currently am using a 64 Audio Premium Silver cable, the stock cable that comes with the Fourte is not very good IMO. I would like to upgrade my cable and am curious if you, or anyone else on this thread, has a recommendation for a good upgrade. Thanks.

John

 

[gLer]

Fantastic review! Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and thoughtful review.

I am relatively new to the headphone/iem world, Covid has really forced me to adapt from my 2 channel set up to headphones with the house full and working from home. It has been an interesting journey for me as a fair amount of my purchases have been blind and based on reviews I have read on Head-Fi and elsewhere on the web. I feel very lucky as I do not have any purchases which I regret, and some that just blow me away.

One of the purchases that has blown me away is the Fourte, I cannot believe how big, rich, and detailed the sound is from such a small piece of gear. When I listen to the Fourte I wonder if I ever need to listen to my ZMF VC again, don't get me wrong the VCs are amazing it's just that I find the Fourte that good. I go back and forth between which I like better, but then I remember they are both fantastic and have their time and place in my rotation.

I currently am using a 64 Audio Premium Silver cable, the stock cable that comes with the Fourte is not very good IMO. I would like to upgrade my cable and am curious if you, or anyone else on this thread, has a recommendation for a good upgrade. Thanks.

John

Hi John

Thanks, that's very kind of you. I agree fully with your assessment of the Fourte - it's certainly better than any full size headphone I've heard in sheer technical brilliance, but it also sounds as big as a full size headphone. There's some fairy dust in that Tia system design, that's for sure.

As for cables, I'm liking the PW Audio Anniversary 8-wires at the moment. Have the No 5 on Fourte but it sounds just as good with the No 10. Apparently the PW Audio 1960s 4-wire is the ultimate Fourte cable, but you'll be paying more than the price of a very decent IEM just for the cable.

Good luck, cable rolling can be fun but it's another deep rabbit hole!

 

[noper]

Nice write-up! I've owned both the Fourte and Noirte for at least a year and you nailed my impressions of each. I must have strange ears though because I never thought the Fourtes sounded weird and I couldn't get myself to like the Noirs.

 

[gLer]

Nice write-up! I've owned both the Fourte and Noirte for at least a year and you nailed my impressions of each. I must have strange ears though because I never thought the Fourtes sounded weird and I couldn't get myself to like the Noirs.

Thank you. And you don't have strange ears. As Master Yoda once said, "Strange ears you have, if Fourte weird it sounds".

 

[xenithon]

He also said "Temping, the dark side is" about the Noir

I say you need both, to bring balance to the force.

 

[dhruvmeena96]

Fourte is like a surround sound filter activated but kinda feel more natural than those software based

The only problem I had was with center image my brain forms and it was like I had to focus for center image on some music.

I like trio more

 

[Audiosolace]

Good comparisons, the Tia Fourte is certainly a unique listen and is technically brilliant. Some may attribute the weirdness to the midrange which is more evident on A/B listening. Others like the Trio & U18 have more center staging and midrange intimacy. This is also true for the Odins. However, soundstage and separation remains outstanding on the Fourtes. It really is the go to IEM for large production pieces, drum and bass, orchestral as well as high quality digitally remastered tracks.

 

[DavidS11]

Good comparisons, the Tia Fourte is certainly a unique listen and is technically brilliant. Some may attribute the weirdness to the midrange which is more evident on A/B listening. Others like the Trio & U18 have more center staging and midrange intimacy. This is also true for the Odins. However, soundstage and separation remains outstanding on the Fourtes. It really is the go to IEM for large production pieces, drum and bass, orchestral as well as high quality digitally remastered tracks.

Can you explain what is the weirdness in the Fourte midrange is referring to? Perhaps compare against some other iems that are considered having a more ‘normal’ midrange sound? Honest questions, as I really can’t and don’t find the Fourte midrange weird sounding.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Can you explain what is the weirdness in the Fourte midrange is referring to? Perhaps compare against some other iems that are considered having a more ‘normal’ midrange sound? Honest questions, as I really can’t and don’t find the Fourte midrange weird sounding.

I think what he's referring to is that there is some times some swallowed notes or very faint sounding ones... It did happen to me before with older tia fourte.

I am not yet 100% sure but I feel there been done slight retuning touches with the latest latest fourte releases.
As mine is brand new and sounds more coherent and linear then before. Of course this is all based on memory.

To me the new fourte seems less bright and more linear!

If I am lucky I will eventually meet up with a friend who has the older version for comparison.

 

[425455]

Thanks. I have the MDR-Z1R so I can understand. Maybe I'll go with Nio due its interesting versatility (Apex modules).

I have both ier-z1r and nio and I prefer the latter.

 

[Audiosolace]

Can you explain what is the weirdness in the Fourte midrange is referring to? Perhaps compare against some other iems that are considered having a more ‘normal’ midrange sound? Honest questions, as I really can’t and don’t find the Fourte midrange weird sounding.

I personally do not find it weird sounding. However weird is obviously a subjective term. Just from comparing against other IEMs the midrange of the Fourte sits further back from the overall mix. It has a touch hollowness compared to something like the Odins which are more mid forward and layered. However, this property does give the Fourtes their obvious advantage of scale, space and ethereal presence but some users may find a disconnect in engagement/emotiveness from this .

 

[gLer]

I find the Fourte is very track dependent. You're almost never quite sure how it's going to present a track until you hear it. Maybe that's the 'weirdness' people talk about. It's not a predictable 'this sound goes there' type IEM, which is part of the appeal for me. That said, I've always found vocals to be quite natural - if a touch ethereal - with Fourte, though again it's very track and recording dependent. What I can say without hesitation is that everything Fourte does it does at an exceptionally high level, and it's given me the highest number of 'wow' moments I've had from any piece of audio gear.

 

[Curtisvill]

I do not find the Fourte sound weird, It sounds amazing to my ears. Maybe i just don’t understand what weird is translated from. To me it is the best sounding iem I have listened to. I am constantly having aha moments where I hear something for the first time that I find very satisfying. The Fourte has made rediscovering old tracks a wonderful pastime. Next on my list is a pair of Odins.