Oh man that's unfortunate :/ Well I lucked out I guess and my A18s is here!
Since it has that Iliad logo I figured I'd post the impressions here, almost feels like an Eletech collaboration
"The A18s has arrived, a shoutout to
@ceeloChamp for shipping them to me and helping me dodge them customs
Now these impressions are quite preliminary as I've only had an hour or so with them, but hey for a first feel that's plenty
64 have done a truly awesome job with these I think - it combines what I love about several different models and is comfortably my favourite overall IEM by 64 so far. To start with the bad, it is that while the timbre has improved significantly, there's no getting around the fact that it's a BA midrange. It sounds significantly more textured and thicker than the A18t our the Fourte, but regardless in that respect it's no Elysium
The good news is that everything else about it is plain exceptional.
The lows are the first thing that needs to be discussed here as 64 have created an extremely DD-like presentation. It still has that BA speed, but the depth and decay that the A18s delivers is some of the best I've heard out of any BA - it is probably similar to that of the A12t though I've only heard the universal version and considering how bad the 64 U series fits me, I can't really comment on it excessively. Either way though, the lifted bass not only adds that wonderful weight to instruments, but serves as its own thing that you can enjoy the crap out of.
The mids are insanely detailed, and have some of the better BA textures out there - just working off memory, I'd say the VE8 is probably the only IEM I've heard that comfortably outperforms them. I also have an Anole sitting on my desk here that I haven't had the chance to try yet because the A18s has kind of stolen the show, but I will report on the comparisons in the full review of the S
Other than that, vocals have significantly more warmth than they do in the original A18t and so does the overall presentation. I think the somewhat reduces treble quantity is helping here as well, as the standard 18t felt like it really overdid the highs and that contributed to the feeling of thinness that I always got when listening to it
The treble execution is spot on - neutral, with extreme extension and wonderful sparkle. Can't say anything here other than pure perfection
The technicalities are pretty much what gave the A18t its name, and I am happy to report they've been preserved if not enhanced - you won't miss a single breath with the A18s, the soundstage is as holographic and wide as any soundstage gets, instrumental separation can only be described as excessive
Amazing work by 64 - of course time will tell just how much these enter my daily rotation but I have once again been given that wow feeling from an audio product. Love it"
