[twister6]

Haha! Seems like I delivered the weakening blow and then @doctorjuggles came in with the KO

Awesome choice though my dude, congratulations!!



Interesting impressions. The A18t has unmatched clarity I agree but I found its texture to be lacking quite severely - regarding the detail retrieval, I didn't get the sense that the A18s is much behind though. I found them rather comparable in that respect and I also found that it's easier for me to pick off the details when listening to the A18s as opposed to the A18t

I assume you are comparing A18s and A18t by memory , but I'm also having suspicion that something could be off with my review unit. I might have to measure and talk to 64audio. That is a reason I'm holding back from sharing my impressions, just in case if something is off with tia drivers.

 

[Deezel177]

I assume you are comparing A18s and A18t by memory , but I'm also having suspicion that something could be off with my review unit. I might have to measure and talk to 64audio. That is a reason I'm holding back from sharing my impressions, just in case if something is off with tia drivers.

I can PM you a measurement comparison between the two of them. ‘Taken with a very-much uncalibrated rig and questionable methodology, but measurements nonetheless.

EDIT: The comparison would be between the A18s and A18t; not the U18t. I believe the U18t is brighter than the A18t, so you’d notice an even bigger jump going to the A18s.

 

[hAbIrAbI]

As far as I heard that the U18t has more of a U or V shaped sound signature. The A18t has supposedly less treble and a bit more bass. How the A18s relates to the A18s demo was never described here so far.

All I can say is that I also thought the the demo was too bass heavy. The M15 module mitigated it enough for me. Also I didn't want to take the risk of a U18t/A18t surprise. Not to say that there is no risk between A18s demo to A18s custom.

 

[GrandNagus50]

@GrandNagus50
I'd humbly throw the Unique Melody MEST into the mix. It's available on sale at MusicTeck for around USD $1259 with worldwide shipping available.
https://shop.musicteck.com/collecti...ucts/um-universal-mest?variant=31563592826942
Its main strengths I would say are clarity, detail, separation, and technical performance generally. It has a big holographic soundstage.
I'm a bit of a bass-head and I'd say it's low end is solid; it has impact and slam and can extend deep when required, but never bleeding into the mids or being overwhelming.

I suggest this IEM simply because more than any other IEM I've heard perhaps, it allows me to notice details and mentally zoom in and focus on specific instruments etc, so it would seem to fit your requirements especially in that regard.
Frankly, I believe it to be a TOTL flagship model at a comparatively reasonable price.
Finally, I'd add that whilst, for my personal preferences in sound signature I'd wish for a bit more warmth in the lower mids, given that you've made that comment about muddiness in the old rock recordings, I think this quality would actually turn out to be in your favour as the MEST sound signature is very good at handling that kind of thing

Anyway, hope this helps, and all the best in your search

Wow, I am really grateful to the people in Head-Fi who offer posts like this one . I appreciate the friendliness, too. I never would have even heard of a brand/model like this one just looking on my own. The downside, of course, is of course, the "crazy you get from too much choice." I wish I had an array of possibilities laid out before me for audition, but I can't so I will continue to read and shop, which is a fun process all on its own.

 

[aaf evo]

I didn’t find the A18s and A18t to be drastically different. As some has said, I found the S to just be slightly warmer and smoother in presentation while still having high levels of detail/clarity.

 

[SeeSax]

I had been content with what I have for quite a while now, and I even sold some stuff that I rarely use. I thought I was safe for the foreseeable future...

Enter this thread.

I had never checked this thread before. I usually spend my time in the forums just going to threads that I have posted before so this thread has never caught my attention. But late last night, I was browsing around and decided to come here. Of course the last couple of pages is all about people receiving their LE Erlky. I was worried. My itch has been awakened again. Then I saw @mvvRAZ's collection. Of course I want something new now!

I originally thought my A18t and Fourte Noir will be good for at least another year. I refused to look at new stuff. Then I got curious about Thummim. I had recalled later that night that the Thummim was actually present in the last audio show I attended here in my city (December 2019). MMR's booth was next to Eletech's and I spent at least an hour or two in Eletech booth to test their Iliad that day (which of course lead to a purchase). Maybe I discounted MMR that day... what a weird company name I thought.

Fast forward to last night. I read pretty much all of Head-Fiers review about Thummim. @doctorjuggles' review is what convinced me. I have similar preferences and pet peeves that he has so whatever he says in the review relate to me.

I scrambled asking my dealer friends about price and availablility. Lo and behold, a local store 5 minutes from where I live has a demo unit! The only thing I'm scared of is the fit, and I'm glad that the first eartips I tried with it (my current fav e-pro tips) is a go!

Right now, I'm in my home office, listening to music with my still burning in TA-ZH1ES, and I brought home the demo Thummim unit from the store, and paired it with my Iliad. I demoed it in the store for just an hour because I have to pee and all the toilets in the building are broken xD I must say, that one hour is magical though. This is all I ever wanted in an IEM. I even entertained the idea of selling my Noir but we'll see about that.

Proud new owner of the Thummim!!! (well my actual unit is on order and will be here first week of August )

Nice, congrats. I like the Thummim with the Iliad too, stellar combo. Plato is also really nice, the nicest stock cable I've ever seen (if you can call it stock). Thummim continues to impress me and it's a very fun listen.

Since we have so many users of the Erlkönig here and many of you receiving the Erlkönig LE now, can I ask, what are some of your favourite upgrade cables with the Erlkönig?


My personal favourite is the Effect Audio Leonidas II Octa!

I wanted to use my Cleo/Leo II bespoke Octa, but it would not fit! Guess I have the version with the pins that needs to be replaced and I didn't want to force it because I already know how that story ends. So alas, I have moved that cable to another IEM and am really enjoying the Iliad on the Erl LE. I really don't see how any cable could not pair well with it, unless the cable is overly warm I suppose. Silver seems to be the preferred cable/sound in my book.

-Collin-

 

[mvvRAZ]

I assume you are comparing A18s and A18t by memory , but I'm also having suspicion that something could be off with my review unit. I might have to measure and talk to 64audio. That is a reason I'm holding back from sharing my impressions, just in case if something is off with tia drivers.

I am indeed - there was only about a week’s difference between the time I sold my A18t and the time I got my A18S, so the comparison in my review was very fresh

 

[Frankie D]

The bold part tells me that maybe you should just buy a Massdrop Zeus for just 600$ from the FS threads and be done , maybe add a 1960s 2-wire to beef up the bass.

Zeus has those 3 things you ask in spades. And you will keep the 2500$ to maybe feed the birds in your area or do something else for you and your family

cheers

The price is great, but the bass will not be present for him. Even PW cannot produce what is not there, just maximize what it can produce, and he likes EDM.

 

[proedros]

The price is great, but the bass will not be present for him. Even PW cannot produce what is not there, just maximize what it can produce, and he likes EDM.

yeah Zeus is not for bassheads - i am fine with the bass produced by zeus+1960s (i even turn the bass down a notch..) but i understand if someone wants a 'bass rattling my skull' type of bass

maybe go for something like a legend X ?

 

[Frankie D]

yeah Zeus is not for bassheads - i am fine with the bass produced by zeus+1960s (i even turn the bass down a notch..) but i understand if someone wants a 'bass rattling my skull' type of bass

maybe go for something like a legend X ?

I did not even think of that one. Good idea for him.
Tell me more about this Zeus for 600.00? Is that the real deal? While there are so many other things I would want, that would be good to keep an eye on. Tks.

 

[iFi audio]

I rarely had the opportunity to audition my IEMs on a more sedentary setup but I did yesterday try @lafeuill iFi Audio ICAN Pro and I must say as far as upgrade path go, this is probably the biggest bang for bucks to also have a source that has massive headroom with improved dynamic range, quite a bigger soundstage than the best DAPs and boatloads of power and bass punch and control. This is a revelation to me how much my IEMs can scale with this kind of source.

We often think upgrade IEMs and DAPs but an alternative upgrade path if sedentary setup makes sense is a good desktop amp/dac, it's a different use case but it sure is well beyond the marginal gain going from totl DAP to another totl DAP or even a new IEM. Food for thoughts... always had my sights on iFi Audio Pro iDSD for instance and it certainly encourages me to consider this as the next source upgrade path...

Thanks! Some IEMs sound ridiculous on stationary products, and it's good to know that you liked yours on our Pro iCAN. Desktop audio (not only our stuff but in general) likes IEMs as much as DAPs

 

[gLer]

The A18s I received for testing has a thick body and warmer signature which is nowhere near the clarity, retrieval of details, layering and separation of U18t side by side. I'm trying to "fix" it with brighter Horus X, but still. It's a nice tuned ciem, and I do need to spend more time with it, but unless something is off with my review sample, I'm starting to think that "s" in A18s stands for stage performance rather than studio. Being a huge fan of U18t which has been my go to reference iem used in all reviews for the last 2+ years, I'm a bit confused with A18s tuning which is quite different.

Does the A18s sound thicker than the Nio to you? I was under the impression the A18s was a direct upgrade path from the U12t, with similar tuning but better technicalities, and I wouldn't describe the U12t as 'thick' (or the Nio for that matter).

 

[proedros]

I did not even think of that one. Good idea for him.
Tell me more about this Zeus for 600.00? Is that the real deal? While there are so many other things I would want, that would be good to keep an eye on. Tks.

Massdrop did a drop for Zeus XIV , and there have been some pairs selling here for 600-650$ , these were selling for 2000$ from EE website , so definitely a good price

@olddude has the Zeus XR but also got a backup massdrop zeus xiv pair , he may chime in on how this pair sounds....

I have had a custom Zeus XR for 3 years , more than 4000 hours of usage and still happy as a pig in the mud with them....

 

[hshock76]

Talking about A18S, this universal pair just arrived this afternoon. Let’s see how it performs with Horus Octa and the Modded 1Z.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Talking about A18S, this universal pair just arrived this afternoon. Let’s see how it performs with Horus Octa and the Modded 1Z.

Some one just got some new toys