Precog's IEM Reviews & Impressions

[o0genesis0o]

64A A3t Impressions

As some would know, I placed an order for an A3t a few weeks ago which might come as surprising given the lack of interest this IEM seems to have been met with. But if you dig back far enough, you'll see that there's some interesting lore on this IEM. It was briefly teased in 2018 before being shelved with rumors circulating that it was too good for it's own good and would've capsized sales of more expensive models! This was later clarified by 64A as the A3t's original price point being too difficult to maintain. However, the mere existence of this rumor was enough to pique my interest. Then, following the A3t's official release in 2021, came early impressions of the demo unit from friends in SG: "it's decent," "it's pretty balanced, nothing standout", and "it's like plain water". All of which might sound like a low-blow, until you realize these are people in my position who have heard hundreds of IEMs. So I figured...what the heck? I'll take a chance on one.

Some thoughts on the physical characteristics now that mine's arrived:

• Fit is nearly perfect. The new impressions I had taken courtesy of Zeppelin & Co are clearly a lot better than the old ones I had on file which, with my A4s, would break seal before I had an adjustment made.
• Graphic turned out exactly how I wanted it to. For those curious, it's some blossoms that I overlayed adjacent to Taeyeon's butterfly signature (my favorite artist).
• Cable is not as bad as I was expecting. It's thin and pliable if not a bit cheap feeling, but I prefer more flimsy cables like this.
• 64A was able to accommodate my request for recessed 2-pin connectors instead of the standard flush connectors.

20 minutes of listening without knowledge of the graph:

• Roughly 8dB of boost in the sub-bass
• Mostly flat lower-midrange
• Pinna is around 2kHz, stronger recession than U6t in presence regions from 3-4kHz
• Treble is a bit sharper than U6t around 5kHz and slightly less airy
• B+/A- level resolution, too smoothed over in texture compared to the U6t, not worth the U12t comparison here

Objective:




More subjective:

So, I concur with my peers in that the A3t's pretty decent.

I'm a fan of the tonality; it's familiar territory, and there's nothing that would stand out as offensive or harsh to me. I think the A3t is a good example of why graphs can be deceptive, especially with CIEMs. I'd maintain that the bass boost is closer to 8dB instead of the 6dB it measures with, as I wasn't able to achieve a 100% airtight seal on the coupler using putty. It also has *way* more energy at 15-17kHz in sine sweeps than it measures with; I'm talking more than the U6t, especially moving into 17kHz. I think the issue is that instruments don't always token these frequencies and the A3t does seem to have less energy in the 8-14kHz regions. This energy up top still serves to balance out the 5kHz peak even if there's some treble oddity here.

Timbre leaves desiring in that it's more reminiscent of the A4s with that plastic-y quality to transients and a more smoothed taper to decay which kills texture. Bass is above average for BA. Nice sense of thump, although not quite to the level of the U6t for that sense of thickness behind transients. Transients are middling in speed; however, there's a solid sense of dynamic contrast and explosiveness that engages me. Center image distinction is somewhat blurry compared to the U12t which is a shame, not that that's a fair comparison. Decent imaging otherwise.

I think I'd rate this somewhere between the A4s and U6t. It's clearly better than the A4s for my preferences; however, it likewise doesn't have the detail to compete with the U6t. Basically, I won't pretend it's the giant killer that rumors might've made it out to be, heh. I'm still enjoying listening to it, though, and it'll be superseding the A4s on CIEM duty for now.

Thanks mate! I have been waiting for this impression.

A bit disappointing that the TIA driver couldn’t give it an edge. The 15k TIA peak is just perfect for me so I have been looking for something with that presentation naturally without EQ. Had a hope that A3t would be able to give that TIA treble without the cost, but if its resolution is below U6t then my Andromeda would chew it for sure. It seems that there is no running away from U12t or Trio for me. I guess I would continue EQing my IEMs to TIA treble target for the time being )

 

[KuroKitsu]

64A A3t Impressions

As some would know, I placed an order for an A3t a few weeks ago which might come as surprising given the lack of interest this IEM seems to have been met with. But if you dig back far enough, you'll see that there's some interesting lore on this IEM. It was briefly teased in 2018 before being shelved with rumors circulating that it was too good for it's own good and would've capsized sales of more expensive models! This was later clarified by 64A as the A3t's original price point being too difficult to maintain. However, the mere existence of this rumor was enough to pique my interest. Then, following the A3t's official release in 2021, came early impressions of the demo unit from friends in SG: "it's decent," "it's pretty balanced, nothing standout", and "it's like plain water". All of which might sound like a low-blow, until you realize these are people in my position who have heard hundreds of IEMs. So I figured...what the heck? I'll take a chance on one.

Some thoughts on the physical characteristics now that mine's arrived:

• Fit is nearly perfect. The new impressions I had taken courtesy of Zeppelin & Co are clearly a lot better than the old ones I had on file which, with my A4s, would break seal before I had an adjustment made.
• Graphic turned out exactly how I wanted it to. For those curious, it's some blossoms that I overlayed adjacent to Taeyeon's butterfly signature (my favorite artist).
• Cable is not as bad as I was expecting. It's thin and pliable if not a bit cheap feeling, but I prefer more flimsy cables like this.
• 64A was able to accommodate my request for recessed 2-pin connectors instead of the standard flush connectors.

20 minutes of listening without knowledge of the graph:

• Roughly 8dB of boost in the sub-bass
• Mostly flat lower-midrange
• Pinna is around 2kHz, stronger recession than U6t in presence regions from 3-4kHz
• Treble is a bit sharper than U6t around 5kHz and slightly less airy
• B+/A- level resolution, too smoothed over in texture compared to the U6t, not worth the U12t comparison here

Objective:




More subjective:

So, I concur with my peers in that the A3t's pretty decent.

I'm a fan of the tonality; it's familiar territory, and there's nothing that would stand out as offensive or harsh to me. I think the A3t is a good example of why graphs can be deceptive, especially with CIEMs. I'd maintain that the bass boost is closer to 8dB instead of the 6dB it measures with, as I wasn't able to achieve a 100% airtight seal on the coupler using putty. It also has *way* more energy at 15-17kHz in sine sweeps than it measures with; I'm talking more than the U6t, especially moving into 17kHz. I think the issue is that instruments don't always token these frequencies and the A3t does seem to have less energy in the 8-14kHz regions. This energy up top still serves to balance out the 5kHz peak even if there's some treble oddity here.

Timbre leaves desiring in that it's more reminiscent of the A4s with that plastic-y quality to transients and a more smoothed taper to decay which kills texture. Bass is above average for BA. Nice sense of thump, although not quite to the level of the U6t for that sense of thickness behind transients. Transients are middling in speed; however, there's a solid sense of dynamic contrast and explosiveness that engages me. Center image distinction is somewhat blurry compared to the U12t which is a shame, not that that's a fair comparison. Decent imaging otherwise.

I think I'd rate this somewhere between the A4s and U6t. It's clearly better than the A4s for my preferences; however, it likewise doesn't have the detail to compete with the U6t. Basically, I won't pretend it's the giant killer that rumors might've made it out to be, heh. I'm still enjoying listening to it, though, and it'll be superseding the A4s on CIEM duty for now.

Clearly the "t" is for Taeyeon.

I'm surprised they accepted her signature as artwork. I figured that might be more a personal.

Filed away for future reference if I ever need A12t reshelled.

Also, are the recessed sockets still am option? They use to be an option in the builder before the site revamp (Aka my A3 and A6t)

 

[Ace Bee]

@Precogvision I have a question: The 4k-6k region, that you mentioned as "Presence Region" in your graph, is it the Lower treble region, where the cymbal crashes reside? Or is it the "Mid Treble" 6k-8k region where the cymbal crashes reside?

 

[Beh0lder]

@Precogvision I have a question: The 4k-6k region, that you mentioned as "Presence Region" in your graph, is it the Lower treble region, where the cymbal crashes reside? Or is it the "Mid Treble" 6k-8k region where the cymbal crashes reside?

That is a lot of cymbal crashes

 

[Precogvision]

Thanks mate! I have been waiting for this impression.

A bit disappointing that the TIA driver couldn’t give it an edge. The 15k TIA peak is just perfect for me so I have been looking for something with that presentation naturally without EQ. Had a hope that A3t would be able to give that TIA treble without the cost, but if its resolution is below U6t then my Andromeda would chew it for sure. It seems that there is no running away from U12t or Trio for me. I guess I would continue EQing my IEMs to TIA treble target for the time being )

Yeah, there's definitely differences in where the tia driver peaks between their IEMs, and the A3t peaks almost comically high up. It's not really low enough to give it that ethereal shimmer to decay that the U12t has. It sounds more like a high-pitched squeal/whine on certain tracks to me. The Andro 2020 is the better IEM overall in my book.

Clearly the "t" is for Taeyeon.

I'm surprised they accepted her signature as artwork. I figured that might be more a personal.

Filed away for future reference if I ever need A12t reshelled.

Also, are the recessed sockets still am option? They use to be an option in the builder before the site revamp (Aka my A3 and A6t)

They are if you ask and your ear size will accommodate it

@Precogvision I have a question: The 4k-6k region, that you mentioned as "Presence Region" in your graph, is it the Lower treble region, where the cymbal crashes reside? Or is it the "Mid Treble" 6k-8k region where the cymbal crashes reside?

Presence region is usually 3-4kHz...I generally hear cymbal crashes as residing somewhere after 6kHz.

 

[Ace Bee]

@Precogvision I hope you do not mind me barraging you with questions...what exactly do you mean by vocal transients? The trailing edge of the vocals?

 

[riverground]

64A A3t Impressions

As some would know, I placed an order for an A3t a few weeks ago which might come as surprising given the lack of interest this IEM seems to have been met with. But if you dig back far enough, you'll see that there's some interesting lore on this IEM. It was briefly teased in 2018 before being shelved with rumors circulating that it was too good for it's own good and would've capsized sales of more expensive models! This was later clarified by 64A as the A3t's original price point being too difficult to maintain. However, the mere existence of this rumor was enough to pique my interest. Then, following the A3t's official release in 2021, came early impressions of the demo unit from friends in SG: "it's decent," "it's pretty balanced, nothing standout", and "it's like plain water". All of which might sound like a low-blow, until you realize these are people in my position who have heard hundreds of IEMs. So I figured...what the heck? I'll take a chance on one.

Some thoughts on the physical characteristics now that mine's arrived:

• Fit is nearly perfect. The new impressions I had taken courtesy of Zeppelin & Co are clearly a lot better than the old ones I had on file which, with my A4s, would break seal before I had an adjustment made.
• Graphic turned out exactly how I wanted it to. For those curious, it's some blossoms that I overlayed adjacent to Taeyeon's butterfly signature (my favorite artist).
• Cable is not as bad as I was expecting. It's thin and pliable if not a bit cheap feeling, but I prefer more flimsy cables like this.
• 64A was able to accommodate my request for recessed 2-pin connectors instead of the standard flush connectors.

20 minutes of listening without knowledge of the graph:

• Roughly 8dB of boost in the sub-bass
• Mostly flat lower-midrange
• Pinna is around 2kHz, stronger recession than U6t in presence regions from 3-4kHz
• Treble is a bit sharper than U6t around 5kHz and slightly less airy
• B+/A- level resolution, too smoothed over in texture compared to the U6t, not worth the U12t comparison here

Objective:




More subjective:

So, I concur with my peers in that the A3t's pretty decent.

I'm a fan of the tonality; it's familiar territory, and there's nothing that would stand out as offensive or harsh to me. I think the A3t is a good example of why graphs can be deceptive, especially with CIEMs. I'd maintain that the bass boost is closer to 8dB instead of the 6dB it measures with, as I wasn't able to achieve a 100% airtight seal on the coupler using putty. It also has *way* more energy at 15-17kHz in sine sweeps than it measures with; I'm talking more than the U6t, especially moving into 17kHz. I think the issue is that instruments don't always token these frequencies and the A3t does seem to have less energy in the 8-14kHz regions. This energy up top still serves to balance out the 5kHz peak even if there's some treble oddity here.

Timbre leaves desiring in that it's more reminiscent of the A4s with that plastic-y quality to transients and a more smoothed taper to decay which kills texture. Bass is above average for BA. Nice sense of thump, although not quite to the level of the U6t for that sense of thickness behind transients. Transients are middling in speed; however, there's a solid sense of dynamic contrast and explosiveness that engages me. Center image distinction is somewhat blurry compared to the U12t which is a shame, not that that's a fair comparison. Decent imaging otherwise.

I think I'd rate this somewhere between the A4s and U6t. It's clearly better than the A4s for my preferences; however, it likewise doesn't have the detail to compete with the U6t. Basically, I won't pretend it's the giant killer that rumors might've made it out to be, heh. I'm still enjoying listening to it, though, and it'll be superseding the A4s on CIEM duty for now.

Man… now I wanna get the same design… Taeyeon has been such a huge part of my music collection that it seems like a sin not to have her design on a 64 IEM if I ever get one

 

[Precogvision]

Man… now I wanna get the same design… Taeyeon has been such a huge part of my music collection that it seems like a sin not to have her design on a 64 IEM if I ever get one

Yeah, it was a no-brainer for me haha. My friend who has a better camera and is much better at taking photos is going to take some more shots of the faceplates for me. If you were in the US, I'd love to have you take some too haha. Hopefully I can get some macro ones too. I was wondering if I should've gone with another color on the right faceplate, like a translucent white, but the clear is pretty satisfactory to me.

Now if only Taeyeon would switch to using 64A...

@Precogvision I hope you do not mind me barraging you with questions...what exactly do you mean by vocal transients? The trailing edge of the vocals?

Transients for me usually just refer to the attack and decay for a sound. Decay is what I mostly associate with trailing edges of vocals

 

[riverground]

Yeah, it was a no-brainer for me haha. My friend who has a better camera and is much better at taking photos is going to take some more shots of the faceplates for me. If you were in the US, I'd love to have you take some too haha. Hopefully I can get some macro ones too. I was wondering if I should've gone with another color on the right faceplate, like a translucent white, but the clear is pretty satisfactory to me.

Now if only Taeyeon would switch to using 64A...






Transients for me usually just refer to the attack and decay for a sound. Decay is what I mostly associate with trailing edges of vocals

I wish I was closer to you guys as well

I wanna take photos of your shell.

Is Taeyeon still using Westone?
I wonder if she’s still using her B&O buds too

 

[InvisibleInk]

I wish I was closer to you guys as well

I wanna take photos of your shell.

Is Taeyeon still using Westone?
I wonder if she’s still using her B&O buds too

How cool would it be to be the guy to influence your musical idol's choice of CIEM and design? As an exercise, you could create this whole detailed fantasy in your mind, which would unfold in larger than life glory!

Anyway, I'm not saying if one of our well-known reviewers here might be able to engineer such a meeting, and pull off this whole scenario in real life. Nor am I saying the opposite, either.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Yeah, it was a no-brainer for me haha. My friend who has a better camera and is much better at taking photos is going to take some more shots of the faceplates for me. If you were in the US, I'd love to have you take some too haha. Hopefully I can get some macro ones too. I was wondering if I should've gone with another color on the right faceplate, like a translucent white, but the clear is pretty satisfactory to me.

Now if only Taeyeon would switch to using 64A...

A solid colour on the faceplates would definitely show the signature much better, In the case of translucent, gold would work best but a but too flashy for me.

If you can find the superfan that paid for her first pair of customs, might be able to get her to 64

 

[Precogvision]

I wish I was closer to you guys as well

I wanna take photos of your shell.

Is Taeyeon still using Westone?
I wonder if she’s still using her B&O buds too

Yup, she's still using Westone haha. This is her current pair:

She used it recently on Killing Voice:

How cool would it be to be the guy to influence your musical idol's choice of CIEM and design? As an exercise, you could create this whole detailed fantasy in your mind, which would unfold in larger than life glory!

Anyway, I'm not saying if one of our well-known reviewers here might be able to engineer such a meeting, and pull off this whole scenario in real life. Nor am I saying the opposite, either.

It's kind of a thing in K-Pop actually! A lot of the times CIEMs are sponsored by fans. I think it's mostly a matter of funding on the fan's end, though, while the artist mostly dictates the aesthetics. That was sort of the idea I had in mind while designing the A3t though...what would an IEM used by favorite artist look like?

A solid colour on the faceplates would definitely show the signature much better, In the case of translucent, gold would work best but a but too flashy for me.

If you can find the superfan that paid for her first pair of customs, might be able to get her to 64

Ya I thought about it but then I also felt the flowers would work better on the clear faceplate...

I did edit a gold version of the signature too, but I agree, too flashy haha

 

[KuroKitsu]

How cool would it be to be the guy to influence your musical idol's choice of CIEM and design? As an exercise, you could create this whole detailed fantasy in your mind, which would unfold in larger than life glory!

Anyway, I'm not saying if one of our well-known reviewers here might be able to engineer such a meeting, and pull off this whole scenario in real life. Nor am I saying the opposite, either.

You don't even have to be a reviewer. One of the folks on one of the now defunct Canadian Audio discords paid for her first pair before she broke on the seen.

But @Precogvision that's your cue, get our queen onto 64

It's kind of a thing in K-Pop actually! A lot of the times CIEMs are sponsored by fans. I think it's mostly a matter of funding on the fan's end, though, while the artist mostly dictates the aesthetics. That was sort of the idea I had in mind while designing the A3t though...what would an IEM used by favorite artist look like?



Ya I thought about it but then I also felt the flowers would work better on the clear faceplate...

I did edit a gold version of the signature too, but I agree, too flashy haha

I would love to, but funds are limited. Also explaining to the wife that I want to finance customs for a Kpop artist.....

I actually considered a mock up using the butterfly sig for my A12t, but my love for the Anole VX look took it in another direction.

 

[Precogvision]

iBasso DX320 Quick Impressions

I forgot I had this lying around. Full disclosure that I passed through my source meme phase a while back and mostly just listen through the Apple dongle these days. I also don't really subscribe to what might be the conventional understanding of "synergy". To me, headphones and sources have distinct signatures and synergy is more a product of subjective preference when they mix. For example, someone might have really warm preferences and prefer a warm source with an already warm IEM, others might want to use that same source with a more analytical IEM for a more balanced sound; there's no real wrong pairing in my eyes. Basically...I hate answering questions like, "Is X and X a good pairing?" haha.

Disclaimers aside, I wasn't too impressed with the DX320 on initial listen: it didn't seem like there was much difference compared to my DX300 and certainly not enough to justify the generous price increase. I stand by the latter following more listening; however, I do think there are some differences in their sound worth going over if only in brief. The prime one that stands out to me is in their treble responses. To me, the DX300 has a less-than-stellar treble response with an exaggerated quality to the air regions, sounding slightly too bright, too brittle. It's just not great if you're after a more natural tactility to your treble. The DX320 is more downwards-sloping and lower-treble oriented to my ears which fixes this issue. It does sound sort of sweet which I like. Texturing on the DX320 is also slightly better - there's more trailing edge to the way notes fade, and it sounds like notes are thicker in density. I think the biggest trade-off with the DX320 relative to the DX300 is the staging. The DX300 sounds more open to me and like it layers better. The DX320 isn't necessarily bad in this department, just more average.

I don't think it's really worth talking about the hardware or software, as they're more or less the same as the DX300. In essence, the DX320 does sound slightly better overall to me, but it's difficult to swallow the $300+ price increase when they haven't improved much else. You can decide whether it's worth it knowing that. All listening was done with the stock modules and IEMs that have flat impedance curves (U12t, Helios, A3t, etc).

 

[RikudouGoku]

iBasso DX320 Quick Impressions

I forgot I had this lying around. Full disclosure that I passed through my source meme phase a while back and mostly just listen through the Apple dongle these days. I also don't really subscribe to what might be the conventional understanding of "synergy". To me, headphones and sources have distinct signatures and synergy is more a product of subjective preference when they mix. For example, someone might have really warm preferences and prefer a warm source with an already warm IEM, others might want to use that same source with a more analytical IEM for a more balanced sound; there's no real wrong pairing in my eyes. Basically...I hate answering questions like, "Is X and X a good pairing?" haha.

Disclaimers aside, I wasn't too impressed with the DX320 on initial listen: it didn't seem like there was much difference compared to my DX300 and certainly not enough to justify the generous price increase. I stand by the latter following more listening; however, I do think there are some differences in their sound worth going over if only in brief. The prime one that stands out to me is in their treble responses. To me, the DX300 has a less-than-stellar treble response with an exaggerated quality to the air regions, sounding slightly too bright, too brittle. It's just not great if you're after a more natural tactility to your treble. The DX320 is more downwards-sloping and lower-treble oriented to my ears which fixes this issue. It does sound sort of sweet which I like. Texturing on the DX320 is also slightly better - there's more trailing edge to the way notes fade, and it sounds like notes are thicker in density. I think the biggest trade-off with the DX320 relative to the DX300 is the staging. The DX300 sounds more open to me and like it layers better. The DX320 isn't necessarily bad in this department, just more average.

I don't think it's really worth talking about the hardware or software, as they're more or less the same as the DX300. In essence, the DX320 does sound slightly better overall to me, but it's difficult to swallow the $300+ price increase when they haven't improved much else. You can decide whether it's worth it knowing that. All listening was done with the stock modules and IEMs that have flat impedance curves (U12t, Helios, A3t, etc).

Lilac? Nah, here is the real one.