[Strifeff7]

I'm really interested with the U6t,

 

[firesign]

The reason why I ain't touching 64 Audio's IEMs with a ten foot stick after my experience with the Nio is because of the stock cables.

The U6t might be 200 bucks too much but it's 200 bucks I won't have to spend on a decent cable.

I'm interested now

PS With that said, I'll admit that the M9 now come under 1k with not only one but two excellent cables. Hence my above question.

What did it happened to you with the Nio?

 

[CL14715]

I'm really interested with the U6t,

Wait a month. A few will pop up for sale for hundreds less than retail.

 

[NewEve]

What did it happened to you with the Nio?

The stock cable is a disgrace for the price point.
It is, literally (I am not exaggerating), unusable.
Of course, YMMV.

 

[bgiltburg]

The Hidition Viento-A is the first thing that comes to mind. Basically has the same tuning as the ER4XR with an edge in technicalities and better treble extension. Just make sure you go for the CIEM if that's the path you take. Moondrop S8's another good one, but it has considerably more bass than the ER4XR and falls closer to Harman. You could also try a 64A U12t with the MX module, which would have better technicalities and imaging than the previous two, although that has a very different interpretation of the upper-midrange. Hope this helps

This is super helpful, thank you! Looking at the graph, the S8 probably would have too much bass for me. But both the Viento A and the U12t / MX module look very appealing. And of course the U12t sits at a top rank on your, Crinacle's and Antdroid's lists... Would you say the difference in technicalities between the Viento and the U12t would be worth the big difference in price (more than twice)? Unfortunately there's no way for me to audition the Viento, nor indeed the U12t with the MX module (though I can audition the U12t with the stock module), so it will be a nearly-blind purchase.

 

[Garney]

The stock cable is a disgrace for the price point.
It is, literally (I am not exaggerating), unusable.
Of course, YMMV.

It is comically bad. I had thought people were exaggerating about the 64A cables but I think I actually laughed when I got my hands on it. Thankfully the Nio is great and inexpensive 2-pin cables are easy to come by. A $25 TRIPOWIN cable I had kicking around was a marked improvement over the stock 64A cable in every metric.

 

[Nalin]

So got widely acclaimed Apple USB-C dongle for my Andro 2020, it just kills the background hiss that I noticed on my M1 MBA and is dead silent. I also noticed another thing which is that it sounds different with different devices which was rather surprising to me. With Samsung S8 it sounds warm and with my M1 MBA it sounds somewhat cold and harsh so there are lot of variations depending on the transport you may use. It now regained my believe in DAPs and why they are better suited for music listening purposes.

 

[NewEve]

So got widely acclaimed Apple USB-C dongle for my Andro 2020, it just kills the background hiss that I noticed on my M1 MBA and is dead silent. I also noticed another thing which is that it sounds different with different devices which was rather surprising to me. With Samsung S8 it sounds warm and with my M1 MBA it sounds somewhat cold and harsh so there are lot of variations depending on the transport you may use. It now regained my believe in DAPs and why they are better suited for music listening purposes.

Yep, sources plays an important part some disagree but

 

[Ojisan]

64 Audio U6t Impressions

Okay, so I've been listening to the U6t for the last three hours or so. The other IEMs that arrived today are still sitting there unopened. Why? Because I can't get these out of my ears. What I hear with the U6t is something of a mix-and-match between the Nio and U12t's tunings. It's a warmer, more saturated sound. I think I'd describe this as U12t's less-refined, more tubby baby brother.

Spoiler: FR Graph

The U6t’s bass shelf is warmer, more mid-bass oriented than the U12t’s, falling more along the lines of the Nio. This is really good BA bass even if it doesn't have the cleanest bass lines. I wouldn’t be surprised if the U6t was using the same Sonion (I believe?) woofers as the U12t. These woofers are some of the most organic BAs I’ve heard with a great sense of texture. They’re slightly soft in transient attack on the U6t, more so than on the U12t. Pop-in the M20 module and decay gets even more elongated - much more than I’ve heard from most BA monitors - whilst maintaining an excellent sense of physicality. The latter is where most BA IEMs with large bass shelves flop hard; generally, they end up sounding overly farty and plasticky. Not the U6t.

Again, I feel like I'm greeting an old friend when it comes to the U6t's midrange. It's considerably thicker than the U12t's midrange, but not to the degree of the Nio in the lower-midrange. I think this is an optimal balance. No sibilance, no shout, just so pleasant on the ears. I also hear decent depth on the U6t. The U12t definitely achieves this, to some extent, with the use of an upper-midrange recession and a more relaxed pinna compensation. By contrast, the U6t's center image is less defined and larger to my ears.

The treble response of the U6t is not dissimilar to the U12t. You have your bump at 5kHz, then something of a mid-treble suckout - so there’s not much sparkle - followed by a rise to 14kHz which plateaus at 15-16kHz. Mostly works for me, but your mileage might vary as that’s pretty high up. I do feel like the very last fringes of extension can get lost on the U6t, and it doesn’t help that the U6t is more bassy than the U12t too. Perhaps the MX module, or something in between, would rectify this minor complaint.

Technicalities on the U6t are...alright. Honestly, I think they could be better. There’s a lot of sub-kilobuck stuff like the Moondrop S8 and Variations that are on par with the U6t, or ahead, if we’re talking about sheer note definition. Thankfully, 64 Audio’s IEMs have always shined with the more “latent” intangibles and the U6t bears no exception. The U6t has some serious dynamic range; there’s an excellent sense of physicality and pressure that follows each swing from quiet-to-loud and the general cadence of a given track’s backdrop. It never ceases to amaze me how flat other BA IEMs sound by comparison; I don't know how 64 Audio does it, but it's something I can't stop talking about. Timbre on the U6t is also very pleasant. There's little plasticky-ness to notes and decay is far from being etched. You do lose some micro-dynamics going this route; they're not particularly flat on the U6t, so much as they are just smoothed over. A small price to pay, at least for my preferences. The U6t's imaging is decent. It falls more towards the murkiness of the Nio with the M15 module, and clearly lacks the U12t's next-level layering chops, but I do get the characteristic sense of ambiance that all of the 64 Audio IEMs deliver.

This is definitely a very good IEM. Worth it? That's harder to say. At a kilobuck, I'd be very happy to give this a straight recommendation. It makes for a nice foil to the Andromeda 2020 and clearly distinguishes itself from the other kilobuck gatekeepers. But $1300 is pushing into used U12t territory, which I'd still take over the U6t for rather obvious reasons. Great IEM for warm-heads on a slightly smaller budget, then.

Score: 7/10

Nice informative review! I'm curious if you hear any similarity or dissimilarity with U18s tuning? I know it's a different price tier but the comparison with U12t sounds like it could almost replace U6t with U18s and still be applicable... maybe resolution aside...

Also, do you hear macro-dynamics compression like in U18s? Or is U6t more dynamic? If U6t sounds more open, I might prefer this...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Strifeff7]

64Audio stock cable is great for a stage use,
thin & light, does not restrict the artist movement, it's a tool not a toy.
I cannot imagine going on a stage with a thick aftermarket cable.

 

[NewEve]

64Audio stock cable is great for a stage use,
thin & light, does not restrict the artist movement, it's a tool not a toy.
I cannot imagine going on a stage with a thick aftermarket cable.

And I can’t imagine myself on stage with the stock cable as it literally was painful and made the IEMs constantly move—no need to have a thick aftermarket cable, Effect and Satin Audio make some thin ones, especially the latter.

To each his/her own — that’s the beauty of our wonderful world

 

[eloelo]

64Audio stock cable is great for a stage use,
thin & light, does not restrict the artist movement, it's a tool not a toy.
I cannot imagine going on a stage with a thick aftermarket cable.

Measured the 64audio stock cable, 0.19ohms impedance. That's actually pretty good for a stock cable that is quite thin, and impedance low enough to not worry about distortion in BA iems

 

[firesign]

The stock cable is a disgrace for the price point.
It is, literally (I am not exaggerating), unusable.
Of course, YMMV.

Ah, OK.
I had thought you had a problem with the Nio themselves. The cable is bad in all the models of the brand, but it is easily solvable (and cheap).

 

[dougq]

Ah, OK.
I had thought you had a problem with the Nio themselves. The cable is bad in all the models of the brand, but it is easily solvable (and cheap).

What's a good alternative cable that you would suggest?

 

[Precogvision]

Nice informative review! I'm curious if you hear any similarity or dissimilarity with U18s tuning? I know it's a different price tier but the comparison with U12t sounds like it could almost replace U6t with U18s and still be applicable... maybe resolution aside...

Also, do you hear macro-dynamics compression like in U18s? Or is U6t more dynamic? If U6t sounds more open, I might prefer this...

Thanks in advance!

Hey, I'd say the tuning is generally similar (the U6t is warmer), but they sound pretty different to me intangibly. Along these lines, yes, the U6t sounds more dynamic and less compressed than the U18s. You said "open" too though, and I don't want to confuse dynamics with staging. In terms of staging, I don't think the U6t sounds particularly open and it definitely doesn't have superb layering chops.

This is super helpful, thank you! Looking at the graph, the S8 probably would have too much bass for me. But both the Viento A and the U12t / MX module look very appealing. And of course the U12t sits at a top rank on your, Crinacle's and Antdroid's lists... Would you say the difference in technicalities between the Viento and the U12t would be worth the big difference in price (more than twice)? Unfortunately there's no way for me to audition the Viento, nor indeed the U12t with the MX module (though I can audition the U12t with the stock module), so it will be a nearly-blind purchase.

The difference is worth it to me, but some people have Vientos and are perfectly happy with them over the U12t. Ant is one of those people, and I know Crin has also said Viento is the only all-BA IEM he'd want to purchase. If you can demo the U12t, definitely give it a shot. That's the best way you can get a feel for the technical performance. I'd say the Viento is a couple steps behind in that department which is something all three of us agree about. Intangibly, Viento leans more gritty, textured, and intimate whereas U12t is warm, smooth, and more diffuse.

---

On another note, I don't really share what I'm listening to often, so I thought I'd do some of that. Illenium dropped his latest album yesterday. I'm generally a fan of his older sound, but there's still some good stuff here. I'm also pretty sure his mastering process has changed, because this is the first album with some actual dynamic range. I do feel like some of the tracks lean a tad too subtle as a result, but this is preferable to the blatant brick-walling on a lot of his previous work. Enjoying Fragments (I feel like this could use a more impactful drop), U & Me, and Brave Soul (the build-up and arrangement here is incredible and, to some extent, harkens back to Afterlife).



Found some more Sawano stuff too. This one is pretty incredible, and I love the subtle mesh between orchestra and electronic. The little bubbly, electronic sounds (man, I don't even know what to call them haha) lend a lot of ambiance. I was listening to this on my speakers, and it almost felt like I was submerged in them. Definitely a track to listen to on speakers if you can, as I don't think IEMs capture the depth on this track (the center image tends to sound inverted).



I don't know how I missed this one. I had the title track, and I guess I just disregarded the rest of the album. Anyways, the opening in particular here is just sooo catchy; the "Ah, ah, ah-ah" sounding impressively wide. The track as a whole is obviously compressed as hell (very few K-Pop tracks aren't, unfortunately), but that isn't going to stop me from loving it.