I would start with a Lotoo PAW S1 or L&P W2 before you buy a DAP. Those are outstanding products. People pair the L&P W2 with their Oriolus Traillii and love that pairing. The sound is fantastic.
Precog's IEM Reviews & Impressions
- Thread starter Precogvision
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I did mention that they cannot compete against flagship DAP, so you couldn't be more correct.
I would take the S1 and L&P W2 over the R3Pro and DX160. I would take the W2 over a Hiby R6 2020 and DX160. I think it sounds a lot better.
How do you find ifi Diablo against the W2 or even Chord Mojo, are they comparable or it's one sided win for Diablo.
What do you mean by "you still can't get around easily the notifications from your iPhone" here, is there any problem with notifications or something else.
ZachPtheDude
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To get around having to use my phone as my transport without wanting to give up the W2 sound I ordered one of the xDuoo X10T iis to use for a portable transport;
https://amp.apos.audio/products/xduoo-x10t-ii-digital-audio-player
Should arrive any day now and comes a lot closer to the best of both worlds without shelling out the $$$ for a TOTL DAP with comparable SQ
https://amp.apos.audio/products/xduoo-x10t-ii-digital-audio-player
Should arrive any day now and comes a lot closer to the best of both worlds without shelling out the $$$ for a TOTL DAP with comparable SQ
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hi-fi amateur
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Wondering how the new 2021 Hana compares to the ER2XR. They’re both single DD and around the same price.
ER2XR has better bass control. Hana 2021 has a warmer midrange, more treble energy, and doesn't sound as dark. It's generally more V-shaped. They're probably about par in the technical department, but Hana 2021 definitely has better imaging. I'd need to A/B them to confirm the former. The thing about the ER2XR, though, is that you can often find it for under $100 nowadays, so I'm almost certain that the ER2XR is still going to be the better value for most listeners. But I kind of want a Hana 2021 for myself having heard it
snapandslide
1000+ Head-Fier
Hey @Precogvision - after you Traillii thoughts and now understanding where you come from in how you review things, I have a question or two. What IEMs do you think really outdo the Bird staging wise and treble? Because those are the two real points from your post I really scratch my head with in understanding!
KutuzovGambit
1000+ Head-Fier
More interesting question for me is whether the Oxygen is still worth the extra money versus the Hana 2021.
Like for those points individually? Honestly, a number of IEMs. Elysian Annihilator is definitely quicker and extends almost linearly in the treble. The 64A tia stuff in general is just as quick and has way more air, with the exception of maybe the Nio with the M15/M20 modules. The Sony IER-Z1R's DD tweeter has more physicality and effortless reverb, although perhaps is not as quick. Moondrop S8 and Andromeda 2020 both extend further and, while they might not be as safe, are more engaging to my ears. You can check the measurements for all of those to confirm in terms of extension.
The thing about the Bird is that its treble doesn't seem to be tokened by the ESTs very heavily. If you listen carefully to the initial impact of percussive hits and the texture, it sounds more like it's just coming from a standard BA. And that's probably because it is. Someone did a teardown of one (for conversion to a CIEM) and found that it has two other drivers, Sonion E50DT0005/Ts, dedicated to the treble. So the ESTs are only responsible for the last leg of treble. Two takeaways from that: 1) it would explain why the Bird's extension and air isn't exceptional, and 2) why it sounds so coherent for a hybrid. But this is all just supposition, so don't take this for fact, please.
Staging is also more debatable, and I see impressions vary wildly. At least for me, A/B with the Annihilator and IER-Z1R puts those IEMs ahead of the Bird. MEST has more holographic imaging from memory, same with the Bird versus the Tia Trio and Fourte. Now, whether these IEMs are as precise and layer as well as the Bird, no, I don't think so. But for pure staging, yeah, I'd say these IEMs win. Hope that lends some more context!
I got the W2 and ifi idsd signature. If i extrapolate the signature to the diablo to this comparison, then my answer is no.
W2 is amazing foreal, but no it won't beat the ifi product when it comes to sound quality like in detail retrieval, imaging.
Plus its two different use cases, the diablo is better for full size headphones than iems.
While the W2 is better for iems, and can power some headphones (But not all)
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.
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
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.
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
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