[twister6]

Am I going crazy? There is no way I can fit my u12t + attached cable in the official case, right angles on the 2 pin connectors just don't work with the slots where the IEMs are supposed to go.. is this a silly manufacturer mismatch?

You can't try to fit them like this (u18t in the picture):

 

[emilsoft]

You can't try to fit them like this (u18t in the picture):

That doesn't look healthy for the cables! I tried this but not sure as the connection points might be more vulnerable

 

[twister6]

That doesn't look healthy for the cables! I tried this but not sure as the connection points might be more vulnerable

The case was designed by manufacturer to fit that way. For daily use there are many other soft cases on amazon/ebay, and some of these cases were shared here in this thread

 

[cj3209]

That doesn't look healthy for the cables! I tried this but not sure as the connection points might be more vulnerable

I've had that case and it's a one-use case as far as I'm concerned - one use as in getting it new or selling it...But then, my JH Audio metal puck wasn't that great either.

Why can't companies provide a decent traveling case? I do like ALO Audio IEM cases though...

 

[koven]

Hey guys,

I have a tia fourte right now and I find the treble to be kind of harsh and fatiguing. I listen to heavy metal music, so the cymbals just get too much for me for lengthy use. The folks at 64 audio were kind enough to lend me a demo pair of U18t's to try out and I find them to have a comfortable high end, but I kind of miss the upper mid clarity.

It looks like i'm going to have some thinking to do to see if I want to sell my fourtes to get the U18t. I should mention that i'm using Leonidas cables at the moment and an SP1000SS.

I have the tour kit of Fourte + U18 right now and agree w/ your comments. Fourte's overall presentation and signature is just not my cup of tea, I can tell they're technically impressive but the sound is just too cold and sterile for me, the treble is fatiguing and I don't find it handles complex passages/transients very coherently. U18 on the other hand, is quite an impressive sound. I could see myself going for the A18 maybe during the next BF sale. Though overall I can't help but feel the CA Andromeda is on the same level as both for 1/3 the price. Really curious to hear the Trio too.

 

[LouisArmstrong]

Depends on where you are coming from. I had the SR009 with BHSE and it fits your description (cold, sterile etc) at that time. The Tia Fourte is the perfect mid-point for me in terms of resolution, clarity and bass. With the SP1000Cu's dynamics, the Tia Fourte really shines, especially for orchestral music. Before Tia Fourte I thought listening to orchestra on IEM is a complete joke (I have a full speaker system). With it I think it is definitely listenable now and the clarity/speed simply surpassed my HE1000v2. It is that good. Surprisingly, the Tia Fourte is also the best I have heard for electronic music.

However for the regular audiophile vocal stuff, I can understand why people might prefer other IEMs, the Andromeda, the Zeus, the V8 or even the new Phantom / Legend. Like the BHSE-SR009 combo, I appreciate the Tia Fourte's technical capabilities just as much. I had no doubt that SR009 was the best headphone on the planet on the technical side (speed, resolution) when it came out (long before the announcements of Shangri-la and the new Orpheus). I feel the same for the Tia Fourte. The difference is, the Tia Fourte is more to my taste. A lot more.

 

[emilsoft]

This is ridiculous, I can't find a way to fit the earphones in due to the right angle connectors, it's driving me crazy. @twister6 looks like your earphones don't have the right angle

 

[junix]

Anybody tried a "dummy" apex module (orange ones in the below picture)?



They are vent-less (no apex) and basically make the U/A series a closed IEM with -26dB attenuation (if I remeber well.. data from Music Sanctuary guys, very nice people.. if you're in Singapore you should definitely pass by!)

They are a nice color match for the U18t + Symbio W



Sound wise, they really darken the sound a lot ..the lower register becomes too boomy, bloated and uncontrolled.. and you loose that openness and airiness I love soo much with the tia, stage is also considerably narrower.
For me it is clear that the U18t was designed and tuned to have a "certain degree of ventilation".. and that tia needs apex.

Having said that, I think this might be ideal for a long flight because of the better isolation.. testing them out next week on a trip to Asia.

 

[orifiel]

This is ridiculous, I can't find a way to fit the earphones in due to the right angle connectors, it's driving me crazy. @twister6 looks like your earphones don't have the right angle

Come on man...a little bit of patience

Same box, same cable, same size of IEM...but without the extra eartips

 

[eldss]

And..........? I am anxiously waiting on mine too.

I love them. I posted some initial thoughts earlier, but here are some observations vs the A18s which I know you own. To be honest, after taking part of the tour you organize for the U18s, I can't forget them. I fell in love with them and to date they are the best I've heard. The A12s don't wow you at first listen like the U18s, but after a few minutes you realize how special these are. If you like a warmer smoother, but well extended and non fatiguing sound, these are the ones. They can hit hard, at basshead levels with the M20s and are more balanced with the M15 modules. The U18s are more revealing, a little more forward in the mids from memory and brighter on the top end. The A12s on the other hand are smoother with very nicely extended high end that doesn't fatigue. I could listen to thees for hours with no fatigue, yet for my personal taste, I don't find that I am missing anything. In fact, after switching to brighter iems, they sound more artificial vs the !2s which are very organic. In a perfect world, I would own the U18s for personal listening at home, etc and the A12s for playing live music.

 

[chaiyuta]

@eldss : Did you mean A12 or A12t?

 

[eldss]

A12t

 

[flinkenick]

I love them. I posted some initial thoughts earlier, but here are some observations vs the A18s which I know you own. To be honest, after taking part of the tour you organize for the U18s, I can't forget them. I fell in love with them and to date they are the best I've heard. The A12s don't wow you at first listen like the U18s, but after a few minutes you realize how special these are. If you like a warmer smoother, but well extended and non fatiguing sound, these are the ones. They can hit hard, at basshead levels with the M20s and are more balanced with the M15 modules. The U18s are more revealing, a little more forward in the mids from memory and brighter on the top end. The A12s on the other hand are smoother with very nicely extended high end that doesn't fatigue. I could listen to thees for hours with no fatigue, yet for my personal taste, I don't find that I am missing anything. In fact, after switching to brighter iems, they sound more artificial vs the !2s which are very organic. In a perfect world, I would own the U18s for personal listening at home, etc and the A12s for playing live music.

Yeah I agree with this. Was a bit surprised to hear people found the treble hot, cause I found the sig rather smooth and coherent. I heard from a local dealer the treble starts out hot, but settles in after a while. Can't attest to it myself, but it might offer an explanation for the variance.

 

[emilsoft]

Yeah I agree with this. Was a bit surprised to hear people found the treble hot, cause I found the sig rather smooth and coherent. I heard from a local dealer the treble starts out hot, but settles in after a while. Can't attest to it myself, but it might offer an explanation for the variance.

I've been testing some frequency sweeps on the u12t. It's unlike any other IEM i've heard - treble seems to go all they way up to 18khz, and possibly more but my ears can't reach there. There is also a bit of a lift somewhere around 14-18khz by what sounds a few db (not an issue with sibillance as it's too high), otherwise the rest of the spectrum is quite neutral with smooth/warm tuning. The reason it sounds hot on some tracks is especially when there are hihats around that bumped up super high treble region, but on tracks that don't have a lot going on there it absolutely sounds smooth. I'm used to downward sloping headphones like HD650, that don't have a lot of information past 15khz, so it put me off at first.. what I'm doing now is applying wide band eq at 16khz -5db, and that put's it in line with my expectations. I keep jumping between comply and silicone tips, comply make the sound a little more diffuse, but silicone bring out this pure raw sound which is addictive.

Edit: Some more info
I tried different copper cables (don't recall name now), they did smooth down the top treble a bit but also the rest of the frequency range and it took some of the magic away - this is with comply however, I think silicone tips + copper + 16khz -4db might balance things out quite well. I don't have the copper with me anymore and I haven't tested this combination

 

[flinkenick]

I've been testing some frequency sweeps on the u12t. It's unlike any other IEM i've heard - treble seems to go all they way up to 18khz, and possibly more but my ears can't reach there. There is also a bit of a lift somewhere around 14-18khz by what sounds a few db (not an issue with sibillance as it's too high), otherwise the rest of the spectrum is quite neutral with smooth/warm tuning. The reason it sounds hot on some tracks is especially when there are hihats around that bumped up super high treble region, but on tracks that don't have a lot going on there it absolutely sounds smooth. I'm used to downward sloping headphones like HD650, that don't have a lot of information past 15khz, so it put me off at first.. what I'm doing now is applying wide band eq at 16khz -5db, and that put's it in line with my expectations. I keep jumping between comply and silicone tips, comply make the sound a little more diffuse, but silicone bring out this pure raw sound which is addictive.

Ah makes sense man, I only listened at Canjam so your impressions are definitely more valid.