[Gavin C4]

If you read my review of Shanling M2s dap (that one has 4.8ohm output impedance), in pair up section i used U18, among others, and found the effect of reduced mid bass and elevated lower treble (was too crisp for my taste). I wasn't too crazy about that pair up. Something like U12 will work better with higher impedance sources, A/U18 is audiophile tuned iem for lower impedance sources which is what majority of daps have today.

Thanks. Sensitive of IEM to output impedance of the DAPs has been an issue for me since many manufacturers are giving no specs or close to useless specs for their TOTL products. In some cases specs provided are Way off from measurements from the community. Unlike desktop amps where manufacturers proudly state their measurements, DAP manufacturers are keeping it secret. Dont really understand whats their intention behind it. When we are paying 1000-2000 dollars for a piece of gear, all we know about the product is its appearance, the screen size, and the battery life.

 

[Dionysus]

I received the brand new premium cable from 64Audio yesterday and it sounds as good as it looks. Great comfort easy to adjust behind the ear, light and well built.

The new premium cable seems more focused, hits a tad deeper and it's super resolving an absolute excellent match for the tia driver. My A18's have never sounded better. Terminated in 2.5 balanced Oh and they came is white.

 

[Zeeke]

So at RMAF we got to listen to the X and Y prototypes. I just wanted to give my impressions of them.

The Y is in my opinion a variation of the Tia. I am guessing its less drivers, but the sound is still amazing. Very smooth, the transition from heavy bass to vocal was just so invisible. I really liked the sound.

The X on the other hand seem to be a U version that sits between the U6 and the U8. Maybe a bit more on the U8 side but definitely right there in that space. Sounded great, but of the two the Y was more for me.

 

[Ricky64]

So at RMAF we got to listen to the X and Y prototypes. I just wanted to give my impressions of them.

The Y is in my opinion a variation of the Tia. I am guessing its less drivers, but the sound is still amazing. Very smooth, the transition from heavy bass to vocal was just so invisible. I really liked the sound.

The X on the other hand seem to be a U version that sits between the U6 and the U8. Maybe a bit more on the U8 side but definitely right there in that space. Sounded great, but of the two the Y was more for me.

Completely agree. Even wonder if X could be a 64Audio response to the Warbler?

 

[jeremya]

Got to hear X and Y today, along with Fourte.

The tia drivers in the Fourte are quite nice. If I had to rank my preference, it would probably be X then Y or Fourte — they both sounded great, but different. I’d need to spend more quality time with them to really make a decision.

Don’t want to hazard a guess as to topology yet — hopefully more time with them tomorrow will be informative.

My topology guess would be:

“A16” - BA with 4 high, 6 mid, 6 low

Tia Trio / Triplé - 1 tia high, 1 tia mid, 1 dd low

 

[jeremya]

Do you want to say the X is even better than fourte ,?

No, I would say the other way around. I thought the X was the least satisfying, but still sounded very nice...

 

[Galm]

I also got to hear the Tia X/Y!

I thought the X was much closer to the A18 and probably with a little more Tia in there somewhere. And the Y was much closer to the Tia Fourte perhaps with one less driver or a BA in there somewhere... I actually preferred the X though which surprised me. To me the X had more details while the Y was a lot smoother with better bass.

I'd guess X is like 12 drivers and 1 tia, while Y is like 3 tia and 4 balanced armatures.

It was a lot of fun at the booth and the Fourte's were definitely up there!

 

[sharktopus]

So I'll post my impressions from this afternoon. X had a nice punchy bass and smooth mid, but with plenty of snap/kick on drums and such (sorry for my inaccurate vocab here). The highs were good, but not overpowering, such to make it a more "v" shape. They weren't harsh or glaring , even with some heavily high-weighted tracks (like anything by Wowaka if you're familiar). My guess is it has 10 drivers, 4 low, 3 mid, 3 high (with maybe one of those being a super-high).
Initially, the Y iem didn't appeal as much to me, and it felt like it had a lot less low end than the X. It seemed quite a bit more neutral/even tempered. Less punchy overall, but more musical, especially with vocals. When I listened to it a bit more, I noticed that though the bass is a bit less obvious than in the X, when needed it can pull out some vey low end bass (less mid-bass than the X). My driver guess on this one is that it has 6 tia drivers, 2 bass, 2 mid, and 2 high. Also, a question for the folks at 64 audio. When I asked your rep (Logan I believe) about the contest, he said that to enter the lottery, you didn't have to have guessed the driver configuration correctly, just have listened and post your impressions. Is this so?

 

[64Audio]

So I'll post my impressions from this afternoon. X had a nice punchy bass and smooth mid, but with plenty of snap/kick on drums and such (sorry for my inaccurate vocab here). The highs were good, but not overpowering, such to make it a more "v" shape. They weren't harsh or glaring , even with some heavily high-weighted tracks (like anything by Wowaka if you're familiar). My guess is it has 10 drivers, 4 low, 3 mid, 3 high (with maybe one of those being a super-high).
Initially, the Y iem didn't appeal as much to me, and it felt like it had a lot less low end than the X. It seemed quite a bit more neutral/even tempered. Less punchy overall, but more musical, especially with vocals. When I listened to it a bit more, I noticed that though the bass is a bit less obvious than in the X, when needed it can pull out some vey low end bass (less mid-bass than the X). My driver guess on this one is that it has 6 tia drivers, 2 bass, 2 mid, and 2 high. Also, a question for the folks at 64 audio. When I asked your rep (Logan I believe) about the contest, he said that to enter the lottery, you didn't have to have guessed the driver configuration correctly, just have listened and post your impressions. Is this so?

A correct guess for the driver count is what will enter you into the raffle. I think what Logan was saying is that guessing the exact configuration of drivers isn’t needed to be entered into drawing.

 

[Zeeke]

Just to clarify depending on requirements, but to me the Y is a lower count driver of the current Tia. So instead of 4 I would guess its a 2 driver at most 3 driver. Leaning to 2.

The X I would say is a new version of the U6 or U8, or something in between. Maybe a new 6 driver. I dont think its a higher count IEM. More of a new mid range mid price. It still sounded good but not as good as the Y to me.

 

[Jackpot77]

For anyone who is interested, just popped some brief impressions of the U8 w/M20 module up on the other blog I write on - full review to follow in a few weeks hopefully.

As always, any comments/suggestions very much appreciated - TL;DR is that I was surprised how much I enjoyed the tuning, and that they definitely play well with higher impedance sources (step forward, Shanling M2S).

https://audioprimate.blog/2017/10/06/64-audio-unboxing-and-initial-impressions/

 

[Ahmad313]

A correct guess for the driver count is what will enter you into the raffle. I think what Logan was saying is that guessing the exact configuration of drivers isn’t needed to be entered into drawing.

As i never audition/see the X and Y , my guess is like this ;
one is 2 tia drivers and other is 5 drivers iem,

 

[Jackpot77]

A correct guess for the driver count is what will enter you into the raffle. I think what Logan was saying is that guessing the exact configuration of drivers isn’t needed to be entered into drawing.

I'd this where we can post our guess to try and get into the raffle? Not heard either prototype, but from what I've read so far, In guessing the X is a "U7" - 6 BA + 1 Tia driver, and the Y is a triple/triple hybrid - one DD, one BA, one TIA.

Worth a shot in the dark!

 

[imperialblue]

Just wanted to give a shout out to Logan and 64 audio. My 3.5mm connector for my Tia Fourte's cable had become bent and Logan replaced them for me on the spot! I didn't even ask but he offered. Just amazing.

I've mostly been using the DragonFly Red for portable use with the Fourtes but had a chance to try out some other gear this weekend. The star of the show ( in this regard at least) was the Ultrasone NAOS. It sounded spectacular paired with the Fourtes out of Audirvana. Also the Opus #2 sounded amazing functioning as an external DAC - better in my opinion than the SP1000 which can sound very analytical and dry. Opus #2 was more musical and to my ears more enjoyable. It was in the same league as the Sony WM1Z ( at least when used as an external DAC and being fed upsampled audio from Audirvana).

 

[Wyville]

For anyone who is interested, just popped some brief impressions of the U8 w/M20 module up on the other blog I write on - full review to follow in a few weeks hopefully.

As always, any comments/suggestions very much appreciated - TL;DR is that I was surprised how much I enjoyed the tuning, and that they definitely play well with higher impedance sources (step forward, Shanling M2S).

https://audioprimate.blog/2017/10/06/64-audio-unboxing-and-initial-impressions/

Nice! Looking forward to the full review! I had a really good time with @ostewart's U6 recently, especially when I used the M15 and paired them with his Eros II (been borrowing all his stuff to get a chance at writing more reviews and he is such a great guy that he let me! ).

What cable do you have connected in the pictures, your Leonidas? My guess is that might just be a very nice pairing.