[cantsleep]

Same here. I normally prefer either comply or symbio eartips for most of iems. But for u12t, it was final e sounded most comfortable to my ears.

 

[F208Frank]

I received my u18t recently and would like to contribute. I came from Shure SE846 to Andromeda to Trio to finally deciding to take the plunge on my first custom for this.

Custom vs Universals:
This is my first custom and I was very scared to go this route due to resale value and some folks have also tried to sway me away from it stating that ear canals change, resale value being bad, and that other than fit it does not make too much of a difference. For me going custom is going to be VERY hard to go back to universals as the fit and isolation is so much better. Do not let others sway you away and try yourself and you be the judge. I thought some people exaggerate about how customs are better and if I were to put a percentage on it, I would say it's 35 percent better.

M15 Module vs M20 Module:
In a nutshell the M15 is more detail oriented with less bass and the M20 gives more bass but with less details. I like reading what others use to help guide my decision and I ended up choosing the M15 as daily driver for 2 reasons. One, my open back headphones are the LCD4 and they are already considered warm headphones, so when using the M20 it sounds semi similar to my LCD4. Two, I feel this IEMs main strength is its detail retrieval and the M15 makes that shine with glory. I was NEVER a detail fanatic but wow the M15 brings out details on songs where I already experienced those moments of "wow never knew these details existed" before, so it was discovering details under details. I also come from EDM/HIP HOP realms so I usually would choose warmer/more bass signatures so I was quite surprised to lean towards the M15. The M20 (for me) makes the IEM sound more similar to other IEMs taking away that special ability it has to be super detailed without it reaching that annoying overly analytical level. This is all subjective of course.

Desktop Setups vs IEM Setups:
I spent close to 9 grand on my desktop setup, making absolutely sure my dac/amp would do my LCD4 justice and I must say, the a18t is not too far behind that set up. It makes me a little dissapointed but amazed at the same time that something one third of the costs can perform so well. Can someone who owns the u18t or a18t chime in and state their experiences comparing to their own desktop set up? Have IEMs come so far that they can be this close in performance comparing to desktop set ups? I was a little baffled because on forums everyone says desktop set ups are infinitely better but I did not find this to be the case.

Hope some of you got value out of this review and or summary, discussions always welcomed.

Side Note:
If 64 Audio rep sees this, I wanted to state despite loving the product and becoming a die hard fan, when ordering the custom shell I gave very specific directions regarding what colors I wanted but still got the wrong order. I made it simple by stating I wanted the same exact set up as the u18t stock picture. My lettering on mine came silver and not gold. I even took screen shots of the broken down text from the online custom builder from the website to accompany the statement of wanting the same exact set up as stock photo of the u18t. Regardless the a18t is wonderful product all in all.

 

[cantsleep]

I didnt think that desktop setups are infinitely bette than good iem setups. Things changed a lot and they are now just different as headphones and speakers are different from each other.

I do sometimes miss desktops and speaker setups but these iems are just SO.. convenient!

 

[MinMay]

I received my u18t recently and would like to contribute. I came from Shure SE846 to Andromeda to Trio to finally deciding to take the plunge on my first custom for this.

Custom vs Universals:
This is my first custom and I was very scared to go this route due to resale value and some folks have also tried to sway me away from it stating that ear canals change, resale value being bad, and that other than fit it does not make too much of a difference. For me going custom is going to be VERY hard to go back to universals as the fit and isolation is so much better. Do not let others sway you away and try yourself and you be the judge. I thought some people exaggerate about how customs are better and if I were to put a percentage on it, I would say it's 35 percent better.

M15 Module vs M20 Module:
In a nutshell the M15 is more detail oriented with less bass and the M20 gives more bass but with less details. I like reading what others use to help guide my decision and I ended up choosing the M15 as daily driver for 2 reasons. One, my open back headphones are the LCD4 and they are already considered warm headphones, so when using the M20 it sounds semi similar to my LCD4. Two, I feel this IEMs main strength is its detail retrieval and the M15 makes that shine with glory. I was NEVER a detail fanatic but wow the M15 brings out details on songs where I already experienced those moments of "wow never knew these details existed" before, so it was discovering details under details. I also come from EDM/HIP HOP realms so I usually would choose warmer/more bass signatures so I was quite surprised to lean towards the M15. The M20 (for me) makes the IEM sound more similar to other IEMs taking away that special ability it has to be super detailed without it reaching that annoying overly analytical level. This is all subjective of course.

Desktop Setups vs IEM Setups:
I spent close to 9 grand on my desktop setup, making absolutely sure my dac/amp would do my LCD4 justice and I must say, the a18t is not too far behind that set up. It makes me a little dissapointed but amazed at the same time that something one third of the costs can perform so well. Can someone who owns the u18t or a18t chime in and state their experiences comparing to their own desktop set up? Have IEMs come so far that they can be this close in performance comparing to desktop set ups? I was a little baffled because on forums everyone says desktop set ups are infinitely better but I did not find this to be the case.

Hope some of you got value out of this review and or summary, discussions always welcomed.

Side Note:
If 64 Audio rep sees this, I wanted to state despite loving the product and becoming a die hard fan, when ordering the custom shell I gave very specific directions regarding what colors I wanted but still got the wrong order. I made it even simple by stating I wanted the same exact set up as the u18t stock picture. My lettering on mine came silver and not gold. I even took screen shots of the broken down text from the online custom builder from the website to accompany the statement of wanting the same exact set up as stock photo of the u18t. Regardless the a18t is wonderful product all in all.

nice review! I'm waiting for my first custom IEM. I'm not too worry about the resale value since I don't plan on selling them. I do hope it will be comfortable. I ordered the M15 module...so I hope I made the right choice.

My order was very basic, no custom graphics, A4t. It doesn't look like I'll be receiving my order before my long flight to Asia because it will be ONE day late. Yes, 1 day late unless I pay $250 for rush order. I miss it by 1 day even though I took a day off from work to get the ear impression done, and ship it out the same day. Unfortunately, the shipping carrier attempted to deliver it Saturday, but 64 Audio was closed. And then it sat at 64 Audio for 3-4 days. I thought about $250, but it didn't make sense since there is a possibility it won't fit comfortably during the flight. I have no control to speed up the process by 1 day so I'll find another way to overcome my fear of flying

 

[Erfan Elahi]

I received my u18t recently and would like to contribute. I came from Shure SE846 to Andromeda to Trio to finally deciding to take the plunge on my first custom for this.

Custom vs Universals:
This is my first custom and I was very scared to go this route due to resale value and some folks have also tried to sway me away from it stating that ear canals change, resale value being bad, and that other than fit it does not make too much of a difference. For me going custom is going to be VERY hard to go back to universals as the fit and isolation is so much better. Do not let others sway you away and try yourself and you be the judge. I thought some people exaggerate about how customs are better and if I were to put a percentage on it, I would say it's 35 percent better.

M15 Module vs M20 Module:
In a nutshell the M15 is more detail oriented with less bass and the M20 gives more bass but with less details. I like reading what others use to help guide my decision and I ended up choosing the M15 as daily driver for 2 reasons. One, my open back headphones are the LCD4 and they are already considered warm headphones, so when using the M20 it sounds semi similar to my LCD4. Two, I feel this IEMs main strength is its detail retrieval and the M15 makes that shine with glory. I was NEVER a detail fanatic but wow the M15 brings out details on songs where I already experienced those moments of "wow never knew these details existed" before, so it was discovering details under details. I also come from EDM/HIP HOP realms so I usually would choose warmer/more bass signatures so I was quite surprised to lean towards the M15. The M20 (for me) makes the IEM sound more similar to other IEMs taking away that special ability it has to be super detailed without it reaching that annoying overly analytical level. This is all subjective of course.

Desktop Setups vs IEM Setups:
I spent close to 9 grand on my desktop setup, making absolutely sure my dac/amp would do my LCD4 justice and I must say, the a18t is not too far behind that set up. It makes me a little dissapointed but amazed at the same time that something one third of the costs can perform so well. Can someone who owns the u18t or a18t chime in and state their experiences comparing to their own desktop set up? Have IEMs come so far that they can be this close in performance comparing to desktop set ups? I was a little baffled because on forums everyone says desktop set ups are infinitely better but I did not find this to be the case.

Hope some of you got value out of this review and or summary, discussions always welcomed.

Side Note:
If 64 Audio rep sees this, I wanted to state despite loving the product and becoming a die hard fan, when ordering the custom shell I gave very specific directions regarding what colors I wanted but still got the wrong order. I made it simple by stating I wanted the same exact set up as the u18t stock picture. My lettering on mine came silver and not gold. I even took screen shots of the broken down text from the online custom builder from the website to accompany the statement of wanting the same exact set up as stock photo of the u18t. Regardless the a18t is wonderful product all in all.

Hi, thanks for your review. Have you yet used any DAPs to pair with your 18t ? Or you are using your iFi Audio xDSD to drive straight from your phone? Also, since you said you've come across from SE846 and Andromeda, could you express your comparison with them and the 18t?

Thanks in advance...

 

[F208Frank]

SE846 always is being shat on for some reason but it is still a decent IEM imo.

The 846 does bass decently and despite a bit outdated compared to new IEMs it still is great for edm/hip hop.

I am not a fan of the andromeda at all due to how sensitive it is to different sources. I tried multiple sources and had headaches trying to figure out which sounds best. I think how the signature varies so greatly with each source for the Andros makes it a huge flaw despite some claiming that is part of the fun.

The a18t is more neutral out of the 3, and the bass is not lacking at all when using the M20. The M15 module does sometimes make me want a LITTLE more bass at times though.

Regarding the ifi xdsd question... I do not find significant differences when using external dac/amp for these IEMs. Anyone else feel the same?

 

[Saraband]

SE846 always is being shat on for some reason but it is still a decent IEM imo.

The 846 does bass decently and despite a bit outdated compared to new IEMs it still is great for edm/hip hop.

I agree that the SE846 makes EDM and hip-hop very exciting (in many cases more so than A/U18), but despite that it has a lot of faults. In terms of excitement, a personal theory of mine is that its tiny soundstage makes everything more forward, almost as if you're trapped in a small room with the music. This can be really thrilling. One song, in particular, that I prefer the SE846 for is "4" by Aphex Twin. It's just so intense.

Unfortunately, the highs roll off so snares for the vast majority of EDM (which IMO is just as important as the bass as they play off each other) are much less present. This is a big weakness of the SE846, and the A/U18 (for good reason) is widely known as one of the best IEMs on the market for EDM. As for hip-hop, the SE846 can also produce sibilant vocals. For some reason, I hear this a lot in Jay-Z, while the A/U18 can handle any MC without absolutely no issues.

So while I would say that SE846 produces a more emotional sound for select hip-hop and EDM, the A/U18 is more technically proficient in addressing the strengths of each genre, and that makes it a much better all-rounder. This is despite its bass quantity being a little less in quantity than the SE846 (to my ears, and it sounds like to yours as well).

 

[szore]

Jesus Christ that’s quite the jump. SE846 to U/A18t.

I went from SE846 to Tia Fourte myself last year. Since then I’ve also tried the andromeda, u18t, Vega, Solaris, and now custom Legend X. You’re in for a hell of a treat and upgrade.

All the Audio46 stuff is way too bright for me. I ended up with the RHA CL2, and love it!

 

[twister6]

All the Audio46 stuff is way too bright for me. I ended up with the RHA CL2, and love it!

Damn, then you should tell Tony to dim the light down in the store if it's too bright in there

... yeah, yeah, I know, I'm just being a smart-arse, you probably meant to say 64audio and not audio46 store in NYC where they sell 64audio

 

[szore]

Damn, then you should tell Tony to dim the light down in the store if it's too bright in there

... yeah, yeah, I know, I'm just being a smart-arse, you probably meant to say 64audio and not audio46 store in NYC where they sell 64audio

No, I mean the store. The lights are way too bright...

 

[64Audio]

nice review! I'm waiting for my first custom IEM. I'm not too worry about the resale value since I don't plan on selling them. I do hope it will be comfortable. I ordered the M15 module...so I hope I made the right choice.

My order was very basic, no custom graphics, A4t. It doesn't look like I'll be receiving my order before my long flight to Asia because it will be ONE day late. Yes, 1 day late unless I pay $250 for rush order. I miss it by 1 day even though I took a day off from work to get the ear impression done, and ship it out the same day. Unfortunately, the shipping carrier attempted to deliver it Saturday, but 64 Audio was closed. And then it sat at 64 Audio for 3-4 days. I thought about $250, but it didn't make sense since there is a possibility it won't fit comfortably during the flight. I have no control to speed up the process by 1 day so I'll find another way to overcome my fear of flying

Hi MinMay -

We want to touch base with you via private message regarding your order with us!

 

[64Audio]

Side Note:
If 64 Audio rep sees this, I wanted to state despite loving the product and becoming a die hard fan, when ordering the custom shell I gave very specific directions regarding what colors I wanted but still got the wrong order. I made it simple by stating I wanted the same exact set up as the u18t stock picture. My lettering on mine came silver and not gold. I even took screen shots of the broken down text from the online custom builder from the website to accompany the statement of wanting the same exact set up as stock photo of the u18t. Regardless the a18t is wonderful product all in all.[/QUOTE]

Hello -

We're sorry to hear you had an issue with your order; we'll contact you via private message to discuss the details!

 

[DroidSkin]

When you see engagement from the manufacturer like that ^^^^^^^^^^ it gives you confidence that the money you spent went to the right place.

@64Audio

 

[szore]

When you see engagement from the manufacturer like that ^^^^^^^^^^ it gives you confidence that the money you spent went to the right place.

@64Audio

It's a beautiful thing!

 

[arijitroy2]

Agreed on the Final E tips. Went to try my usual go-to Spiral Dots and they're too loose on the 64 Audio IEMs. Final E solved the problem and they sound great.

-Collin-

I didn't expect these to be this big but after rolling various tips, ended up sticking with the TrueFoam tip it came with. Sounds damn good and to me , it retains the low end and the trebles aren't harsh at all.