[GiullianSN]

Some tips arrived: Final Type Es, Azla Crystals, Tanchim T300T.






Tanchim T300: I ordered one size up for the Tanchjim after Jim showed me how small these fit. The M is perfect on me. The treble version gives me shout. I like the bass version of the T300T more. Putting these on the Traillii.

Azla Crystals: These are less sticky than the Xelastics. It has a similar type of "plastic" playback. I did not like this on the Odins. It gave me peaks. This works better on the XE6. It reduces some bass quantity and brings out more clarity. This almost makes it sound like different earphones. It also the most comfortable out of this batch.

Final Type E: These fit really well. The combo pack is worth it. I usually go size SS, but I was able to get the maximum insertion with size Medium with the XE6 since it has a tiny shell. I like this sound the most out of this batch. These give me the deepest sound stage and preferred bass:mids ratio.

200+ messages just today.


Just changed my Kr5 to Sedna Crystals as well and I am really liking it. Not as secure and sealing as as the stock dual flange. But sounds more open and deeper low end extension.

 

[Scubadevils]

Some tips arrived: Final Type Es, Azla Crystals, Tanchim T300T.






Tanchim T300: I ordered one size up for the Tanchjim after Jim showed me how small these fit. The M is perfect on me. The treble version gives me shout. I like the bass version of the T300T more. Putting these on the Traillii.

Azla Crystals: These are less sticky than the Xelastics. It has a similar type of "plastic" playback. I did not like this on the Odins. It gave me peaks. This works better on the XE6. It reduces some bass quantity and brings out more clarity. This almost makes it sound like different earphones. It also the most comfortable out of this batch.

Final Type E: These fit really well. The combo pack is worth it. I usually go size SS, but I was able to get the maximum insertion with size Medium with the XE6 since it has a tiny shell. I like this sound the most out of this batch. These give me the deepest sound stage and preferred bass:mids ratio.

I've said it many a time now but Tanchjim are my go-to tips now for almost every IEM. I first purchased to solve pressure issues with Traillii and IER-M9, but subsequently used by default with any new IEM. Fantastic tips, but do indeed fit small.

 

[mashuto]

64's main market isn't the audiophile market and as such they don't have a need to pop out a new product with new bells and whistles every x months. It's unfair to judge them for that alone.

And they did release the duo, which, while no new driver tech, has some new design stuff going on that isn't really common. And they sound great.

They tend to get mostly overlooked by the crowd on this site because they aren't an absolute top tier iem yet still way too expensive to be considered "cheap".

 

[DanielListening]

+1 for the 64Audio Duo, it was a really good sounding IEM. For my use case it was a no-go due to being open backed and it’s lack of isolation.

 

[KuroKitsu]

And they did release the duo, which, while no new driver tech, has some new design stuff going on that isn't really common. And they sound great.

They tend to get mostly overlooked by the crowd on this site because they aren't an absolute top tier iem yet still way too expensive to be considered "cheap".

The marketing is what's been making 64 look bad recently as opposed to their products.

They're considered "cheap" relative to the bottom of the "way too expensive tier" and that's good enough for me.

+1 for the 64Audio Duo, it was a really good sounding IEM. For my use case it was a no-go due to being open backed and it’s lack of isolation.

The open backed design is probably what put it off for me as well. I might as well have speakers if it's open backed.

 

[Neweymatt]

Quick survey question: How many of you (like me) don't stream at all but do all or most of your listening off local files? I'm still attached to the perhaps outdated notion of curating a music library of files and albums etc.

For me it's like 95% streaming, 5% local files, although that will gradually change as I gradually build out a permanent library from my old CDs, Bandcamp, HDTracks etc..

I would turn to pixie dust without Spotify.

Yah, streaming is absolutely essential to the Hobby for me, and I guess really IS the Hobby for me. I could never purchase all of the music I would need to sustain my appetite for music variety, would be easily 3x or more what I've invested in gear so far.

I do purchase a fair amount of music from Bandcamp. It gets quite expensive though... with anywhere from 2 - 5 albums releasing weekly that I'd like to add to my collection, that can easily tally to $100+ per month in digital downloads. I do always try to support artists that I really like even if they're on the streaming services by purchasing their music.

I've only in the last few months started doing this, but my strategy to avoid blowing through all of my savings on downloads is to purchase 2-3 albums a month. As long as Bandcamp Fridays are a thing, that sets a marker for me to do this. I plan to follow a pattern of:
- One stone-cold classic that I always return to, that I don't already have on CD. Last month it was Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space , today it's likely to be Kid A Mnesiac
-One Album I've discovered in the last 18 months or so that is destined to one day be a Classic. I think today that will be Saint Etienne's I've Been Trying To Tell You
-One Album or EP or whatever from a more obscure/up and coming artist whose art I think is great, and that I'd like to support directly. Today that might be Annie Hamilton

I love Spotify for music discovery. Nobody does it better. When they ultimately release Spotify Hifi, I will move all of my playlists to Spotify and listen there for a while to see if I can drop Tidal.

For me Tidal wins absolutely every day with great new stuff. I probably never used Spotify enough for its algorithms to learn my preferences, but I can't imagine it could do better. I think I joked before that Tidal knows me better than I know myself,

Would someone post some good Indie pop music. I'm interested in giving this genre a shot. Thanks

Hey maybe if you used a better streaming service (cough Tidal cough), it would tell you this. Sorry, just had to have a dig. Here's a few recent faves:

Suki Waterhouse
Let's Eat Grandma
Jane Inc.
Hatchie
Girlpool
Wet Leg
Cannons
Wolf Alice
Nilufer Yanya
Babehoven

On Apple Music, "Heaps Indie" is a great playlist for this.

I'm sure there are some quality sites and content but I'd be willing to bet if that same content was off a CD or downloaded from HD Tracks, etc. it would sound better.

To you perhaps, but I don't hear it that way, and like I mentioned above, I'd need to start off with like 5,000 albums and purchase another 250 or so each year to keep up. HDTracks is ok for older stuff, but 90% of the new stuff I would want is not available. Bandcamp offers much broader selection, but the SQ is pretty much identical as Tidal to my ears.
See, not flamed, I just have a very different way of listening to music

 

[mashuto]

They're considered "cheap" relative to the bottom of the "way too expensive tier" and that's good enough for me.

Yes, cheap for this crowd which I think is part of why they are overlooked. But for those looking for actual cheap IEMs, they are still rather expensive. And yes, being partially open as they are definitely means there are situations that they are not good for when other IEMs would be much better. Bit of a weird release in terms of where it fits in, but definitely still something new from 64, with some interesting tech built in.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Yes, cheap for this crowd which I think is part of why they are overlooked. But for those looking for actual cheap IEMs, they are still rather expensive. And yes, being partially open as they are definitely means there are situations that they are not good for when other IEMs would be much better. Bit of a weird release in terms of where it fits in, but definitely still something new from 64, with some interesting tech built in.

I agree, I see the recent releases at an attempt to capture more of the market by offering models at varying prices, since a lot of people will probably have different limits for what they consider expensive.

But I also see it backfiring amongst the established audiophile crowd since most of us will loom at those releases and rationalize "Oh but for x00 more you can get model y which z better"

 

[PHLHarmonic]

For a lot of people anything over $300 or so is pretty expensive, and in some cases for what we discuss here we're talking a 10-15x factor in price, even after dealer discounts. There are clearly a lot of very fortunate people in here who can swing tons of top tier equipment, and there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, but more than 99% of people would probably never dream of owning a U12T at its new pricing, or even open box/used.

I do think IEMs could be impacted by two other factors: a tainted memory of terrible cables and sound when there weren't all that many consumer-grade options 10-20 years ago, along with a "less is less" attitude where despite IEMs clearly having a ton of advancements over the last few years, they're smaller, and something smaller shouldn't somehow cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars more than an LCD-X that's built like a tank and sounds great. I could say I'm definitely guilty of the first point.

 

[pkcpga]

The marketing is what's been making 64 look bad recently as opposed to their products.

They're considered "cheap" relative to the bottom of the "way too expensive tier" and that's good enough for me.

The open backed design is probably what put it off for me as well. I might as well have speakers if it's open backed.

I have to disagree with 64 Audio looking bad because of marketing. Their flagship Forte was released in 2016, 6 years ago. I know people claim 64 Audio focuses on professionals, not too many professionals are going to use the Forte with its unique tuning, sure a few of their all BA variants. The two main players for 64 Audio started a new company in 2018, Fir and promptly stopped creating new IEMs for 64 Audio. I love my a12t’s but 64 Audio seems to be a dead company continuing to sell off old stock until there’s no more market for it. I’d love to be wrong and get a surprise new release from 64 Audio but looks like Fir is getting all the attention now. that they decide to revive 64 Audio with some sort of refresh.

 

[Neweymatt]

I agree, I see the recent releases at an attempt to capture more of the market by offering models at varying prices, since a lot of people will probably have different limits for what they consider expensive.

But I also see it backfiring amongst the established audiophile crowd since most of us will loom at those releases and rationalize "Oh but for x00 more you can get model y which z better"

I'm a prime example of this strategy working well for 64Audio. The reason I'm now getting the A12t is because of my overwhelmingly positive experience with the U6t, so the idea of releasing 'cheaper' IEMs to capture new customers is a pretty good one.

As far as your latter point, well when I popped in to Minidisc yesterday to drop off the second attempt of my right ear impression for the A12t, lo and behold they had all of the FiR lineup out on the counter, first I've seen them available in Australia. Unfortunately I didn't have near enough time for a proper listen, just a few minutes each with Kr5 and Xe6. Having spent the morning listening to U6t, maybe my ear was tuned more toward the Kr5, as that is what I preferred, which kind of surprised me. While I was listening to the Xe6, all I kept thinking was that I've already got a Z1R which was less than 1/3 the price. Diminishing returns indeed.

It's certainly possible once I get the A12t that I'll love CIEM life so much I'll sell all my other UIEMs and get a custom Kr5 or Xe6 once I get to have a good session with them, but for now I think I'd rather maintain the variety that I've already got.

 

[KuroKitsu]

For a lot of people anything over $300 or so is pretty expensive, and in some cases for what we discuss here we're talking a 10-15x factor in price, even after dealer discounts. There are clearly a lot of very fortunate people in here who can swing tons of top tier equipment, and there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, but more than 99% of people would probably never dream of owning a U12T at its new pricing, or even open box/used.

I do think IEMs could be impacted by two other factors: a tainted memory of terrible cables and sound when there weren't all that many consumer-grade options 10-20 years ago, along with a "less is less" attitude where despite IEMs clearly having a ton of advancements over the last few years, they're smaller, and something smaller shouldn't somehow cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars more than an LCD-X that's built like a tank and sounds great. I could say I'm definitely guilty of the first point.

For sure, when I started, it was "get something for a couple hundred that would last a long time and then get out" something like the U12t was a pipedream. Oddly enough, Headphones.com selling open box at the time was what elevated my acceptable range into that area despite having just resigned and moving most of my gear at the time to do so.

Even owning something above the $300 range is something we should consider ourselves fortunate to consider and do.

I have to disagree with 64 Audio looking bad because of marketing. Their flagship Forte was released in 2016, 6 years ago. I know people claim 64 Audio focuses on professionals, not too many professionals are going to use the Forte with its unique tuning, sure a few of their all BA variants. The two main players for 64 Audio started a new company in 2018, Fir and promptly stopped creating new IEMs for 64 Audio. I love my a12t’s but 64 Audio seems to be a dead company continuing to sell off old stock until there’s no more market for it. I’d love to be wrong and get a surprise new release from 64 Audio but looks like Fir is getting all the attention now. that they decide to revive 64 Audio with some sort of refresh.

In terms of marketing I would be referring to the Nio, 18s , Duo and U6t releases, They were hyped up repeatedly until people just lost interested for the most part and moved elsewhere.

The Fourte is first and foremost audiophile aimed monitor I would agree. But I would disagree that indicated their intent to get into the audiophile market. Even after that the majority of their lineup focused on the professional crowd. If there was intention, FiR wouldn't exist today. Given that professions tend to need something that's proven and not the latest tech bling with the biggest price tag, there really isn't a need for a refresh or or revival needed. Their stuff is good, it works and their target audience buys it. No need to change what ain't broke.

 

[blotmouse]

Quick survey question: How many of you (like me) don't stream at all but do all or most of your listening off local files? I'm still attached to the perhaps outdated notion of curating a music library of files and albums etc.

Can't afford not to stream right now, I'm on Head-Fi after all!

I love getting back into an artist and having their entire catalog at my disposal. Which I listen to in chronological order. I love hearing the development of artists that I was only able to find "The Hits" of in record stores back in the day when distribution was pathetic. Or the panned albums that are really great.
If I bought everything I've been ingesting lately it would be super expensive and extremely wasteful. I wouldn't ever listen to 60% of it after the one time through. Even if I liked the album. There's just too much (but then, that's a streaming subscriber talking, so maybe I could live with it if I made the decision to only hear what I buy, idk)

There is no way I am discovering artists on a free tier though as alternate scenario. That one time through the album may be the discovery part, and I want it to sound as good as it can. Good masters have saved artists for me.

 

[Damz87]

As far as your latter point, well when I popped in to Minidisc yesterday to drop off the second attempt of my right ear impression for the A12t, lo and behold they had all of the FiR lineup out on the counter, first I've seen them available in Australia.

This is a good segue to hint the upcoming Frontier Series Australian Tour that Fir have generously offered to us Aussies, with the help of Minidisc

I’ll be setting up a tour thread in the coming days, so Coolers from Down Under should keep an eye out for that if they’re interested!

 

[blotmouse]

Random question for the cooler folks - For those that own it / have heard it, do you feel the 64 Audio Fourte still holds it's own against the latest crop of TOTL offerings in terms of staging, detail retrieval and technicalities?

Yes. Next, jk.
It wallops the competition in dynamism and PRaT. Sweetness, not a chance. I also really like its imaging and sound stage.

Ha. I had a feeling this may be the case. I'm wanting something markedly different from the Ne4 and Nio which I feel are decidedly safe and easy listening. Something strictly for jazz, acoustic instrumentals and vocal-centric music. This is not a majority of my listening (jazz much more so than the other genres mentioned). I want s-p-a-c-e, every detail imaginable and crystal clear clarity but without making my ears bleed. And hopefully without spending today's TOTL money. Probably asking for the stars when I can only reach for the moon, so to speak

Yeah, probably not then. I'd pass on it if those were my needs. Based on tuning only. It has the technical chops.
It dominates my taste for pop, electronic, (oddly) Funk, orchestral, R&B, choir, ambient. Basically anything not Jazz, Rock, and Metal. The organics. Those I generally prefer on the single DD's.

Fourte can do it on very well recorded stuff that doesn't break itself on that 7k spike. It's another hear before you buy, maybe even hear for a couple weeks if you can. Took me a while to open up to Noir, but then it straight slaughtered the competition I've been able to throw at it (for the things it does well) I don't need or want it to be a generalist.