[Scubadevils]

Speaking of enormous dogs, calling @Wyville

Yes I was wondering actually if the same breed as they looked familiar.

 

[Rockwell75]

At your age, your hearing is going bad.

This might explain why I went into this hobby as a bass-head and am coming out the other side years later a treble-head.

 

[rantng]

Yes I was wondering actually if the same breed as they looked familiar.

I don't recall if he ever mentioned what breed Barnie is, but when I think of HF & big dog I automatically think of him.

 

[F208Frank]

I sold my a18t for $1200 or so and helped the new buyer get it remolded. After I heard and acquired erlky, i just didn't listen much to the a18t anymore, so it got sold.

Now, both the a18t and erlky are long gone, and I have multiple cables that are $3k+ retail...one of which isn't even connected to an iem right now. Considering that fact, it seems ridiculous to have parted with a custom set as good as the 18 for $1200.

With the 1950 cable, the a18t was the first iem that really blew my mind...if you keep it, make sure you listen with that cable if you haven't already.

I have had the 1950s cable with the 18t and yes that is a great pairing. The fts with 18t is also amazing.

 

[Stu Paddasso]

This might explain why I went into this hobby as a bass-head and am coming out the other side years later a treble-head.

As you get older the high range of your hearing goes first. That's why you can't hear your wife's high-pitched voice, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!!

 

[maegnificant]

I am testing it now. It depends on the type of music you are listening to. If it is very bassy music, there is more dB. If it is not, the db is lower. I volume matched to my APP which gave me readings in the 75 db range which is very consistent with my listening levels. I volume match to the vocals. Then, when the bass came in, the volume was lot louder on the M2 than the APP so I think the DB was higher. I need to get a meter to test it.

If the bass is more pronounced due some tuning technicalitites, that would make sense. Maybe bass is boosted 5db or so more than anything else.

Also the loss of hearing aspect might really play into your discovery of treble, since some of the "spicyness" gets lost due to the frequencies being less and less pronounced over the years and therefore appear less sharp to you. So if there is more db on certain high frequencies in the tuning, now it probably sounds much better to you as it did before, and less pronounced high frequencies sound underdeveloped.

 

[dleblanc343]

I'm a bit surprised u18t/a18t not talked about much anymore. The largest take away for me that stood out was that damn, the u18t/a18t is still such an amazing IEM even when compared to all the top top contenders out.

Couldn’t agree any more - it’s impressive how it holds up to today’s juggernauts and it’s equally impressive that many kilobucks releases can’t hold candle to it in treble reproduction all these days later.

Since getting the MM, which to me is the best overall iem out in the wild today, I’ve considered letting U18T go to another home and entertained some offers, but never outright listed it because I feel it’s just smarter to keep it.

Very curious which direction you take next

 

[boromcom]

In my house!

@mico1964 how it was for Ody with OTL?

 

[drftr]

If you're keen I can check with them periodically. Probably just a temporary pause on orders to give them more breathing room.

But mostly at @yaps66: You may want to ask StarsPicker in KL as they may buy as many as they can whenever they're available. It's a Malaysian product after all and they're the main dealer.

I sold my a18t for $1200 or so and helped the new buyer get it remolded. After I heard and acquired erlky, i just didn't listen much to the a18t anymore, so it got sold.

Now, both the a18t and erlky are long gone, and I have multiple cables that are $3k+ retail...one of which isn't even connected to an iem right now. Considering that fact, it seems ridiculous to have parted with a custom set as good as the 18 for $1200.

With the 1950 cable, the a18t was the first iem that really blew my mind...if you keep it, make sure you listen with that cable if you haven't already.

I have had the 1950s cable with the 18t and yes that is a great pairing. The fts with 18t is also amazing.

I was going to say that although the 1950s sounded amazing on them I think the tiny bit of freshness plus improved imaging and dynamics the First Times throws in really opens up the mids in a very convincing way. Even though I found the U18t much better than U12t on that part already I felt that both First Times and Ode To Laura took the mids to the level I was looking for. The Chiron 8-wire did the same but the other 2 added what I would call some essential body and weight; FTS a little more than OTL.

And I agree with the overall sentiment that it doesn't really make sense to sell an 18t as it's incredibly underrated and you'll be getting a crappy price. If I had space for more IEMs I would never have sold them, and I even wasn't really sure if I should laugh or cry if Customs hadn't let them through - no kidding.

As you get older the high range of your hearing goes first. That's why you can't hear your wife's high-pitched voice, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!!

For me the bass went first though. I guess when I was about to be born. Maybe I came into being with a Big Bang (and possibly after one, I never asked ).

drftr

 

[eskamobob1]

I added Mentor Multiverse to my collection. They top Traillii for me but Jewel is still holding the first place.
Jewel is great for Vocals and ambient music. Mentor is great for EDM and modern Pop. More in you face with bigger bass. It has the signature close to Phonix but with better lows and highs. IMHO of course.

Having hand multiverse, trailli, and jewel side by side, the preference here 100% comes down to synergy and music imo. All 3 compete at the very highest tier (along with Mason FS). Astonishing iems all around.

 

[F208Frank]

Couldn’t agree any more - it’s impressive how it holds up to today’s juggernauts and it’s equally impressive that many kilobucks releases can’t hold candle to it in treble reproduction all these days later.

Since getting the MM, which to me is the best overall iem out in the wild today, I’ve considered letting U18T go to another home and entertained some offers, but never outright listed it because I feel it’s just smarter to keep it.

Very curious which direction you take next

I think I am convinced to keep the u18 as a beater IEM, using no dap, no upgraded cables into a higher end dongle of some sort and use it as my portable portable set up.

Even for youtube browsing it is great as mine are ciem so theres definitely some use for it on planes and what not. Thanks for all your opinions. Will be delisting my for sale ad, and will keep my u18t and use em till they break down. Lol.

And throw most to all my money into my desktop set up, that is the plan and likely will be executed that way, currently looking at the MPD-X streamer from playback designs.

Of course I will be taking a massive SQ hit when I am on the go, but hey we got to make our own decisions.

 

[drftr]

@Rockwell75 Still looking into DAPs I've been reading a few times the SR25ii can be a bit underpowered. Have you found this to be the case using IEMs with ESTs?

drftr

 

[wolfstar76]

@Rockwell75 Still looking into DAPs I've been reading a few times the SR25ii can be a bit underpowered. Have you found this to be the case using IEMs with ESTs?

drftr

I will be surprised if any of the major DAPs are not powerful enough to drive IEMs.

 

[drftr]

I will be surprised if any of the major DAPs are not powerful enough to drive IEMs.

ESTs can suck up much more juice than the numbers on paper are indicating. I'm assuming this has to do with headroom and the speed the amp section can get the energy asked for delivered.

drftr

 

[Rockwell75]

@Rockwell75 Still looking into DAPs I've been reading a few times the SR25ii can be a bit underpowered. Have you found this to be the case using IEMs with ESTs?

drftr

I've not yet heard an IEM that didn't sound great with the SR25ii-- it's why I've still got one after a year. In terms of e-stats SR25ii sounds fine with EXT & Traillii but I have not heard it with any IEMs that have the Gen 1 e-stats like Elysium or Annihilator. I'll find out tomorrow I guess.