[balduran]

Quote:

Thanks to you guys I'm sold on the 8's. Will only be placing a deposit on it first though, pending final confirmation of details 

 
I went from 8.A to buying another 4.A but you seem to be going the opposite way
 
Pretty sure your choice is better, because after listening to the 8.A, the sound of 4.A felt very mediocre(Sorry Wizard

).
 
It was just the sound I expected(actually better than what I expected, with just enough amount of neutrality)
 
and it is a great sounding IEM, but the 4.A didn't have the overwhelming aura and presentation of 8.A.
 
I'm sure you will be satisfied with your 8.A. It is a bass-heavy IEM which turns a former bass-hater like me into a total bass-head

 

[blur510]

Quote:

Let me tell you this: The 8.A has made me stop looking at the "Headphones for sale" forum. 
 
Head-fi'ers will know that's a pretty big deal 

 
I am almost there, I think I only want a 4.a now to complete my need for ear/headphones. 

 

[tommyc]

Reading this thread has made my wallet $2K lighter...  And the waiting game continues. 

 

[FlySweep]

I'm surprised there aren't more people going with the 6.A.  It seems to be the perfect IEM to blend the most favored qualities between the 4.A (neutrality, resolution) & 8.A (bass).  I understand it's only a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the 8.A.. but I get the sense the 6.A isn't necessarily a downgrade from the 8.A.. it's a less colored take on it.

 

[Sorensiim]

I'm surprised there aren't more people going with the 6.A.  It seems to be the perfect IEM to blend the most favored qualities between the 4.A (neutrality, resolution) & 8.A (bass).  I understand it's only a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the 8.A.. but I get the sense the 6.A isn't necessarily a downgrade from the 8.A.. it's a less colored take on it.

I think that's why universal demo units would be nice. I love my 8.A's to bits, but the 4.A(i) does something very special as well. If the 6.A is the sound of the 4.A(i) with 8.A bass... Oh boy. That would be quite the package...

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

If the 6.A is the sound of the 4.A(i) with 8.A bass... Oh boy. That would be quite the package...

I haven't heard the 4.a, but the 6.A was definitely not tuned to have the 8.A's bass quantity.

 

[sunneebear]

8.A vs. 4.Ai which should be the same as the 4.A.  
 
I got the 8.A a few months before the 4.Ai and bought the 4.Ai because of  1.the universal format and  2.all the excellent reviews of the 4.A(i).  Although I love the universal format, the 4 was boring compared to the 8.  I am not saying the the 4 is bad by any means.  It is a very good IEM.  It is like listening to the LCD-2 then going back to the HD600.  The HD600 was my favorite for years and its reputation in the industry is well known but after purchasing the LCD-2, bye-bye HD600.  The 8 and the 4 also sound somewhat like the LCD-2 and HD600 in comparison.  Also, I love everything about the 8.A.  I did not find anything special or extraordinary about the 4.Ai's treble or mids that is on par with the 8.A
Ironically, I am having fit issues with the 4.Ai.  My oddly shaped left ear has a point somewhere that is getting sore.
 
 
Magnus 1 vs. stock cable
 
Definite improvement over the whole spectrum for the 4.Ai with the Magnus 1.  No need to elaborate.  Improvements for most part in the 8.A.  To my ears the Magnus 1 also gave the already bass happy 8.A more bloom but not really tighter or deeper bass.  This did not ruin the sound just made the bass presentation different but still fun.  Of course this is all just to my ears.
Microphonics.  I found both to be equally microphonic but in different ways.  The stock because it is a tiny bit stiffer, the Magnus because it is braided (bumps of the braid rubbing things).  If any of the cable are worn in front or back and left to hang on the ears, it will be microphonic if the cable touches something.  The only remedy is to wear any cable cinched to the back of the head like musicians then leave some slack to turn your head and clip the cable to the back of your collar.   The clip isolates any microphonics from traveling up any further.

 

[Geophile]

Well, recently I found myself needing a new pair of iems after my Westone 4s developed intermittent cutting of the sound due to internal cable problems at the strain relief for both the plug and iem ends (sadly, I bought these right after they first came out, and before removable cables were an option).  I decided to finally take the plunge with ciems after having consistent fit issues with universals due to very small, not particularly circular ear canals and also being annoyed by the tips constantly coming off of my W4s (Westone really needs to add some sort of ridges to stop this problem...).  After doing some research I went ahead and purchased the Heir 6.a this weekend for my first pair of customs.  I was originally going to get the 4.a, but since I am not planning/do not have the money to get another pair of ciems for a very long time, I decided to splurge a little and get the 6.a, since while I am not a bass-head per se when it comes to bass quantity, I really like some (sub)bass presence and very good bass quality. Based on the (very) limited information I have been able to find on it, the 6.a seems like a good match for my tastes.  I'm hoping these have more clarity than the W4s, which I like tonally, but have always sounded a bit muddy/muffled to my ears, but are a bit warmer than the extremely clear Grado gr10s I also own (and am currently using as an interim iem solution) (now that I am actually listening to the gr10s using my headstreamer, they sound much better than I recall, and are not particularly bass-light).  Crossing my fingers that I made the right decision, because ciems are not cheap!  Kunlun, since you seem to be one of the few individuals on here that own the 6.a, how do you like them?  How would you compare them to other iems you own?  Even though I've already paid for mine, I'm just curious as to what I should be looking forward to, and there is so little information out there about these currently (as far as I can tell, only a single review). 

 

[yancem]

Quote:

I'm surprised there aren't more people going with the 6.A.  It seems to be the perfect IEM to blend the most favored qualities between the 4.A (neutrality, resolution) & 8.A (bass).  I understand it's only a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the 8.A.. but I get the sense the 6.A isn't necessarily a downgrade from the 8.A.. it's a less colored take on it.

I think price is a big reason.  At $450, the 4.A is reasonably priced for those of us that either don't have massive amounts of expendable income or simply think that $500 is simply a lot of money to spend on headphones.  The 6.A is supposed to have a similar sound signature with just more bass but is also twice as expensive.  It's fairly difficult to justify the extra $449 for more bass (believe me I tried hard because I wanted the 6.A's).  The gap between the 6.A and the 8.A is half as much so it's a little easier to swallow moving up a level and seems like more people like the more warm sound of the 8.A.  I agree with you though, the 6.A seems like the best option for what I like, I just couldn't pull the trigger on $1k for headphones that I would only be using for a handful of hours a week.

 

[Summersky]

Quote:

I think price is a big reason.  At $450, the 4.A is reasonably priced for those of us that either don't have massive amounts of expendable income or simply think that $500 is simply a lot of money to spend on headphones.  The 6.A is supposed to have a similar sound signature with just more bass but is also twice as expensive.  It's fairly difficult to justify the extra $449 for more bass (believe me I tried hard because I wanted the 6.A's).  The gap between the 6.A and the 8.A is half as much so it's a little easier to swallow moving up a level and seems like more people like the more warm sound of the 8.A.  I agree with you though, the 6.A seems like the best option for what I like, I just couldn't pull the trigger on $1k for headphones that I would only be using for a handful of hours a week.

Fully concur with you.
 
I wanted 8A, but the audiologist said I have "extremely small canals and she doesn't think 8 drivers is going to fit".
 
6A with more bass appealed to me but the price diff between 6A and 4A just doesn't justify it, so I ended up ordering a 4A.

 

[sunneebear]

Quote:

I think price is a big reason.  At $450, the 4.A is reasonably priced for those of us that either don't have massive amounts of expendable income or simply think that $500 is simply a lot of money to spend on headphones.  The 6.A is supposed to have a similar sound signature with just more bass but is also twice as expensive.  It's fairly difficult to justify the extra $449 for more bass (believe me I tried hard because I wanted the 6.A's).  The gap between the 6.A and the 8.A is half as much so it's a little easier to swallow moving up a level and seems like more people like the more warm sound of the 8.A.  I agree with you though, the 6.A seems like the best option for what I like, I just couldn't pull the trigger on $1k for headphones that I would only be using for a handful of hours a week.

I had a hard time swallowing the cost of the 8.A but read the reviews over and over again, decided that it is the closest I will get in a portable LCD2/HE6.  Sold my LCD2/HE6 and ordered the 8.A.  For me it was the perfect option, massive sound like a large planar that fits in your ear.  Who can claim they can go jogging, hiking or mountain biking and take along the large planar sound.

 

[project86]

Part of the issue about the 6.A is just that it's so hard to describe the improvements over the 4.A, and thus hard for me to convey how great they are. I look forward to reading whatever Kunlun decides to write about them because maybe he can do a better job than I did. 
 
On the one hand, they 4.A is a spectacular achievement, and gets you most of the way there. So I don't want to overstate things. On the other had, the 6.A takes me that last bit of distance between really great sound (the 4.A) and world class sound (the 6.A). Yes, the added bass impact and definition is welcome, but that's not all there is. We're talking layering, textures, and just a sense of realism that has to be heard to be believed. In some ways they are in fact better than the 8.A in my opinion.
 
The downside, potentially another reason why they aren't as popular, is that it requires a highly resolving setup to take advantage of them. Running them from an iPad or something will just show you the added bass and not much else. In that case yes, it would be a waste of money. To put things in perspective - I generally run them with around $3k to $6k worth of gear and in that case I do appreciate the extra resolving power.

 

[B[van]]

Quote:

Part of the issue about the 6.A is just that it's so hard to describe the improvements over the 4.A, and thus hard for me to convey how great they are. I look forward to reading whatever Kunlun decides to write about them because maybe he can do a better job than I did. 
 
On the one hand, they 4.A is a spectacular achievement, and gets you most of the way there. So I don't want to overstate things. On the other had, the 6.A takes me that last bit of distance between really great sound (the 4.A) and world class sound (the 6.A). Yes, the added bass impact and definition is welcome, but that's not all there is. We're talking layering, textures, and just a sense of realism that has to be heard to be believed. In some ways they are in fact better than the 8.A in my opinion.
 
The downside, potentially another reason why they aren't as popular, is that it requires a highly resolving setup to take advantage of them. Running them from an iPad or something will just show you the added bass and not much else. In that case yes, it would be a waste of money. To put things in perspective - I generally run them with around $3k to $6k worth of gear and in that case I do appreciate the extra resolving power.

I'm considering the 6.A too, in case my molds are deemed a little tight/too small to work with for the 8.A but from what I garnered from your post that the improvement from the jump from 4 to 6 is quite minimal when used as a portable solution 

 

[Kunlun]

I'm just humming to myself over in this post.
 
Sitting in a rocking chair.
 
Lemonade may be involved.

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Part of the issue about the 6.A is just that it's so hard to describe the improvements over the 4.A, and thus hard for me to convey how great they are. I look forward to reading whatever Kunlun decides to write about them because maybe he can do a better job than I did. 
 
On the one hand, they 4.A is a spectacular achievement, and gets you most of the way there. So I don't want to overstate things. On the other had, the 6.A takes me that last bit of distance between really great sound (the 4.A) and world class sound (the 6.A). Yes, the added bass impact and definition is welcome, but that's not all there is. We're talking layering, textures, and just a sense of realism that has to be heard to be believed. In some ways they are in fact better than the 8.A in my opinion.
 
The downside, potentially another reason why they aren't as popular, is that it requires a highly resolving setup to take advantage of them. Running them from an iPad or something will just show you the added bass and not much else. In that case yes, it would be a waste of money. To put things in perspective - I generally run them with around $3k to $6k worth of gear and in that case I do appreciate the extra resolving power.

 
I'll try to get something up soon. I haven't heard the 4.A, so I can't comment there the way you can. I can say that the 6.A straight out of an ipod is pretty okay but definitely doesn't give everything the 6.A is.
 
Given how small portable amps can be, I'd say it's completely worth it to go with with one on the go. If you go with a nicer portable (I've pre-ordered the Apex Glacier, for example, project can tell you about the Leckerton), I do think you'll get what the 6.A can offer.