[DWbirdseye]

I just received the kit from Federal Express, but have to go to work immediately and will put on unboxing pictures and condition up after I'm done with work today. I can't wait.

Good thing you didn't listen before going to work, you'd still be at home.

 

[rumina]

Thanks 64 Audio and Barra for the opportunity to demo the Tzar and Tia Fourte, it was really a treat. I've never done a review, so please consider this merely a recap of my impressions of the TOTL 64 Audio iems. Also, listening was done with old ears, so YMMV! I demoed the iems in various ways, using my iPhone 7, Sony ZX1, Hugo, and Liquid Carbon with SE connection. My primary playing time was with the ZX1 playing though my Hugo.

I only have one iem at the moment, the Obravo EAMT-1C, so I can only make draw comparisons to this at this time. I hesitate drawing comparisons to earlier iems I have previously owned, including the Fitear 334, Parterre, K10, and FA fi-ba-ss. My Obravo's bring a lot to the table, with an extremely wide and deep soundstage, natural (to my ears) timbre, and bass that extends very well into the lower sub-bass region. Treble is very detailed yet smooth and not overpowering.

I started with the U18, and was immediately struck by the impression of the upper mids and treble being pushed more forward than I have been accustomed to. Sounds stage was nice and wide, but lacked a litte depth. Bass was tight and fast, with slightly less decay than I would prefer, but was never overpowered by the mids and treble. The overall sound felt a little "in your face", but I came to realize after a few hours of listening time that I needed to become accustomed to the high clarity of the upper mids and treble. After some time for brain burn in, the sound became very coherent and balanced. I have to say that the detail and clarity of the treble is really top notch, and I never listened to a track that showed any trace of sibilance. I've never considered myself a treble head, and honestly always preferred a more organic, smooth sound more like the Audeze house sound, but with this iem I enjoyed a treble that is highly detailed yet smooth and comfortable to the ear. The mids were very well balanced and vocals were placed very well with instrumentation, neither too forward or too recessed. I ultimately did find it slightly lacking in sub bass, but the bass is very tight and lively and never bleeds into the lower mids.

Switching to the Tia Fourte, I expected to need some brain burn in with these as well, but immediately felt like these hit my sweet spot, and so I personally prefer these over the U18. Bass especially is more to my liking, going a little deeper and thunderous when needed in the music. Upper mids and treble are very similar to me to the U18's, but seemed to offer slightly greater instrument separation and placement. Bass, mids, treble; there isn't a real weakness in my mind with the Fourtes. They possess a wonderful balance throughout the spectrum, and I can't imagine an iem that provides better clarity from top to bottom. I have to say, that after reading other reviews stating that the Fourte's had mids that were slightly more forward than the U18's, that I honestly didn't find that to be the case with my setup. In fact, I felt that the mids where the vocals are placed might actually be a little more recessed than the U18. Keep in mind they are by no means recessed in the overall sound, but just enough to create, again to my ears, greater depth in the soundstage than the U18. I don't know if that makes any sense, but is this what Tyll Hertsens refers to as the effect of a slight recess in the presence region (as he described in his Ether Flow review)? I just don't know, but I felt that it made for a more 3d sound stage over the U18. Anyway, width and height are very similar to the U18 and overall soundstage and instrument placement is very impressive.

These are very cohesive and well balanced iems. Many use the term fun sounding, and I have a better understanding of that term now. Where my Obravo's give me the sense of wearing full size headphones with a rich, well textured and smooth sound, the U18 and Fourte dazzle you with the micro detail in the instruments. I do prefer the Fourte in terms of balance and space between instruments, but I'm certain it's a matter of personal taste. Fourte is more similar to my Obravo's in bass presentation, with great low end that has a tiny bit of bloom but does not bleed into the lower mids. Vocals with Obravo's are rich and natural, while the Fourte by comparison has a slight (but not unnatural) shimmer to vocals which can be a big plus in bringing out female vocals in particular. Both the Obravo and Fourte have really large soundstage and give you a great out of head experience. But I much prefer the treble presentation of the Fourte; it's just wonderful in the way it presents detail and clarity without being fatiguing. The Fourte's fit very well in my ears, and isolation, while not ciem level, is still very good. 64 Audio's top 2 iems are well done and now I want to buy the Fourtes!!

great comparsion of the tia fourte to the obravo eamt-1c. i have the tia fourte now for some weeks and realy like them. the obravo eamt-1c is for me the little brother of the stax sr-009 whereas the tia forte is the little brother of the sr-007. the obravo-1c are great with classic or opera (or audiophile recordings like susan wong) but arn't very gentle to bad recordings like the sr-009. due i often listen to jazz/soul/r&b/country i often prefer the sr-007, this headphone is like the tia forte gentle to bad or medicore recordings. the tia fourte has this extra bass drive combinated with a lovley renderding of voices, not as neutral as the obravo-1c but with a extra portion of fun and engaging. the tia fourte has the ability to scale very well up, nice balanced sound. the soundstage has a nice width and high, lacks only a tad of the deep defination. with silicon tips they are a bit to bright for me (but i like the highs a bit tamed), so some foam (comply) tips are the perfect cure. the orginal cablel is fine but the dita truth (cooper) cable is a dream team, the highs are now perfect, detailted and smooth without loosing details. even more, with the dita cable the bass get's up to the quality of the obravos (no bloom in contrast to the orginal cable), the definition down to the subbass is excelent (imo a tad better then the obravos but the eamt-1c goes a tad lower). it's the first iem with balanced amatures that i realy like. in contrast to the obravo eamt-1c the tia fourte is very easy to drive, perfect fine direkt out of the ak380cu. a sr-009 on to go? get a obravo eamt-1c. when you like a sr-007 or lcd-3 on to go get the tia fourte .

 

[Quadfather]

Received the tour kit from DWbirdseye in great shape, although the U18 Tzar is missing its cleaning tool.

 

[Quadfather]

I have heard the Tia Fourte on Lotoo Paw Gold Diana, Questyle QP1R, and Sony NW-WM1A. I like these IEMs on the Questyle QP1R best. Very spacious, open, and natural. I will have to spend some time with both sets. the Fourte sounds crazily good and natural. The Shure SE846 has great bass quantity, however the Tia Fourte's bass presentation is quicker, nimbler, and more organically natural. The SE846 also lacks the upper midrange/treble clarity and extension of the Fourte. I have to listen longer, as these are initial impressions. The SE846 is still a warm, darkish, quality entry to the IEM market. The midrange and treble clarity, extension, and timber on the Tia Fourte is the best I have ever heard from an IEM, but still silky smooth. The Tia Fourte has a much bigger soundstage than Shure SE846. Again these pair phenomenally well with the Questyle QP1R in high gain. I am using 96kHz/24bit, high resolution files. I briefly listened to the U18 Tzar, but liked the Fourte so much more thar Tzar promptly went back in the box. I AM IN LOVE WITH THE TIA FOURTE! Strangely, and surprisingly, these sound great on Sony NW-WM1A single ended output.

 

[Quadfather]

Barra, can we start a grief counseling thread for those of us not able to afford these?

 

[Barra]

Barra, can we start a grief counseling thread for those of us not able to afford these?

They are truly unique CIEMs!

 

[Quadfather]

Well, the packaging, accessories, and the U18 Tzar all went into the fire safe to keep Sig, Gaston, and my assorted external hard drives company. As for the Tia Fourte's...well, not quite yet.

 

[Quadfather]

They are truly unique CIEMs!

I am going to really hate sending these off in a week.

 

[Quadfather]

The bore tube seems about 3 to 4 mm too short for my ears...

 

[koven]

Ugh too bad the tour won't get to me before the BF sales, may have to just blindly buy the Fourte at 20% off.

 

[Quadfather]

The bore tube seems about 3 to 4 mm too short for my ears...

I found some wide bore, longer triple flange sleeves and now everything is perfect.

 

[aaf evo]

Thoughts of Fourte vs Zeus XR? Seeing a lot of U18 Tzar comparisons but not much on the Fourte, thanks in advance!

 

[Quadfather]

The cymbals on the Tia Fourte are so amazingly clear and present, but not remotely harsh. No sibilance! A very engaging, enveloping, clear detailed sound with no hint of boring, analytical thin sound qualities. Fun, real. Close your eyes to your favorite songs; you are sound waves floating in instrument created reality. The Tia Fourte is The Master of Reality! After briefly trying out the U18 Tzar and the Tia Fourte...well, to say the least, I don't want to take any time from the Tia Fourte. At least I have other things in the safe to keep the Tzar company. I am so glad I found wide-bore, triple flange sleeves that fit. I was near giving up, because I thought the bore tubes were too short; I was wrong. Take time with ear tip selection.

 

[DWbirdseye]

The bore tube seems about 3 to 4 mm too short for my ears...

What tips are you using, triple flange silicone were the only ones that worked for me. Whoops I didn't see your next post.

 

[Quadfather]

What tips are you using, triple flange silicone were the only ones that worked for me. Whoops I didn't see your next post.

I had some wide bore, longer triple flange sleeves that fit perfectly. You are right.