[aaf evo]

Thanks for that, mmvRAZ. I'm going to have to ask you to stop raving about gear I can't afford...

I do have a couple of questions:

• Can you offer some more in-depth comparisons between the A18s and some other IEMs not from the 64Audio line-up? Perhaps Camp Fire, qdc, Empire (not really for me, but for others)?
• In particular, how does the A18s compare to the Fir M5? Even though I likely won't choose to afford that IEM, I've heard it.

I can help there, A18s (-17db module from FiR) is a more balanced signature with slightly more end to end extension (its truly incredible on this IEM), more bass quantity than the M5 too (I use the -13 module with my M5 custom, so you can increase that if you desire with a different ATOM module), M5 has a much more energetic presentation, slightly V shaped when side by side to something like the A18s. A18s offers more air in the treble region, M5 to me has slightly better textured bass but the BA's on the A18s are phenomenal. I'd say the A18s has slightly thicker mids too.

 

[mwhals]

Still haven't ruled out the N8. Very tempting as the A12T might be my favorite of my IEMs and Tia Trio is there too. 64 Audio seems to have their IEMs sounding really good up and down the lineup.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Thanks for that, mmvRAZ. I'm going to have to ask you to stop raving about gear I can't afford...

I do have a couple of questions:

• Can you offer some more in-depth comparisons between the A18s and some other IEMs not from the 64Audio line-up? Perhaps Camp Fire, qdc, Empire (not really for me, but for others)?
• In particular, how does the A18s compare to the Fir M5? Even though I likely won't choose to afford that IEM, I've heard it.

What @aaf evo said about the M5 sums it up really well. I personally found both to be very energetic, but the A18S less so. The M5’s lower treble is also quite extended and present, but the A18S does have the upper treble that to this day has only been outperformed by the Sony IER Z1R imo

EE makes some really good IEMs but I don’t think that any are especially comparable to the A18S... the legend X has awesome bass but it doesn’t even come close in the midrange and isn’t even comparable in the higher frequencies

The one IEM I’d say it has quite a bit of resemblance with is the VE8, though the 18s is somewhat bolder and more energetic in its presentation with some more highs. The midrange... I couldn’t tell you which of the two I’d pick - they’re both excellent but I’d say the VE8 has the upper hand by a small margin, the way the A18S has better lows than the VE8 also by a low margin

 

[RollsDownWindowsManually]

They changed the N8 apparently. My first pair got used very hard for about 2 years and eventually died in an unfortunate laundry accident. The new ones are much thicker in the upper sub-bass to midbass range and kind of muddy. The originals were perfect, wish I hadn't treated them so badly. they had gobs of subwoofer-like sub-bass without the midbass bloat . There are clear differences in the driver layout in the new pair. The DD now faces to the side instead of backward for instance. They're still pretty good though, just not perfect (to me) like my 2018 N8's were.

I probably should've tried a pair of A12s or A18s instead. 64 deserves credit for getting the new N8's to me during this crisis though. I appreciate it.

Also I want to give 64 credit for taking care of their previous USPS shipping problem involving cash on delivery. They fixed that after my order was returned to them.

 

[twister6]

They changed the N8 apparently. My first pair got used very hard for about 2 years and eventually died in an unfortunate laundry accident. The new ones are much thicker in the upper sub-bass to midbass range and kind of muddy. The originals were perfect, wish I hadn't treated them so badly. they had gobs of subwoofer-like sub-bass without the midbass bloat . There are clear differences in the driver layout in the new pair. The DD now faces to the side instead of backward for instance. They're still pretty good though, just not perfect (to me) like my 2018 N8's were.

I probably should've tried a pair of A12s or A18s instead. 64 deserves credit for getting the new N8's to me during this crisis though. I appreciate it.

Also I want to give 64 credit for taking care of their previous USPS shipping problem involving cash on delivery. They fixed that after my order was returned to them.

If I'm not mistaken, you are talking about N8 which you just received, right? How many burn in hours do you have on them? Just wondering if you let it play for a week non-stop, and come back to hear if DD opened up more?

 

[RollsDownWindowsManually]

If I'm not mistaken, you are talking about N8 which you just received, right? How many burn in hours do you have on them? Just wondering if you let it play for a week non-stop, and come back to hear if DD opened up more?

About 30 hours on the new ones at this point. The old ones sounded perfect right out of the box. I do like that the new ones came with both M15's and M20's though. The perceived difference is similar to what Crin has described in comparing his universal demo N8 to his custom, pre-mod.

 

[mwhals]

With the experience of @RollsDownWindowsManually, it may be a good thing I haven’t pulled the trigger on the N8.

 

[RollsDownWindowsManually]

With the experience of @RollsDownWindowsManually, it may be a good thing I haven’t pulled the trigger on the N8.

Don't put too much stock in what I have to say, I am old with hearing loss and am down 10 db @3khz in my right ear. I generally prefer brighter sounding headphones for that reason, although I have mostly given up on wasting hi-fi money on my old ears. I may experiment with foam like Crin did with his N8's though.

 

[max1236]

About 30 hours on the new ones at this point. The old ones sounded perfect right out of the box. I do like that the new ones came with both M15's and M20's though. The perceived difference is similar to what Crin has described in comparing his universal demo N8 to his custom, pre-mod.

Maybe try putting the apex module not all the way in like someone said a few pages back?

 

[gnahra]

64A now offering 20% off the U12t for a couple of days...

 

[hifihov]

Think they are available only from Fir atm. Maybe email and ask if they are still open and can send you some if you buy them?

This is the website of the European distributor.

http://www.duneblue.com/

Thanks both, contacted Dune Blue and FiR. FiR are going to deal with my request as there are none in stock here in the EU at the moment.

 

[jsmonet]

64A now offering 20% off the U12t for a couple of days...

I was bouncing back and forth between these and the tia trios at 30% off, bought the latter... and I'm still waiting for them to ship. I can't really complain because they're doing whatever they can to knock out the orders and still comply with the temporary rules.

 

[davidcotton]

Don't put too much stock in what I have to say, I am old with hearing loss and am down 10 db @3khz in my right ear. I generally prefer brighter sounding headphones for that reason, although I have mostly given up on wasting hi-fi money on my old ears. I may experiment with foam like Crin did with his N8's though.

Not a cable beliver but maybe swop out the cable for a silver one?

 

[macdonjh]

I was bouncing back and forth between these and the tia trios at 30% off, bought the latter... and I'm still waiting for them to ship. I can't really complain because they're doing whatever they can to knock out the orders and still comply with the temporary rules.

I also pulled the trigger for a pair of Trio because the sale moved them from "tempting" to "irresistible". I'm glad I did, I really like the Trio. I like them more than the U12t I got to borrow briefly from a friend of mine. My strongest memory of the U12t is I prefer the Trio's bass. I continue to be amazed by the sparkle of the Trio's highest notes, but that may be a lesser difference between the two.

I hope you get your Trio soon. I think they're great.

 

[macdonjh]

I can help there, A18s (-17db module from FiR) is a more balanced signature with slightly more end to end extension (its truly incredible on this IEM), more bass quantity than the M5 too (I use the -13 module with my M5 custom, so you can increase that if you desire with a different ATOM module), M5 has a much more energetic presentation, slightly V shaped when side by side to something like the A18s. A18s offers more air in the treble region, M5 to me has slightly better textured bass but the BA's on the A18s are phenomenal. I'd say the A18s has slightly thicker mids too.

What @aaf evo said about the M5 sums it up really well. I personally found both to be very energetic, but the A18S less so. The M5’s lower treble is also quite extended and present, but the A18S does have the upper treble that to this day has only been outperformed by the Sony IER Z1R imo

EE makes some really good IEMs but I don’t think that any are especially comparable to the A18S... the legend X has awesome bass but it doesn’t even come close in the midrange and isn’t even comparable in the higher frequencies

The one IEM I’d say it has quite a bit of resemblance with is the VE8, though the 18s is somewhat bolder and more energetic in its presentation with some more highs. The midrange... I couldn’t tell you which of the two I’d pick - they’re both excellent but I’d say the VE8 has the upper hand by a small margin, the way the A18S has better lows than the VE8 also by a low margin

Thanks, guys. Your comments echo my perception when I had the M4 and Trio side-by-side. I remember liking the impact and dynamism of the M4 bass more than the Trio's (by comparison) slightly more laid back presentation. However, the reverse was true at the other end: there's just something about the Trio's treble I haven't heard before in audio: in-ear, over ear, in room, anywhere. It wasn't matched by the M4.

When things calm down I hope to get another audition of the M4. It will be very hard to decide between the two, I think.