1964 Ears Owners Group

[Geri O]

Get the RNDI and put the difference towards the A4's - crisis averted; problem solved.

Thank you; thankyouverymuch.

Love the RNDI, have a few at church. Acoustic guitars sound awesome though them (okay, so does everything else).

We have a couple of REDDIs in the bass positions, too. It's what I play through when I'm playing there.

I could live with the RNDI, no doubt. I still like the coloration of the REDDI, for whatever reason.

The RNDI rocks, though, no doubt.

 

[TedH]

Love the RNDI, have a few at church. Acoustic guitars sound awesome though them (okay, so does everything else).

We have a couple of REDDIs in the bass positions, too. It's what I play through when I'm playing there.

I could live with the RNDI, no doubt. I still like the coloration of the REDDI, for whatever reason.

The RNDI rocks, though, no doubt.

Tryin' to help a brother get some new toys!

 

[Mr-Bassman]

Oh, gee, thanx, guys!

Just as soon as I decide to hold off on a set of A4s in lieu of a Bassmods bass and maybe a REDDI DI, I read all these glowing reports about the improvements of the A4s over the Quads, which I didn't have any complaints with until now, thank you all very much!!



Well, just one thing left to do. Get all three! I wasn't going to retire anytime soon anyway...

REDDI thru quads via senn G3 is my setup now. I suppose it could be better but sounds so great now that's hard to imagine.

 

[CrashClint]

I have small canals also.. so had the same issue..
The A4's replaced the Qi's..
I honestly can't discern much difference between my Qi's and A8's.. except for the "air" and "sound stage" the ADEL tech produces. The ADEL's definitely reduce (or eliminate) any ear fatigue with gig use.. I used the REV33 with my Qi's, but have found no need with the A8's.

So, REV33 has a Try for 30 Days for $15, I ordered one to try with my A4's. Trying to go from memory, did you try the REV33 with your A4's? If so, did it make any difference?

 

[s0c9]

So, REV33 has a Try for 30 Days for $15, I ordered one to try with my A4's. Trying to go from memory, did you try the REV33 with your A4's? If so, did it make any difference?

I don't have A4's.. I have Qi's and A8's.
The REV33 with the fully-sealed Qi's made an OBVIOUS difference to me - over the typical 4-hr gig - in terms of clarity and ear-fatigue.
On that premise, when I knew my A8's were coming, I bought the equivalent REV33.
I DON'T use IT any more !!
I don't know if the ADEL tech in the A8's is a factor, but I have done 15+ gigs with the A8's.. some with whole nights WITH the REV33, the last few being WITHOUT.
I have swapped the device between sets and so on.. Nothing exceptionally scientific, but.. In short.. I can't tell ANY difference. So, I'm not using it as I don't see (hear?) a need.
I'm would love to hear your experiences with the REV33 and your A4's.

But .. I want to be clear for others reading this:
The REV33 WORKED WELL with my Qi's - custom mold IEM's that have a FULL seal.
I noticed NO DISCERNIBLE DIFFERENCE in using the REV33 with my A8's, used or not!!

 

[rustyg61]

Newbie here in search of advice. I have never used in ear monitors but am reluctantly fixing to join the club. I say reluctantly because after 43 years of playing bass I finally have the gear to get the sound I have always heard in my head so it's scary abandoning my live rig for some active ear plugs! But I recently started playing for my church & they use IEM's exclusively with no live amps on stage, & the low end Westones they provide make my bass sound like a tin can! So I've been using my Senheiser HD 280 Pro headphones to get a decent bass sound, but they are big & bulky & look bad on stage when everyone else is using IEM's. I have been doing a lot of research on IEM's & just finished reading all 49 pages of this thread so I'm definitely leaning towards getting 64 Audio. My question is I'm trying to decide between A4's & A8's & need some help with that. It would seem the majority of posters on this thread have or had the Quads or Qi buds but those are no longer available so that's not an option. Has anyone tested both the A4 & A8 & if so if you were spending someone elses money, which would you get?

I'm also considering JH13v2 & JH16. Does anyone have any experience with them or any JH product? I was considering Alien Ears but have read some negative comments about their quality here, so they are off the list. Did any of you switch from another custom in ear brand to 64's, & if so, why & are you happy with the 64's?

A little background about me & my current playing situation. I play a 5 string custom Alembic Series II Europa that has the tone spectrum of a piano so I want something that will reproduce the full spectrum with clear highs & tight punchy bass. I don't want "enhanced" bass that is fat & muddy like rap music, I want full sounding bass with great attack like a kick drum that will cut through the mix without distorting & can handle a low B. My church has a full orchestra with strings, woodwinds, brass & percussion along with a live band with drums, guitars, piano & keyboards. We also have a 120 voice choir & 6 lead singers, so that's a lot to pump through these tiny monitors. I currently don't add the orchestra to my mix, just piano, drums, guitar, bass & vocals. I figure less is better for hearing what i'm playing. We use Aviom A-16II headphone mixers, so I have control over my own mix. I go straight from my bass to a DI, & everything is hard wired including the in ears. I have plenty of tone control on my bass plus the Aviom has master bass & treble & pan, so I can get a decent sound with my headphones. They are closed headphones & I can't even hear the trumpets playing 10 feet away with them on, but I miss the "live" feel of a band with ambient stage sound. Do the Apex modules let you feel like you are playing live while still giving you the isolated sound you need for a church setting?

I guess what I'm asking is if you had it to do all over again & had the funds to get up to an A8, is that what you would get, or something else? I do not sing & am currently not in a band, but could play in one in the future so I want IEM's that can handle anything. I recently left a classic rock band who in the end went to in ears. I was the lone holdout because as I said before I finally have the gear to get the sound I want & didn't want to give up my AccuGroove's!

I have an appointment next Wednesday to get my impressions done, so I'm ready to pull the trigger on this once I decide which model to go with.

Thanks for your help!

 

[s0c9]

I think I mentioned above that I have Qi's and A8's... the A4's are simply the ADEL tech (now APEX ?, after separation from Asius) version of the Qi's.
I've concluded from using both that the ADEL's mostly act like having ambient ports, without the loss of bass that you get with a full seal, and NO ear fatigue... !!!
That said.. BOTH sets can produce stupid/silly levels of bass, due to 2 and 4 BA drivers in each.
They can also produce ice-pick treble - if you desire.
I have also suggested to others, that if they are unclear/undecided.. call Alex at 1964 and explain your needs.. they are very helpful.
However, if budget is an issue, I would not hesitate to suggest the A4's...

The difference between the 2 is the Qi's are full-seal closed.. I needed to get used to the difference in bass between the 2.. it took a while.. there's no LACK of bass in the A8's, but the bass mix levels I run with are a little higher than I did with the Qi's - so put that down to the "A" technology. They fit fine, are really comfortable, and I often wear them between sets as the DJ music is way loud at most venues!! And yes, I can happily talk with folks with them in..

Being a first time user, it may take you a while to adjust to them.. inserting into your ears for #1 LOL ... it's a VERY different experience for folks used to a "live" stage with wedges and I've met more than a handful that cannot adjust. But if you use phones now, the swap will give similar, but BETTER results.

In case I haven't mentioned it before I REALLY LOVE BOTH SETS OF 1964 EARS .. but the A8's are awesome.. repeat buy in a heartbeat !

 

[NoxNoctus]

My brother just got his A12's in. I'm jealous with my lowly 6 drivers

 

[s0c9]

My brother just got his A12's in. I'm jealous with my lowly 6 drivers

View attachment 950949 View attachment 950950

yeah... my singer uses A12's.. but I have to wonder if the diff between 4, 6 and 8 drivers is worth the extra $$$ going to 12's???
Where does the law of diminishing returns come into play with the # of drivers per ear ??
The audio quality on my A8's is astounding.. I hear things with them that I can't with my Sony MDR7506 and AKG 240M (industry standard) cans !!

 

[rustyg61]

"The audio quality on my A8's is astounding.. I hear things with them that I can't with my Sony MDR7506 and AKG 240M (industry standard) cans !!"

I think you just made my mind up s0c9! I see some A8's in my future!

 

[overbybr]

If you can, go with the A8's. You'll never look back!

 

[rustyg61]

If you can, go with the A8's. You'll never look back!

I'm sure they will be a huge improvement over my headphones & I'm used to wearing ear plugs at work, so that shouldn't be an issue. I'm working on artwork for them now & have my impressions scheduled for Wednesday, so I should be placing my order in the next couple of days. Then, as Tom Petty said, "The waiting is the hardest part!" I waited 15 months for Alembic to build my bass, so this shouldn't be too bad. I was the lone hold out in my former band for getting in ears because I loved the sound I was getting from my rig. Won't they be surprised to find out I'm spending $1500 on in ears now! They all got cheap Shure universal buds. Luckily I had some gear to sell to finance the A8's.

 

[s0c9]

"The audio quality on my A8's is astounding.. I hear things with them that I can't with my Sony MDR7506 and AKG 240M (industry standard) cans !!"

I think you just made my mind up s0c9! I see some A8's in my future!

I think you'll love them.. I know I DO... last nights gig was 5 sets.. 3 x 45's and 2 x30's between 8:30 and 02:00 am.
Used them the entire time.. pristine audio from our digital console.. the stereo mix really helps place things into the sound stage..
One thing I never do tho' is put toms and OH's in to my mix.. they're just clutter, and I can usually hear them over the IEM mix anyway..
Just kick, snare and hat.

 

[rustyg61]

I think you'll love them.. I know I DO... last nights gig was 5 sets.. 3 x 45's and 2 x30's between 8:30 and 02:00 am.
Used them the entire time.. pristine audio from our digital console.. the stereo mix really helps place things into the sound stage..
One thing I never do tho' is put toms and OH's in to my mix.. they're just clutter, and I can usually hear them over the IEM mix anyway..
Just kick, snare and hat.

I keep my mix simple too. I don't put our full orchestra & choir in my headphones, just piano, guitar, bass, drums & lead vocals. We have a single drum channel on our Avioms, so I don't have control of individual mics, but it is mostly kick & snare in the drum channel. I haven't experimented with stereo mixing on my headphones, but I will try that tomorrow. Probably pan my bass mostly to one side so I can hear it better without having to turn it up loud. How do you split your stereo mix?

 

[s0c9]

I keep my mix simple too. I don't put our full orchestra & choir in my headphones, just piano, guitar, bass, drums & lead vocals. We have a single drum channel on our Avioms, so I don't have control of individual mics, but it is mostly kick & snare in the drum channel. I haven't experimented with stereo mixing on my headphones, but I will try that tomorrow. Probably pan my bass mostly to one side so I can hear it better without having to turn it up loud. How do you split your stereo mix?

In secular band anything "mono".. eg: drums are usually centered, including bass - tho I MAy pan them slightly (11:30/12:30) off center, but bass is never panned. Two elec. guitars (they both also play acoustics) panned L/R (based on stage position) at about 10 and 2. Pedal-steel and fiddle centered also.
I do that because it's often the way a CD is mixed and I learn (and practice solo at home) from the original songs using cans. THe only downside I have found is that - like last Wed's gig (2 1-hr sets) -the IEM mix was so darn good I tend to get caught up in listening to it and forget that I'm actually part of that mix.. it can be distracting.. LOL

At church, it's basically the same.. but if we have multiple elec and acoustics playing.. I'll pan them, but whichever are primary instruments of the 2 are higher than the others. Keys - unless stereo - are centered also. If they are all EQ's correctly, and FOH (or mon eng) knows what they are doing.. other than multiples of the same instrument, none of the others should step on each other.. of course.. multi-driver buds helps enhance that.

YMMV - it's all about what works for you.. I have a tough time getting into the zone with bass in only one ear.. it's not how our brains work.. we like order and structure

 

[rustyg61]

I want to thank everyone for your advice & posts that educated me on 64 Audio. I placed my order today for a set of A8's! If any of you weren't aware, 64 Audio gives a discount to large churches, so if you play for a large church you can get 15 - 20% off. Your music minister has to submit an application & once they approve it you are eligible for the discount. It saved me $225 on my A8's! Now if anyone else in my church wants to order a set they can get the discount too.

 

[ArcticT]

I just placed my order for my first ever set of custom iem's last week. I've been putting off stepping up to customs for years and finally caved. I went with A4's and I couldn't be more excited to try them out. I ended up calling back and putting a rush on the order because I was so excited so I should have them within the next few days. I also just grabbed an FBass BN5 from the classifieds that should be here by next week so this month is turning into Christmas for me. BTW - I'm a full time drummer and only a (very) occasional bass player, so these A4's will mostly be used on drums but I know they will work great for either. I'm pumped!

 

[rustyg61]

I had a setback on my order. I went to get impressions today & had too much wax in my ears despite me cleaning them with an ear wax removal kit beforehand. So now I have to wait a week to see an ear doctor to have the wax removed.

 

[s0c9]

I had a setback on my order. I went to get impressions today & had too much wax in my ears despite me cleaning them with an ear wax removal kit beforehand. So now I have to wait a week to see an ear doctor to have the wax removed.

I had the same problem.. you can speed that up by going and getting your ears flushed (basically peroxide/water solution). It clears that stuff right out of your ears.
I had it done at my employers onsite health center... a local GOP can do it (?), probably for less than the audiologist would charge.. idk...
Might enable you to get an earlier appt for those impressions..
Just a thought..
Using Debrox for a few days will also help loosen the wax...

 

[rustyg61]

I've used Debrox 3 times now & flushed it myself with warm water & ear flushing syringe that sprays 3 jets out, but didn't get anything out. The audiologist said my wax was really deep, so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of pushing it in further or getting an infection from too much flushing. I flushed about 16 oz of warm water but no luck. I have gotten wax plugs out before with this same syringe, but not this time.

Thanks for your suggestion though!