1964 Ears Owners Group

[s0c9]

I can only guess that is the truth, unfortunately my ear canals are so weird that I can't get a universal fit into them to save my life. Never could use many ear phones to any good degree. But, I do know that the customs are just that, customized fit for your specific ear to deliver the best possible tone and comfort.

FWIW - I can vouch for it being the case. Before I was finally told (by an audiologist, once I'd decided to try customs) that I have small ear canals and I'd probably never find a good set of universals, I went thru a bunch under $300 - over a period of 2+ yrs. I tried about every 3rd party tip on the market, from Comply to ComfortFoam to Walmart generics and Westone.
Nothing worked. If I opened my jaw, sang, turned my head, sweat too much.. the seal broke on the universals tips. VERY FRUSTRATING experience...

Ordering my 1964 Qi's was daunting - given the $550 price back then - but I was instantly gratified by the results. Well worth every dime.
When my band became 1964 Artists, it was a no-brainer upgrading to the A8's.
I'd do it over again..

 

[monkeyfinger]

I am looking to buy 64Audio A6's or A8's when the next sale comes up. I am running a Darkglass 900 Amp into a Fearless F112 or F212. I only use the clean side of the DG. So, as you see, I am going for a more hi-fi monitoring sound. Assuming I use the DG as a DI, which model do you think would suite me best?

Also, does anyone have an idea of when the next sale will happen?

 

[s0c9]

I am looking to buy 64Audio A6's or A8's when the next sale comes up. I am running a Darkglass 900 Amp into a Fearless F112 or F212. I only use the clean side of the DG. So, as you see, I am going for a more hi-fi monitoring sound. Assuming I use the DG as a DI, which model do you think would suite me best?

Either should work.. My A8's definitely provide extra bass artifacts that I didn't get with my Qi's (A4's). How do you plan to feed the buds?

Also, does anyone have an idea of when the next sale will happen?

Might be Memorial, July 4th or Labor day. I don't really know.

 

[adamaarts]

I am looking to buy 64Audio A6's or A8's when the next sale comes up. I am running a Darkglass 900 Amp into a Fearless F112 or F212. I only use the clean side of the DG. So, as you see, I am going for a more hi-fi monitoring sound. Assuming I use the DG as a DI, which model do you think would suite me best?

Also, does anyone have an idea of when the next sale will happen?

A6 if you want a more even and balanced sound, A8 for a bass heavy sound.

I like my A4 when on stage, but for at home monitoring the bass heaviness messed with ability to hear high end when tracking, so it's a little double edged there.

Also, they seem to have sales all the time. I'm sure any given month they'd have at least one sale.

 

[monkeyfinger]

Sounds like the A6's will be more my speed. For band monitoring purposes, I am going to run an X32 rack with a Shure PSM 300 wireless IEM system.

 

[s0c9]

Sounds like the A6's will be more my speed. For band monitoring purposes, I am going to run an X32 rack with a Shure PSM 300 wireless IEM system.

If budget is a factor. sure.. the A6's.. I went with the A8's because of the extra bass config. You don't have to krank up the bass in them, and they also sound great for just listening (while flying)...
I can get so-o-o much bass out of my A8's if I want to... it's seriously ridiculous.

 

[monkeyfinger]

There is little difference in price, so that is not my concern. It's more suitability of tone. I generally don't like bass heavy headphones such as Beats. I prefer well defined low mids, (200-600 Hz), with some low bass, (90-200 Hz) and sub-bass,(>90 Hz) to fill things out. Otherwise give me clear upper mids, (600-5k Hz), and airy highs, ( >5k ) that are not harsh. What bugs me is that the A6's seem to have a dip in the lows compared the the A8's but are much closer in level in sub-bass region. Having no idea how they define lows and subs, or how much difference in sensitivity in these ranges, this means little to me.

 

[overbybr]

There is little difference in price, so that is not my concern. It's more suitability of tone. I generally don't like bass heavy headphones such as Beats. I prefer well defined low mids, (200-600 Hz), with some low bass, (90-200 Hz) and sub-bass,(>90 Hz) to fill things out. Otherwise give me clear upper mids, (600-5k Hz), and airy highs, ( >5k ) that are not harsh. What bugs me is that the A6's seem to have a dip in the lows compared the the A8's but are much closer in level in sub-bass region. Having no idea how they define lows and subs, or how much difference in sensitivity in these ranges, this means little to me.

A8's will not be anything like Beats headphones. The bass will be more defined than with the A6, not artificially EQ'd louder (like Beats). I've had 3-driver and now 4-driver IEM's and having the sub-driver is a pleasure to hear. If you're going to be mixing mostly, stay away from the A8's. But if you're going to be gigging primarily, go with the A8's.

 

[monkeyfinger]

Cool. Thanks for the info. Are they close enough that you can get them to sound alike with some use of EQ?

 

[overbybr]

Cool. Thanks for the info. Are they close enough that you can get them to sound alike with some use of EQ?

You can make anything sound 'alike' with EQ, but unless you purchase one of each you won't really know what the exact sonic difference is. My advice to you is to order whichever one you need and just gig with them for a while, listen to music with them for a few weeks, and then decide if they need to be adjusted with EQ.

 

[monkeyfinger]

You can make anything sound 'alike' with EQ, but unless you purchase one of each you won't really know what the exact sonic difference is. My advice to you is to order whichever one you need and just gig with them for a while, listen to music with them for a few weeks, and then decide if they need to be adjusted with EQ.

You are right to course. I should have been more specific. I wanted to know if these two models could be made to sound like the other with some mild EQ on the outputs. By mild, I mean a change of a few dB in a couple of ranges with a parametric.

 

[erayser]

Most likely joining the 64 Audio family later this year if there is a Black Friday/Christmas sale. I entered the 64 Audio May the 4th A4 contest last week, but designed an A8 model by mistake... LOL... Designed it to match my Sunburst Fender Jazz bass.

It was a very long shot to win anyway... even if I designed the right model. While I wait for sales later this year... I'll play with photoshop and dream.

 

[overbybr]

You are right to course. I should have been more specific. I wanted to know if these two models could be made to sound like the other with some mild EQ on the outputs. By mild, I mean a change of a few dB in a couple of ranges with a parametric.

Without buying each and doing a back-to-back, there's no way to answer this conclusively. That being said, if you have a good parametric or graphic EQ, yes, you should be able to tune them to whatever frequency you want.

I say go with the 8's, because you can always cut frequency with no degradation of sound quality (e.g. distortion). Trying to boost a frequency on a system with less drivers may (and that's a huge may) result in pushing the drivers into audio distortion depending on the frequency and gain. And I don't mean distortion as a result of high volume - one of the reason that multiple drivers are better than a single driver is that you don't get physical distortion that comes with trying to produce all frequencies across a single driver. Dedicated drivers for dedicated frequency ranges will give you a cleaner sound across the frequency & volume range because they're not distorting at the same volume the single-driver would.

 

[s0c9]

Dedicated drivers for dedicated frequency ranges will give you a cleaner sound across the frequency & volume range because they're not distorting at the same volume the single-driver would.

This is why I always recommend a minimum of TRIPLE drivers for bassists.. My PA (back when I ran sound and before the increasing popularity of active speaker) was a 3-way (tri-amp) system, that was exceptionally clean. Splits for high, mid and low frequencies going to separate amps that powered each range. Bi-amped tops with subs. I heard many bands cramming it all thru 2-way tops, no subs, etc. Ear fatigue for the audience arrived quickly - if they stuck around.
I want that clean quality audio next to my ears, not the single-driver distortion that brings on ear fatigue.. which causes you to increase the volume, which induces more fatigue.
That's why I went customs - 1964 Qi's, and then upgraded to the A8's when I could.
They ARE NOT bass heavy like Beats, but with FOUR LF BA drivers give you fine control over the bass in your ears, both for gigs and listening to music.

 

[g4string]

FWIW, my REV33 is for sale in the classifieds for those who might be intrigued by this device to supplement their 1964 Quads

 

[bucephylus]

OK, after a year plus gigging the Westone UM30 canal phones, I bit the bullet this morning and ordered A4’s.

The Westone’s had perfectly great sound; but, I’m burned out on them pushing out of the canal while I’m singing. Enough of that.

So, impressions tomorrow, then hopefully 6 weeks still with the UM30’s.

Yeah, I understand A8’s etc are probably a bit nicer. But, I just need to hear stuff while we are performing. Not going to get all bent about the tone. It’s a monitor.

 

[s0c9]

Yeah, I understand A8’s etc are probably a bit nicer. But, I just need to hear stuff while we are performing. Not going to get all bent about the tone. It’s a monitor.

Yeah, but having owned both.. I LOVE my A8's... but... for live monitoring, you really don't notice the difference that much.. The A4's should be awesome !
Keep us posted pls!

 

[bucephylus]

So far, the ear impressions are not looking good.

First of all, my ears look absolutely nothing like the example pictures on the website. Second, though I went to an audiologist recommended on their site, the audiologist had absolutely zero experience with this procedure. So, the impressions also don’t look like examples.

I’m now on my second set of photos sent back to 64. We’ll see. I’m getting a lot less optimistic about this thing.

 

[s0c9]

So far, the ear impressions are not looking good.

First of all, my ears look absolutely nothing like the example pictures on the website. Second, though I went to an audiologist recommended on their site, the audiologist had absolutely zero experience with this procedure. So, the impressions also don’t look like examples.

I’m now on my second set of photos sent back to 64. We’ll see. I’m getting a lot less optimistic about this thing.

Call around your area to audiologists. You don't have to use a 1964 approved one. Find one near a "mega" church (if you have one) as they will probably have done plenty of impressions.
Ask them how many they've done and for which vendors..

 

[bucephylus]

So far, the ear impressions are not looking good.

First of all, my ears look absolutely nothing like the example pictures on the website. Second, though I went to an audiologist recommended on their site, the audiologist had absolutely zero experience with this procedure. So, the impressions also don’t look like examples.

I’m now on my second set of photos sent back to 64. We’ll see. I’m getting a lot less optimistic about this thing.

Update: just heard from 64 Audio that my impressions are good to go. Yay!!

I quite honestly had no idea what I was looking at, and my castings were SO different from their example that I couldn’t tell what to shoot with the camera. Anyhow, it’s all good. Even a blind pig finds the trough from time to time.