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Alclair vs. 1964 Ears

J

jfantuzzo

Feb 28, 2011
54
14
Pittsburgh, PA
#1
I have an audiologist appointment to get my ears molded tomorrow. I was set to order the 1964 Qi's until I talked to the WL and producer at my church. They said that we get a pretty nice discount from Alclair and they both were actually planning on ordering this week also.

Would the Alclair Tour Customs be a good option compared to the Qi's? Has anyone tried both?
 
#3
I'm researching iem's for church as well. 1964's seem to be the most widely used in worship and they offer a church discount as well. I haven't heard a lot about the aclairs except that Lacrea uses them. But hey they are most likely free to him. Although i don't see him endorsing a product he doesn't feel strongly about either though.
 
#9
Well ... After some lengthy conversations with the folks at Alclair and 1964 I've decided to go with the Alclair quads.

Mark and Amy at Alclair were amazing in their transparency and level of explanation.

Their standard build time is less than half of 1964 too - which is great for someone not interested in paying for a rush order but looking for something quick.

Let the waiting game begin ...
 
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#10
Sorry to resurrect an old thread. I am in a similar boat as the OP. I am looking at both 64 Audio and Alclair. With 64 Audio, I am considering the U4, V6-Stage, and perhaps the A4. Two weeks ago, there were more options and lower prices, but I am only now considering IEMs, so I had no idea of the price increase (V series) and discontinuation of product. With Alclair, I am considering the Tour (custom IEM, 2 woofers, one tweeter, 2 way crossover). There is also a RSM Quad (2 woofers, one mid, one tweeter, 3 way crossover), but it's tuned flat whereas the Tour is V shaped with the bass higher than the rest.

While I can afford the 64 Audio (including the A4), I really have to ask if the price difference between the brands will be that noticeable. I can get the 64 Audio for anywhere from $550 (U4) to $720 (V6-Stage) to $765 (A4) while the Tours would be $450 (RSM Quad $585).

I play bass weekly at church, 3 services, 3-4 songs each service, with a weekday practice.

Thanks for any input.
 
#11
tsl said:
Sorry to resurrect an old thread. I am in a similar boat as the OP. I am looking at both 64 Audio and Alclair. With 64 Audio, I am considering the U4, V6-Stage, and perhaps the A4. Two weeks ago, there were more options and lower prices, but I am only now considering IEMs, so I had no idea of the price increase (V series) and discontinuation of product. With Alclair, I am considering the Tour (custom IEM, 2 woofers, one tweeter, 2 way crossover). There is also a RSM Quad (2 woofers, one mid, one tweeter, 3 way crossover), but it's tuned flat whereas the Tour is V shaped with the bass higher than the rest.

While I can afford the 64 Audio (including the A4), I really have to ask if the price difference between the brands will be that noticeable. I can get the 64 Audio for anywhere from $550 (U4) to $720 (V6-Stage) to $765 (A4) while the Tours would be $450 (RSM Quad $585).

I play bass weekly at church, 3 services, 3-4 songs each service, with a weekday practice.

Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...

Hey tsl, I work for Alclair, so I'm admittedly biased, but I wanted to chime in as a bass player. Personally, I really like the Tour for playing because the contour has a really great feel to it. Its hard to describe, but it's got groove. The V shaped contour just hits where the kick and bass play, then up where the snare cracks and the hats live. It's fantastic.

That said, recently, I have been using the Crankmasters and they are definitely made for bass. They don't run out of low end and yet, they upper end is still clear and present. It really is one of the best tools I've used live.

If you have any questions, please email me at andy at alclair dot com. I'd love to help more.
 
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#12
Hey every one sorry to revive this again but, i was looking into some monitors but having a hard time finding something that would fit my needs and not be too expensive, not looking to get the flagship model. Simply because of cost. Besides playing bass, i am also the lead vocalist in my band so id like to find something that will work well for monitoring my bass and my vocals at the same time.
 
#14
myangrymushroom said:
Hey every one sorry to revive this again but, i was looking into some monitors but having a hard time finding something that would fit my needs and not be too expensive, not looking to get the flagship model. Simply because of cost. Besides playing bass, i am also the lead vocalist in my band so id like to find something that will work well for monitoring my bass and my vocals at the same time.
Click to expand...
The price of all ears have gone up....
Used 1964 Qi's (quads) for about 2 yrs, and recently upgraded to 1964 A8's, 'cus my band are 1964 Endorsing Artists and I got a great deal and am slightly biased :)
Love them.. both sets..
 
#17
Jason Miles said:
Any new thoughts here about Alclair IEM's?
Click to expand...
Hey Jason,
Let me preface my experience with the caveat that my situation is most likely isolated to a very small amount of Alclair users and also note that this will be a long post.
I purchased a pair of Spires from Alclair in November 2018 during their black Friday sale. I went to a respected audiologist that was recommended by 2 friends who had their molds taken from this person as well. After purchase, I sent in my ear molds and waited the standard 5 weeks. At the end of week 5, I contacted Alclair for an update and was told my monitors were in quality control and should ship out the next day assuming no problems. Three days after this, I contacted them again and was told that my monitors did not pass QC and that they were being re-shelled. Alclair expedited this and my new monitors were shipped to me 2 weeks after that. Once I received my monitors, the fit was so completely terrible I convinced myself they must have mixed up my molds with someone else's because there was nothing custom about the fit.

After speaking with Grace and sending over pics of the poor fit, they figured the problem was the canals being built too small. After 2 rounds of back and forth, the fit from the Spires was still completely unusable for me. At that point, we decided that I should move to the CMVKs because the fewer drivers might make the fit better for my anatomy, we also agreed that I should have a second pair of ear impressions shot so they had something else to work with. So now I wait for a completely new set of monitors to be made (again expedited to within 1 - 2 weeks). I hear back that the second impressions that I sent are not usable, and I go back to the audiologist a third time. I finally get a usable impression (Alclair prefers an impression of the complete ear anatomy - meaning outer ear and all, apparently most IEM companies are fine with just an impression of the helix and canal). My CMVKs are sent over, and again there are fit issues in both ears - although the fit was getting much closer than the Spires. Maybe 2 or 3 more rounds of back and forth for fit adjustments and by the first week of April I had a usable product (original purchase was November). Now that I have a usable product, I can say the the CMVKs are fine for stage use, but I could not recommend for daily/casual listening (obviously not their intended use but that's why I chose Spire first). I feel like the instrument separation is insufficient and things start to sound harsh and distorted. After my experience and after using their product, I would suggest saving until you can afford the A4's from 64 Audio and go that route. 3D printing seems to yield better results than hand poured IEM, at least from my anecdotal evidence.

Now here is where I will sing the praises of the customer service Alclair provides. Throughout the whole process, I never once felt like Alcair wasn't in my corner and trying their best to make me the best product they could. I suspect they lost money on me as a customer considering I purchased the monitors at a 30% discount, then moved to a cheaper model which they reimbursed the price difference. They spent untold hours working with me and on my monitors, they reimbursed me for the cost of the third set of impressions, and went above and beyond in trying to make it right. I can't recommend their customer service and helpful attitude any higher. Although the overall experience was stressful, Grace and Jeremy made it that much better with their professionalism. I now use the comparison that Alclair is the more affordable product like a MIM Fender bass, and 64 Audio is the equivalent of the American Fender line. Both are completely usable, but you get what you pay for.
 
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#18
Thanks for the insight. There wasn't many reviews on them online.

After much deliberation, and since my buddy has some and loves them I ended up rolling the dice on the Alclairs.


I just got them yesterday and they sound great. The fit isn't exactly what I was expecting.
The right ear is perfect. But the left side is a little tight at the 2nd bend putting a bit of pressure in my inner ear. That's definitely going to have to be adjusted. I hope my customer service experience is just as good as yours.

I wasn't trying to spend $1200 bucks on some UEs or 64's but maybe I should have just saved up a bit more to make sure it was right the 1st time.

20190503_212632.jpg
 
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#19
My Alclair Tours needed a fit adjustment when I received them a couple years ago. The best thing you can do is try to clearly explain the issue, and they will go from there. The folks there were super communicative and helpful.
 
#20
FWIW - I own two different sets of 1964's.. Qi's and A8's.
Both were from different sets of impressions - both done by SAME audiologist.
NEITHER set required a refit and can be worn for hours on end without discomfort.
 

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