64 Audio - U12t (Gen 1)

Agreed. Incredibly versatile IEM. Some people find them too “hollow”, but others find it holographic. I loved mine, but traded it away for the U12T.

U12T. Disembodied Tyrant on the U12T is satanic bliss in HD

Aim for a used pair, they typically bottom out at 50% of MSRP around $900-$1000. Grab them if you come across a pair. I got mine used, swapped the cables and the tips of my choice and voila, I've got the Death Empress herself screaming in my ears like ASMR Alternatively, the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 is also a magnificent set for Metal. Also approximately 50% of MSRP used at $500, probably less.

Happy it helped! I think pro gamers double up to block out crowd noise haha. I'm just thinking of CS pros, so my knowledge on that is limited. >Drivers, what are the pros and cons of single, dual, hybrid, etc.? I'll give the **pros** for each first. So the most common driver for IEMs out there is the balanced armature (BA) driver. It was the first major alternative to dynamic driver (DD), and allowed makers to put multiple drivers into a small form factor like the IEM. Each driver than concentrate on a specific frequency range instead, given the manufactured cared enough to put enough crossovers and tune them. Otherwise you have a bunch of drivers doing the exact same thing, defeating the purpose of having a multi-driver setup. These days it's hard to find an IEM without BA involved. Hybrids typically refer to a combination of BA and DD. One *seemingly* weakness of the BA design is its bass. Actual "weakness" is interesting and not an actual auditory weakness: [/u/oratory1990 made a great post about it](https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/comments/nk243a/comment/gzdlw80/). DD is far more forgiving, so you can have it handle the bass while the BAs handle the rest. Tribrids are usually DD, BA, and electrostatic (EST) drivers. EST on paper is very accurate which translates to great detail retrieval. DD for bass, BA for mids, and EST for highs. More recently we have quadbrids. Uncommon so multiple flavors. Usually begins with the tribrid, then adds bone conduction (BC), piezo (PZT), etc. All have their quirks in terms of sound, but I wonder if that's inherent to the drivers themselves or not. The outlier is planar magnetic drivers. On paper planars are extremely fast, can reproduce the entire spectrum very well. These days they're typically packaged in tribrid and quadbrid flavors. Of course there are other driver combos, but these are the most common. Now, the **cons** of each. In terms of sound? Nothing. There are fantastic IEMs for every driver configuration out there. 64Audio U12T is all-BA, Sony IER-Z1R is a hybrid, ThieAudio Monarch Mk. II is a tribrid, and ThieAudio Origin is a quadbrid. I think it has less to do with what kind of drivers and more to do with how the manufacture designed/tuned it. Also it depends on your preference of sound. In terms of fit? All BA tend to have few fit issues because the drivers are tiny. Hybrid/tribrid/quadbrids can have fitment issues due to the large DD--some of the most uncomfortable IEMs feature the DD (IER-Z1R, Monarch Series, etc.) Planars are large, too. Single DD IEMs tend not to have fitment issues, either. Price is an issue. EST and planar drivers are more expensive, and it reflects in the price. **Original post category examples:** Not a comprehensive list, just rattling off the top of my head. - neutral tuning: Etymotic ER4XR/ER4SR, Hidition NT6 - mild-V/U+V/U tuning: Sony IER-Z1R, ThieAudio Monarch Mk. III, Symphonium Crimson, UM MEST Mk. II - bassheads: Sony IER-Z1R, FatFreq Maestro SE, FatFreq Grand Maestro - trebleheads: Letshuoer S12 (I think people don't like "spicy" sounds...)

Hard disagree with the U12T. Nothing stood out with those iems to warrant the $2000 price tag.

Yea I don’t get them at all. They sounded pretty mid to me. Also most reviewers no longer consider them TOTL, but its not like that matters.

Haaard disagree on 1. The IEMs I’ve loved the most have been All-BA. U12T, Butastur, Carmen, … I wonder if you have tried the good, branded BA’s? Unbranded stuff like the Aful Cantor is very iffy IMO. But I agree on the Sennheiser stuff, I cannot understand the religious fanaticism for the HD6xx and the 800s at all.  For some reason I’ve never liked a single planar I’ve heard…

Mind blowing might be things like U12T and MEST MKIII, but for many the $100 planars will already be mind blowing imo. $100-$200 IEM with a tuning that suits you can definitely be endgame. 

I have tried both U12t and IE 900, but not the Glacier. [I have made a post about it here](https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/s/TBz9ilfcva) IE 900 has top class bass for an IEM, but it didn't impress me as much as U12t did in other areas. So, IE 900 could be an upgrade in bass, but a downgrade in everything else.

**Introduction** I attended an audio show and had the chance to listen to over 30 IEMs. Rather than going too deep on every single one, I wanted to highlight the 3 IEMs that truly impressed me and share some rapid-fire thoughts on the rest. Do note that these are my subjective impressions, and the rapid-fire takes might not convey everything. **64 Audio U12t** 64 Audio was the brand I had looked forward to the most at the show. And U12t was easily the best IEM I heard there. The first thing that caught my attention was its imaging and soundstaging, it was one of the few IEMs that gave me a true sense of holographic staging. I really liked the treble tuning, it was extended, crisp, and avoided being sibilant. The midrange was on the warmer, lusher side, with upper mids slightly recessed for my taste. I hadn’t expected the bass to sound this good coming from BAs. It was detailed, hit hard, but decayed a tad faster than typical DDs. **Softears Enigma** At first, I thought it was just another ridiculously overpriced IEM that would sound mediocre. But I was wrong, the bass quality was pretty good, better than U12t. I didn’t feel anything special about the mids, they were neither shouty nor recessed. I sensed a dip around 5-6 kHz, as I am quite sensitive to peaks there. This made vocals much smoother to listen to, but there was a lack of excitement, so vocals weren’t the strong suit of this IEM. But it was the treble that hooked me and made me want to keep listening. The treble had an 'ethereal' quality. It felt lighter, extended, refined, and more importantly, exciting. Because of this, I just kept listening and ended up staying longer than I had planned, it was that good. **64 Audio U4s** This is basically a 'baby U12t', with a dynamic driver for the bass, giving it a proper bass thump. It had all the qualities I mentioned in U12t, but the overall technical prowess was slightly lower. I am still confused whether I preferred U12t’s faster bass response or U4s meatier bass response, nevertheless it was good. The midrange had similar qualities to what I described in U12t impressions. But the treble performance was a slight downgrade compared to U12t, it was on the splashier side with touch less refinement. **Top Performers in:** **Bass** * 64 Audio Volur * Sennheiser IE 900 **Mid-range** * 64 Audio U12t/U4s * Mega5EST **Treble** * Softears Enigma * 64 Audio U12t **Rapid-fire impressions** **64 Audio Fourte** * Emphasized bass * Recessed vocals * Non-offensive treble * No wow factor * Overpriced **64 Audio Trio** * Recessed mids, but not as much as Fourte * Non-offensive treble * Third best 64 Audio IEM for me **64 Audio U18t** * Treble presentation didn’t work for me * Not as good as U12t **64 Audio Volur** * Best bass I’ve ever heard in an IEM * Treble is quite peaky **64 Audio Nio** * Darkest among the 64 Audio lineup I’ve tried * Not my preferred sound signature **64 Audio Solo** * Best planar IEM I heard at the show * Bass quality wasn’t the best compared to others * Technical performance not up to the price **ThieAudio Monarch MK3** * Chonky shell, but still comfortable to wear * Emphasized yet controlled bass * Treble was slightly peaky * No wow factor **Sony IER Z1R** * Uncomfortable to wear, lacks proper seal * Because of that, bass suffered, I had to hold it with my hands to get the best seal * Bass quality is great (not the best I’ve heard, can’t say much due to poor fit) **Sennheiser IE 900** * Vocals sounded stuffy, weird, and recessed * One of the best bass I heard at the show after 64 Audio Volur * Lacking in detail and imaging for the price **Sennheiser IE 600** * Better tonality than IE 900, especially in the upper mids * Again, not the best in technical performance **Mega5EST** * Most normal-sounding IEM I heard at the show * Quite bassy for this type of mid-range * Not the best in subjective qualities **Dunu Da Vinci** * Similar impression to Mega5EST * This type of sound signature doesn’t work well with such a bass boost **Letshuoer Cadenza 12** * Fairly neutral with a bass boost * Lacks the wow factor * Treble was slightly on the harsher side **Elysian Pilgrim** * Non-offensive sound signature * Treble is a bit forward and spicy * Lacks excitement **Softears RSV** * Bass quality was good * Vocals sounded strained * Nothing special about the treble **Softears Volume S** * Non-offensive, but somewhat shouty on some songs * Slightly peaky treble (in some songs) **Softears Studio 4** * Sounded okay (but in a good way) * Nothing particularly special **FATfreq Maestro Mini** * Driver flex * Too much bass (works well with engaging songs) * Treble not refined **FATfreq Scarlet Mini** * Driver flex * Even more bass (too much on top of the already excessive bass of Maestro Mini) **FATfreq Grand Maestro** * Didn’t felt as bassy as compared to others * Faced similar fit issues like the IER Z1R **Campfire Audio Andromeda Emerald Sea** * Warm sounding with non-offensive treble * Didn’t felt anything special about the rest **Campfire Audio Trifecta** * Very weird sounding (that’s what I wrote in the notes:) * Overpriced for what it is * But looks stunning though **Campfire Audio Astrolith** * Too much treble * Again, overpriced **Campfire Audio Solaris Stellar Horizon** * Best sounding Campfire Audio IEM in my opinion * Bass quality was good * Mids sounded recessed * Energetic treble response

Yes!! I like 64 Audio U12t and Softears Enigma. I’m not a fan of the SuperMix 4’s tuning, but I always use EQ. If you know how to EQ, it’s a great set that punches above its price.

Headphones: OG HE-6> Susvara=Utopia> Sr-009> HD580=He-500 I would say the Susvara is objectively my best headphone, but my heart still belongs to the He-6. The Sr-009 is a beast and can easily outperform any of my headphones; However, it's very recording/genre specific. IEM: EE Odin> IER-Z1R> Shure KSE-1500= Audeze LCD-i4 > 64audio u12t Fallen out from the IEM game a while ago after getting my Odin. It's still head and shoulders above anything I own and is still my go to to this day. The Z1R's bass does feel thicker than the Odin's, as well as the 1500 being more detailed than it; However as an entire package, nothing quite beats the Odin for me. P.S. I completely feel you on the LCD-4s man. Loved their sound but they were just not practical in the long run :(

I own a bunch of IEMs including several high end sets. Currently I believe the best set I own is the 64 Audio U12t, but the sets I use the most often are the SeeAudio Yume and Dunu SA6. I use those two sets the most because I often spend several hours wearing IEMs and find them comfortable and non-fatiguing. The tunings of both also align extremely well with my preferences.

The low cost iems definitely have a place in terms of providing a great tonality on an ultra low budget. I like what the truthear gate and bunny DSP bring to the audio world just as much as my u12t

I own both of them for reason beyond me. both are pretty similar except the U6T is a bit funner with a bit more bass and better vocal presentation. U12T is slightly is more relaxed with vocals and less bass. They both preform extremely well, however I would go U6T over the U12T mainly because the I personally find the tuning to be a bit more engaging.

So this one my be hard for me to answer. I have a smaller collection, so... I only have a few iems I can compare. but in general, I find most of 64A's line up to be pretty recess for the most part with the exception of the U6T. I also have the blessing dusk which I think is a more mid focused IEM, and the U6T is similar to that in terms of vocal presentation. Another thing is this as well, for vocals on my U4s and U12T the vocals are somewhat outside the head space, where as the U6T its pretty intimate almost like the singer is singing to you. For me ... the U6T is hand down my favorite IEM I own and I seldom use the other two 64A iems I own, mainly because vocals are usually what I focus on in a mix. but if you are more treble sensitive I would lean toward the U12T as that has a more refined treble response compared to the U6T.

64 Audio 12T and Campfire Andromeda is another. I'd say that even old school stuff like the Aurisonics ASG 2.5 might still be perfectly good today and Shure SE846 still has its fans.

Tarkov is also my main game. It definitely has some engine issues, but when audio does work, a good set of IEMs is essentially wall hacks. I still think it's worth it to invest in a good pair of ears for this game, especially if you ever play any Arena. For best bang for buck, I'd look at the used market if you know what sound signature you want. /r/avexchange has gotten me some great deals. I will always push for Yanyin Canon2's used because for <$200 USD you get yourself a comfortable IEM in a relatively compact size with a decent nozzle width. Sonically, it has a decent soundstage and imaging/separation, with enough bass to emphasize footsteps. If you were buying new, the Xenns Tea Pros are quite good. They're a step up in imaging and sound separation. I can't give an apples-to-apples since I haven't used the Tea Pros on anything but my RU7 DAC which artificially create a wider soundstage, but individual audio elements "stand out" fantastically with this set. I'm not sure if it's the RU7, but the vertical imaging on these is exceptionally good, better than the Canon2's. If I had bought these earlier, I may have stopped here and not gotten anything else. My personal go-to (if any budget is truly any budget) are either 64 Audio Volurs or U12T (depending on my mood). The holographic imaging on these is end-game. They're also relatively light and a small package so they fit very comfortably (although truth be told, I prefer the fit of the Canon2's). The Volurs have more bass impact but the U12Ts have more dynamic and tight bass.

U12t and utws5

All these years and u12t is still the top choice of many people. I'm enjoying mine with ibasso dx340.

I've been with my u12t for a bit over 2 months and still love it. But as this is more like a reference sound IEM which is best at nothing, I want to explore some more specific IEMs for specific realms. The first one I'm targeting is instruments. The sounds I listen to the most are classical, female vocals (pop), and EDM. I'm looking for one with a bigger soundstage, good instrument separation and clarity, and relatively good bass (u12t's good is good enough for me). After a week of searching, only Glacier and IE900 are left in my list, and they both seem to be very good candidates for an instrument IEM. I really want to hear what you guys think about them. I know sounds are a super subjective matter, but as it is so hard to try out these earbuds, I would still like to collect as much feedback as I could before I buy and try (and maybe return). Thanks! (I'm relatively new to iem world and still exploring, so bear with my wording :D) Edit: Reporting back, I've got them! https://preview.redd.it/gn19bs151gve1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=658ed6146df4ffe1ec49cd6ec011198bbccd4b3a I've spent the whole morning with them, these are the things I've noticed: 1. When the sound choice is right (classic, EDM, or anything big band), the soundstage is crazy and the immersion feeling is insane. I've been wondering how they can achieve something like this with such a tiny little thing. 2. Bass is definitely slamming, the best bass I've heard on an IEM. 3. Speaking of the word "tiny little," it is not that tiny, actually quite big compared to my u12t. However, it has such good ergonomic design that it fits right away with my first attempt, no further adjustment needed. 4. The resolution and transparency are not on the same level as u12t and that's expected. I'll still go for u12t if I want crisp and clear sound. In summary, this is a hot and sexy IEM. I'm very satisfied! Thanks for all the suggestions here :)

Can get pristine condition u12t around that range

at $ 1500 to upper. the deliminish return increase. Personal taste will kick in. this iem dont apex which kick me out for personal taste, i would get used u12t/trio .....