64 Audio - Volür

It goes to show you how different people's ears are. I've owned or borrowed (for a week) most of these & I own a couple as the rest didn't do if for me. My opinions on a few that really stand out - The 64 Audio Volur were a huge disappointment for me. And the bass really isn't very special to my ears. It was lacking in both quality & quantity. I typically hate all BA bass, but I've chosen the U12T over them (which were a rare blind but & got sold extremely quickly). The Campfire Astrolith are one of the very few IEMs that I believe are actually worth spending that kind of money on... I don't find the treble an issue at all. I was given the option to borrow a demo pair for a week & within 10 minutes of using the demo pair I'd transfered the funds to purchase. It was the quickest IEM decision I've ever made alongside the Prestige Ltd. The Sony IER-Z1R are by a very, very long way biggest selling high end IEM of all time & for very good reason - they are incredible and can do blow for blow (and usually win - at worst, a draw) with any $4000 bass centric set. You need to gets to use the right tips (the Sony Triple Comfort tips that are one of two kinds they are boxed with & hook them to your ears properly with cables that will allow for it - reinforced in the few inches leading up to the MMCX cable or something a generally a bit stronger). The comfort issues are a common complaint, but they are mostly unwarranted. It's a little bit like learning to tiw your shoelaces, but with 90% less time & effort once you understand how. You certainly wouldn't be putting them above the Volur for bass & I think that's objective rather than subjective. Unless you can find someone who seems proven to have very similar tastes to you in things you have tried in terms of both likes & dislikes of several sets... I wouldn't take their opinion very seriously as it's unlikely you will have a similar experience.

64Audio Volur is probably the best all around IEM, not as detailed like Shure KSE1200/1500 but those are ES and not rly sure if you can consider that to be an IEM, it's whole system you need to use with an amp

ok, well, any budget? monarch mkIII plenty good enough. 64 audio u6t is also fantastic and I would take it over monarch. 64 audio trio and volur are both fantastic for gaming so just pick whichever tuning you like more for music. Vision ears ve10 is even more expensive but absolutely nutty. Empire ears raven isn't as good as ve10 for gaming but more fun. AME raven is like god tier for gaming but I dont like the tuning. :)

**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

Moondrop Variations for me. Sounded lifeless, wierd, grainny and compressed. I had very high expectations before hearing them, both my friend and I found them to be absolutely horrible. Used multiple tips and that didn't change a thing. I also didn't like 64 Audio Volur when I heard em, sounded peaky and brittle. Thieaudio Monarch MK3, CA Trifecta, Hidizs MP145, Letshuoer S15 and Truthear Nova on the other hand were amazing. To each his own, It's all about the music library, tastes and ear anatomy.

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.