Nathan East N8 Signature In Ear Monitors - 64 Audio

[Dood]

 

https://www.64audio.com/product/N8-Custom-In-Ear-Monitor?utm_source=Master+List+2017&utm_campaign=e59ee4a1e4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_06_20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_92d9aeebd2-e59ee4a1e4-253550441&mc_cid=e59ee4a1e4&mc_eid=08c97e6150

Nathan East Signature In Ear Monitors? Oooooh Sounds pretty exciting to me! I feel very lucky to be a 64 Audio artist myself and love my A8 models that I’ve been using pretty much every week since I got them!

oh, @EBS_freak and @tonyf get the props for introducing me to The Custom IEM Company as well as suggesting I try out the 64’s. Highly recommended.

[Dood]

 

[EBS_freak]

Hey @dood - I've been watching the news of the n8t since it's announcement at NAMM earlier in the year and stalking the opinions that are on headfi. I'm a bit apprehensive about it all to be honest. There definitely seems to be a trend to jump onto the hybrid (dynamic plus balanced armature) bandwagon at the moment. For example, UE with their new flagship, UE Live, JH with Lola, N8t and even ZT are in on it. I would be surprised if the introduction of the N8t wasn't a direct move from 64 to cater for a market - the hybrid IEM fan. Nathan East was consulted to help develop this IEM... but less of a noise was made by JH - they did exactly the same product development with Slash to get Lola to market. And of course, now UE Live - which is getting a very interesting reception (in that it's both amazing and not amazing depending upon your viewpoint!)

Am I a hybrid fan? I'm not really sure. The Lola has certainly got a different voicing to it... and it's Jerry's earpiece of choice. Unlike everybody else though, he's used the dynamic for the mids, not the lows. I've not yet heard the N8t or the UE Live but they are both IEMs I am certainly interested - especially since the loss of my Roxannes. Will my next be hybrid? I dunno. My current list is looking rather Roxanne and 12t centric. I'm prepared to spend the cash as they are such a central part to my enjoyment. Why not the Layla or the 18t? Well, the Layla is a bit sterile for me... and the 18t impedance is not great for use with wireless packs. What I do know, whatever I do choose won't be opaque -those carbon fibre ports were a git to clean - you could never see if anything was in there!

Oh - and 64 - it's not the first artist IEM... I know at least of one other manufacturer that released a signature IEM in conjunction with a named artist. ACS and their George Martin reference IEM.

Edited June 21, 2018 by EBS_freak

[EBS_freak]

I've just realised that they've killed off their 2 top, 2 mid, 4 bass A8 piece. (I suspected it may have been for the chop when they didn't put the tia in it). Aw man. No way, that was a peach of an IEM.

[EBS_freak]

oo-er - @dood - I've just spotted something that I really don't like in the specs. I've emailed 64 about it because it could be a bit of a humdinger for them! Let me see if you can work out what it is.

As I say, I don't know if it's an issue or not - hence why I've not written anything up here... but I'm interested to read their response.

PM if you can't figure it out.

[Dood]

11 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

I've just realised that they've killed off their 2 top, 2 mid, 4 bass A8 piece. (I suspected it may have been for the chop when they didn't put the tia in it). Aw man. No way, that was a peach of an IEM.

I hadn't spotted that the A8's have gone! Glad I have mine when I had the chance!

[Dood]

1 minute ago, EBS_freak said:

oo-er - @dood - I've just spotted something that I really don't like in the specs. I've emailed 64 about it because it could be a bit of a humdinger for them! Let me see if you can work out what it is.

As I say, I don't know if it's an issue or not - hence why I've not written anything up here... but I'm interested to read their response.

PM if you can't figure it out.

In the video you mean?

[EBS_freak]

 

1 minute ago, dood said:

I hadn't spotted that the A8's have gone! Glad I have mine when I had the chance!

Yeah, I'm surprised that they have taken the A8s away - the N8s appear to be more of a relative to the 12t than what was the 8, in both frequency response and driver count (quad low switched out for single dynamic). I know dynamics produce a lot of bass but certainly not as much as quad balanced armature setup. The hyped bottom end of the V8 and A8 seems to be now a thing of a past... (cue all bass junkies sobbing)

 

Just now, dood said:

In the video you mean?

No - in the actual technical specs of the IEM.

[Dood]

3 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

 

... (cue all bass junkies sobbing)

 

No - in the actual technical specs of the IEM.

They certainly do deliver cinema levels of surrounding low end, that I agree!

Well, I've been off sick this week and my head probably isn't seeing it, but I picked out the 6Ohm impedance, which seems ridiculously low for any IEM. Though off the top of my head, I'm not sure that will be a problem for low powered devices running from batteries. Nah, you got me!

[EBS_freak]

Just now, dood said:

They certainly do deliver cinema levels of surrounding low end, that I agree!

Well, I've been off sick this week and my head probably isn't seeing it, but I picked out the 6Ohm impedance, which seems ridiculously low for any IEM. Though off the top of my head, I'm not sure that will be a problem for low powered devices running from batteries. Nah, you got me!

6 Ohm indeed - so looking at the specs on my Shure P9RA receivers... minimum impedance for those is 9.5....  Given that the Shure is the standard IEM system in the US, that doesn't seem to have been the smartest move. I'm seeing what 64 come back with.

Sorry if that causes the N8 to be pulled for a while 😕

[Dood]

1 minute ago, EBS_freak said:

6 Ohm indeed - so looking at the specs on my Shure P9RA receivers... minimum impedance for those is 9.5....  Given that the Shure is the standard IEM system in the US, that doesn't seem to have been the smartest move. I'm seeing what 64 come back with.

Sorry if that causes the N8 to be pulled for a while 😕

Oh right, I hadn't spotted a minimum impedance on my own devices (errr, maybe I should look ha ha) but that could prove to be a bit of a confusion point for many a consumer who won't wanna risk damaging their arm and a leg priced IEMs. Hmmm! 

[EBS_freak]

Minimum impedance is not readily available in the specs. Haven't found any for Lectrosonics or Sennheiser... but the fact it's stated in the Shure one is a worry. With regards to the IEMs, it shouldn't cause them too much of an issue (although it could proper play havoc with the impedance curves)... but I wouldn't be happy if the wireless pack suddenly gave up because it wasn't presented with a large enough load on the output. The 18ts are also very low impedance. I'm not sure why they seem to be getting these impedances so low either - audiophiles generally go for higher impedance units with separate headphones amps...?

I'll let you know if and when they respond!

[Dood]

4 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Minimum impedance is not readily available in the specs. Haven't found any for Lectrosonics or Sennheiser... but the fact it's stated in the Shure one is a worry. With regards to the IEMs, it shouldn't cause them too much of an issue (although it could proper play havoc with the impedance curves)... but I wouldn't be happy if the wireless pack suddenly gave up because it wasn't presented with a large enough load on the output. The 18ts are also very low impedance. I'm not sure why they seem to be getting these impedances so low either - audiophiles generally go for higher impedance units with separate headphones amps...?

I'll let you know if and when they respond!

Yes let me know!

In terms of my basic understanding of electronics (I have forgotten way more than I remember these days) most off the shelf headphone driver op-amps are capable of driving down to very low impedances. I'm not sure what Shure would use in their kit, but I can't imagine it was anything proprietary for the job of driving headphones. Maybe the 9 Ohms thing is just precaution?

[EBS_freak]

Hey @dood - response already -

>>>>

I totally understand your consent, and I’ve also asked those same questions. 

One thing that I can tell you is that other in ear monitors only display their impedance at 1khz, so the iem could have a drastically different impedance at other portions of the spectrum (sometimes much lower impedance than what’s measured at 1k). The N8 is built with our Linear Impedance Design technology so that the impedance posted is linear across the whole spectrum. 

Another thing that can give you a bit more confidence is that we test our in ears on all industry standard equipment (Shure’s PSM gear is definitely one of the units tested). 

One thing that you could do, if you’re ever nervous about this issue, is have an impedance adapter plug to add some resistance between the iem and the amp. The great thing about changing the impedance between the amp and the iem is that it will not change the frequency response because of the LID technology, whereas changing the impedance while using any other type of iem (A18t & A2e are the only 64 iems that don’t at this point) would change the frequency response according to its impedance curve.
 

<<<<

 

So I knew that the impedance drops significantly during use but still quite surprised at how low the impedance of the N8 is - I can't actually recall seeing one that low, ever! But I think the above answer is fairly to the point.

Also, what I've said about impedance curves seems a bit null and void given their LID tech... which to be honest, I must read some more into because I don't know much about it. I know what it does - but don't know how - and I haven't pondered on it... yet!
 

[64 Audio]

Hi All,

We've caught wind of this discussion and wanted to chime in a bit more "officially". First off, we're thrilled about the enthusiasm and the discussion here regarding our latest model, the N8. Keep it coming and we'll do our best to chime in as-needed.

The response above is accurate. We wanted to provide a bit more context:

Often times the recommended minimum impedance is stated for damping factor reasons, frequency response reasons, or as a precaution. Whatever the case may be for why Shure stated 9 ohms in its specs, the results of the tests we conducted show otherwise. We have tested the N8 with both the Shure P9RA and the Sennheiser G3 EK 300. Both body packs drive the iem well with no problems. The output impedance of both packs is on the lower side so they are able to provide MORE than enough juice should you choose. Neither of the packs presented any "cutting-out" or went into any over-current protection modes, etc... We were impressed, so we decided to try an artificial 4 ohm load as well. The results were the same. Both packs remained stable and were able to drive the 4 ohm load with no problem. The THD stayed low at an impressive 0.01% on the Sennheiser and 0.04% on the Shure. The voltage across the load was 1.9 on the Sennheiser and 1.55 on the Shure.

Driving the N8 "as is" with either of those two body packs should not be a problem based on our tests.

Also, we beta tested the N8s over the last few months with a number of people (including Nathan East himself) and there were no reports of any issues related to driving the iem with any of their amps, phones, body packs, and other devices.

We're all ears so please keep the feedback and questions coming!

[EBS_freak]

12 hours ago, 64 Audio said:

Hi All,

We've caught wind of this discussion and wanted to chime in a bit more "officially". First off, we're thrilled about the enthusiasm and the discussion here regarding our latest model, the N8. Keep it coming and we'll do our best to chime in as-needed.

The response above is accurate. We wanted to provide a bit more context:

Often times the recommended minimum impedance is stated for damping factor reasons, frequency response reasons, or as a precaution. Whatever the case may be for why Shure stated 9 ohms in its specs, the results of the tests we conducted show otherwise. We have tested the N8 with both the Shure P9RA and the Sennheiser G3 EK 300. Both body packs drive the iem well with no problems. The output impedance of both packs is on the lower side so they are able to provide MORE than enough juice should you choose. Neither of the packs presented any "cutting-out" or went into any over-current protection modes, etc... We were impressed, so we decided to try an artificial 4 ohm load as well. The results were the same. Both packs remained stable and were able to drive the 4 ohm load with no problem. The THD stayed low at an impressive 0.01% on the Sennheiser and 0.04% on the Shure. The voltage across the load was 1.9 on the Sennheiser and 1.55 on the Shure.

Driving the N8 "as is" with either of those two body packs should not be a problem based on our tests.

Also, we beta tested the N8s over the last few months with a number of people (including Nathan East himself) and there were no reports of any issues related to driving the iem with any of their amps, phones, body packs, and other devices.

We're all ears so please keep the feedback and questions coming!

Hey 64 - amazing to see you guys on here... there’s not many manufacturers around these parts so it’s great that you’ve joined up.

I’ve got a few extra Qs here regards to your IEMs if that’s cool?

Is the 18t suitable for stage use given its audio signature, impedance (what you’ve just stated seems to suggest it would be?) - and physically how big is a custom 18t compared to say, a 12t or a N8? I’ve not seen a completed 18t in custom form in the flesh so have no idea how snug to the ear that it would typically fit. I notice that it’s not included on the stage section of your website - is there any particular reason for this?

Which has the biggest bass response between the 12t and the n8? My brain tells me that it should be the 12t by a small margin - but I’ve not heard the n8 compared to the 12t... yet.

I know the 18t is meant to be flat response - but all things being equal - is the headroom in the lows equal or greater than the 12ts or the n8?

And finally - I understand that there is an orange apex module. If this is used, what happens to the sound signature? I’m thinking that the bass response in the earpiece should increase - but at the expense of a wider soundstage? What else could I expect? Obviously I would lose the normal functionality of the Apex... and gain greater isolation...

 

Edited June 26, 2018 by EBS_freak

[64 Audio]

EBS_freak, great questions. We're at the Summer NAMM show this week, so please give us a bit of time to respond.

[EBS_freak]

20 minutes ago, 64 Audio said:

EBS_freak, great questions. We're at the Summer NAMM show this week, so please give us a bit of time to respond.

@64 Audio have a good show!

Looking forward to your answers, I’m buying a set of IEMs imminently and these are very much burning questions for me! I’m pretty familiar with the rest of your range (I help Paul from CIEM co) out at the shows - but these particular pieces, I’ve got very little hands on or ear time with them!

 

[Dood]

1 hour ago, 64 Audio said:

EBS_freak, great questions. We're at the Summer NAMM show this week, so please give us a bit of time to respond.

 

36 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

@64 Audio have a good show!

Looking forward to your answers, I’m buying a set of IEMs imminently and these are very much burning questions for me! I’m pretty familiar with the rest of your range (I help Paul from CIEM co) out at the shows - but these particular pieces, I’ve got very little hands on or ear time with them!

 

I had a message back from Brittany @64 recently who had suggested that demo models should be making their way over to our UK outlets, so maybe Paul at CIEM co will be getting some in soon? I'd definitely fancy the trek down just to hear them, even if my A8 are causing me much joy every time I slip them on! 

@64 Audio, indeed have a great show and I'll be responding to your email soon, thank you. Dood, a happy 64 Artist!

[EBS_freak]

OK - so I got LID figured out. @64 Audio -another question for you - can we expect a NAMM announcement that LID is going to be in the 18t very soon?!

[mrquestions1982]

EBS_freak post on june 28, this is last post? 

64audio no come back?

look forwards discussion continue...

[Dood]

@64 Audio tagged.

[EBS_freak]

Too late for me, I already went with the 12ts that were more to my taste than the n8ts. Much preferred the timbre in the bass on the former - not to say that one is better than the other, just personal taste.