Review: 64 Audio ADEL U12 – Smooth Criminal

FIT

They have a pretty small housing compared to other 12 driver universals. I must say, the fit is very satisfying. The seal is tight enough to make you feel comfortable moving around, isolation is very well for this type of Universal IEM’s. Nozzles are quite long and they’re angled perfectly to assure a good fit. They are very comfy particularly with the supplied comply foams. Altough I don’t like memory wire, they’re also very comfortable and soft, which is welcoming.

For TOTL Universal IEM’s, it’s though to find a good fitting pair, because of the number of drivers and technology placed inside. Most of them are bulky, hard to seal, or uncomfortable, and that’s a big reason for some people to just go with CIEM’s. On the other hand, this pair from 64 Audio fit my ears perfectly.

It gave me the best experience on this matter compared to my JH Angie’s. Noble K10 and Savant, FitEar TG334, UM Maverick, JH Rosie: All of those units fall short in terms of fit, when compared to U12. Congratulations for that.

SOUND

U12 utilizes 12 drivers, as it can be seen in its name, and 3 crossover networks. The sound is delivered by 4 bores inside the nozzle. This is the U12 with the S1 module.

Before U12, I have listened to the JH Layla and Roxanne and they are two other 12-driver IEM’s I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. At this point I’m more than aware that driver count doesn’t reflect the real sound quality in an IEM.

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The U12 is a musical IEM no matter how you look at it. It’s like a small HD650 of some sorts, a joy to listen and it gives comfort to the listener for long periods of time and that is also what 64 Audio claims. So I can say that they have accomplished what they intended to do with ADEL.

It’s not technically that impressive but it has a unique tonality and sounds warm and organic most of the time. A little dark, veiled and not very detailed or not technically superior to others. It’s a soft and smooth sounding IEM with good stage width, separation and control.

FFREQUENCY PERFORMANCE

Let’s start with lows. Bass is not very deep and it doesn’t have an authority like some bassier IEM’s have but it’s surprisingly tight and has good body. It hits well when it needs to, not very hard, but not soft either. It can’t go very deep though and produces more mid bass than sub bass but it has very good texture. Lows have a good attack and although they sometimes sound muddy and blend into the mids (not very often). Decay is quite good as well. Moreover, impact feels natural and the tidiness of the lows is excellent.

Unlike some other balance armature IEM’s, you don’t feel a deficiency about low freq’s with U12. It’s a true sounding bass in my opinion. Because at some songs it gives you the impression of “it doesn’t have a strong bass, mostly flat”, but when you start a song like “Break of Dawn” from MJ’s Invincibe album, you can clearly hear a pretty tight and sufficiently strong bass. It never goes over the limit, stays there and lets the recording show itself, which is an honest sound presentation in my book.

So one can definitely say that the U12 produces quite powerful lows when needed. By saying powerful, I don’t mean a basshead type of power. Bassheads won’t be satisfied with the slam and rumble but other people will find it just fine. You can capture the lowest parts of the instruments pretty well. It has a good extension on that regard, and good separation from the whole spectrum as well.

Sometimes it remains slow with music that requires a speedy low end. And one other problem I can mention is that depending on the recording, the bass can be a little muddy and can blend into lower mids.

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Getting into the mids, I didn’t find them very impressive for the price. Sure, given the IEM’s musicality, it continues to give you that soft and smooth feeling whole the time, but it lacks the energy you require with some genres.

It would be much nicer if they could make the mids more open, energetic and airy. Tonality is different with U12 from most others, since it gives you a deep tone. It hails you with thick notes with vocals and instruments. Altough vocals are very nice and enjoyable, some instruments need more airness and timbre, which can be a decisive part that defines many equipment to be natural or artifical.

Instruments don’t have a great extension and timbre. This is critical for Jazz listeners for example, for the fact that you need a natural sound with a sax for instance. With U12, it comes to yours ears like an artifical electronic recording. Maybe this has something to do with their ADEL Technology, or with the IEM’s different tonality. Either way, it’s a bit too soft and feels wrong in some cases. It’s almost like you’re sitting and listening to your music behind three veils. You want to open those veils sometimes, but you can’t. I think the guys at 64 Audio put in a great effort to make this IEM very smooth and organic, but at the same time it gives away some air and timbre. Of course, every design has trade offs. You have to decide what direction you are going and you can’t have everything at once.

Vocally strong music like Melody Gardot, also suffers from those veils. Her voice doesn’t hit as high as you’re familiar with her recordings. She sings with a deep and low tone usually. With the U12, it feels even more like low and veiled, you want to reach her but she’s behind some curtains. This thing is also noticeable with a singer like Diana Krall.

This thickness can bore the listener who wants a dynamic and energetic sound. Aside from this “veil thing”, tonality on vocals mostly gives a lush and rich feeling. The mid presentation on this IEM shares some similarities with the legend HD650. It was also thick and dark, veiled, and rich. So I can say that if you are a fan of HD650, you can be very happy with the U12 too. If you prefer a more bright and reference presentation, you should look elsewhere.

Treble detail and a lot more on sound can be found on Page 3, after the click

4/5 - (41 votes)
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A keen audiophile and hobby photographer, Berkhan is after absolute perfection. Whether it is a full-frame camera or a custom in-ear, his standpoint persists. He tries to keep his photography enthusiasm at the same level as audio. Sometimes photography wins, sometimes his love for music takes over and he puts that camera aside. Simplistic expressions of sound in his reviews are the way to go for him. He enjoys a fine single malt along with his favourite Jazz recordings.

13 Comments

  • Reply July 21, 2016

    johnpap35

    Good and detailed review,was interested in this iem but warm and technicaly behind the rest of the pack no matter how musical and smooth is a no.No point in testing ZX2 in stock form,the sound is noticeably warm,veiled and treble is lacking detail despite musical signature.The only way to seriously test ZX2 is with TRRS plug and disabling sound adjustment in the all app menu.Have yet to find such review with other high end daps although admittedly not fault of the reviewers,sony being sony again.

    • Reply July 21, 2016

      Lieven

      It’s simply impossible to get sony review samples :/

      • Reply July 21, 2016

        johnpap35

        I understand that,Sony is a big company and a bit arrogant like apple,you need us we don’t need you kind of mentality which is a shame because ZX2 is a wonderful sounding device with the longest battery in all high end daps.I prefer my ZX2 with TRRS and SE846 than all my other daps,dacs including chord mojo.

        • Reply July 21, 2016

          Berkhan

          Does TRRS really make such a difference? ZX2 has been in my possesion over a year and I’ve never tested with a TRRS plug. Btw, I know how to disable sound adjustment app. It gives the pure sound of the device but sometimes I need some EQ.

  • Reply July 21, 2016

    johnpap35

    Yes,once you do the rest like burn in of 200h so capacitors to settle in,use the TRRS plug which gives a cleaner/blacker backround,increases treble sharpness and instrument separation and disable sound enhancement in all apps menu(no clear bass or eq sorry)then Sony begins sounding like the $1200 device it is.This is the most accurate review of ZX2 by Whitigir of headfi and i agree since i have both of units tested.

    http://www.head-fi.org/products/chord-mojo/reviews/14960

  • Reply July 21, 2016

    johnpap35

    TRRS provides cleaner/blacker backround,increases treble detail,instrument separation and dynamics as long as you disable sound adjustment(no clear bass,or eq sorry) then ZX2 sounds like a $1200 device.Most accurate review yet

    http://www.head-fi.org/products/chord-mojo/reviews/14960

    • Reply July 22, 2016

      Berkhan

      Thanks for the info. I’ll check it out.

  • Reply July 22, 2016

    Ahmet Er

    Thanks for the review Berkhan my friend.
    U12; Warm and soft with a signature.
    There are high frequency roll-off and elongation lack.
    For lovers of soft and warm presentation, U12 is a good option.

    • Reply July 22, 2016

      Berkhan

      Thank you my friend. I hope you enjoyed it.

  • Reply July 31, 2016

    Richard Fitzwell

    My A12s are great and I have been using them for both listening to music and while I play. I credit the Adel modules by Asius Technologies, who manufactured the component. I heard of them before and checked out the musicians who they deal with – top notch.

  • Reply December 1, 2017

    David

    Great review, thank you.
    Could you please review 64 Audio U10 as well if possible?
    thank you!

  • Reply August 31, 2020

    Yue

    I owned two sets of 64 Audio U12 their tremble and mid-range are different. So I assume that there were actually two versions/generations of U12. V1 is ADEL era, with “ADEL” printed on one faceplate, and “64 Audio” printed on the other faceplate. V2 is doesn’t have “ADEL” on the faceplate, both faceplates printed with “64 Audio”

    V2’s highs are more intimate, direct, more sparkles. V1’s highs are more veiled, distant, analog, rounded off. V1’s mids and lows have more resonance and more beefy. V2’s mids and lows are cleaner, more linear, more pleasant.

    • Reply September 11, 2020

      Berkhan

      Thank you for sharing the info.

      It was surprising to see a comment under my first ever HFN review!

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