Welcome to Linus’ new series on Headfonia.com! Every two weeks we will publish an interview with an insider of the audio industry. They will give us a little insight on how they started and what they are up to. We are thrilled to be able to share a little something with all of you.
Please give a round of applause for Vitaliy Belonozhko – CEO and founder of 64 Audio!
HFN: When was 64 Audio founded? How did it all start?
VB: I founded 1964 Ears (which later became 64 Audio) on July 16th of 2010. It started about 2 years prior, when I wanted to build 1 set of IEMs for my dear wife Anastasia.
HFN: Who are the people behind 64 and what are their backgrounds?
VB:The main people behind 64Audio is the four Belonozhko brothers, who are all musicians and sound engineers. (Names are: Vitaliy, Roman, Vlad and Bogdan). Their background is in professional live music production and stage performing.
HFN: What was it that got you into audio?
VB: Ever since I immigrated to the US (1992) I was fascinated with electronics and music. At the age of 14 I was building my own musical instruments and taught myself how to play the synthesizer. Years later, I started to use IEMs on stage and from that time and on was hooked on the technology.
HFN: What is driving 64 Audio?
VB: We are driven by excellence and the desire to be a respected brand first in the pro-audio market as well as high-end audiophile markets.
HFN: What are the influences of 64?
VB: 64 Audio is influenced by the vibe of soulful and vintage sounds of the 60’s and 70’s presented through the most modern earphone technologies of today.
HFN: You also supply CIEMs for professional musician like Seal or Beyoncé, that must be really interesting, do your artists play a role when tuning your monitors?
VB: Yes, of course! We try to design products with the most demanding and discerning ears in mind. While audio quality can be subjective, we aim to design a sound that the artist can connect with emotionally.
HFN: Are you aiming for specific signatures in your products?
VB: Yes, we have a particular sound in mind even before we hook up the first driver when designing new products.
HFN: You did develop two major technologies, APEX and TIA, how did that happen?
VB: APEX was our answer to making IEMs feel and sound more comfortable to the user. TIA was a much harder technology to design and implement because of the completely new approach to how drivers behave in an earphone. Going tubeless allowed us to extend the response of the highs as well as get rid of “nasty” tube resonances in the upper mid-range.
HFN: TIA drivers are exclusivley used for treble and mids, are there any possibilities to tune them for bass as well? how would that sound turn out to be?
VB: Interestingly, we already use TIA in the low driver as well. The rich bass of the Fourte is partly the result of the tubeless low driver.
HFN: Is there any technology or idea from one of your competitors that you wish you‘d have thought of? If so, what is it?
VB: This is a harder question to answer, but there is nothing 64 Audio cannot achieve 🙂
HFN: What was the most difficult iem to design for you?
VB: The Tia Fourte… because of its radically different design.
HFN: What was the weirdest request a customer came to you with?
VB: To make one of our IEMs sound Lo-Fi on purpose…
HFN: Is there any other field in audio you‘d like to explore?
VB: Microphones and Studio Gear…
HFN: What is your personal favourite DAP? Headphone? Earphone?
VB: Currently the DAP is a Sony NW-WM1Z player. Headphone is a Rinaro Isodynamic set. Earphone… well, the A18 🙂
HFN: HFN’s staff mainly comes from Europe, what are your plans for the EU audiophiles?
VB: Yes, we do have plans to expand more in the EU with some pro-sumer products.
HFN: Are there any future products you can already talk about? If so, do you already have a rough timefrime when we can see them on the market?
VB: There is a brand new pro-audio product that will be released in mid July at a trade show in the US. Stay tuned 🙂
Thank you Vitaliy for being on this series, we wish you the best of luck for 64’s future! We are looking forward to more coming from 64 Audio.
64 Audio is celebrating their 7th birthday on July 16th with a very special promotion. Until July 17th both M15 and M20 modules will be automatically included with your CIEM order, and it doesn’t stop there: on top of that you will also get a free cable with microphone, all in a total value of 150$ for free.
