shotgunshane’s IEM (custom and universal) recommendations, favorites and classics

Left side just got really wonky and sounded like crap all of a sudden. Pulled the imaging far to the right and really killed the zen of the Kaisers. It actually happened right after one of the SoCal CanJams, and I had my K10's around my neck as I was trying a whole bunch of things. Could have been something dripped down into them just wrong as I was drinking or such. Don't know. The Wizard and crew said the moisture had damaged the dampers in the left unit, and they had to take it apart and replace them. Hardest part of it all was being without my K10s (which were my reference IEMs back then) for a few weeks as they made the trip across the Pacific and back. Cheers

 

Reasearching this I see that there is a pair of Pinnacle 1 for sale in the FS section. Seems like that might be a step in the right direction or is it more of a side grade ? It seems you and SGS like these quite bit or have they fallen out of favor?

 

Sorry, I haven't heard the P1 yet. SGS and I have heard lots of the same iems, perhaps you were thinking of the Ibasso it03? I really like that iem, a lot. I think it is well worth the money (if not more), a rarity it seems.

 

Yikes! All this talk about BAs being degraded by moisture makes me glad that I live in the desert. Although condensation still appears on my IEMs' nozzles after protracted use, due to biology conspiring with physics. Fingers crossed that it never becomes an issue, I suppose.

 

Dry them off, check for wax build up (gross but happens, and be sure to use the right tool to clean them out if needed - it's a small brush with a small loop of wire on the other end - used for hearing aids) and putting them in a sealed box (e.g. Pelican case) with dessicant periodically helps as well. Cheers

 

@mscott58: Thankfully, I already do that stuff. But it's great advice!

 

Thanks and glad to hear you're already practicing safe IEMing!

 

Good tips. Will practice the safe ieming.

 

And here's what the brush looks like for anyone who doesn't know (more for reference at this point for people reading this thread later). Be careful when using the brush (and also the loop) not to push the yummy wax further into the holes in your IEM/CIEM.



Cheers

 

Sarcasm. Look it up. Learned it from my pre-teen daughter...

 

The Pinnacles are pretty decent IEMs for the price. To my ears they have only two minor weaknesses, one being a bit of subbass roll-off and the other a 10kHz spike that makes cymbals sound a tad thin. But overall still worth a recommendation, if you're not too picky about the mentioned issues.

 

Basically, any IEM driver inside a tiny metal enclosure may (temporarily) fail on you due to moisture condensation. This typically includes BAs, but isn't limited to them. For instance, some people encountered similar issues with the 6mm dynamic microdrivers in the Zero Audio Tenore and Yamaha EPH100.

 

Just out of curiosity, how about single large DD iem such as JVC FX series?

 

It quite depends. My MG6pro is as mentioned about 4 years old, and the HJE900s are even older (5? 6?) and the first thing that dies is always the cable. It's replaceable on both, but the drivers themselves are ok (although my HJE900 housing split...)

 

I personally have never heard of a moisture condensation issue with larger DD drivers.

As I understand it, BAs and microdrivers need to be inside an enclosure with rather small outlet, to achieve the desired sound pressure (take a look at these examples of a BA and microdriver). These enclosures can be prone to moisture condensation and a drop in gain as a result. Larger DD drivers are able to deliver higher sound pressure without that kind of design, so I reckon that's the reason why they're less prone to condensation issues.

I'm not a technician though, so take this explanation with a grain of salt.

 

Understood. Thank you

 

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I have a problem with things that are to harsh for my liking, (and I have read that these might be pretty harsh - found your comparison with the Sony MH1) although I do really like my Phonaks and those are pretty "lit up", so hard to say. I do love how they look though.

 

Follow-up. I received the cables and the EX1000 connectors are very poorly made and do not fit properly requiring excessive force to get the threads started. He said this was normal. I say not. The width of the terminal contacts on the Sony is 0.870 inches and the width of the terminal contacts on his connectors is 0.935 inches. They are simply too big.