Universal Alternatives to UERM...

Hello folks.

So, you know how the 3D scanning for ears technology is out and people don't do molds anymore? I don't know where to get it, none around here. I also want some resale value for my purchases (have an accountant father all my life). And I wanf to be able to let others (my wife or my brother or parents or friends) to try it as well.

So my question is, given how celebrated the UERMs are on here (and CS) by the Pyrate Wizards, what are some alternatives that are universal and allow tip rolling. Please keep this about universals only, NOT about CIEM opinions or why and where to get one, etc.

My current daily is the SE535 by Shure, and I also use the black SE215 and the blue SE215LE, as well as the RHA MA750.

Thank you!

 

+1 on No One's recommendation. I have Noble PR, which I use mostly on R setting, but they are no longer available on the Noble website. I haven't heard the Savant, which has great word-of-mouth, but I have heard the universal 4, and if you like the UERM sound I think you will like the 4.

 

I did have a demo of the Noble 4U, and while the mids were nice and forward, the treble was well articulated and detailed, the bass was... well, they were very neutral and not present at all. Very little rumble and detail.

I have never heard the UERM. Noble 4U was my first main candidate. I'm having doubts about it now.

 

Here are the universals that are really good for me, one thing they all have in common, coherence.

1) FAD Lab 1, Airy and sparkly highs yet thick and liquid in the mids. Not very bassy, a little dark.
2) Fitear TG334!. Best mids in the industry, most likely to make non-audiophiles go WTF
3) Rhines Stage 4, if you're looking for neutral, go for these, they usually ogger them in customs, but you can request in universal. Best part, if you're not based in Europe, you get 20% off due to VAT exclusive.

 

If you thought the 4U was lacking bass you'll feel the same way about the UERM.
My vote is to keep the 535. Nothing else has convinced me to give them up as my go-to universal. BA tech isn't exactly going places.

 

I'll go off the usual suspects and recommend the sony ex1000. Yes, It has a 7khz thing, but I found it well worth hearing.
And not bass anemic, nor bloated.

 

At the risk of repetition, I'll mention again that I didn't find the Noble 4 to sound anything like my UERM. I haven't really found anything else that does, either, though I'm not a big consumer of universals since getting my customs.

 

I would say, though, that if someone found the Noble 4 to lack bass, then the UERM is probably not the best earphone to have as a standard as well.

That's why I'm suggesting a dynamic driver iem to have that air-moving feel, particularly in the lower frequencies, but everywhere, really.

 

Any models in particular you'd recommend? I considering the Dita Truth right now actually, after listening to it 3 or 4 times. Apparently (from listening, no measurements since I don't have the equipment) burn in plays a big role for that, as the shop owner's own piece which has 1000hrs of use and the demo unit which had 500 hours of burn in sounded different enough.

I wouldn't particularly recommend it to everyone though, at least not without listening, since the deep growling bass and piercing snares may not be to their tastes

 

Well, the sony ex1000 and the rhapsodio rti1 are worth investigating for the sound you may be looking for.

 

At $200 I quite like my RE-600. +3db@100Hz with Q0.7 or so and they sound really good otherwise I find the mids a bit too forward and fatiguing.

Based on the current pair I also think the previously crap Hifiman IEM build quality might be improving...

 

I listened to curawongs at Canjam and it was really hot (bright). The bass wasn't really their and the width of the soundstage was smaller than the UERMs. But if you can live with the brightness I'd say its like 89% of the uerm and WAY MORE COMFORTABLE. $1000

universal>custom in my opinion.

I really like the Campfire jupiter, felt like the uerm with bass though the cable felt flimsy. Still with that being said if I had to buy another Top shelf IEM I'd look at the Jupiter. $800

another option (if its ever released) is the cardas a8, Tyll had good things to say about it, so you know its still slightly warm but not overdone (Tyll likes it warm). should be $400

 

If you generally like the sig of the Noble 4 but like bass, get the Noble 5. It's their bassiest offering and therefore my favorite.

I'm also a huge JVC fan.

I've heard a lot of IEMs and used to have the RHA you have. What do you like about them and what else do you want?

 

It's been discontinued.

Edit: brain fart. It's the 8 that has been discontinued. I'm an idiot.

 

Really? Looks like they're in stock. Get while the gettin's good.

 

Noble 5 hits like a ton of bricks in the load end, I like that aspect of it, but it is really V shaped.

 

Thanks audiofrk. I didn't find it too bright myself (i'd like to attribute that to burn-in but without measurements I'd probably be screwing myself over on this forum). Unfortunately, here in Singapore the Jupiter would probably cost more than the Dita Truth which is from a local company (the Lyra costs about 1000 here).

Also, apologies to OP if I derailed the thread.