IEM general discussion thread

EDIT: added link http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...measurements-and-review.915/page-2#post-36195

 

Custom art Harmony 8 non pro version, similar to the LCD 2 but in IEM form.

Get Piotr to make your CIEM for maximum isolation, i basically told him to just f my ears up with a very deep canal for my Ei.XX and it's the best sealing and best isolating acrylic ciem i own.

 

So i think i might have thrown some premature shade against the P1, but alas, thats how it goes when you don't know a whole lot about Universal IEMs anymore.

Some of you might have seen that the other day the right tip of my P1s got stuck in my ear, too far in to get out on my own, which very much frightened me. It has happened before as well, but always in a reachable spot for me.

I also several days ago said they would be going back to amazon and some UE4s would be acquired, because they were rather sibilant and the deep bass wasn't particularly present. I do very much like how detailed they are though and they soundstage rather well for IEMs, specially in this price class.

but after this most recent tip stuck in my ear debacle, I realized, that i was probably inserting them too far. I do love me some Bi-Flange tips, for universals they have always been my favorites, so I was using the largest, though not large, bi flanges that came with the P1s, but they were too small, so i switched to the largest single flange tips, and while they aren't quite as comfortable, I do get a good seal without having to insert them as far.

And to my surprise, basically all the sibilance went away, Im convinced the deep bass got better as well, though not quite to where I would like it. I did also notice that one of the filters at the nozzles, on the right size, was not present, so while I do like them much more, I might be swapping them out for a new pair. But overall I think at least for the time being I will be keeping them instead of sending them back. save myself that UE4 money.

 

I think it just depends on the implementation. Some dynamics can be just as peaky with weird timbre as many BA IEMs. But in general I think that Dynamic based IEMs tend to do better in terms of timbre, especially with acoustic based music. Most IEMs I have gone through have some major flaw, but I have not been able to deal in the long term with the the timbral issues of any BA based IEM I've had (especially in the treble). I am also partial to the lack of coherency issues that single driver IEMs usually provide. Also, those tenores are pretty good, so the higher end stuff might not separate itself all that much, especially initially.

If you want to keep exploring Dynamic based IEMs, maybe try modding some Flare R2As (their cable sucks and the mod is pretty finicky, but if you can get it right they sound good) or a modded JVC HA FX 850/1100. Mezzohifi also does mods on the Tenores, but they are pretty expensive and you might be able to do it yourself if you are so inclined.

 

It's always tough for me to judge IEMs based on others' impression since depending on the person, IEMs can vary so much (much more so than full-size cans).
Everybody has different ears (different depth/width and insertion), and tip rolling can affect the sound to a pretty large degree.

 

Definitely. IEMs are also tough because to me it's the most immature market in terms of transducers. They are all over the place, and you can get all kinds of flavors at all price points that aren't necessarily an improvement sonically speaking (if you value relative neutrality, tonal balance, and timbral accuracy, at least). Hopefully in a few years this will change but right now it seems like a crap shoot to me.

 

Fitment depth, seal and tip characteristics (bore diameter, length, material etc.) all play a role in how a universal IEM will present itself. While I'll say it's usually not too extreme, it's likely responsible for the different listening impressions you get and understandably so. Our ear canals play a role too, for IEMs mostly in their length and shape, since we are sort of bypassing the outer parts of the ear that naturally help contour sound for us.

After trying all the tips and comfortable fits with the P1, I had similar results myself where certain tips did some different things in the treble region...not uncommon with other designs either. This is just inherent to universals, though it gives an opportunity to sort of 'fine tune' the fit and sound.

That's the thing with customs too, certain parameters are already built in for everyone (diameter/length of the output tube and other acoustic tuning methods) and since the outer shell is molded to your ear to provide max comfort and isolation, theoretically there should be less variance from user to user...though this is hard to test subjectively since you can't really hear your friend's pair like you can a universal. The UE4 seems like a great entry to customs though!

Glad you were able to resolve the sibilant issues and are giving them another chance, experimentation pays off! I imagine with less forward upper mid/lower treble, the lower end of the spectrum balances out a bit more.

 

I thought everyone would be interested in this: https://cymbacavum.com/2016/05/13/quick-thoughts-ion-by-soranik/
I've talked to Hieu a few times and he seems to be doing really good work, although at the moment he is just focusing on Vietnam and Singapore.

 

Any thoughts on FLC 8S?

Joker's review of the old version: http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone_review/flc-technology-flc8/

I'm shopping and these seem to have got a ton of hype on the usual places. I thought I'd come here for an opinion that may be more grounded in reality.

Anyone tried these? Also, first post and shit.

 

Phew, glad to see I'm not hearing things...

@recarcar What does the Mezzohifi / Mezzo Soprano mod entail, and how would I be able to do it myself? I've googled around but details are scarce save for one set of impressions on a blog and some talk of special burn-in / "acoustic tuning" on a reseller's online storefront. I don't believe burn-in can create the kinds of drastic changes the HF kids always claim to hear, and paying $500 for a very vague process sounds rather suspect to me...

 

woow $500?! That's nuts. I've only heard the mod briefly as a buddy has it but he said he paid around $200, which is still a lot. I believe the mod has to do with damping material and also some possible mods to the driver itself but I am not sure. You should shoot them an email if you are interested as I don't think they advertise the mod. The other mods I mentioned are well documented on head-fi and are fairly straightforward. Those IEMs also don't cost much, relatively speaking, especially if you can get them on sale or used.

 

I'm looking to dip into the CIEM world and have a question regarding fit.

I have a pair of UIEMs and, while I like them, and in my auditions of others I know I can do even better, I get frustrated by dealing with changing out tips. I've only had consistently good results with comply tips, when on some plane trips I can get really ear sweaty in that damn middle seat and the tips are pretty much done after that. Silicon tips just slip out in 10 minutes or less sweat or no.

I'm hoping that with CIEMs I'll get a fit and a seal that doesn't require tips. Am I on the right track? Or should I just resign myself to keeping enough tips to get me through my travel?

 

Decent mid-fi earphone, don't believe the hype, but they aren't bad. There's a kind of base tuning that the drivers have and the filters shape from there, some combinations of filters are more successful than others because of this. There's some thinness in the sound, the flc8 wasn't all that memorable, really.

Well, with a ciem and a very good audiologist making ear molds for you (yes, pay more for someone who makes ear molds for musicians), then you'll get a good fit regardless of how much sweat your ears pump out. You'll probably want to wipe off your ciems every so often though, ugh!

 

Any experiences with the UE ear "scanner"? I'm based in Denver and thinking about taking advantage of the RMAF deal and scan at the next one. Or should I just deal with the cost & hassle and get one at the right audiologist in Denver?

 

I would do the scan - I'd much rather do that personally.

 

Without spending $1,100 on the Andromeda, what are my other options for something like a UERM with bass?

 

What's your budget? IME without getting to Jupiter it's hard to get UERM bass ver. Noble Savant is similar to UERM... maybe a touch of EQ might do the trick. Otherwise, it's probably no.

 

Let's see how the new etymotic with a touch more bass fares. I think that's worth a shot.