Custom IEM Used For Everything? (Exercising, traveling and studying)

[Solid Snake]

Hey guys,

I plan on making the biggest jump (and probably my last for a while) in my portable listening solution which will be a custom IEMs.

I have been browsing for a couple of weeks now and I did not find much to go on.
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Here are a couple threads that I have been looking at:

Best custom IEM

Running or jogging with custom iem?

boomana's advice definitely played a factor in my decision making.

Hearyourself.com custom IEM discussion thread

CALLING ALL CUSTOM IEM'S
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Here are the companies that I have been debating which to buy from:

Alien Ears

Fidelity

JH Audio

Ultimate Ears
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I almost made the decision to go with JH Audio for their excellent customer support that I have been hearing about lately.
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Before jumping the gun, some questions come up to mind.

1. How are the general durability qualities of the IEMs from the listed companies? (Probably most important factor)

2. How's their customer support been with you?

3. And of course, which sounds the best compared to all of them? (I know many recommend the JH series as analytical while the UE are more on the "fun" sound) (This is subjective)

4. Which would you recommend that will be mainly used for "everything". (Exercise, study, traveling, and etc) (This one is subjective too)
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One debate I have been having with myself is the price/risk factor ratio. I am wondering to myself if I should shell out a grand for a custom IEM when I will be exercising with them or I should just spend as little as possible so that I would not risk my investment. I also do not want to regret going for the JH-5 pro when I could make the big jump for a more higher quality set of IEMs. Decisions, decisions, decisions....

I know not every individual can answer each question, which is okay. I am just looking how your experience has been with any of the custom IEMs. If you have any suggestions or advice to give me, I would really appreciate.

[ammo510]

Well I will give you more experience with custom IEM. I had done everything you have listed from traveling across state to studying at home and even at the tahoe mountains. I own a pair of UE-11 for a while now and I constantly use it everyday for pretty much anything I do except driving. They have been very solid to me but the only down side is that I had to replace the cables twice from it breaking.

I would say for traveling they are perfect. Small easy to carry and it looks good. It blocks out most of the ambient around me.

I had worked out with customs before and it is not that bad. I ran in it, lifted weights, play basketball and snowboard in it. It worked great stayed in my ear and didnt need to worry about it. Although it did built up more wax and sweat than just using it. I gotta say going snowboarding with my customs feels so great listening to my favorite jams while going down the breezy moutains. The only thing go to watch out for is people yelling left and right.

I have study with it did not feel it in my ears as I just left it alone. I even slept with it in my ear was not that bad but it did hurt when I took it out since it was in there for a long peroid of time.

I do belive all the customs are made from the same material expect westone which does silicone i believe. I am sure with the right fit the Customs will work great for everything. Although some people might disagree with working out with it on. I plan to get a JH-13 soon since everyone seems to love it. I gotta say my UE 11 was built very well.

[Solid Snake]

Thanks for the helpful info on your experience.

[boomana]

I use my JH13s at the gym as well as everywhere else. I keep trying to use my other iems at the gym, but cardio is sooo much easier when the music's better.

[MaoDi]

UE and JH for their build quality (i'm sure JH build quality is fine, it's just my pair), AlienEars and Fidelity because they're cheap so you can easily replace the. Overall though, i would choose JH =) just because they sound awesome, and are built to standards with a great customer service. Why don't we add Westone into this? Westone makes the CR1 specifically for exercise and sports, $280.

[mierenneuker]

Originally Posted by MaoDi

AlienEars and Fidelity because they're cheap so you can easily replace the.

Cheap, easily replaceable?
Not for students :')
I'll go for UE or JH if I was you.
definitely not Alienears

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by MaoDi

UE and JH for their build quality (i'm sure JH build quality is fine, it's just my pair), AlienEars and Fidelity because they're cheap so you can easily replace the. Overall though, i would choose JH =) just because they sound awesome, and are built to standards with a great customer service. Why don't we add Westone into this? Westone makes the CR1 specifically for exercise and sports, $280.

One of the minor issues I had with the Westone IEMs are the Y-split joint piece where the cable splits left and right earphone.

In my opinion, I think they make that part too short so basically it is just hanging right under my chin. It kind of looks weird walking around like that so I decided go to a totally different company.

Thanks everyone for their suggestions and experiences.

This is what I was talking about:

[MaoDi]

Hmmm that's weird, i've never had the problem. Have ES Cable on two of my most used customs and i don't have a single problem.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by MaoDi

Hmmm that's weird, i've never had the problem. Have ES Cable on two of my most used customs and i don't have a single problem.

That is the thing. I have only used the Westone 3 which gave me the problem. I am not entirely sure if this is just with the W3 or it also applies with the customs like the es3x.

I have looked at some pictures and tried to see the distance between the monitors and the y-splitter but couldn't come with a conclusion so I just decided to steer away from Westone when it comes to customs.

I made the decision and went for the JH11 Pro about a week ago so I am probably half-way through the waiting game. It did not get into the lab according to the website...but I am thinking whether or not to go all out for the JH13. Only thing worrying me are the neutral characteristics of the JH13 (which I may find boring) and heard the JH11 has a more fun sound spectrum. We will see...

[krmathis]

I would definitely go JH Audio.
Not quite sure about exercising because of the moisture level, but the rest should be perfectly fine.

[leberserkfury]

guys.. i'm considering buying a JH 13 pro and need some help with the following.

1). how long does it take for a person in the US to receive the IEM after sending in the ear prints?

2). what's the warranty? 1 year? 2 years?? (couldn't find this one on their site)

3). subjective question.. everything else the same.. how much of an improvement is JH 13 pro over something like the Senn CX 500? (subjective question just looking for a ball park). Thanks

[3X0]

Originally Posted by leberserkfury

guys.. i'm considering buying a JH 13 pro and need some help with the following.

1). how long does it take for a person in the US to receive the IEM after sending in the ear prints?

2). what's the warranty? 1 year? 2 years?? (couldn't find this one on their site)

3). subjective question.. everything else the same.. how much of an improvement is JH 13 pro over something like the Senn CX 500? (subjective question just looking for a ball park). Thanks

1. 1-1.5 week turnaround (from impressions received to your 13s being delivered)

2. 2 years, with initial 30-day fit guarantee

3. Haven't heard CX500, but I imagine it would be immense

[cujobob]

My thoughts:
Get a cheap IEM or headphone or whatever for working out/exercising. I don't think a good custom would fall out...but I don't know I'd take the chance if you're doing a ton of moving around (and you won't care about the extra music quality in that situation, if you're like me).

For everything else, I'd say wait for a JHaudio sale and jump in. The customer service has been very helpful before things ship out to you...I hear the after-sale customer service is a bit slower but not too bad. On Twitter or Facebook, they'll offer some good deals from time to time...and right now, one of their models is marked down $150...which is a significant discount.

The durability is supposedly very nice, though the cables can green if you go with the clear cable...(you can choose black, though).

[Feather225]

I use my UE4 pro for excising, everything works great ^ ^

[leberserkfury]

cujobob, where do you see the 150 discount that's being offered at the moment? i'm not sure if they offered any discounts on facebook, but i've added them anyway.