[Hemshemems]

 


Quote:

Have you heard the SE535?  Some people like mid-forward...

 
I hope you get them back soon and they fit right and sound better overall.  A bad fit on one side can lead to the perception of the overall sound being off.
 

 
Hey
 
My SA-43 got stuck in norweigian customs for nearly a week, and they finally got shipped today and i should have mine back on wednesday...
 
I didnt send my tax paperwork with the box when i shipped them from Denmark, so the custom office was bored and held on to it for a week...
 
Luckily they accepted a copy of my initial invoice and a onlinebank statement with the payed tax displayed...
 
Downside is a extra payment of UPS shipment, and i ordered 2 packs of extra soundtubes at the same time...
 
I've never heard the SE535, the only iems i have in my possesion is my HF3 and Q-Jays, and some old Grado SR125...
 
Rangerid:
 
Whats your other gear you gonna pair with your SA-43?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

[rangerid]

Right now, it is iPhone 4->Pico Slim. I am listening to them during my break and they are unbelievable. I didn't get any bill for tax at the moment
 
I will post some pics when I get home later. 
 
My biggest issue right now is getting them out of my ears. The seal is so tight that it takes me like 10 sec to get it out but insertion is easy. 
 
And ahhh yes, the presence switch makes it very SE530/5ish like in terms of vocal placement/forwardness in the soundscape. Kinda like 530/5s on steorids

 

[tupac0306]

got my EM3 PRO today. Perfect fit. and dear god. these sounds good...full organic liquid sound.. I can said goodbye to my JH16
 
Actually they really do complement each other very well. When I want a relaxed, warm fuller sound. I can listen to EM3 PRO. when I want a faster, more micro detailed sound. I can go back to JH 16. But so far I prefer EM3 PRO a lot! 

 

 

[Br777]

The more i hear about the JH "house sound" the more I am glad that I backed out of the JH3A - after waiting a year of course ;-(
and went with the UM miracle.  Not only did I most likely get a CIEM that will better fit my preferred sound, but i saved about $900 bucks in the process!  Just wish I would have made that decision sooner ;-\  
Boy i hope they ship soon!
 
 

 

[rangerid]

Congratz tupac0306!
 
Heres the pics of my sa43, excuse the lame iphone 4 pics lol:
 
 
I can't believe I am saying this but I really like it when the presence is on. I never liked forward mids which is one of the reason why I never liked 530/5s. But omg the vocals sounds amazing and really engaging with the switch on.  

 

[tupac0306]

congrats! I was actually thinking about buying one of these instead Since I have the JH 16. I want to have something really different Although I know SA 43 sounds different too.
 
Quote:

Congratz tupac0306!
 
Heres the pics of my sa43, excuse the lame iphone 4 pics lol:
 
 
I can't believe I am saying this but I really like it when the presence is on. I never liked forward mids which is one of the reason why I never liked 530/5s. But omg the vocals sounds amazing and really engaging with the switch on.  

 
 

 

[zzffnn]

Guys, is there any reshell service that can do full silicone custom reshell (not just the tip, the entire shell)?
 
I have read average_joe's info on page #1 very carefully and have emailed those companies that provide silicone IEMs and reshell services. So far none has replied me. I did notice that average_joe suggested that no silicone reshell is currently available. I have emailed Fisher, Kozee, Clear Tune and Alien Ears. I did not emailed 1964 Ears because I saw their cost of $200 for reshell (would add a little bit to get silicone custom straight from manufacture for that much).
 
Edit: I already have acrylic customs (Westone ES3Xs) but want to see if my Sleek SA6s can be customized into the more comfortable silicone shell.
 

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Guys, is there any reshell service that can do full silicone custom reshell (not just the tip, the entire shell)?
 
I have read average_joe's info on page #1 very carefully and have emailed those companies that provide silicone IEMs and reshell services. So far none has replied me. I did notice that average_joe suggested that no silicone reshell is currently available. I have emailed Fisher, Kozee, Clear Tune and Alien Ears. I did not emailed 1964 Ears because I saw their cost of $200 for reshell (would add a little bit to get silicone custom straight from manufacture for that much).
 
Edit: I already have acrylic customs (Westone ES3Xs) but want to see if my Sleek SA6s can be customized into the more comfortable silicone shell.
 

 
ask UM
 
Stephen is very quick in responding, and I have heard quite a few people say that UM is pretty flexible about customizing orders.. though i dont know if they do silicone at all.. worth a shot anyway.
 
 

 

[Br777]

I carefully considered the sa-43's but i decided that having switches on the IEM's would probably lead to frustration and distraction, as I am the type of person who would probably be constantly switching back and forth trying to decide what i liked best. 
 
thats an interesting placement of the sound tubes.. also seems a bit risky getting not detachable cables..
 
congrads!

 

[rangerid]

Thanks!. I take pretty good care of my IEMs and never had a lot of problem with cables. Sound tubes are interesting....
 
As far as the switches go, I am loving them and the versatility it brings to music and I can customize the sound extremely cleanly since it is controlling the drivers and no mess with EQ. I am listening strictly on switches off at the moment so I can find the sound sig of these but from initial impressions, I have a feeling I am going to prefer the presence switch on as the mids are just mesmorizing 

 

[dogears]

@rangerid, those look great! Congrats and more impressions please

 

[average_joe]

 
Quote:

Thanks Joe! The Alclair seems interesting but I'm worrying about those fit issues you have. 

You can check out jokers review of the CT-200 here.
 
Quote:

Impressive work, thanks a lot average_joe

Thanks!
 
Quote:

 
Hey
 
My SA-43 got stuck in norweigian customs for nearly a week, and they finally got shipped today and i should have mine back on wednesday...
 
I didnt send my tax paperwork with the box when i shipped them from Denmark, so the custom office was bored and held on to it for a week...
 
Luckily they accepted a copy of my initial invoice and a onlinebank statement with the payed tax displayed...
 
Downside is a extra payment of UPS shipment, and i ordered 2 packs of extra soundtubes at the same time...
 
I've never heard the SE535, the only iems i have in my possesion is my HF3 and Q-Jays, and some old Grado SR125...

I hope they fit better and sound better to you, sounds like a pain.  And the Shure sound signature is somewhat similar to the Grado sig, except with a more mid-forward presentation 

 
Quote:

got my EM3 PRO today. Perfect fit. and dear god. these sounds good...full organic liquid sound.. I can said goodbye to my JH16
 
Actually they really do complement each other very well. When I want a relaxed, warm fuller sound. I can listen to EM3 PRO. when I want a faster, more micro detailed sound. I can go back to JH 16. But so far I prefer EM3 PRO a lot! 

 

Very cool contrast and glad you are liking the EM3 Pro, they are very full, organic, and liquid!  And if you sell your JH16 I have something under review you may be interested in as a compliment 

 
Quote:

Congratz tupac0306!
 
Heres the pics of my sa43, excuse the lame iphone 4 pics lol:
 
 
I can't believe I am saying this but I really like it when the presence is on. I never liked forward mids which is one of the reason why I never liked 530/5s. But omg the vocals sounds amazing and really engaging with the switch on.  

I do think the overall presentation of the SA-43 is extremely good, even given what I have for comparison.  I usually listen with the presence switch off so the shock of turning it on is big for me, but once I get used to it, it is nice.  I do think the quality of the sound can overcome the dislike for a sound signature that isn't your preference, at least for a while, and the SA-43 does things very well and it doesn't force anything on you, it just presents what it is given with great transparency and great coherency.
 
And the nozzle openings do look a little odd in size, but if that is the shape of your ears, it is best they do what is necessary to get the best sound! 
 
Quote:

Guys, is there any reshell service that can do full silicone custom reshell (not just the tip, the entire shell)?
 
I have read average_joe's info on page #1 very carefully and have emailed those companies that provide silicone IEMs and reshell services. So far none has replied me. I did notice that average_joe suggested that no silicone reshell is currently available. I have emailed Fisher, Kozee, Clear Tune and Alien Ears. I did not emailed 1964 Ears because I saw their cost of $200 for reshell (would add a little bit to get silicone custom straight from manufacture for that much).
 
Edit: I already have acrylic customs (Westone ES3Xs) but want to see if my Sleek SA6s can be customized into the more comfortable silicone shell.

I still don't know of any company other than 1964 that you mentioned, and hopefully, if any company other than 1964 does do silicone reshells, hopefully someone will let us know.
 
Are your ES3Xs not comfortable?  I have many acrylic shelled customs that are extremely comfortable.

 

[Kanashimu]

Something seems off here. If what the Sensaphonics rep is telling the truth:
 
Quote:

In terms of manufacturing, silicone is indeed much more problematic to work with; nothing sticks to it! Acrylic shells can be basically machine-made, requiring a human only for component assembly and polishing. Medical-grade silicone doesn't lend itself to automated processing, so every step is done by hand. Sensaphonics has a team of experienced artisans armed with Dremel tools to craft all earphones in their in-house lab. This increased labor cost is significant, making Sensaphonics are real bargain compared with the manufacturing cost of acrylic shells. (ACS uses a similar process afaik, but obviously I don't speak for them.)

Why are silicone models always cheaper than their acrylic counterparts [Kozee, Puretone]? Also, lower end models are always silicone [Kozee Infinity X1 is only $139, also check Clear Tune Monitors CTM ($200), Alien Ears AES10 ($200)]

 

[rangerid]

Okay some very quick impressions here granted I have only listened to them for about half a day. First half was with them not properly sealed and I am still learning how to properly insert them so it seals perfectly
 
These are probably the most neutral (in terms of warmth and coolness) and balanced (mids, bass, highs) IEMs I have heard. 
 
This is my first pair of customs so I really didn't know what to expect since I have only listen to high end universals. I thought I was going to be splattered with microdetails or some "magical" sound but instead, these are extremely realistic sounding and nothing really sticks out. Ambiance, resolution, transparency, soundstage, and imaging all appear in a natural presentation as they should sound like in real life. Unlike some universals where clarity and details are a result of frequency bumps, these are extremely flat to my ears with no discerning spikes. 
 
I am listening to these strictly with the switches off as there are 3 more different sounds. While the switches only affect certain range of frequency responses, they also change the overall warmths, tonality, and positioning resulting in different sound signature.
 
The fit and isolation is insane. As some of you guys have noticed the sound tubes are placed a little strangely. That is because I have weird canal bends. The fit is a little bit past the first bend in my ear canal which explains the positioning of the sound tubes. They fit extremely tight and the isolation is INSANE. I can confidently say they isolate almost twice as good as my Etys with shure olive tips on, which had more or less the same insertion depth. These are the first pair of phones where I can listen to the same volume indoor and outdoors due to the such high noise attenuation. If the Etys measures 43db, these are at least 43+ in my ears. I have feeling it's due to the combination of acrylic shell and silicone filings. 
 
I will post a detailed review in the next few weeks after more listening on all 4 options. 

 

[average_joe]

 
Quote:

Something seems off here. If what the Sensaphonics rep is telling the truth:
 

Why are silicone models always cheaper than their acrylic counterparts [Kozee, Puretone]? Also, lower end models are always silicone [Kozee Infinity X1 is only $139, also check Clear Tune Monitors CTM ($200), Alien Ears AES10 ($200)]

It seems many companies are only willing to do entry level custom IEMs in silicone, and there are lower parts costs.  However, Kozee was an exception to this as they used sealed BAs vs. vented in their acrylic shells, but now they have stopped selling silicone according to what I know.  Those that make silicone with multiple drivers claim it is more difficult than acrylic, not just Jack.

 
Quote:

Okay some very quick impressions here granted I have only listened to them for about half a day. First half was with them not properly sealed and I am still learning how to properly insert them so it seals perfectly
 
These are probably the most neutral (in terms of warmth and coolness) and balanced (mids, bass, highs) IEMs I have heard. 
 
This is my first pair of customs so I really didn't know what to expect since I have only listen to high end universals. I thought I was going to be splattered with microdetails or some "magical" sound but instead, these are extremely realistic sounding and nothing really sticks out. Ambiance, resolution, transparency, soundstage, and imaging all appear in a natural presentation as they should sound like in real life. Unlike some universals where clarity and details are a result of frequency bumps, these are extremely flat to my ears with no discerning spikes. 
 
I am listening to these strictly with the switches off as there are 3 more different sounds. While the switches only affect certain range of frequency responses, they also change the overall warmths, tonality, and positioning resulting in different sound signature.
 
The fit and isolation is insane. As some of you guys have noticed the sound tubes are placed a little strangely. That is because I have weird canal bends. The fit is a little bit past the first bend in my ear canal which explains the positioning of the sound tubes. They fit extremely tight and the isolation is INSANE. I can confidently say they isolate almost twice as good as my Etys with shure olive tips on, which had more or less the same insertion depth. These are the first pair of phones where I can listen to the same volume indoor and outdoors due to the such high noise attenuation. If the Etys measures 43db, these are at least 43+ in my ears. I have feeling it's due to the combination of acrylic shell and silicone filings. 
 
I will post a detailed review in the next few weeks after more listening on all 4 options. 

Thank you for your post, I think you hit the nail on the head as I find the SA-43 is very natural and in my perception, neutral.  When I wrote my review I was amazed by the recreated spaciousness which is both wide and 3D placing everything in the right spot, but I didn't emphasize how natural it sounds as that is not uncommon in high end custom IEMs. The SA-43 does sound more natural than many others (as stated in the comparisons in the SA-43 review).  As far are neutrality, I am not sure 7 of 10 people would agree what is true neutral given the SA-43, SE 5-way, NT6 to compare (as I am doing now), but to my ears the SA-43 sounds pretty close to neutral in my book, but some people think a brighter sound is more neutral, such as the UERM/NT6 frequency responses.
 
That is great to hear about the isolation; I don't think my ear anatomy allows me to have that much isolation from anything but I still know the SA-43 isolates at least as good as my silicone custom IEMs.  That is great that you can keep the volume down no matter what due to the amazing isolation!  The black background probably contributes to the overall great sound.  Also, if you get a chance to hear other higher end DACs I highly encourage it as both the SA-43 (and Pico Slim if you need an amp) are very transparent allowing you to really hear either the DAC or, if the DAC is transparent, the true recording.   
 
Hopefully Hemshemems has a similar, positive experience like you with his refit!