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After so many years. I think I'm ready for Customs. Help me out please!

post #1 of 3
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone, it's been some time since I last visited head-fi.

I've had my fair share of IEMs over the last decade or so and here is how:

What I used to own:
Westone UM1
Etymotics ER6-i, ER4-P
Shure SE530

What I have now:
Shure SE535
Sennhesier IE8
ATH-ESW 10JPN

My first was the UM1 but I found it to be too veiled for my taste and eventually sold it for an ER6i. I loved the Etymotics sound so much I got the ER4P in under 2 years since the 6is. I was a huge fan of their analytical SS. And then I got the itch to acquire new phones every few years and got myself into Shures. SE530 to SE535 was the natural path for me and I totally enjoyed having some bass and lower range back in my music. It felt more balanced and I grown accustomed to such a sound. Even the IE8 that used to be too boomy for my liking is now something enjoyable.

Much of this 10 years I had the chance to try out the different brands but was never too into the Westones or UM series. Even the Westone 4 didn't get me all that excited. I might not have spent enough time with them to be fair, but I didn't seem to like them for every of the 30mins I got my hands on for demo. I do revisit them here and there but I find them to be somewhat veiled. No offense to any Westone fans here!

I do have the ESW10JPN for headphones. My only pair and they are really unique sounding. Enough for me to keep them even though I'm not really a headphone person. The IE8s are the only pair I feel is close to a warm sounding pair of headphones with it's kind of soundstage. Maybe that was why it appealed to me so much after all these years.

Problem with me is, I have gone through so many different sound signatures and my tastes have change throughout the years. I came from analytical to spicing things up with more lower frequencies and now I live with a sound I feel is "balanced" for me. What should I really look out for in customs if money is not an issue?

I've read countless threads and absolutely have zero access to any customs for demo-ing. This will be my first plunge into customs and I've short listed some:

JH16 - Sounds like it has good lower frequencies that I can appreciate? Not sure if it's balanced or overwhelming.

JH13 - Reviews are saying it has good balance but I'm not sure how it compares to the UERM.

UERM - Very balanced sounding. I can live with this because I love analytical sounds. But will I miss the kind of lower frequencies coming from my IE8 set to the lowest on the bass port?

ES5 - Heard it is very comparable to UERM but not as flat. Worries me a little because I've never quite agreed with the Westone sounds coming from their UMX or Westone series or higher end phones.

Any kind input will be appreciated. I'm hoping for people with similar tastes or earphones that turned to customs for advises before I do anything silly here... Thanks again!

post #2 of 3
Thread Starter 
I have narrowed down further to just ES5 and UERM!
post #3 of 3

I assume you've read this recent thread?  I've found it quite informative

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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors › After so many years. I think I'm ready for Customs. Help me out please!