Cosmic Ears - new CIEM company with crazy low prices (including Hybrid designs!) - Page 57

Quote:

Originally Posted by DemonFox 

I think it's safe we can all blame this thread for that

Don't blame the thread.

Blame project86.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EveTan 


Yea, with all the buisiness he's created for them, they should send him whatever is being released on monday XD

Just so that he can review that model and generate more business :)

All joking aside (and that was a joke just in case, humour doesn't translate sometimes on the interwebs) I would just like to say a big thanks to Phil and Cosmic Ears who have gone out of their way for me.  I can't go into details as such (and it really wouldn't interest most of you anyway!)but given that I've had some real hassle getting customs sorted (tried both fisher (!) and Minerva) to no avail), they've gone out of their way to help me.  If you have any concerns or queries give them a shout.  Looking forward to monday to the announcement.

Cheers

AHA! my flex have arrived!

So, my IEMs came the other day and I thought I'd make some very early comments.

Some caveats and admissions first:

1. These are my first customs
2. I'm no expert on things audiophile, and don't claim to have 'golden ears' (but they're not tin either).

3. Although I've been involved in 'audiophilia' for around 20 years I've never really had the cash to own proper high end kit.

4. The impressions I sent Phil were DIY, from an 'earplugstore.com' kit which I've had sitting in my fridge for a couple of years (!).

5. I'm a fussy b@5tard ( but I figure that products like custom IEMs are squarely aimed to please folk who can't even get satisfaction from the huge range of high end universal IEMs available, so I'm in good company right? ).
6. I have a cold, which could compromise all sorts of thing including ( but not limited to ) my hearing, the size of my ear canals and my tolerance of other forum members criticising [sic] my spelling, punctuation or general level of education/intelligence ( 5crew you Poindexter! ).

7. I'm ( deliberately ) ignorant of which type of dynamic driver I have in my Flex's.

   I may ask Phil which type he fitted (having described what my preferred sound sig' is I left the choice up to him ) eventually, but right now, ignorance is bliss.
8. Even though I'm somewhat sceptical re' 'break-in', in deference to true believers I should admit that my Flex's have only had about 48 hrs to 'run in'.

So, a pinch of salt, and all that.

My Flex's are pretty much the HY3, but with recessed sockets.

General thoughts on the IEM experience with Cosmic:

Speed:

My DIY impressions weren't perfect and Phil was slightly sceptical about using them as he thought it might result in a poor fit.

However he kindly offered to attempt shells with the understanding that If I returned the Flex due to fit problems I'd have to buy a new impression kit so I could send better impressions with the return.

This was to speed up the turnaround for me, and it worked nicely in that regard as it's only been about a month from initial order to delivery, which if I'm right, is bloody quick for customs.

So, for me at least, speed has been very good.

Communication:

Mixed, as although Phil has been very responsive most of the time, some of my questions went unanswered.

In my opinion though, this is hardly surprising as Cosmic are probably reeling under the onslaught of orders triggered by Project86 ( BTW, cheers mate;-) I'd never have heard of Cosmic if not for this thread )

I really can't fault his helpfulness though.

Presentation/Extras:

Really, at the price I wasn't expecting much here, and Indeed the IEMs came in a sturdy, but pretty much disposable 'presentation box' the type of which you might get from far eastern retailers ( magnet closure, slightly crude Cosmic logo on the lid, packed with crepe paper ).

Zipped carry case, again with a somewhat crude logo, with the typical 'semi-rigid' shell and elasticated mesh pocket you'd find on typical cheap carry cases ( the zip on mine is faulty, and I don't care! )

There's a cleaning tool too.

Fit/Craftsmanship:

Even if I'd supplied Cosmic with perfect impressions I'd consider the fit to be very good, verging on excellent.

The seal is fantastic, even if I try to break it I can't.

Since my impressions were of slightly dubious quality, I consider this remarkable.

My left ear really couldn't fit better, and the right canal is only very slightly too snug, but I'm being a fussy ba5tard here.

The shells look beautifully made, nice smooth polished surfaces everywhere but at the very tips where they become a tiny bit crude around the end of the sound tubes.

I'm getting some irritating buzzing/cutting out in the left ear, but I strongly suspect that it's simply a parasitic buzz from a piece of ear wax or something.

The monitor has to be positioned just so to avoid it, and I have to correct the position every few minutes or so.

I had my ears syringed about 6 weeks ago so they should be pretty clean, but as I said, I've got a bit of a cold at the moment and that could be contributing, so I'll get my ear checked again to ensure it's clear.

Something which made me happy is that the face-plates came without the 'fabric/fibre' effect visible in many of the pic's I've seen of Cosmic's.

I prefer the plain, polished, translucent finish I received :-)

I'm very glad I chose the recessed sockets, as the plugs are incredibly thin.

They look even thinner than the plugs on my UE TF10's.

Cable:

The supplied cable is very nice, I don't have any high end bespoke cables to compare it to, but it's thin, flexible and both the 90 degree stereo plug and the monitor plugs look good, and are small enough to be unobtrusive.

The Y split looks to be well made too, with good strain relief.

I prefer cables without memory wire myself, but I could always buy another cable and butcher it if I want.

I'm a bit of a cable sceptic when it comes to relative sound quality, so I seriously doubt I'll be trying any high end ones.

Cost:

The cost of my Cosmic's was far lower than any other CIEM with comparable features/spec would have been.

Partly because being in the EU avoided customs tax, but also because the price is so low to begin with.

Some may frown at the cheap presentation and accessories, or be unsatisfied with the sometimes slightly patchy communications, but I'm perfectly happy to sacrifice these details if it means I can afford better IEMs.

Also, others in this thread have reported very good comm's, so maybe I've just been unlucky in that.

I can't compare them directly as I don't own any, but in terms of features/spec comparable CIEMS might be Aurisonics AS2s or Unique Melody Merlins.

Both have possible advantages over the Flex ( cosmetics/flexibility/driver count ) and it would be very interesting for someone to give direct comparisons to these and other, ( possibly fairer ) competition.

But both these would probably set me back 3 or 4 times the cost of the Cosmic's by the time you factor in tax etc.

Value to me though centres on sound quality, and my initial impression are very good.

However I'll have to sort out the buzzing in my left ear, and do a lot more listening to be happy to praise/damn the flex's.

Very briefly though, I'd characterise my flex as being fairly 'warm' with decent bass and sub base.

Mids are present, and both male and female voices seem satisfying.

I'm hearing slightly splashy highs though compared to my TF10s, but I have a occasional problem with my TF10s where they can sound positively grating in the upper registers, and high vocals can sound like they're 'honking' in an unpleasant manner.

Even though the Flex currently sounds slightly diffuse and recessed in the upper mid's, and a little sibilant too ( especially cymbal and similar sounds ), these deficiencies are minor, and less obnoxious than the TF10s.

I'm not quite in agreement with Swimsonny's experience of bass overwhelming the mids, but feel that I may agree on the very slightly 'V' shaped signature.

Please bear in mind though that it's really far too early in the game for me to pronounce my opinions on the sound.

I may try to post pic's at some point, but they're not going to be very exciting as the monitors look just like all the others posted ( Purple's not my favourite colour, but they look ok I suppose ).

I do plan however to update with more complete comments on the sound in a couple of weeks or so.

Sorry about the verbiage ( at these prices I can't apologise about your wallet).

Nice write up it may be that you do have a faulty set, hence the buzzing.  Tried reseating the cable?  From the sound description (and bear in mind I haven't heard either model sadly) that you have the newer "non"bass hy3.  Now to wait till the site is updated so I can actually, you know order stuff!

Nice write up and i do not think that the channel problem sounds normal. I think it is possible that is faulty but nice to you got a good fit and good write up. I also think you have the less bass HY3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcotton 

Nice write up it may be that you do have a faulty set, hence the buzzing.  Tried reseating the cable?  From the sound description (and bear in mind I haven't heard either model sadly) that you have the newer "non"bass hy3.  Now to wait till the site is updated so I can actually, you know order stuff!

It also looks to me like he has the HY3 instead of the HY3EB... Q Mass, you should confirm which HY3 model you have with CE, no?

Oh no, it was mainly the price that shocked me. If you understand. Although that is becoming a bit of a trend now for Cosmic hey ;)