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New custom IEM company - Custom Art: discussion, review, and impressions thread

Apr 2, 2015 at 3:35 PM Post #2,311 of 4,065
acain said:
  The Ei3 is a huge price DEAL for a custom, that just show what kind of person he is. It makes a quality product reachable to almost any one
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Yes, some companies would like to charge that price just to re-shell their own product (although things have improved a bit, recently).
 
 
I hope Peter has a runaway success with the Ei3, because it offers many people access to the world of CIEMs, who could otherwise not afford anything better than an IEM.
 
Apr 2, 2015 at 10:36 PM Post #2,312 of 4,065
Talking to a lot of people right here on Head-Fi would love to get customs but they can't afford them. 1964 Ears 3way $500 and JH Audio 3way $700, I really believe this could be a big game changer and I hope Custom Art is geared up for all the orders. Another thing is a lot of people believe the more drivers the better, but that is far from the truth I have heard single BA's that sound better then a 6way. If enough people catch wind of this I am buying stock in acrylic material because Custom Art is going to need it LOL.
 
Apr 3, 2015 at 9:28 PM Post #2,313 of 4,065
Guys I'm starting to think my fit isn't good. The sound changes a lot when I move my jaw around. It sounds most clear when my jaw is clenched and it sounds more muffled when I open my jaw slightly. My natural resting position of my jaw is slightly open, not clenched. Is this normal?
 
Apr 4, 2015 at 5:09 AM Post #2,314 of 4,065
barretp said:
Guys I'm starting to think my fit isn't good. The sound changes a lot when I move my jaw around. It sounds most clear when my jaw is clenched and it sounds more muffled when I open my jaw slightly. My natural resting position of my jaw is slightly open, not clenched. Is this normal?
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You might benefit from a re-fit, but you should also be aware that some people have ear canals which vary to a greater extent than other people.
 
If you have ear canals that vary in size and shape (depending on what position your jaw is in), more than most people, then you may need to balance your priorities - if you go for a slightly larger CIEM shell (in the ear canal section of the CIEM, I mean), then you may get better isolation in various jaw positions, but you might reduce the overall level of comfort, which could, potentially, annoy you much more.
 
 
However, we do not know if you are one of those people who have an above-average amount of variation in their ear canal size/shape in relation to different jaw positions. Because of this, it may be worth at least getting new impressions done, and asking for a refit. Otherwise, you may never know.    "If nothing ventured, nothing gained..."
 
There is some related discussion here (I have no affiliation with Noble - it's simply that I remember contributing to the following posts, and therefore know that they are relevant, and where to find them):
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/684787/noble-audio-the-wizard-returns/4125#post_10560161
http://www.head-fi.org/t/684787/noble-audio-the-wizard-returns/4125#post_10560660
http://www.head-fi.org/t/684787/noble-audio-the-wizard-returns/4125#post_10560187
 
 
and, if you haven't yet seen it, there is lots of useful discussion about how to increase your chances of getting the most worthwhile impressions, here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/578855/things-to-consider-before-getting-your-custom-iem-impressions-done-the-perfect-fit
 
Please note that in the above thread, I emphasised the importance of being very careful to not accidentally clench your jaw when having impressions done. When using a bite block to open the jaw a little, during the impressions procedure, it can take a very conscious effort to avoid tension in the jaw muscles, because the jaw is not accustomed to remaining open for several minutes at a time. As daft as it may seem, I recommend you practice keeping your jaw muscles relaxed with a bite block in-situ, in the days before having the impressions done.
 
 
 
Good luck, and I hope it all turns out well for you
beerchug.gif

 
Apr 4, 2015 at 7:18 AM Post #2,315 of 4,065
Incidentally, I can't recall whether Peter requires open-mouthed or closed-mouthed impressions (and now he has just begun offering acrylic CIEMs in his line-up, in addition to the existing silicone CIEMs, some clarification would be useful).
 
 
@ Peter:
 
1) Do you require open-mouthed or closed-mouthed impressions for your silicone CIEMs ?
 
2) Do you require open-mouthed or closed-mouthed impressions for your acrylic CIEMs ?
 
 
 
Whatever the case, though, whenever one has ear impressions done, it is always important to avoid clenching the jaw muscles, regardless of whether a bite block is being used or not.
 
Apr 4, 2015 at 7:32 AM Post #2,316 of 4,065
I had that discussion with Peter on Thursday and the answer is : neither nor.
In other words, for most people, jaw closed or open by inserting the tip of your index between your front teeth does not change much your ear canal shape. I for one took all my prints biting (like just letting my teeth rest on it) the tip of my index. However, he told me of one of his customers for whom that difference was dramatic, like several tens of degrees of inclination - if you're one of those persond, then I guess you're more or less out of luck.
Here is an idea: why not do both (closed and finger spread) and send them to Piotr?
 
Apr 4, 2015 at 8:07 AM Post #2,317 of 4,065
mython said:
  Incidentally, I can't recall whether Peter requires open-mouthed or closed-mouthed impressions (and now he has just begun offering acrylic CIEMs in his line-up, in addition to the existing silicone CIEMs, some clarification would be useful).
 
 
@ Peter:
 
1) Do you require open-mouthed or closed-mouthed impressions for your silicone CIEMs ?
 
2) Do you require open-mouthed or closed-mouthed impressions for your acrylic CIEMs ?
 
 
 
Whatever the case, though, whenever one has ear impressions done, it is always important to avoid clenching the jaw muscles, regardless of whether a bite block is being used or not.
Click to expand...


For both we require open mouth ear impressions preferably using bite-block. The most important is to have jaw stable and relaxed muscles.
 
In some cases open or closed mouths don't matter but other times our genes weren't so kind and getting right fit is very hard. So far open-mouth impressions seem to result in quite low bad-to-good fits ratio
 
Apr 5, 2015 at 7:27 PM Post #2,318 of 4,065
Question to all CustomArt users :D
 
How do you store your CIEMs? Do you use silica packs to take away the moisture? 
 
I'm about to recieve my first silicone CIEM from Piotr (very excited!) and I'm curious about how to keep it pristine :D
 
Apr 6, 2015 at 6:21 AM Post #2,321 of 4,065
I live in Brazil, a very hot country and I do sweat a lot :(
 
I hope that a pelican case + silica (dissecant) bag will be enough :)
 
Apr 8, 2015 at 2:23 PM Post #2,324 of 4,065
Guys I am a bit late but I promised all of you to give a little bit more info about the one of its kind unique ciem CA Crescent.
 
First of all, I apologize I wasn't on head-fi for a long time, unfortunately I had problems, tons of problems in my personal life. They are still not solved though but enough excusing, here some more impressions kind of a like a mini review of CA Crescent.
 
As far as I know, worlds first 6 BA 6 WAY 6 BORES ciem is the Crescent (named by me in case you were wondering). I wanted to get something better and more on my sound preferences than SE5way Ref. thus Peter offered help by creating a custom tuned ciem.
 
What I wanted? More bass with minimal loss in quality and just slightly more prominent treble while keeping the air. Mids are more or less the same as SE5way but their feeling in the presentation is different a little bit cuz they are linked and under effect of both bass and treble.
 
What Peter delivered? Exactly what I want. I have more bass especially in sub region. Yes, they are slightly mixing with mids and making the soundstage somewhat narrower cuz the bass instruments take quite a space but from that amount of bass, these interactions are to be expected. To be honest, I was expecting worse, a lot worse. However somehow Peter managed to keep it in excellent shape. Couldn't get better than this I believe. It was the best low end I ever heard in my life.
 
Mids are very similar to SE5way. We have these detailed, crazy detailed presentation with rich and organic flavors. You still have a little bit of brightness on vocal range especially on female vocals but generally it is somewhat warm-ish with extreme amounts of detail. Positioning is more forward than your average neutral mid presentation, keeping the stage focused rather than leaving it at back and behind.
 
Treble region has its sparkles, actually more sparkling than I expected. At the beginning I was afraid that my treble sensitive ears wouldn't like it but given some time, I liked its presentation and air. It made my metal and rock&roll albums sound livelier with more prominent treble notes, especially the cymbals, oh those cymbals I fell in love with them, once again. What Peter did here is a hard job, keeping the treble sparkling and lively but without turning them into ear-hurting bright levels, it is a good job seriously.
 
Well, what is left? Soundstage, yeah. It is big, but not the biggest in ciems I have used. To my ears, the reason is quite boosted low end region, they are taking up quite a space. Nevertheless the presentation is 3D, you feel the layers in every section. I don't think anyone would have a problem with it honestly, it is still in the TOTL region to my ears.
 
General resolution level is high, one of the highest. I would put it on the same level of SE5way and don't feel bad about it nor hyped the product. Come to think of it, with that amount of bass, focused resolving mids and prominent treble region, it was not in my expectations to keep the resolution level that high but here it goes, mighty Peter delivered it once again.
 
So you might ask my fellow headfiers, is there anything bad with Crescent? I have to say, unfortunately, yes. It is actually more important than the design or sound itself. It is the comfort. As I have written before, this ciem has 6 BA, 6 WAY and 6 BORES... However, these 6 bores in canal region was a tough job I believe, Peter used the ear impression on maximum degree but still the canals were a bit thicker compared to my comfort zone. Even though they are silicone and I have given them lots of time to get my ears used to it, I couldn't. They sound incredible, absolutely addicting.. but I can't keep them in my ears for more than 30 mins or so, they are giving me an awful headache.
 
What happens next? I had 2 options, either reduce the quantity of sound tubes by Peter's engineering or get Harmony 8. I was so afraid that the SQ might decrease if we play with the internal design (which Peter confirmed, it may or may not happen, it is a gamble of its kind) I chose to get vanilla H8. I have full faith in Peter's tunings, I believe H8 would also deliver a similar performance to my ears but with a different tuning. Considering I am quite treble sensitive Peter didn't suggest the Pro version so I went with the original design.
 
So that's the story of my CA Crescent, one of the best things I have ever put in my ears though the story ended quickly with a broken heart and aching head. I have sent my Crescent and new ear impressions to Peter yesterday and the wait for the H8 had begun.
 
In case you have a question feel free to PM me, I would answer as much as I can.
 
Oh, before I finish, I am dead curious about that new 3 BA acrylic ciem, as I heard the description, it says bassy and Peter got me there, wish I could try them but yeah, it is not the best period of my life to purchase a new audiophile toy.
 
Apr 9, 2015 at 1:45 AM Post #2,325 of 4,065
thats  a great thing to read, sometimes one have to suffer to discover new grounds!! Maybe you're the pioner who will introduce a technique research for 6bores ciems for the future! 
 
You'll be happy with the H8, they are great….
 
hang in there, better times to come!
 
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