I had a chance to listen to someone else EM32. Of course that was not my CIEM so take my impression with grain of salt.
The first thing which you hear with EM32 is bass. It is so f..powerful, reverbant and the at the same time it is detailed and good quality. The second thing is very sharp, and sometimes sibiliant treble; it is extremly extended but it is not so smooth like of 5ways, it reminded Hidition NT-6pros treble. Ia have a hard time to write something about the midrange because my impression was that presentation was focused firstly on bass, secondly on treble and thirdly midrange; I would say that they are midly Vshaped, but at the same time I cannot say they have recessed mids (it is just bass takes main attention). My feeling is that EM32 is more darkish than 5ways.
If EM32 had a little less dB amount of bass and a little bit tammed treble it would be a very good, natural sounding CIEM.
I also haven't heard sibilant treble, but compared with others such as the Viento-R, SE5, Fit Ear PS-5, and BD4.2 for example, it seems a bit on the sharper/harsher side. I have been listening to the H8P a lot for the upcoming review, and the treble quality is similar to the EM32. Without any comparison, the treble sounds very good, and it superior to many others, including the IERM, EM4, and Stage 3.
Great review Joe. Happy to see a small comparison between H8P and Viento R. Thank you
Thanks you. I am working on the H8P review, and if you want better isolation but want a VR type sound, the H8P is a great choice in addition to something like the NT-6.
The Viento-R review presented an intriguing CIEM. Do you believe the tiny switches will last? I'd worry that repeated use could result in their breaking; moving parts in a CIEM make me nervous.
The switches should last. Typically components like those are tested for at least a certain number of toggles, and the design and small size make it robust.
That's the problem with custom IEMs from what I understand; just because they are fit to your ears doesn't mean that they take into account the full ear canal structure leading to such possible huge shifts in FR from the target response and consequently tonality due to their general design. They aren't like well designed universals (read: not many) which are tuned to mostly withstand insertion depth related FR shifts. There's almost luck involved for each individual.
Insert joke regarding withstanding variable insertion depth.
On a more serious note, it is indeed impossible to know what a custom sounds like for other people. I have a very striking example which is the SE5. Many people find it a bit dark. My first SE5 was indeed on the dark side (insert joke). I had to have it reshelled as my canal changed post (adult) braces. My new SE5 definitely sound not dark at all, at least in my referential.
Mimouille hit on a thought I have had for a while. How do these companies account for differences in canal depth and volume, and how much does it really change? From my many data points, I know fit/build can change the sound, but not always:
- Rooth LS8 demo vs. my customized unit, with the customized unit being brighter
- Miracle demo vs. joker's customized unit, with the demo sounding gawd awful
- LUF BD4.2 with different tips that completely changed the sound signature and quality dramatically
- EarSonics universal products seem to be very ear tip sensitive
- UE PRM demo and the real thing sounded nearly identical
- Original SE5 and new SE5 with longer canals sounded very similar
- Per EarWerkz, their customized version had an issue vs. the universal (that has been fixed)
I am not qualified to really say how much change there can/will be from one CIEM to another depending on the many factors that can change things, but the majority seem to agree with my assessment of the sound in my reviews, indicating the sound is consistent.
Thanks for the Viento R review. I had written this one off my list based on your initial impressions but the full review reads like an iem made for my preferences. The comparison with the UERM was very helpful as well.
The other ciem on my list was the Fusion 11. If I may, I'd like to request Fusion 11 conparisons to the UERM and Viento R. I'm probably not purchasing until early next year, so I can patiently wait on the Fusion 11 review. Thanks again!
No problem, thanks for reading. I should have a full Fusion 11 review done by then and can include those comparisons, but I can tell you now the VR is a much better performer. The F11 performs much closer to the IERM technically, but has more of a V-shaped sound sig and more forward mids.