[DraconicNerd]

On that note, I have a specific regional recommendation for anybody in the Southern California area: https://amazinghearing.net

Ann Mundell-Noel is the audiologist that Ultimate Ears brings into their Irvine HQ, whenever they have their artists and VIPs stop by for a fitting. I've had multiple impressions done by Ann Mundell-Noel over the years -- owing mainly to having lost 90 lbs -- and they've consistently resulted in the best fitting and most comfortable customs I have.

Thanks for the recommendation, that ends up being in a more convenient place than I went for the impressions on my current set. Though hopefully next time I buy a pair of Ciems I'll be able to get my impressions taken at Canjam (Of course I got my set the one year EE wasn't doing them there haha).

 

[hungryewok]

Some people would call it inflation, but I don't think it qualifies. A $1000 IEM released today can be as good or better than one released 10 years ago. The higher price ceiling just means we get more options. Not necessarily that higher price means higher quality, but higher quality at some point demands a higher price.

oh for sure. My newest pair of Neon Pros that cost 650eur would blow all 2015 flagships out of the water. Of course there are outliers that are competitive in 2023 despite their age - like FitEar tg334 / mh335dw. But people love them for tonality and not technicality. Still all the 4k+ iems are 100% enjoying higher margins. Bur after all if people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for cables, who am I to judge a mere 6k IEM.

 

[Gromu]

Any of you guys getting Mirai? It looks neat. Sounded good on the floor of the Jam of Cams. Cable looks good.

I ended up pre-ordering a set. I didn't get to attend CanJam, so I didn't hear it, but I took a gamble on it. I'll have to remember to leave some impressions here after I receive it in December.

 

[Stu Paddasso]

All whisky taste like lighter fluid...

Well, set me on Fire.

 

[Animagus]

I really should to be honest. The journey is crazy though. It’s about 40 hours of non-stop traveling from Houston to get to our village. On top of that I unfortunately don’t speak a word of Punjabi although I can it understand it okay. I feel I’ll go bonkers

Lol! What are the chances, I'm a Punjabi too but lived around the country due to my dad's postings. So I've never lived there for a long period as such but have my extended family there and we visit when we can. I can only speak it decently, having learnt by listening to my grandparents speak it occasionally, but I can (hopefully) wing it if there was a gun to my face. Though I'd mostly be translating English or Hindi to Punjabi and would need a buffering period to make it happen.

But yeah man, you don't have to go to the village with fam if that's boring. The cities are pretty cool and having lived in a few different cities around the world now, I can tell you that you'd probably not face a boring minute in a place like Pune, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai or Chandigarh, which is in Punjab.

Oh I myself love a bike ride around Punjab's country side with all the farms and greenery. It's very beautiful and peaceful.

 

[aaf evo]

Lol! What are the chances, I'm a Punjabi too but lived around the country due to my dad's postings. So I've never lived there for a long period as such but have my extended family there and we visit when we can. I can only speak it decently, having learnt by listening to my grandparents speak it occasionally, but I can (hopefully) wing it if there was a gun to my face. Though I'd mostly be translating English or Hindi to Punjabi and would need a buffering period to make it happen.

But yeah man, you don't have to go to the village with fam if that's boring. The cities are pretty cool and having lived in a few different cities around the world now, I can tell you that you'd probably not face a boring minute in a place like Pune, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai or Chandigarh, which is in Punjab.

Oh I myself love a bike ride around Punjab's country side with all the farms and greenery. It's very beautiful and peaceful.

We can ride on a scooter together and explore, just don’t tell @tamtrum as he’ll get jealous.

 

[warrenpchi]

Thanks for the recommendation, that ends up being in a more convenient place than I went for the impressions on my current set. Though hopefully next time I buy a pair of Ciems I'll be able to get my impressions taken at Canjam (Of course I got my set the one year EE wasn't doing them there haha).

Welcome! Oh before I forget, Noble doesn't do ear impressions at shows.

Bur after all if people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for cables, who am I to judge a mere 6k IEM.

We should absolutely judge $6k IEMs -- and thousand dollar cables for that matter -- but not the people that buy (or don't buy) them.

 

[tamtrum]

We can ride on a scooter together and explore, just don’t tell @tamtrum as he’ll get jealous.

wow, what am I going to do with my tandem scooter???

 

[mgsu]

oh for sure. My newest pair of Neon Pros that cost 650eur would blow all 2015 flagships out of the water. Of course there are outliers that are competitive in 2023 despite their age - like FitEar tg334 / mh335dw. But people love them for tonality and not technicality. Still all the 4k+ iems are 100% enjoying higher margins. Bur after all if people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for cables, who am I to judge a mere 6k IEM.

For every price point there is a market. An exaggerated approach on this topic would be to say that there is a market even for a 100k IEM. You need only two people here on the thread who brag about the newly acquired 100k IEM and i bet with you that there will be a hand full of people willing to jump on the train.
This is how marketing works.

Inflation has also an impact on the price. Fiat money becomes soon worthless. In a few years it would be cheaper to wipe your ass with one dollar bills, than to buy toilet paper.

 

[deep2285]

Just a quick question for group will be headed to Singapore and Korea. I know about the stores (Zeppelin, A One, Jaben, Scherezade) that carry $1000 and up inventory of IEM's, etc.

Any recommendations in Singapore with stores that carry mid tier inventory ( $250-1000) variety.

Any recommendations appreciated

Jaben and Zepp have Sub $1000 IEMs but there is a single mall where most of these audio stores are located. I don't think that finding IEMs of any price will be a problem in a place like SGP.

 

[Animagus]

We can ride on a scooter together and explore, just don’t tell @tamtrum as he’ll get jealous.

By bike I meant my motorbike, not a scooter! You ride the scooter with @tamtrum riding shotgun.

By the way, this is just a ~2.5 hour ride from Chandigarh.

 

[szore]

$100 to $150 USD is about the going rate here in the United States, if you go to an independent audiologist. That said, I've never actually paid for any impressions. This is because nearly every CIEM manufacturer exhibiting at a CanJam (and most other personal audio shows) will simply do them for free whenever you make a purchase at the show.

EDIT: Combined with show discounts, there can be some significant savings to be had at shows. For example, these are the discounts that were available at the most recent CanJam SoCal:



For FatFreq, that would have been a savings of $317.85 on a pair of custom MSE, and $470.85 on a pair of custom Grand Maestros... plus free impressions for either.

EDIT AGAIN: Holy crap, I just realized that somebody could have saved $1,599.80 on a Viking Ragnar + Chiron 8W! I wouldn't personally recommend that pairing but if that's what somebody wanted, at least they would have saved a decent amount!

Empire Ears charged me $50 for impressions at Canjam NY

 

[Whazzzup]

you can say I'm handsome for free )

 

[aaf evo]

wow, what am I going to do with my tandem scooter???

Oh wow let’s explore Dallas on this!

In other news, I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time with the Fei Wan now that I have my own unit. It is incredibly tip sensitive for me with the Eletech Baroque and Symbio tips being my favorite of the bunch I’ve tried as they provided the most balanced sound, with SpinFits really messing up the treble unfortunately.



I hear this to be one of the most perfectly balanced IEMs relative to my how my ears perceive this sound (not to be confused with neutral, it is not neutral). I have always taken care of my hearing which is probably a good reason why I can still hear quite high up in the treble for being 34. I suspect maybe anyone with upper treble hearing loss may hear this as too mid treble energetic, but I find the balance to be excellent.

This IEM is very easy to drive too as it scales down quite well to the iPhone dongle (my N30 is being replaced with a rebased unit so I am without it for a week or so).

I will be ordering this as a CIEM next week so I need to finalize a design soon. I’m unsure if I stick with the “piss yellow” as some people call it or see what I can come up with. I’m not the most creative person and I tend to prefer simplicity, but I love this yellow as well.

 

[vaporsynthwave]

Oh wow let’s explore Dallas



This IEM is very easy to drive too as it scales down quite well to the iPhone dongle (my N30 is being replaced with a rebased unit so I am without it for a week or so).

we need a TOTL with apple dongle shootout