Check out this thread for some interesting discussion about silicone vs acrylic (you can also find a few other threads if you search, but that was the best, IMHO).  The consensus seems to be that acrylic is ~26 dB, and silicone is closer to 30-35. All materials will transmit sound through them...

If isolation is your primary concern, then it sounds like you're going to be looking for something with deep insertion. I've read that the Etymotic triple flanges are very good for that, but haven't tried them myself. You can find the HF5 for ~$100 right now, on sale.   If you're set on...

Moral of the story: don't wear your IEMs under your shirt, or you'll get worse burns, and possibly not survive a freak lightning bolt?   Of course, if she didn't have the highly conductive things near her in the first place, perhaps she wouldn't have been as convenient a target for the...

Quote: Ahh, that's a shame. Oh, well. Your other option sounds like quite a chancy endeavor. What happens if we both win ... or lose? :P

Link (to article) or it isn't true!*     *Weak corallary to the "pics or it isn't true" theorem.

Heard about these when reading another thread. Very interesting, and a nice review. Some questions for you, though:   How do you find the isolation differences between the JH-5M and the JH16 Pro?   After using them for a year, how do you find the downward cable? Any issues with...

So an update here. Wandering around town, I ran across one of these "personal amplifiers" in a 99 cent store for 5.99 (technically it's a "ending in 99 cents" store, but whatever. Ambient sound quality isn't great, and the device has horrendous microphonics - if you run your finger along the...

You're right, thanks. Good catch. I must've been thinking of the soft canal, which checking is for $50 more. I'm sure the drivers cost more in the upgraded version, but if one company is willing to charge $100 more for it, which is nearly 2/3 of the price of the Kozee X1, something seems very...

1964 ears does both (Silicone is $50 more), as do FutureSonics, and AlienEars, as do a few others. (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/541494/tbd#post_7302111) All of them charge more for the silicone, which kind of made sense, since I thought it was a lot harder to work with.   Acrylic...

  Quote: Well, his request was for "roughly 400" which I figured "sub-400" might partially fit into. I've definitely seen reports of people getting their customs properly fitted on the first try, though I currently can't recall how many of them were musicians. It sounds like it more...

Check out this recent-ish thread on an extremely similar subject. Sometimes search is useful. :)

Quote: Thanks for that. I laughed quite a lot. For a first review, your style is fantastic! Ditto on the jaron and explanations.

Nope, sorry. Zirconia is definitely not the same as Diamonds. Diamonds are made of out of carbon, and only carbon, and Zirconia has Oxygen and Zirconium, a metal, which is not what your earbuds are made out of, either. Zirconia is reasonably tough stuff, and is used as a diamond look-alike in...

It worked for me when I just tried a really old pair of cheapo IEMs lying around. Good seal and I heard it, pulled it half out, and I didn't, as expected. I'll admit I'm a little surprised they went down to 50Hz. On the other hand, it was a pretty wobbly-sounding tone...

Any other suggestions here? I should mention that my DAP has a mic in it, and can be RockBoxed, though I haven't done so. Does RockBox have any support for this kind of thing, or some tool written to add it in?

I've been considering this for a while, as well. I'll suggest average_joe's resource thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/541494/custom-iem-resource-thread-summary-reviews-info-custom-iem-manufacturers   For $400, there are a number of other options besides the Ultimate Ears UE4...

Thanks for that. Sounds like isolation was about the same (pun not intended)? I'm surprised obtrusion was more on the custom sleeves, since I would think that the JH5 would protrude less from the side of your head.   But yes, back to the previously scheduled discussion, I'm also interested...

  Quote:   Not to derail too far, but how would you compare those two - full custom shells vs. the custom sleeves? Did the sleeves change the sound quality of the W4s, or was it mostly in improved fit and isolation? Sound quality aside (though impressions on that would be interesting)...

average_joe, why am I not surprised you have such information at your fingertips? I could have sworn the last time I looked at that thread, it wasn't there!   While an interesting option, I wish I knew more about the device - 6 extra batteries are included, but are they something I can find...

I really like the idea of the Sensaphonics 3D ambient system, but it's way out of my price range, and I think more technically advanced than I'm looking for.   I love isolating headphones, but sometimes I want to hear the rest of the world, either temporarily, or at a reduced volume. Yes, I...

Quote:   Have you tried the JH Audio Flickr page? Specifically, here. There are some reasonable pictures of the trans blue ones, though still look rather cloudy, instead of as clear as the regular trans colors. On the other hand, several of the invisible trans ones appear to be...

Out of curiosity, do you really feel that dropping the extra $$ on the TWag cable makes more of a difference to the JH5s than, say, spending more on a higher-priced custom, or even going for a (used) JH13/16? Of course, the cables are transferable between similar models, whereas customs can't be...

What are the switches on the first set for?

Not in any way to disagree with your overall message (quite the contrary; I enjoyed reading the opinions) it's possible that the artist had originally intended to only ever wear one monitor - UE offers their UE1 which is 4 speakers, but both channels in one ear. They call it "stereo", but I feel...

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