Xsoldier416
New Head-Fier
Hello folks,
I'm not exactly new here, but it's been a good long while. Long ago (5 years ago) I ventured into the Head-Fi forums thinking I was really cool with my SkullCandy Hesh's. I am now much wiser than I was back then, after listening to some real hi-fi audio and drinking the koolaid myself with some HD668Bs. But even back then I really always liked the idea of IEMs and specifically the custom rabbit hole. Back then I wanted in, but I just couldn't justify it or really have the drive to do take the plunge.
Well, that day has come. I jumped in and finally got some CIEMs that I am really excited about.
I teamed up with Jonny, from Alclair Audio, to get some sound impressions of what Alclair had to offer and then to get some silicone impressions of my ear holes (which was a CRAZY experience). What follows is my thoughts and (future) pictures of my ears.
If I'm not in the right place, please don't hesitate to reprimand me, I've been yelled at before.
So to start off, why Alclair: budget.
Yup, not afraid to admit it, I wanted in to the CIEM crowd, but I just couldn't justify spending $600+ on some plastic with a bunch of wiring to fit in my ears. At least not YET
Will I in the future? My initial hearing impressions say yes, so we'll see what happens.
Background
So to give some background, I have been in music my whole life. I love singing and have been doing it for a long time. If high school was any indication of my prowess, I got a lot of the solos in my chorus, took some voice lessons, and was in musicals in high profile roles for a lot of my youth. Yes how humble of me. Also played trumpet for some 10+ years and loved it, but I didn't really take it with me after college (or really even in college). Had a band in college, played rhythm guitar and lead vocals. I've also used SkullCandy's (I'm so sorry) and transitioned over to HD668Bs, and through trials have found that pretty much my favorite all time cans are the Senn HD600s (absolutely beautiful and will someday own some). As far as IEMs go, nothing to get excited about or even remember the name of. Never had an iPhone, so never had the buds, but I've used friends' and they suck/I don't like them.
Use
Perhaps this should be the first thing talked about, but I think it makes sense to come after background. Please feel free to tell me otherwise. I will be using my CIEMs for casual listening, ignoring my workmates, and going to sleep. I would also like to record some of my past music on guitar, but that's a pipe dream, so I won't be bothering to bear that in mind nor a future band gig.
Sound
Man oh man. So I thought I'd get all prepared and have an awesome playlist to listen to the various drivers/configurations, but I dropped the ball. Fortunately my phone (a Motorola Droid Maxx) ended up shuffling me a nice bouquet of sound from Adam Young's Sky Sailing, to Rise Against, to Mitis(an electronica artist). Also 3 Doors Down, blink-182, and Zac Brown Band.
- Versa
A nice entry level, but the next price up is so little a price difference there wasn't a reason to go here. Good sound, not a bad sound stage, and some good bass, but clarity lacked in the mids. If the bass got a little loud, the highs suffered.
- Dual
Very mids/treble forward. Guitars sounded very clear and vocals weren't too repressed, but the bass suffered as did the highs/cymbals. They market this as a vocalist's CIEM for stage use and I can definitely agree with that.
- Dual XBs
Not completely sure, but I believe XB stands for Xtra Bass. They took the duals and gave them more of a "V" EQ and I'm a fan. At quiet volumes everything is pretty even, but as the sound was brought up, the bass really popped for me. Not so much as to drown out the mids, though. The highs definitely sounded lovely and I really enjoyed listening to all of the tracks with this set. I, obviously, decided to go with these.
- Reference
Almost all CIEM companies have a "reference" line. Usually they are for folks who want a nice flat EQ and these were no exception. Every little bit of the spectrum is clean, crisp, and nothing is left out. With most of the rock tracks and the electronica, I was really left wanting to hear more bass, but if you were mixing, these would be really great to pinpoint deficiencies/extras. Listening to Sky Sailing was a really nice experience, though again, I would have wanted a little more punch. If listening to chamber music or any other classical, these would have been the cat's pajamas, or so I speculate because unfortunately I didn't have any specimens on my phone to test. Definitely a wonderful take on a "reference" CIEM for use in teh recording industry or for those looking for an unmolested listening experience.
- Tour (triples)
So Jonny talked me in to listening to these guys even though it was out of my price range. We spoke a little about Owl City and said how he had toured with Adam Young and that he used the Tour's. So I gave them a try. Very similar to the XBs, but honestly, a little bit of mud in the lows when listening to the electronica. The mids were a little recessed, but not unpleasantly so, and everything from there up had wonderful clarity. I submit that maybe it was my phone's fault for the muddiness of the bass, but seeing as my phone would normally be driving my sound, it would make sense to use it as a test bed. These also had a bit more sound stage than the XBs, which I would admit, I would expect to see from a line that cost another $200. Not as much as the Reference, but certainly a large presence from audio that is for all purposes intended, in my head.
I did not try any of the higher driver CIEMs, just because he didn't really suggest them and I knew I wasn't going to be spending that much, so why bother, though perhaps I should have. In the past I was able to try some UE triples, quads, and reference at the NYC meet up back in 2014 (shout out to Julie! I think that's her name). Obviously these examples far outperformed any of the IEMs I've used before, with the exception of the Versa's only marginally outperforming, but that's to be expected of an entry level CIEM.
Ear Impressions
Holy cow, this was a new experience indeed. I've had my ears looked at many times over the years from many a doctor. I've even popped an eardrum once, swimming up in Canada. Nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of having something that far into my ear. It was painful and I had to sit down due to light headedness. I asked if it was normal, but the rep assured me that it was perfectly normal as usually nothing gets quite that far into my ear. After he injected the silicone mix, it started to subside, and when finally I could feel the silicone starting to setup, it became a mere annoyance and not nearly so painful. Afterwards Jonny showed me the difference in my ear canals and that my one ear (left?) had a nasty hook in the third bend which is what caused my pain. The CIEMs won't reach that far, so I'm no concerned, but at least I know what to expect in the future.
XBs
So they are on order and I am (anxiously) awaiting their arrival. At which time I will update this thread with final impressions (lol) of my XBs. Let me know if I've made any faux pas or if I should use different descriptive language, but I think I got my point across. If anyone else has some Alclairs, feel free to sound off.
Can't wait for my ears
Sincerely,
Platinum
I'm not exactly new here, but it's been a good long while. Long ago (5 years ago) I ventured into the Head-Fi forums thinking I was really cool with my SkullCandy Hesh's. I am now much wiser than I was back then, after listening to some real hi-fi audio and drinking the koolaid myself with some HD668Bs. But even back then I really always liked the idea of IEMs and specifically the custom rabbit hole. Back then I wanted in, but I just couldn't justify it or really have the drive to do take the plunge.
Well, that day has come. I jumped in and finally got some CIEMs that I am really excited about.
I teamed up with Jonny, from Alclair Audio, to get some sound impressions of what Alclair had to offer and then to get some silicone impressions of my ear holes (which was a CRAZY experience). What follows is my thoughts and (future) pictures of my ears.
If I'm not in the right place, please don't hesitate to reprimand me, I've been yelled at before.
So to start off, why Alclair: budget.
Yup, not afraid to admit it, I wanted in to the CIEM crowd, but I just couldn't justify spending $600+ on some plastic with a bunch of wiring to fit in my ears. At least not YET
Will I in the future? My initial hearing impressions say yes, so we'll see what happens.Background
So to give some background, I have been in music my whole life. I love singing and have been doing it for a long time. If high school was any indication of my prowess, I got a lot of the solos in my chorus, took some voice lessons, and was in musicals in high profile roles for a lot of my youth. Yes how humble of me. Also played trumpet for some 10+ years and loved it, but I didn't really take it with me after college (or really even in college). Had a band in college, played rhythm guitar and lead vocals. I've also used SkullCandy's (I'm so sorry) and transitioned over to HD668Bs, and through trials have found that pretty much my favorite all time cans are the Senn HD600s (absolutely beautiful and will someday own some). As far as IEMs go, nothing to get excited about or even remember the name of. Never had an iPhone, so never had the buds, but I've used friends' and they suck/I don't like them.
Use
Perhaps this should be the first thing talked about, but I think it makes sense to come after background. Please feel free to tell me otherwise. I will be using my CIEMs for casual listening, ignoring my workmates, and going to sleep. I would also like to record some of my past music on guitar, but that's a pipe dream, so I won't be bothering to bear that in mind nor a future band gig.
Sound
Man oh man. So I thought I'd get all prepared and have an awesome playlist to listen to the various drivers/configurations, but I dropped the ball. Fortunately my phone (a Motorola Droid Maxx) ended up shuffling me a nice bouquet of sound from Adam Young's Sky Sailing, to Rise Against, to Mitis(an electronica artist). Also 3 Doors Down, blink-182, and Zac Brown Band.
- Versa
A nice entry level, but the next price up is so little a price difference there wasn't a reason to go here. Good sound, not a bad sound stage, and some good bass, but clarity lacked in the mids. If the bass got a little loud, the highs suffered.
- Dual
Very mids/treble forward. Guitars sounded very clear and vocals weren't too repressed, but the bass suffered as did the highs/cymbals. They market this as a vocalist's CIEM for stage use and I can definitely agree with that.
- Dual XBs
Not completely sure, but I believe XB stands for Xtra Bass. They took the duals and gave them more of a "V" EQ and I'm a fan. At quiet volumes everything is pretty even, but as the sound was brought up, the bass really popped for me. Not so much as to drown out the mids, though. The highs definitely sounded lovely and I really enjoyed listening to all of the tracks with this set. I, obviously, decided to go with these.
- Reference
Almost all CIEM companies have a "reference" line. Usually they are for folks who want a nice flat EQ and these were no exception. Every little bit of the spectrum is clean, crisp, and nothing is left out. With most of the rock tracks and the electronica, I was really left wanting to hear more bass, but if you were mixing, these would be really great to pinpoint deficiencies/extras. Listening to Sky Sailing was a really nice experience, though again, I would have wanted a little more punch. If listening to chamber music or any other classical, these would have been the cat's pajamas, or so I speculate because unfortunately I didn't have any specimens on my phone to test. Definitely a wonderful take on a "reference" CIEM for use in teh recording industry or for those looking for an unmolested listening experience.
- Tour (triples)
So Jonny talked me in to listening to these guys even though it was out of my price range. We spoke a little about Owl City and said how he had toured with Adam Young and that he used the Tour's. So I gave them a try. Very similar to the XBs, but honestly, a little bit of mud in the lows when listening to the electronica. The mids were a little recessed, but not unpleasantly so, and everything from there up had wonderful clarity. I submit that maybe it was my phone's fault for the muddiness of the bass, but seeing as my phone would normally be driving my sound, it would make sense to use it as a test bed. These also had a bit more sound stage than the XBs, which I would admit, I would expect to see from a line that cost another $200. Not as much as the Reference, but certainly a large presence from audio that is for all purposes intended, in my head.
I did not try any of the higher driver CIEMs, just because he didn't really suggest them and I knew I wasn't going to be spending that much, so why bother, though perhaps I should have. In the past I was able to try some UE triples, quads, and reference at the NYC meet up back in 2014 (shout out to Julie! I think that's her name). Obviously these examples far outperformed any of the IEMs I've used before, with the exception of the Versa's only marginally outperforming, but that's to be expected of an entry level CIEM.
Ear Impressions
Holy cow, this was a new experience indeed. I've had my ears looked at many times over the years from many a doctor. I've even popped an eardrum once, swimming up in Canada. Nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of having something that far into my ear. It was painful and I had to sit down due to light headedness. I asked if it was normal, but the rep assured me that it was perfectly normal as usually nothing gets quite that far into my ear. After he injected the silicone mix, it started to subside, and when finally I could feel the silicone starting to setup, it became a mere annoyance and not nearly so painful. Afterwards Jonny showed me the difference in my ear canals and that my one ear (left?) had a nasty hook in the third bend which is what caused my pain. The CIEMs won't reach that far, so I'm no concerned, but at least I know what to expect in the future.
XBs
So they are on order and I am (anxiously) awaiting their arrival. At which time I will update this thread with final impressions (lol) of my XBs. Let me know if I've made any faux pas or if I should use different descriptive language, but I think I got my point across. If anyone else has some Alclairs, feel free to sound off.
Can't wait for my ears
Sincerely,
Platinum
