CustomArt Ei.3 acrylic custom IEM

Let me start this review by saying that I am relatively new to the world of audiophilia. The only notable iem I have owned prior is the ATH-IM70, although I have tried and own(ed) a decent amount of low end to high end headphones. This is my first review on head fi.

I won’t mention accessories or go into too much detail on build quality, as you can read all about those in the reviews prior. Let me just say that I was very happy with the design.

(I purchased these myself and what follows are my 100% honest impressions)

Ordering

I must say custom art’s ciem order page is superior to most others out there on the net, letting you see what each option looks like in real time on a custom shell. This can result in you fiddling over the options for a long time, designing hypothetical iem shells and evaluating them endlessly, which I can confess I did.

Even when I reached my final design and ordered, I changed my mind and sent Piotr my new request, which he was happy to take! Just over a month and they were in my hands.

Fit

Being a newcomer to custom in ear monitors, it took some time for me to get used to inserting them. Initially when I put them in I thought I couldn’t get a proper seal. Turns out they “click” into the cymba portion of the ear when enough force is applied. Once I figured that out, I had a perfect, secure fit. Isolation is impressive; you can still hear outside noises but they are quite faint, the edge is taken out of them. They are vastly more comfortable than my im70’s which was my main issue with those; those just never felt secure. Props to Piotr on that front.

Sound

The first feature I evaluated in the Ei.3’s sound signature was its bass response; bass is often the first thing we notice in any sound signature and this works to the Ei.3’s advantage, because the bass is full and extends well into the lower registers. I enjoyed its impact and rumble quite a bit, and it was fast enough not to sound overbearing. Listening to old-school trance and techno was a blast (“Forbidden Paradise 5” trance mix [1996] and Drexciya – “The Journey Home” [1995]), and I found myself upping the volume in spite of myself.

I am not adept at describing mids so I will simply state that the sound of the ei.3 is not hollow or distant. Vocals have presence without sounding too laid back or too forward; there is nothing particularly noteworthy about the Ei.3’s vocal performance. Switching straight from the Audeze LCD 2 however, the upper midrange is significantly less natural sounding; female vocals sounded a bit unnatural. I am aware that this is hardly a fair comparison, but something to note anyway. As I used the Ei.3 on its own for longer, I grew accustomed to them and this became less of an issue.

Now highs – this is where the Ei.3 falters. Treble takes a general downward slope past 6K or so, which we can generally see from Crinacle’s measurements shown. The result is a lack of air/sparkle in the sound. I prefer warm sound signatures in my headphones, and I was surprised by how warm the Ei.3’s were if that is any indication. I don’t think that many people accustomed to high or mid-fi audio will be 100% satisfied with this ciem’s treble.

These aspects in combination give the Ei.3 a thick, somewhat weighty sound and non-fatiguing sound signature. This is great for beat-centric electronically produced music like techno, trance, house, juke, DnB/Jungle, dubstep, UK garage and hip-hop. But contrary to what other reviews have stated, I find the Ei.3 to be inadequate for acoustic or vocal-centric music like rock, jazz or soul/funk. Listening to Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell”, the Ei.3 was too congested, with not enough detail or air. I hesitate to say “muddy” because that is going to extremes, but there is a certain muddiness to the sound which reveals itself in natural, acoustic recordings but isn’t really there at all for electronically produced tracks.
So when Piotr markets this ciem as a product best used for electronic music, he is 100% right and is obviously fully aware of the Ei.3’s strengths and limitations when promoting them this way, because the Ei.3’s do shine in that regard. However I have to disagree with some of the points made in other reviews which pitch this ciem as a balanced iem capable of handling all genres.

Verdict

As an avid consumer of electronic music, these ciems are a great start for me. I can forsee myself using them as my main portable/outdoor drivers for many years into the future. And at the price they go for, you really can’t do better.

Value: 10/10

Design: 9/10

Fit: 10/10

Sound: 7/10

Disclaimer

First of all, please let me say thank you to Piotr from Custom Art, who provide to me nice discount in exchange of my honest opinions in this review attempt.
                Ei.3 are very special to me. They are mi first real custom earphones made based on my ear impressions. I was hesitating for long time and I always prefer universal versions because I did not believed, that custom shell can make so big different and because of liquidity later, when I like to collect funds for new audio adventures. So I´m believer now, that is for sure. Who did not try yet, can´t imagine level of comfort, isolation and general joy from listening. But there is really huge different. For impression I visit local audiologist in neighborhood and I got my impression. That was more than month before I placed order to CA and I did it for different purposes. I got at that time EE Athena VIII CIEM and I was considering to get them re-shelled for my ears. Problem is that get it done here in Europe is a bit complicated and despite of fact, that CA were willing to do so, I found is not fair to them. Instead I sold Athenas and I choose one model from Custom Art line. It took few more weeks, than I make-up my mind and I finally choose Ei.3. Of course I got a lot of questions before I placed my order and I like say thank you again for Piotr and Kamil patience. So on the end I placed order and after 4 weeks I got them. My first custom made earphones.
                I choose simple black design on shell and on face plate, just with CA logo mentioned on face plate. Nothing special, but I really do like it a lot. Except earphones you will get stock cable, cleaning tool, warranty card and simple manual. That all was packed in Peli case size 1010. Nothing extraordinary, but good enough.
                CA earphones are very well made, with no visible flaws. My only very minor criticism is regarding to logo print on face plate, that would deserve a bit more attention, but I got opportunity to test CA Harmony model in European tour and there was not this issue at all, so it is not for sure some consistent issue.
                Fit, fit is excellent. It took for me a bit get used to, but when I did, I can´t say anything else than it is superb. I would never expect, that I be so much happy with custom shells. Isolation is nothing what can be compared to any universal earphones I ever got. I believe that many of you, who have custom earphones already is this normal, but for those who are hesitating, please do not. With custom shells will open new universe of listening for you.
                Sound, well how to put it right. I´M MOST HAPPY DUDE UNDER THE SUN. Really Ei.3 got me and from day I got them from Fedex, I did not listen practically no other earphones from my collection. Ei.3 are ,, only “ 3 drivers units, but way how they are tuned is breath taking. It seem, that well tuned earphones with lower count of drivers are much better for me, than earphones with 6, 8, 10 or more drivers. Recently I got chance for short listening HUM Pristine ( two drivers only ) and that confirm that in full. Back to Custom Art Ei.3. What at CA achieved with Ei.3 is unbelievable. Sound is a bit on darker side, but it is perfectly balanced between all 3 bands. Ei.3 Have 3 balanced drivers in 3 way configuration (Single Low, Single Full-range, Single Tweeter ). Most impressive part of sound is bass, no discussion about that. Bass is deep, strong, confident and arrogant in most positive sense of that word. Middles are velvet in perfect coherency with bass, articulated and transparent. Trebles sound to e on first listening a bit recessed, but they are not really. Before Ei.3 I listen a lot my Spartans or earphones with dynamic drivers so compare to that got Ei.3 a bit less presence of trebles, but generally again highest band is perfectly tuned and integrate in to rest of sound spectrum and after longer session I did not missed anything. Details, airiness, sparkle. That all is underlined with decent sound stage, separation and clearness.
I must confess, that I do not use stock cables. I have my own inventory of decent aftermarket cables, so mostly I´m not taking stock cables even out of box. In this case I tried my PlusSound Xseries cable, but result was not anyhow amazing. So I replaced PlusSound by Forza AudioWorks copper series and I liked sound much more. It become to be more bodied with even more impactfull bass and very wide sound stage. But I suspect, that silver will get me a bit more sparkle on top end and will keep strength of low end. So I switch cables again and I now have Ei.3 paired with Beat AudioLab Signal cable. This combination is heaven for me. Sound is as before, balanced with strong bass, velvet middle, and well integrated trebles. Only trebles are now more airy and sound is more open. Compare to FAW copper cable is sound stage a bit narrower, but is still very good. Generally sound of Ei.3 is like sound from very good floor standing speakers. Another benefit is that Ei.3 are versatile in terms of music genres. Of course there are some which sound really exceptionally, like classic music perform by big orchestra. There will take you your earphones in to concert hall. It is hard to described, it is better to experienced. Ei.3 do not suffer from hiss and they are not sibilant at all. There are only positives I can mentioned. Only ,, negative “ is that with Ei.3 left me my hunting mood for to try new and another earphones J .
Ei.3 will be perfect choice for anyone who would like to get maximum from his iPhone. In combination with Hiby music player, you can get sound which is not equal to price you will pay for this gear. I mean that performance you will get for your money you will hard to find elsewhere, even for more money. But even in combination with dedicated players you will be not disappointed. I tried with Shanling M1 and xDuoo X10 and with both are Ei.3 nice to listen. Ei.3 are not analytic and have no reference sound signature. But for those who are considering entrance in to custom made world, I believe Ei.3 are good starting point. In fact I do believe that many of those who will choose them, will not feel desire to go further. That good, according to me, they are.