[chaosfayt]

mhm , title. I see tons of people babying their customs alot, and I myself do that in excess sometimes. But really, what makes a custom anymore fragile than say the usual IEM? I mean the acrylic is actually pretty thick as compared to some iem shells.

 
The only difference is that the acrylic makes a hell lot of noise when it knocks on anything, and that the shell itself is transparent so it looks really fragile since you can see the drivers hanging inside   How much impact is actually needed to "spoil" a driver and are they really that fragile , doesnt the shell do anything to protect them from impact? If they do actually spoil, can they present minor sound defects that are virtually undetectable or will they always be obviously noticeable?

What do you think people?

 

[average_joe]

Never done an impact/crush test on acrylic shells and never plan on it!  I know there have been instances where a shell arrived broken when shipped due more than likely due to crushing force.   I doubt it they will break if dropped, as I don't think their own weight in a drop (of course, less than say 10 ft) won't be enough to damage the shell.  As far as the internal components, a manufacturer would be able to shed more light on that.  
 
I would guess people are careful because of the cost of the custom.  I baby all my gear, especially the expensive stuff!
 

 

[rawrster]

I have no idea on how fragile a custom is and I do not plan on finding that out either. I'm with average joe and I take care of my customs (as well as all my gear in general) and the cost definitely makes it something I want to take care of since it is not cheap.

 

[ericp10]

I'm very good at taking care of my gear too, but I did accidently dropped my left driver of my 1964-Q onto a non-carpeted floor one day when I was leaving work (I had changed cables and didn't make sure it was on securely). Needless to say, my heart nearly busted through my chest.
 
When I finally got the nerves to pick it up before tears started to flow, I inspected with great detail. There were no cracks to my relief. I sat down and connected the cable properly and and played some music through it. Everything was (is) fine. There's not type of shortage of any kind. Of  course, I don't want to test 1964 EARS' durability like that again, but it passed that test.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

mhm , title. I see tons of people babying their customs alot, and I myself do that in excess sometimes. But really, what makes a custom anymore fragile than say the usual IEM? I mean the acrylic is actually pretty thick as compared to some iem shells.
 
 

 
Yes, universal IEMs are much stronger than customs. That's why most professional musicians use Skullcandys when performing live.

 

[chaosfayt]

LOL im inclined to take that as sarcasm music. Big time performers don't really care about how fragile their earphones are i believe, because its mostly sponsored and they can get a new one on the fly.
 

 

[Nightslayer]

Quote:

Yes, universal IEMs are much stronger than customs. That's why most professional musicians use Skullcandys when performing live.

Sarcasm not required, I believe you are simply making the same point he was.
 

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

LOL im inclined to take that as sarcasm music. Big time performers don't really care about how fragile their earphones are i believe, because its mostly sponsored and they can get a new one on the fly.
 

Makes no difference who pays for them. If universal IEMs were as strong & reliable as customs, (professional) musicians would use them. Besides, not all (professional) musicians get their customs paid by sponsors or a record company, hence not all of them get the most expensive models.

 

[Nightslayer]

Quote:

Makes no difference who pays for them. If universal IEMs were as strong & reliable as customs, (professional) musicians would use them. Besides, not all (professional) musicians get their customs paid by sponsors or a record company, hence not all of them get the most expensive models.

Logical fallacy on quite a few points, firstly in that musicians do use IEMs like the Westone UM series as stage monitors. Secondly whether they use customs or universals isn't solely dependent on the build quality. And anyway we have derailed this thread, anyone care to comment on the durability of acrylic shells? I am rather interested to find that out. Also why don't the drivers (which aren't secured or glued inside the shell, yes?) in custom earphones move about? What keeps them in place?

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Sarcasm not required...

Says who?
 
Quote:

Logical fallacy on quite a few points, firstly in that musicians do use IEMs like the Westone UM series as stage monitors. Secondly whether they use customs or universals isn't solely dependent on the build quality. And anyway we have derailed this thread, anyone care to comment on the durability of acrylic shells? I am rather interested to find that out. Also why don't the drivers (which aren't secured or glued inside the shell, yes?) in custom earphones move about? What keeps them in place?

First off, I didn't say all professional musicians, I said most in my first post - go back and check -, then I said (professional) musicians. And of course some musicians do use universal musicians' IEMs like the UM2 & UM3X, but I was originally talking about professional musicians, most of whom I doubt would prefer the UM2 or UM3X.
 
Yes, "logical fallacy" in quite, quite, quite a few points. Absolutely.
 

 

[aleki]

I'll let you know in about a year when I get my ski pass. I'm having my TF10's reshelled specifically for that purpose

 

[chaosfayt]

I believe most professional musicians use customs for their tight fit and
to get a good accurate feedback of the music when performing , doubt durability is an issue for them actually (is what i meant)

Anyhow, back on topic then, customs - Fragile or not

 

[LCeh]

Quote:

mhm , title. I see tons of people babying their customs alot, and I myself do that in excess sometimes. But really, what makes a custom anymore fragile than say the usual IEM? I mean the acrylic is actually pretty thick as compared to some iem shells.

Cause it's much harder to replace a custom than an universal, and not to mention much more expensive in most cases.

 

[rawrster]

who says drivers in customs are not secured?

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

I believe most professional musicians use customs for their tight fit and
to get a good accurate feedback of the music when performing , doubt durability is an issue for them actually (is what i meant)

Anyhow, back on topic then, customs - Fragile or not

Durability may not be the #1 concern - though it might well be - but it is certainly very, VERY important. If they were that fragile, they would simply not use them. Why go through all the trouble of getting ear impressions and so on, if customs weren't quite strong & reliable? Just get a set of UM2s or UM3Xs or the like. Contrary to what you suggested earlier, if these IEMs were sponsored, they cannot "get a new one on the fly". If they're performing, say, in Russia, Venezuela, Latvia, South Africa, etc, could they get another set for a performance the very next day? Or even in the US, I doubt they'd get a replacement the very next day (what about weekends?). You may say "Well, I'm sure they have backups" Well, how many backups would they need, then? And I insist, the vast majority of musicians have to pay for their own gear, not just for customs. There are very few acts these days where equipment will be paid for by sponsors. Only bigger acts can have that luxury, usually in exchange for allowing these companies to use the artists' names in the marketing of their products.