[DavidMahler]

As of today,
 
What is currently the best IEM in production?  Obviously it will not be a universal answer (pun, but with the contendors
 
JH13, JH16, UE18, UE's In-Ear Reference, and Westone's ES5 amongst others....
 
Which is currently considered the best of the best by yourself and/or others....too bad few have heard all of them
 
 

 

[aLm0sT]

Depends on how "best" is defined.
Each of the customs mentioned are good in their own respective way.
Ultimately, it all comes down to personal preference.
If you want an engaging, lively sound: ES5. If you want bass: JH16. If you want a flat, analytical sound: UERM.
 
Personally, only having heard the JH16 and ES5, I prefer the ES5 over the JH16.

 

[king8888]

jh16 or ue18,IMO i think they r the best custom. I have owned a jh16 and it suits my taste.

 

[ericp10]

I don't think this question can be answered fairly because very few people here seem to own more than one custom; your favorite sound signature comes into play; and it's not really fair to count just the higher-end customs (the 1964-Q sounds better than any top tier universal I've heard, yet I've seen some people state that some top tier universals sound better than the Jh16). So if any question is subjective, this would be the poster child IMO.

 

[SolidVictory]

 
Quote:

If you want an engaging, lively sound: ES5. If you want bass: JH16. If you want a flat, analytical sound: UERM.
 
Personally, only having heard the JH16 and ES5, I prefer the ES5 over the JH16.

I wouldn't narrow it down to that simple of an algorithm for deciding which IEM to go with. Although the JH16 handles low frequencies very well, that does not mean they do not provide an "engaging, lively sound" either.
 
I think it is more important to consider what you expect from your IEM. If you expect your IEM to have a wide, open soundstage that creates an almost holographic experience, then you have to decide if a better midrange is more important than that expectation. If you do decide that the midrange is more important, then you might skimp on the soundstage a little in favor of a better midrange. In this scenario, the Westone ES5 would probably be what you are leaning towards rather than the JH13/JH16.
 
Back to the main question though, these types of "sacrifices" are what you ultimately have to decide on when you're choosing a custom IEM. Keep in mind though that all top-tier custom IEMs sound very good--so the "sacrifices" are not as drastic as you would expect them to be. However subtle they might be, the differences are still there.
 
There is no "best" custom IEM. You define what "best" is, and that may not even be a custom IEM but may be a universal IEM.

 

[aLm0sT]

Quote:

I wouldn't narrow it down to that simple of an algorithm for deciding which IEM to go with. Although the JH16 handles low frequencies very well, that does not mean they do not provide an "engaging, lively sound" either.
 
I think it is more important to consider what you expect from your IEM. If you expect your IEM to have a wide, open soundstage that creates an almost holographic experience, then you have to decide if a better midrange is more important than that expectation. If you do decide that the midrange is more important, then you might skimp on the soundstage a little in favor of a better midrange. In this scenario, the Westone ES5 would probably be what you are leaning towards rather than the JH13/JH16.
 
Back to the main question though, these types of "sacrifices" are what you ultimately have to decide on when you're choosing a custom IEM. Keep in mind though that all top-tier custom IEMs sound very good--so the "sacrifices" are not as drastic as you would expect them to be. However subtle they might be, the differences are still there.
 
There is no "best" custom IEM. You define what "best" is, and that may not even be a custom IEM but may be a universal IEM.

I completely agree with you.
 
In my first post, I just wanted to give an example. Of course it's more complicated than that.
All top-tier customs generally offer very high-quality sound. Differences are marginal.
Whichever custom you go for, I'm sure you'll be pleased with it.