As I mentioned, I live in a very rural, hidden away part of southern Spain, great for many things, but not decent audio. A couple of times a year I return to the UK. I'll be there at Xmas, that'll be Hugo time, and back during the summer for a couple of months, that'll be, almost certainly, 846 time. I really like the idea of the K10, and wouldn't hesitate to buy them, but, the turnaround time on them is 30/40 days. That's in addition to postal/courier services and customs both ends. Ear impressions of course will need to be taken, almost certainly involving a day trip to London. An approval 'photo needs to be taken and sent to China, then the moulds will need to be dispatched, that will involve a couple of hours waiting in line in Oxford St. Aldates post office.
If this years Dr. Moulton (The Wizard) birthday 20% discount is repeated, I could spend the saving on a priority manufacture order, $300, 6/7 days turn around, giving me a $20 saving on full price, and IEMs in my grubby hands reasonably quickly. That would be OK. The alternative is to order the 846s from a German Shure dealer for £800ish, depending on an increasingly strong Pound, they offer a three year warranty. Cables I'll get from Forza Audioworks, by all accounts decent quality, great people to deal with, as well as a rapid turn around. ACS custom tips are based in Banbury, about 15 miles north of Oxford. I can buy an ACS voucher for between £90 and £120, with a choice of many perfectly capable audiologists throughout the south of England who act as agents for ACS, they'll take the impressions. Turnaround on those should be 4/6 weeks, at the outside.
I know from my Senn. IE80s a proper seal is key to decent bass, as well as mids and treble. All in all, just so much easier than dealing with CIEMS, even though I am convinced by the "silver bullet" quality of the K10s. I had found myself thinking about booking next summers flights around Noble's manufacturing schedule, audio madness beckons!! I'm quite sure the Hugo will be a revelation for me and my CD collection, the 846s will be more than "good enough". I've looked at all of the grown up headphones, but as well as the weight and clamping that comes with those, the heat here in Spain is a real issue, as well as the sweatiness of leather pads. IEMS are far more comfortable for me, plus I like the sense and immediacy of sound.
If anyone has experience of the Hugo/846s, or knows of any negative aspects of that combo, I'd be very interested to hear them. Thanks.
PS. Apologies if my posts appear in a fragmented form. Neither my son, who is much brighter and computer savvy than me, nor I, can
workout why this happens.
[Mod Edit: Fixed the formatting and added paragraphs for you.]