[McCol]

 
Hoping for a bit of help/advice with this. 
My IEM journey has been around 6 years and taken in many brands, been fun at times listening to different signature sounds.  For the last few months been enjoying the Westone UM3x and thought maybe that was the end of the road for me.  However we all know how the story goes next!  Curious about the new Westone 4's but also curious about customs.
 
I've got some custom tips for my Senn IE8 from ACS which are a great fit, and have recently got me thinking about customs.
 
My dilema is 2 fold.  High cost here in UK of customs, only UK company I can find are ACS and they cost around £500 to £650 depending on dual or triple models.  JH5's from a british website come in at £540 as oppose to approx £400 if i import.  Or the 1964's dual and triples which would also be cheaper to import.
 
My problem is choosing a custom that will match/surpass my UM3X and not paying the vastly inflated costs of UK prices.  Anybody help me out with this with some advice/comparsions?

 

[ElcomeSoft]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/537855/anyone-heard-of-minerva-customs
 
This might help.
 
Single Driver - £150 (mine is actually dispatching today)
Dual Driver - £250
Triple Driver - £350
 
These prices include the audiologist appointment, all shipping costs etc.
 
As to whether they surpass your current set or not, it's never easy to say with customs it seems. Minerva have been in the custom earpiece market for many moons but only in the IEM market for a relatively short time, 2 years. Having spoken to one of their guys at length over the course of two weeks I was happy with the rather large steps they had made in developing their IEM branch.
 
Looking around the net for reviews, most of those reviewing are musicians who purchased their monitors maily for isolation and fit whilst performing, whereas the typical Head-Fi'er primarily bases their decision based upon the sound quality and sound signature.
 
All monitors are silicone and come with kevlar reinforced cables as standard. They have quite a few custom extras available which might be worth making inquiries about.
 
I ordered my Mi-1's on 14th Feb, saw the audiologist on the 15th and they will be dispatching tonight to arrive on the 25th or 26th, depending on how Royal Mail feels. Despite ordering these I still have the niggle that they might not suit my ideal sound signature and that I may have been better off purchasing another type of high end earphone... but I know that I struggle to get an earphone which fits me nicely and comfortably for long periods of time. This should solve that hopefully.
 
Minerva also do custom sleeves for earphones. Not sure whether it's a re-shelling or just a custom tip, I did not inquire.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[shamrock134]

I own a pair of ACS T1s which cost £650 in total. I went with these because I thought there would be a lot of hassle involved with buying customs from international based customs companies.
 
To start with I felt a bit of buyers remorse as I didn't feel they were a huge improvement over the SM3. However, my opinion has since changed and I now much prefer them over all my other IEMs listed in my sig.
 
I'm still interested in a pair of JH16s and if I do take the plunge I would definitely use the UK retailer Handheld Audio. They do ear impressions, have universal demos of various customs and will also pay any import duty or shipping fees should you require a refit.

 

[McCol]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/537855/anyone-heard-of-minerva-customs
 
This might help.
 
Single Driver - £150 (mine is actually dispatching today)
Dual Driver - £250
Triple Driver - £350
 
These prices include the audiologist appointment, all shipping costs etc.
 
As to whether they surpass your current set or not, it's never easy to say with customs it seems. Minerva have been in the custom earpiece market for many moons but only in the IEM market for a relatively short time, 2 years. Having spoken to one of their guys at length over the course of two weeks I was happy with the rather large steps they had made in developing their IEM branch.
 
Looking around the net for reviews, most of those reviewing are musicians who purchased their monitors maily for isolation and fit whilst performing, whereas the typical Head-Fi'er primarily bases their decision based upon the sound quality and sound signature.
 
All monitors are silicone and come with kevlar reinforced cables as standard. They have quite a few custom extras available which might be worth making inquiries about.
 
I ordered my Mi-1's on 14th Feb, saw the audiologist on the 15th and they will be dispatching tonight to arrive on the 25th or 26th, depending on how Royal Mail feels. Despite ordering these I still have the niggle that they might not suit my ideal sound signature and that I may have been better off purchasing another type of high end earphone... but I know that I struggle to get an earphone which fits me nicely and comfortably for long periods of time. This should solve that hopefully.
 
Minerva also do custom sleeves for earphones. Not sure whether it's a re-shelling or just a custom tip, I did not inquire.
 
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info, tempting at those prices but would like to read more about them and speak to Minerva themselves.
Could you let me know what you think of yours either here or by pm.

 

[ElcomeSoft]

Royal Mail failed me yesterday so they should be here today. If not, it'll be Monday and someone at Royal Maill will get a thick ear.
 
As for my thoughts and feelings, I'll be posting them on the forums, somewhere, maybe a dedicated [Review] Minverva Mi-1 (UK Customs) thread, and I will also post it on my website.
 
Pictures and thoughts abound. However, I am pretty new to this audiophile business (having listened to the Monster Turbines, Head-Direct RE-ZERO, Brainwavz ProAlpha) so my reviews won't be up to the same standard as some of those you find around Head-Fi but I will give it my best shot.