[Xeon [09]]

I've been doing a ton of research. I've heard a ton of times that one person may hear a set of drivers differently then another person. 1 example being is. Say if someone said an earphone had a rolled off treble. Another person can find the treble on the same exact earphone just right or too harsh. This is all due to the different shapes in our ear canal that acts as a sound dampener. I'm just wondering if everyone hears the frequency response of drivers inside of a custom shell the same?

 

[ClieOS]

You also have to consider the fact that each of us hear things differently.

 

[Zuglufttier]

Indeed and not everybode will hear the same even when it's coming out of a custom inear.

Your quest will continue

 

[charlie0904]

agreed on the above.

but one thing customs does the same for everyone, that is take the best out of your wallet.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie0904 /img/forum/go_quote.gif that is take the best out of your wallet.

Well put

 

[muscular]

Which is the con of a custom, there's hardly a set to try.

And once you drop the money for it, there's no way u can sell it to gain back some loss.

 

[Zuglufttier]

You can get a demo from almost any manufacturer. Those will have almost the same sound quality like the final custom product.

 

[shigzeo]

i have heard demos of many customs and have 4 customs - while the sound signature is the same, the actual final performance is different. quite different. bone conduction and perfect fit are two huge contributing factors. that said, i've not heard a custom i don't like better than the most expensive of universal earphones.

some of the demos even sounded better!

 

[Zuglufttier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif some of the demos even sounded better!

The only one I tried are demos of the Stage 2 and 3 from Compact Monitors and both sounded way better than my UM3x e.g.

 

[Bilavideo]

When I was wearing on-ear and over-the-ear Grados, I was surprised at how much difference it makes to adjust the fit of the headphones. When I moved into IEMs, the same principle applied. Everybody talks about the poor bass on the Etymotics, and they're right, but if you have the patience to screw those earpieces in with the right tip and the right orientation, you get what you need. People speak of the HF roll-off of the SE530, but for my money, what they're hearing is a lot of mids. Check the frequency response graphs at Headroom and you'll see HF roll-off across the board, with most monitors rolling off the HF not much differently from the 530. So, I experimented with the tip (the SE530 does have a little longer stem from the shell to the tip, as well as a kind of speed bump preventing the tips from being pushed back too far). I cored a foamy tip and replaced it with stethoscopic tubing. Sliding the tip over the tubing, which I had slid over the stem, I got a wider aperture than typical with a normal foamy AND it was closer to the shell. The HF opened up. I'm not sure it was better but it was there for those who don't get enough HF in their diet. So, yeah, how you position the tip does make a difference in performance.

 

[Xeon [09]]

Thanks for your responses!!