[Mike Dias]

Hi everyone — Mike here from Ultimate Ears. I recently was lucky enough to talk shop with Eric Hruza, the Director of Pro Audio for Sonion. For those of you who are not familiar with that name, please allow me to set the stage for you. All in-ear monitors are driven by balanced armatures. And there are 2 primary companies that make all of the balanced armatures for this entire industry; Knowles and Sonion. So talking to Eric is literally like talking to Oz, The Great and Powerful. (Well, at least Oz with a better sense of humor But seriously, Eric knows everyone in this industry and he knows and understands all the different in-ear companies down to the minute details — more so than anyone I've ever talked to. It makes sense, he's seen this industry evolve since inception and he's helped grow most of all your favorite in-ear lines.

 

I've been working in this industry for almost 12 years now so you can imagine that I've been building up a few questions that needed answers. And I asked away. And Eric answered. I thought I understood this business — but it seems like the more you learn, the less you really know. So be warned. This series will blow your mind and leave you wanting more.

 

Eric agreed to be so candid because our industry is still is in its infancy and there is a lot of misinformation floating around out there. It was his truest hope and desire that we can all take what he says and help share it. So if and when you see anything that seems suspect to you on the boards, feel free to pass along any of these clips.  Lastly — a quick note about formatting. Since I can't add the sound clips directly into this post, I've embedded the appropriate links into the headings below. I know it's a little choppy but bear with me. It's absolutely worth it.  We start with the history of it all and go from there.
 

How It All Began...

 

Everything Matters. EVERYTHING.

 

Where's The Market Going

 

Where's The Market Going Part II

 

Beware of Used Receivers. Not Everyone Is On The Level.

 

There's More To Sound Than How It Looks. Fit Really Is THAT Important.

 

 

 

[squallkiercosa]

Still listening, Really interesting!
Thanks!

 

[Kizu]

THanks a lot.

 

[minami]

Everything is important, haha, we hifi-ers would certainly agree, sounds like pseudo-science but is so true.

 

[goodvibes]

LOL. Imagine that. You actually have to listen to a driver to fully appreciate it's performance. I've always said the best guys at this understand that you can't measure everything though it's a great tool.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Great thread, full of good info!

 

[nick n]

Thanks for this post. Very interesting.

 

[khbaur330162]

Awesome. Thanks for the interview. My favorite part was when he was talking about using products/materials outside of their intended purpose. "We need to sell this stuff by the acre, and you're buying it by the foot, and you're using it for something that we didn't intend it to ever be used for; quit your whining." It's so true. That's sometimes what separates the "good guys" from the "bad guys" for me. One person says, "I'm doing you a favor already. You're officially wasting my time," whereas another might say, "Oh, you need our old style product? Wow, that's a super low quantity, maybe I can find you an acre lying in a warehouse that should last you now 'til the apocalypse, or ya know, whenever."
 
Anyway, loved a lot of the stuff in here. Pretty cool to see the industry from another perspective.
 
You'd almost think a man this passionate about BA's and hi-fi would design his own in-ear monitor and open up shop. 

 

[Mike Dias]

Hi everyone — glad you're liking the post as much as I do! It's deep.
 
Say khbaur330162, just wanted to address your quote: "You'd almost think a man this passionate about BA's and hi-fi would design his own in-ear monitor and open up shop." Throughout one point or another, Eric and Sonion have had significant presence on almost every in-ear monitor shop. Would you rather work for just one or would you rather be involved with them all?

 

[Headphony]

Interesting stuff. Who's selling products with used receivers and how do you know if that's what you're getting?

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Thats my question also.  Who are these other companies and how can you tell...
Quote:

Interesting stuff. Who's selling products with used receivers and how do you know if that's what you're getting?

 

[GradestCanadian]

Thanks. Super interesting stuff

 

[Marleybob217]

I'd say you probably could test everything, to make sure you actually have a 'perfect' sound. Perfect detail, perfect neutrality, perfect timing. I guess a lot of these tests just don't exist yet. The thing is, not everyone likes 'perfect', also the sound engineers would not even have a perfect sound producing system. 
 
A hypothesis: People generally would not like a perfect sounding device.

 

[djvkool]

Very, very informative, much appreciated...

 

[MuZo2]

Thanks, very informative. Two links are broken
Where's The Market Going / Where's The Market Going Part II