Madgravity34
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Fisher Audio Remold Review
Test System:DIYmod - 30gb 5g with 30AWG silver-plated OFC copper wiring and Cardas Quad Eutectic Soldering
LOD - Twisted Cables low-profile (4xTwSPC wires + 47uF Blackgate Capacitors + right-angle neutrik)
Amp – Arrow 12HE 2G (Gain: 0, Bass: 0, Crossfeed: 0, and Impedance: 0) *impedance 0 = 10ohms
Headphone Cable- 64’’ Custom TwAg cable with solid silver posts
Customer Service
I spoke to Kaysen at Fisher Audio twice in order to get some questions answered. She was very helpful and never rushed me during our conversations. Before getting the molds done, I wanted to make sure that I could get the monitors built to my exact specifications. I was hoping to model them after the ES3X’s (as much as possible). To this extent I called Westone and they told me the ES3X uses a dual-bore setup with white filters in each bore. The driver was split (highs/mids in bore 1 and lows in bore 2). I opted not to keep the UM3X single-bore. This is a very important distinction for those who are considering having their UM3X’s remolded.
The build specifications I provided are as follows:
1. Use the included TwAg cable
2. Dual-Bore with equal length sound tubes and white (680ohm) filters
3. Dark Translucent Red (I opted for no artwork)
I did have an issue with the first impressions I sent in, Kaysen emailed me immediately after receiving them to let me know they had flattened out during shipping. This was due to the water-based material my audiologist chose to use, in the end I had to have them re-done in silicon (at no additional cost to me of course) and I mailed those out to her via priority. This delayed my re-molds by a week so I called into the office and asked them to put my IEMS on “rushed” service (which is an extra 15 dollars but they guarantee a 7-day turn-around).
In fact, I called after 6 days, and my re-molds were ready to go! I gave them my payment information and they were shipped before the end of the day (via 2-day UPS). I received the IEMS packaged securely after a great Thanksgiving with the family on black-Friday (yesterday!!) and I have been listening to them as much as possible since!
Build Quality
Opening the box was a very exciting, yet anxious moment for me; I have never seen custom IEMS before and I was apprehensive for several reasons:
1) I was afraid they build quality may not be up to par
2) I was afraid the color might not have come out right (I did not get artwork)
3) I was afraid that there might be some fit issues.
I can say after opening the package I was very impressed with the build quality. It was instantly apparent that they had followed my build specifications precisely, I could tell the sound tubes on both bores were the same length and the white filters were used in both.
The fit on the IEMS have taken me some time to get right, but the more I wear them the more my ears get used to it. The seal is very good but I might have a slight issue: the left side seems to be slightly over-sized. That or my left-ear is just very sensitive to insertion depth. I will need some more time and a trip to my audiologist to see what he thinks.
The guys/gals over at Fisher Audio did an excellent job molding the customs to my TwAg cable connectors. There are no gaps and the connections feel very solid. I do not plan on removing these repeatedly (if at all), as I see no reason to upgrade or swap out these cables. I really don't think there is anything better than the TwAg cables anyways
.As a side note: Craig’s cables are very high-quality and my only complaint with the modifications to this particular set, is the memory wire is a little stiff and the cable does not want to wrap around my ear easily (I will try to capture this in pictures as well).
I’ve tried to include pictures to illustrate the internals, the color, the finish, the fit, and the size of these monitors. To be honest, I was shocked by how large custom monitors are, and it is embarrassing to admit it took me a good 15 minutes before I figured out how to even put these things in properly!
Pictures
Here you guys can clearly see the custom connectors on my TwAg cable and the great job Fisher did having them look clean and flush along the IEM's surface
The Drivers look well placed and are neatly wired
You can see the dual-bores are of high-quality and the drivers are split by the appropriate frequencies
Here you can just make out the soundtubes and can pretty easily tell they are equal length
The monitors sit very flush and the fit is almost spot-on even on the first try!
Sound Quality
Songs Tested:
Massive Attack – “I Against I”
Eric Clapton – “Layla”
Dave Matthews Band – “Crash”
John Mayer – “Neon”
Thornley – “So Far So Good”
PantyRaid – “Headcase”
**DISCLAIMER**
THESE ARE MY SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS BUT I MUST STATE THAT NEITHER MY DIYMOD OR TWAG CABLE ARE BURNED IT. THIS LENDS MY SYSTEM TO SOUND SIBILANT AND MUDDY COMPARED TO THE “FINAL” SOUND ONCE EVERYTHING HAS SMOOTHED OUT
** DISCLAIMER**
With that out of the way, I can give you all my listening impressions. I have listened to a lot of my favorite songs, and have tried to test out various frequency ranges. I was immediately impressed with the bass impact of my remolded UM3X’s. Despite the looseness in the lower frequencies (common for un-burned in TwAg) these IEMS can go LOW LOW LOW! Listening to Massive Attack or PantyRaid, I was afraid I would miss out on some of the lower registers and the impact compared to my ATH-M50s but I was not disappointed. It was definitely a nice surprise, much better than the universal UM3X’s with stock cable.
The Mid-range is much the same as the stock UM3X’s but clarity has increased all around.
The Treble is where I am hearing the largest improvement (despite the sibilance and lack of smoothness I fully expect another leap in performance as my system burns in). As before the remolds, the UM3X’s were, as described, analytical but fairly laid-back. These IEMS have come to life with the remold. I would say they have a much more balanced signature and rock is very engaging with the re-mold.
The soundstage has widened considerably after the remolds + TwAg, but the sound seems a little cluttered at this point (maybe contradictory statements there but this will hopefully change over the next week or so). I am finding that the dual-bore brings our excellent frequency separation and the staging of the UM3X’s, while still intimate, has opened up and I like it a lot.
Conclusion
Overall, I really am impressed with the quality of Fisher Audio’s work. I did have my fair share of qualms and, until yesterday, I was praying that my UM3X’s would not be “ruined” or sound like crap. Instead, it seems like everything I was hoping for happened; the re-mold + TwAg helped liven up the treble while simultaneously improving the entire IEMS sound signature. I can’t wait to see what kind of improvements occur over the next 1-2 weeks but you can be sure I will be updating this post with my final listening impressions!
I hope you all enjoyed reading this and let me know if you have any questions, want me to test anything else out, or take anymore pictures.
**Sorry about the picture quality, its not easy taking macro-shots with my Vibrant's 5MP camera**
