[ralliart12]

Hi fellows, after waiting for a couple of months, my pair has finally arrived. Photos as follows (pardon my poor lighting):

Kudos to Mr. Andre & team(lab) for getting the design spot-on. The following are my extended comments:

1. Design: I must admit, I drafted an extremely long-winded email of instructions to Mr. Andre & his team does deliver, down to the details like different names on each side. Quality of the color/intensity of the logos though(as seen in the abit-too-dull red logo & slight loss of quality on the purple logo), can be improved, but considering all the other minute specifications they gave me, I will say overall I'm satisfied with the end-result.

2. Sound: no worries about the bass, it's definitely there. Overall sound is rather warm, & I have to agree with many, i.e. more Shure than Triplefi. Soundstage out-of-box was sub-par, i.e. no staging, the vocals of the singer sound right smack in the centre of my head, very "mono". Though it opened up slightly after 2 days, still unacceptable. Hope my incoming UE custom cables will change that.

3. Seal: this was the part I have the most dissatisfaction about. It's slightly worse than a new pair of complys. I can hear people on the bus chatting, I can hear the buzz of the bus's bell, can hear my keys drop on the floor, can converse with other folks with them on. & these were done with some podcasts playing! volume is at 50% on an iPod Touch. I had wished to be able to lower my "normal" volume once I got them customs, but now it is apparent that I can't. Perhaps I'm wearing them wrongly, though how many ways can a custom go into your ear & I really twist them in, no room further. I shall check with the person doing my impressions if there's a even better way of wearing them, otherwise the verdict will be: the seal have room for improvement.

4. What-nots: cable is excessively long, including the Y-portion. Memory sleeve portion is, on the other hand, too short though as compared to my own TF10p counterpart. Box can be of better design, i.e. rather difficult to zip up and open. & an earwax tool should be provided(it wasn't, at least not in mine).

P.S. Can anybody teach me how to wear them properly or improve my seal?

 

[boomy3555]

Ultimate Ears website has a really cool intruction video on how to insert for a better fit. It takes a little practice but then becomes second nature. Have you ever seen a person "pop" in thier hearing aids? it looks so easy because they've been doing it for a while.
You know you have the best seal possible when "Pushing" them in further does not change the sound.
the "Earloops" will also become easier once you've flexed them to your fit a few times. I actualy preferred the longer cable down to the "Y" because it gave me more room at the neck.

 

[ralliart12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomy3555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ultimate Ears website has a really cool intruction video on how to insert for a better fit. It takes a little practice but then becomes second nature. Have you ever seen a person "pop" in thier hearing aids? it looks so easy because they've been doing it for a while. You know you have the best seal possible when "Pushing" them in further does not change the sound. the "Earloops" will also become easier once you've flexed them to your fit a few times. I actualy preferred the longer cable down to the "Y" because it gave me more room at the neck.

Thanx boomy, I'll check out that video some other time; currently I'm inserting each side rotated 90deg forward then as I push in I twist them back so that it locks into place.

It's not the curvature/bend of the earloop that I mind, but rather the amount/length.

Do update me when u have more news of the cable? Waiting with anticipation.

 

[boomy3555]

I keep you up to date

 

[lightbulbjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralliart12 /img/forum/go_quote.gif no worries about the bass, it's definitely there.

Those are some nice lookin phones

A lot of people mention that the C3s have plenty of bass. For those who have heard them, would you say there's too much bass? I know it's down to personal taste but the amount of bass is what's making it hard for me to choose between the C2 and C3.

At the moment the only IEMs I have are my trusty ER4. Running them through my home setup with a 6dB boost on 31Hz-62Hz (the bottom two sliders on my EQ) they sound pretty darn good. I'm looking for something portable that won't need an amp/EQ.

If the C3 is a clear improvement over the C2 then I don't mind forking over the extra cash, but I'd hate to get stuck with something boomy and bloated sounding.

 

[Mr_magicfingers]

Finally, I've posted my impressions off. In the end I couldn't afford custom colours/artwork due to the drop in the exchange rate, so have gone for simple set up of white monitors with black cables. Now the waiting starts...

 

[lightbulbjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_magicfingers /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finally, I've posted my impressions off. In the end I couldn't afford custom colours/artwork due to the drop in the exchange rate, so have gone for simple set up of white monitors with black cables. Now the waiting starts...

Nothing wrong with that... simplicity is elegance!

 

[ralliart12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightbulbjim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those are some nice lookin phones A lot of people mention that the C3s have plenty of bass. For those who have heard them, would you say there's too much bass?...

Thank you lightbulbjim, I tot mine was just a simple design, nth fantastic.

Anyway, if u r not amping the C3s, then the bass is just nice; however if u r amping u need to be careful which amp u pair it with, as the wrong combination will sound "improper'.

Currently I'm amping it with a Mini3 and the bass is mind-blowing(speakers-in-your-face-kinda level for certain songs) even at very low volume levels but some may find my combi to have overwhelming bass...personally I'm still getting used to it too...waiting for the "final piece of e puzzle"...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_magicfingers /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finally, I've posted my impressions off. In the end I couldn't afford custom colours/artwork due to the drop in the exchange rate, so have gone for simple set up of white monitors with black cables. Now the waiting starts...

Look at it this way Mr_magicfingers, less complications = less chance of errors? White looks classic too!

 

[lightbulbjim]

Sounds good. Seems like there are only a couple of C2 users around these parts...

 

[boomy3555]

I find the C-3's to have perfect bass. The only amp that muddies the bass for me anyway, is the Fiio E-3. The E-5 will but not if the bass boost is off. I usually run the C-3's off of the shuffle with a Travagans Colors amp in-line. But it is equally "bass perfect" running off of the Nuforce Icon Mobile or Headroom Total Airhead. But don't go anywhere near them with a Boosteroo.Even with an attenuator the boosteroo amp is just too harsh.
I think that there are only a few C-2 owners because there is so little price difference betweem the C-2's and C-3's that most people opt for the C-3's

 

[dc10]

guys,

i have a question for those who have ordered. I am in the market for some IEMs. I've been reading and googling (how I found this forum) about livewires, ue, sensaphonics, freqs, Hys etc. I noticed earlier in the thread that the ear lab is in Lake Mary Florida, and HY is in Clearwater, FL. I personally live in Jacksonville FL, and am pretty familiar with Florida. Lake Mary and Clearwater are more than 2 hours away! Is HY just a subcontractor or middleman between the ear lab and the consumers? Has anyone tried contacting the ear lab to see if they would give a cheaper price?

 

[lightbulbjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomy3555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think that there are only a few C-2 owners because there is so little price difference betweem the C-2's and C-3's that most people opt for the C-3's

Makes sense. Since I intend to use these for stage monitoring as well as listening should the opportunity present itself, and I'm a bass player, some reinforcement in the low end would probably not hurt.

 

[xz123]

I'm looking for an advice for someone else, he's looking for not too expensive in-ears with good fit, so I thought, customs might be the best idea. Now my question ist: Are the AEs (AE1 or AE2) ok, when it comes to sound quality? I doubt he would buy the Cs, as that would (+shipping+customs) become quite expensive.
He'll probably mostly listen to House, Metal and Soundtracks, so I think bass is important.

 

[Brandon3003]

An Update:

First off, those of you who got your ear impressions professionally done for less than $50 are lucky! I got mine done for $70/ear which to me was a lot when you take into account the cost of the actual monitors as well. However, I have to say I highly recommend you get the impressions done professionally, even with the high cost of doing so. The chances that you'll have fitting issues will be a LOT lower, mine fit perfectly! Think of it as a long term investment in comfort, you won't be disappointed.

I've had my C3's for a while now, and if you're on the fence let me help push you over. When I first got mine I was extremely impressed. The quality of them is wonderful, they got my colors and logo perfect and I have to say even surpassed my expectations in terms of look and design. Very well made compared to the competition (I don't want to name names, but if you've done your research you'll know what I'm talking about).

Having said that, if you read my posts earlier in this thread you know that I was somewhat unsure in regards to the sound. I wasn't unhappy, but I wasn't happy either. After having used these for a while now (I'm using them with my laptop as I'm writing this) I've come to my conclusion. As Boomy reassured me, they get better! I initially commented on the bass being too much, but without even realizing it the bass is very balanced now. I've never been too sure on whether or not these need a break in period due to the drivers they use, but I did do some white noise shortly after getting them and have been using them a lot ever since. The C3's bass is NOT overpowering, in fact it sounds very balanced and good. I'm curious as to whether or not the C2's sound lacking in bass. Don't let the "maximum low end" on the HY site scare you off. I went from Triple.Fi 10 Pro's to these and I'm very satisfied so that should tell you enough if you've ever heard them.

Make the jump and grab a pair of these. With the 30% cash back (if that's still going) they're a steal.


Quote:

Originally Posted by insyte /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can anyone compare the c3 vs triple.fi in terms of SQ. Thanks.

The triple.fi's have that crisp sound which focuses mostly on the highs to make them sound very detailed and clear. The mid range and lower end are like the step children, being second priority. The HY's on the other hand are more balanced, flat on the spectrum. It's not a bad thing at all, so don't let that steer you away. I loved my triple.fi's because of their sound signiture, but after using my C3's I don't even touch my triple.fi's anymore. Although, if you still want the highs to stand out more, others have said that using the UE custom cables helps bring that out more.

 

[nineohtoo]

So I got my C2s, and I'll have to agree with everyone out there. I will compare to my SR225s later on when hooked up to my Nakamichi CDP-2A's headphone out. But my first impressions from my 3G iPhone are gonna be like everyone elses. These sound a lot like Shures. Which isn't a bad thing. Mids are probably the most important to me with bass, and my highs next. Fortunately I think there's a good enough balance in between them all here. But again since I'm not used to listening to anything balanced in a while, my ears will have to adjust over the next day or so.