I read through the info on this forum before deciding to ultimately contact Alien Ears and ask some questions, and eventually place an order. I wanted to share my experience here for the consideration of others looking into purchasing custom IEM's.
I placed an order for the triple driver C3's, but decided a week later that I would prefer to upgrade that order to the quad driver SQ4 model instead. I was told it was no problem to do, and wouldn't affect my wait time. When they arrived 2 1/2 weeks later, they showed up as C3's. I was disappointed and notified Andre at Alien Ears right away, and he immediately sent me the necessary return credentials and pre-paid shipping label. Before returning then later that same day, I listened to the quality of the C3's by listening to some of my own original musical recordings with which I'm VERY familiar with how they should sound. My impression of the C3's was very favorable. Crisp and clear lows and mids. Highs sounded 'ok', but they did seem to be missing just a hint of high end. All the more reason that the SQ4's should be better (having a dedicated high driver).
I sent them back, and about a week and a half later I had the SQ4 models delivered to me. They sounded horible. Almost as if there was a pillow between my ears and the sound source in my ear canal. I called to complain, and Andre was very thorough in covering all my concerns. We mutually agreed that they might possibly need to be refit, so I had new impressions of my ears made, and sent those back off to AE.
When they arrived this time, they sounded very nice. They seemed to seal better in my ears, as well. And in my recollection of how the C3's sounded playing back my own music, I have to say that the SQ4's sound much better than the C3's (which I was happy with, too). Are they 'audiophile quality'? I don't know. I'm a musician that uses these for stage monitoring and the occassional ipod listen, so I'm no audiophile. But they make the music I create sound very good, and I have no complaints with the final product whatsoever.
Yes, I had some issues during the whole process, but each time, Andre took care of them in a timely manner. And I wasn't constantly in contact wondering where they were, either. They clearly specify their expected wait times, and each time they arrived within that timeframe. And being a custom product, I wasn't necessarily turned off by the fact that I needed to have them refit. Disappointed, sure...I wanted my new toys! But its to be expected from time to time whenever any custom product is being manufactured. Especially where human anatomy is concerned.
Bottom line, is that I would recommend Alien Ears and their roducts to anyone considering IEM's. The final product is one I'm very happy with, and I feel is a high quality monitor. I've now been using them for about a solid month, and I have nothing but smiles on my face when I have them in.
