[Monkey Puzzle]

Does anyone have any experience of how well custom IEMs isolate compared to decent isolating IEMs with foam tips?

I've been looking at chi-fi multi-armature IEMs - specifically NiceHCK HK6 (6BA), and the **** ee846 (5BA) which uses the shure shell but reviews suggest the bass isn't very strong unfortunately. The hybrid ones with a dynamic driver I expect will all have bass port holes....
I'm not sure whether I should just bite the bullet and pay more to get a custom IEM for better isolation...

 

[Yardstick]

I was thinking a custom IEM solution would be better than the off the shelf offerings. I'm starting to change my mind on that after doing some searching. I thought that one of the major reasons to have custom IEMs was for the isolation. I can only find one manufacturer that claims a specific isolation. Ultimate Ears Pro series (http://pro.ultimateears.com/products/custom-monitors) claims 26 dB isolation. Better than nothing for sure, but foamy earplugs are typically 32-33 dB and Shure claims up to 37 dB with their foam tips.

The biggest advantage I can think of with truly custom IEMs - the kind where you get an audiologist to make ear impressions or have 3D scans of your ears done - is that they would be low profile and secure so they might stay in place better while you're putting your helmet on or taking it off. They should also maintain a seal better and be less prone to changing position based on pressures from the helmet once it is on.

I don't have any direct experience with truly custom IEMs. The closest I have come is when I made my own custom tips for my MeeAudio M6 Pros by using Radians Custom Molded Earplug material. Silicone and comply tips wouldn't keep the IEM in place while I put my helmet on so I frequently ended up with a broken seal and unwanted wind noise. The custom tips were tricky to make, but came out pretty good. They isolate better than the foam and silicone tips I have tried on those IEMs. The Shure SE215s with Shure tips are still better.

 

[Monkey Puzzle]

I was thinking a custom IEM solution would be better than the off the shelf offerings. I'm starting to change my mind on that after doing some searching. I thought that one of the major reasons to have custom IEMs was for the isolation. I can only find one manufacturer that claims a specific isolation. Ultimate Ears Pro series (http://pro.ultimateears.com/products/custom-monitors) claims 26 dB isolation. Better than nothing for sure, but foamy earplugs are typically 32-33 dB and Shure claims up to 37 dB with their foam tips.

The biggest advantage I can think of with truly custom IEMs - the kind where you get an audiologist to make ear impressions or have 3D scans of your ears done - is that they would be low profile and secure so they might stay in place better while you're putting your helmet on or taking it off. They should also maintain a seal better and be less prone to changing position based on pressures from the helmet once it is on.

I don't have any direct experience with truly custom IEMs. The closest I have come is when I made my own custom tips for my MeeAudio M6 Pros by using Radians Custom Molded Earplug material. Silicone and comply tips wouldn't keep the IEM in place while I put my helmet on so I frequently ended up with a broken seal and unwanted wind noise. The custom tips were tricky to make, but came out pretty good. They isolate better than the foam and silicone tips I have tried on those IEMs. The Shure SE215s with Shure tips are still better.

I tried making one of the home molding silicone custom housings, but as you say it's an exercise in frustration: The first attempt it set too quickly, the second turned out ok except the nozzle wasn't fantastically centred - I think if I added a tube over the nozzle to extend it first maybe it would work better.

Using shure large olives on the ie80s atm - the seal is definitely a lot better than with the silicon tips.