Regarding chemical burns...
I think kdb650 and I talked about this before. This is not related to anything that you've heard before, Big D... This is some news/rumor that we've heard from our audiologist, of course, we can't prove or disprove whether or not it really happened or not. Apparently UE was getting some shipment out as fast as they can, and the material didn't properly cure yet, so it was still in a semi-liquid state or something. It actually did cause "chemical burn" on the supposed receiver of the IEM in this case.
It's not the same incident of allergy as you've read about before... Obviously if something like that really did happen, it would be terribly embarassing, but probably more of an isolated incident.
Comfort.. Part 2
So for those previous people who had 'issues' with their 2X-S... Let's break down what really happened: Toaster had issues because his ears are extremely sensitive, remember when he talked about tearing and the pain when he was just getting the impression? I don't think there's anyone else here that went through anything close to that. Regardless of which IEM he got, he would've had some irritation/problems with them.
Zoide didn't know how to put them in when he first got them... but was okay with his left ear once he figured out how. His right ear was just weird.
Iamdone had some fit issues the first time, but got it corrected... I don't remember what his issue was. The second time was a short in the circuit, which they made him a new pair that fit even better than the remolded version before.
I don't remember, are those all the incidents? Anyway, when you really look at the case by case basis, there's not a "general" problem with 2X-S's fit, it's a case by case issue. One was a mix-up, one person would run into problems with any IEM, one I don't remember... perhaps there are others that I don't remember which you guys can chime in with.
Moving on to the comfort comparisons:
When I said UE-10 feels like they could fall out... it doesn't mean I didn't get a good fit... it means that in comparison, they're just not close enough. It's not even that I got a bad impression, as some would suggest. I actually got a better impression with my UE-10 than I did with the 2X-S. When I got the 2X-S, I didn't realize just how "open" I should hold my mouth.. it is literally open as wide as you can, as painful as it gets.... like when you're yawning. I just opened my mouth to a reasonable degree, got an impression that way.
To tell the truth, I'm not too picky about my fits, so when I got the 2X-S back, they would actually move a bit when I yawn.. I know that I messed up on the impression a bit, but just didn't bother me enough, because they're comfortable, and only when I yawn I would feel the movement. When I got the UE-10 Pro, I made sure I opened my mouth as wide as possible. If I had done the same thing as I did with when I took my 2X-S impressions, there's no question UE-10 Pro will break its seal.
Therelies another point, 2X-S is made so that vocalist, when they have their mouth open and singing to their loudest... it will still maintain a perfect seal and stay in their ears. That's why the soft material is such an improvement from that point of view. As to if your UE-10 or UE5c will break the seal or shift around when you sing to your songs.. I don't know, but I know for sure that my UE-10 Pro did "shift" a bit when I had to open my mouth to the widest, and that's with a better impression than I had with the 2X-S.
Thus, 2X-S is also designed to have a comfortable and "tight" fit in your ear... so it moves as your ear changes shape. UE-10 Pro's full-soft material, at least, doesn't comply to your ear's movement enough to fit the same way.
You can sort of draw a parallel with clothing... some of you guys may be aware of a brand called Underarmour, which is what NFL players wear now to keep themselves warm and wick sweat away from their body. The shirt is a very, very tight fit, but a comfortable fit that's very functional. It's in the same vein as biking shirts, it's tight, but it functionally keeps you warm and cuts down on air resistance.
2X-S is very much like Underarmour or biking shirts. Where UE-10 Pro was like a nice sweater. It still fits, it still keeps you warm.. but it's not body-tight, and it doesn't serve some of the additional functionality (wicking away sweat) as the Underarmour shirts does.
Some people understands Underarmour's functional benefits, but never gets used to wearing a tight shirt and is never comfortable with it. Some people rather prefer wearing a sweater even though there's some functional benefits they, in reality, may or may not care about. Some people doesn't mind Underarmour's tightness at all, never bothered them, and loves it for its functional benefits.
Anyway, UE5c is on the way, perhaps this week or for sure the week after. By then I'll know what the hard acrylic feels like. At least right now, full-soft material does not get a nod from me, and it was a big product development mistake as far as I can see.
Two piece construction?
Unlike what some have suggested... "Sensaphonics must be using a two piece construction as well, otherwise they can't get the internal components inside."... Err.. WRONG!
Sensaphonics does indeed use a one-piece construction.. it's probably some sort of injection molding method with very careful placement. I'm not sure how it works either, but I know for sure it's one-piece. There's no visible seals anywhere, and of course, if you talk to them on the phone, they'll tell you it's one-piece construction as well. This is what UE can't figure out how to do yet.
If you look at the UE's internal components, they also seems to be just sitting right inside the material they're built from. Sensaphonic's internal components actually look like they're all "sleeved" before the molding is formed around them. My guess is that they're sleeved and positioned and then injection-molded. Of course, I don't know for sure....
