[Ghost_1]

As the title states I am looking for help in deciding on a [USA made] CIEM because UEIMs are always falling out of my ears and sealing issues. I've literally had one set of UIEMs that fit "okay" but I still had issues. Tip rolling, customized earplugs, etc. nothing seems to want to work. I guess I have shallow ear canals or something.

I have these requirements:

1. Made in the USA
   1. Avoiding longer wait times and $$$ due to refitments, shipping outside of the US, etc.
2. Must be for a Basshead
   1. While I enjoy a set of headphones/IEMs for listening I'm always in the need of big bass. What I mean is that I need/want to "feel" the bass like I was sitting in a Car Audio Bass competition.
3. Musically the CIEM should be able to range from Old Punk rock to Drum & Bass/Dubstep
4. Price point is no more than $700 (not including impressions, tax, shipping, etc.)

After some research I've settled on these options but I can't find many reviews nor am I able to find local dealers that I can demo (updated):

1. Alclair Dual XB or CMVK (leaning towards the CMVK)
2. UE 6 Pro
3. Perfect Seal Fusion 11
4. Alien Ears AE3
5. Empire Ears Bravado
   
6. Dream Earz DB-4X
   

Anyone have any reviews, comments, or other companies I should look at?

 

[BananaOoyoo]

You could also try the Empire Ears Bravado. It starts at $700, so you won’t be able to add any fancy customization options, but I thought it was a pretty solid V-shaped IEM.

 

[treefingers]

Eagerly following this thread as came here to post a similar also with some juicey bass but upto $1000.

 

[theveterans]

A used CA Atlas should serve your needs well

 

[Ghost_1]

You could also try the Empire Ears Bravado. It starts at $700, so you won’t be able to add any fancy customization options, but I thought it was a pretty solid V-shaped IEM.

Thanks for the suggestion, I checked them out and I might have to add them to the list, I completely forgot about Empire Ears when I was looking/researching. Lol I just wished there was someone local that I could try all of them out at...

A used CA Atlas should serve your needs well

CA was one of the first I looked at but until just recently they didn't do CIEMs... Unfortunately the Equinox is in "beta" and is $1500 which is well over my budget. lol

 

[Ghost_1]

Here's an update for anyone following this thread...
I ended up getting the Alclair CMVK and I've decided I am by no means qualified nor have the ear for audio. lol I say this because I have to EQ everything to get music to my liking and it seems that every review I've read of the "best" budget bass iems did not match what the reviewers said. You see what it boiled down to is that reviewers and the general listening populace all said thing like "bass cannons" or "most bass out of any budget iems" when talking about iems like the iBasso IT01 or Tin T2 (w/ the tape mod). In my experience while the two aforementioned IEMs had more bass than other IEMs/Headphones I've used, they were not "bass cannons". In fact I had to boost the bass using artificial means like the EQ and/or a headphone amp with bass boost. Even then I still couldn't get to that SQ/SPL that I so loved from my days in car audio. So when I ordered the Alclair CMVKs I went into it with little reservation with the exception of the area of the fit. I assumed that because I couldn't find good a fit with UIEMs that CIEMs would at least fix that issue and they did. I still am getting used to the feel as well as I think I might need a refit on my right ear although I'm also getting used to putting them in. lol

I wanted to give it a week of listening before posting and with the holiday's the CIEMs took a while to get to me. All in all, the experience was what I expected. The audiologist was surprised at how clean my ears were and the ear molds took less than 15 minutes. I also was able to scoop up a Black Friday deal too so that was good.

I will say that the CMVKs not only met but exceeded my expectations. I still have to EQ to get the levels of bass but I also don't have to jack up the volume anymore either. Once I hit volume levels of 50-75% I literally feel pressure when the bass hits. Which is actually kind of what I was looking for but didn't know it. Now I don't listen to the CIEMs at that level but it's good to know if I need that little kick now and then I have it. Even with a flat EQ, the bass is ever so slightly better than all my IEM/Headphones, with the exception of my guilty pleasure of my SkullCandy Crusher wireless... don't judge. lol

So why did I go with the CMVK's? Well I read on the web/reviews, two things that hit home for me. One, the comparison of ported subwoofers to sealed subwoofers in relation to Dynamic drivers (DD's) and Balanced Armatures (BA's), respectively. Two, if BA's are tuned to the specific purpose they can possibly be better than DD's. I'm personally a sealed subwoofer guy who spent many hours working on subwoofer box math to get the "perfect" tune in my car. Now I can't use the terms like the reviewers but what I can say is that if I didn't know any better there is little to no difference between DD's and BA's for me. The bass does not distort unless I push the CIEMs super hard, almost double the levels of what I could with the other IEMs/Headphones I own. I also feel that the subbass notes don't hold as long with BA's as they do with DD's but I have a feeling it's all in my head. Even then those low notes hit so well that I don't care. I went as far as to dig up some old subbass test music and bass competition tracks from the car audio days just to see what it was like... it was as close as I could get with IEMs. I didn't get that chest pressure from some 12" subs but I did get that euphoric feel every time I heard the bass drop. Many reviews of both the Empire Ears Bravado and Alclair CMVK's mentioned that the mids lacked a bit but I haven't found that to be the case but take it with a grain of salt since I'm not by any means an audiophile.

Not sure if this will help anyone but the specific use case I was looking for isn't really what most people are looking for.