Multi-Custom In-Ear Monitor Review, Resource, Mfg List & Discussion (Check first post for review links & information)

[marcusdb]

Hey there, this is my first post in this forum though I’ve been reading the different threads (including this one) for some time. I recently lost my Grado GR10 earphones and decided that instead of replacing them I would invest in some custom earphones. I’m in the UK and it’s very hard to try them out. The only ones I’ve tried were by Jerry Harvey at an audio fair and I didn’t really like any of them. They all sounded “cloudy” compared to the GR10.

 

It’s difficult to describe the sound I like and I know that’s most important. From the reading I’ve done I guess I like a balanced sound. I read about sound signatures and I don’t like dark, but maybe something in between warm and bright (not sure if that is possible). I like a decent amount of bass, but not like Beats earphones. One of the things I liked with the Grado GR10 was how the vocal in stuff like Alicia Keys and Norah Jones stood out and you could hear it clearly. I didn’t really get that with the JH Audio earphones I listened to. I don’t know about treble, but I don’t think I mind it as the GR10 is supposed to have lots of treble.

 

I listen to all types of music, but mostly recent pop (Beyonce, Chris Brown etc) and older stuff like Michael Jackson and Prince. I’m not a musician or work in music and so I want something for just listening. I would be using the earphones for commuting and so I want to block out as much noise as possible.  My friend has custom earphones with some filling inside and says listening on the train is like listening at home. I know some people use an amp or a music player like a Fiio X5, but I would just be plugging them into my HTC One M8 phone.

 

So I’m hoping some kind soul could point me in the right direction with some possible options.  I forgot to say budget wise I’m flexible. I’m happy to go up to £1,000 if the earphones will last me a long time, but I don’t want to waste money on something that I wouldn’t benefit from.  Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[AmberOzL]

You want balanced and you really like vocals? I think SE5way can do the trick for you. It is extremely capable monitor with warmish sound, right amount of bass (the bass changes a lot depending on the recording), nice organic and rich mids with good body and extremely clean vocals. Treble is not bright but I wouldn't call it dark. The whole presentation is a bit closed but the treble shines good through that presentation. Not really bright but depending on how you view it it is between neutral and slightly darkish. Also the extension is wonderful, not many ciems can close I think.
 
I guess I don't really need to talk more about the SE5way you can read AJ's review and other users comments in its own thread. Yes the price is high but oh boy, you get one of the best monitors in the industry now. Also recently I am getting into more rap, rnb and pop and I am happy to say this SE5way performs awesome with that type of music.

 

[marcusdb]

You want balanced and you really like vocals? I think SE5way can do the trick for you. It is extremely capable monitor with warmish sound, right amount of bass (the bass changes a lot depending on the recording), nice organic and rich mids with good body and extremely clean vocals. Treble is not bright but I wouldn't call it dark. The whole presentation is a bit closed but the treble shines good through that presentation. Not really bright but depending on how you view it it is between neutral and slightly darkish. Also the extension is wonderful, not many ciems can close I think.

I guess I don't really need to talk more about the SE5way you can read AJ's review and other users comments in its own thread. Yes the price is high but oh boy, you get one of the best monitors in the industry now. Also recently I am getting into more rap, rnb and pop and I am happy to say this SE5way performs awesome with that type of music.

Thank you for the recommendation. I noticed in the three reviews on Head Fi that the SE5Way is described as dark. I'm a bit hesitant to get an earphone that's even quite dark, because it probably won't be to my taste.

 

[shakur1996]

5ways are not dark in a sense like cheap earbuds. The have big dip in 5-8kHz but this is IMO compensated by big spike around 1.6kHz, 10kHz and dB level above 10kHz. If you are coming from bright iems you can find them a little bit dark. However after few minutes this impression disappears. 5ways are very open but not in a typical sense. Moreover, they are changing with tracks - if you have darkish track 5ways will serve it as darkish but if you have open, clear track then you will have open sound from 5ways.
Another option is Custom Art Harmony 8 pro.

 

[piotrus-g]

Hey there, this is my first post in this forum though I’ve been reading the different threads (including this one) for some time. I recently lost my Grado GR10 earphones and decided that instead of replacing them I would invest in some custom earphones. I’m in the UK and it’s very hard to try them out. The only ones I’ve tried were by Jerry Harvey at an audio fair and I didn’t really like any of them. They all sounded “cloudy” compared to the GR10.

 

It’s difficult to describe the sound I like and I know that’s most important. From the reading I’ve done I guess I like a balanced sound. I read about sound signatures and I don’t like dark, but maybe something in between warm and bright (not sure if that is possible). I like a decent amount of bass, but not like Beats earphones. One of the things I liked with the Grado GR10 was how the vocal in stuff like Alicia Keys and Norah Jones stood out and you could hear it clearly. I didn’t really get that with the JH Audio earphones I listened to. I don’t know about treble, but I don’t think I mind it as the GR10 is supposed to have lots of treble.

 

I listen to all types of music, but mostly recent pop (Beyonce, Chris Brown etc) and older stuff like Michael Jackson and Prince. I’m not a musician or work in music and so I want something for just listening. I would be using the earphones for commuting and so I want to block out as much noise as possible.  My friend has custom earphones with some filling inside and says listening on the train is like listening at home. I know some people use an amp or a music player like a Fiio X5, but I would just be plugging them into my HTC One M8 phone.

 

So I’m hoping some kind soul could point me in the right direction with some possible options.  I forgot to say budget wise I’m flexible. I’m happy to go up to £1,000 if the earphones will last me a long time, but I don’t want to waste money on something that I wouldn’t benefit from.  Thanks for any suggestions.

if by any chance you are in London visit Gisele of aid2hearing.co.uk she has selection of custom IEM demos and makes impressions on spot should you decided for some monitor

 

[MikePortnoy]

In my opinion, vocals are better on SE5 with more emotion regarding a comparison with H8P. However, from memory, H8P is more airy than SE5, you can feel air easier between instruments while listening to H8P. SE5 has better stage depth; Harmony 8P has a bit better instrument separation overall.  SE5 has a bit more natural presentation on treble region, while H8P has better detail articulation. H8P is cleaner on every frequency than SE5. 
 
In my opinion, H8P has better micro detail capability, while SE5 is more natural sounding earphone. 
 
Edit: Yes, SE5 has a bit dark presentation. 
 
Edit2: H8P is a faster earphone than SE5, no doubt..

 

[shakur1996]

  In my opinion, vocals are better on SE5 with more emotion regarding a comparison with H8P. However, from memory, H8P is more airy than SE5, you can feel air easier between instruments while listening to H8P. SE5 has better stage depth; Harmony 8P has a bit better instrument separation overall.  SE5 has a bit more natural presentation on treble region, while H8P has better detail articulation. H8P is cleaner on every frequency than SE5. 
 
In my opinion, H8P has better micro detail capability, while SE5 is more natural sounding earphone. 
 
Edit: Yes, SE5 has a bit dark presentation. 
 
Edit2: H8P is a faster earphone than SE5, no doubt..

Mike, are those above impressions based on SE5 which you own or on someone else 5ways? If the latter than everything might change once you receive your own 5ways.

 

[MikePortnoy]

It was my friend's se5 which can be fitted very well with my ears. Of course, there will be some minor changes with my own Se5, but I am sure that I got the exact sound from Se5 to write some impressions.

If there is major changes, I will edit these thoughts

 

[Mimouille]

It was my friend's se5 which can be fitted very well with my ears. Of course, there will be some minor changes with my own Se5, but I am sure that I got the exact sound from Se5 to write some impressions.

If there is major changes, I will edit these thoughts

Small changes in fit have huge impact on sound...

 

[MikePortnoy]

  Small changes in fit have huge impact on sound...

Sure, that's why I will edit my impressions if there is major change. 

 

[shakur1996]

  Small changes in fit have huge impact on sound...

Exactly, in my view from certain level the differences between CIEMs in terms of separation, micro-details etc. are subtle and in order to be able to say that a given CIEM has better separation one should have its own version with good fit/seal.

 

[Ivabign]

 

 

 

It’s difficult to describe the sound I like and I know that’s most important. From the reading I’ve done I guess I like a balanced sound. I read about sound signatures and I don’t like dark, but maybe something in between warm and bright (not sure if that is possible). I like a decent amount of bass, but not like Beats earphones. One of the things I liked with the Grado GR10 was how the vocal in stuff like Alicia Keys and Norah Jones stood out and you could hear it clearly. I didn’t really get that with the JH Audio earphones I listened to. I don’t know about treble, but I don’t think I mind it as the GR10 is supposed to have lots of treble.

 

 

 

So I’m hoping some kind soul could point me in the right direction with some possible options.  I forgot to say budget wise I’m flexible. I’m happy to go up to £1,000 if the earphones will last me a long time, but I don’t want to waste money on something that I wouldn’t benefit from.  Thanks for any suggestions.

You have in many ways described the Unique Melody House sound - the Miracle or Mentor - very nice and clear - certainly not dark - not v shaped - great mids - upper mids and treble. Well built and usually decent customer service. Custom Art is another option - Soon there will be many impressions of the Custom Art line as there is a tour just beginning on the west coast of the USA. Don't settle, do your research - getting the right custom for your preferred signature is amazing - I happen to have a bunch of variations of my preferred signature - couldn't be happier.

 

[marcusdb]

Thank you to everybody who responded to my message. I had a demo session of some custom earphones earlier this week and got to listen to the JH Audio, Unique Melody and Ultimate Ears ranges. The JH and Unique Melody earphones are definitely not for me. Ultimate Ears - I tried the UE7, UE18 and Reference. My favourite was the Reference - really clear and crisp. I quite liked the UE7 and UE18 but didn't feel there was that big a difference to justify the price gap.

What is making me hesitant to get the UE Reference is that I'm still hoping to find something with that type of sound but with some more bass and body/weight (perhaps thickness). I really noticed this was lacking when listening to Green Day and 2Pac. The Reference is pretty expensive and so I don't want to settle when it's not my absolute ideal sound.

So based on my experience are there any further recommendations? Again, any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[AmberOzL]

Thank you to everybody who responded to my message. I had a demo session of some custom earphones earlier this week and got to listen to the JH Audio, Unique Melody and Ultimate Ears ranges. The JH and Unique Melody earphones are definitely not for me. Ultimate Ears - I tried the UE7, UE18 and Reference. My favourite was the Reference - really clear and crisp. I quite liked the UE7 and UE18 but didn't feel there was that big a difference to justify the price gap.

What is making me hesitant to get the UE Reference is that I'm still hoping to find something with that type of sound but with some more bass and body/weight (perhaps thickness). I really noticed this was lacking when listening to Green Day and 2Pac. The Reference is pretty expensive and so I don't want to settle when it's not my absolute ideal sound.

So based on my experience are there any further recommendations? Again, any advice would be much appreciated.

Hidition NT6? It is like UE IERM but better, a lot better apparently.

 

[Mimouille]

Hidition NT6? It is like UE IERM but better, a lot better apparently.

And brighter I suppose.