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

[FrostIK]

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The SA-43 covers most of what you have and I would say it is somewhat close to the W4 with both switches off and not too far off the 530 with both switches on, but of course much higher quality sound.  The presentation is much more laid back than the SM3.
 
My rotation is listening to what I am reviewing as I want as much ear time with it as possible with various sources.  I currently have a backlog of products for review, so unless I am listening specifically for a question or A/Bing, I am usually just listening to the CIEM I am reviewing.  Luckily  they all are in the upper echelon of sound quality so it isn't so bad!  
 

I have to say I never loved the sound signature of W4. As for me it has too lot of bass, lack of trebles and very veiled mid.
Shure SE530 has lack of details and brightness. And the major problem of SM3 (IEM that I like the most) is high mids. I just cant listen to any dynamic guitar music with this IEMs - it sounds like a mess.
 
The most balanced IEM I have listened is UM3X. They are quite detailed, have not too veiled mid, and not too bass like the W4. But I need more low bass than they have, more detailed mid and more trebles.
 
The same moment I really like the sound of LCD-2 or even HD-800 and look for something of a same kind but in IEM format.
 
So I'm not looking for something like my universal IEMs. I'm looking for something very different.
 
As for you rotation scheme. Do you use all of your IEMs for reviews or just several of them? What are your favorites?
 
And another question is which of your IEMs could be compared to SE-5 by overall quality of sound?

 

[average_joe]

 
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I have to say I never loved the sound signature of W4. As for me it has too lot of bass, lack of trebles and very veiled mid.
Shure SE530 has lack of details and brightness. And the major problem of SM3 (IEM that I like the most) is high mids. I just cant listen to any dynamic guitar music with this IEMs - it sounds like a mess.
 
The most balanced IEM I have listened is UM3X. They are quite detailed, have not too veiled mid, and not too bass like the W4. But I need more low bass than they have, more detailed mid and more trebles.
 
The same moment I really like the sound of LCD-2 or even HD-800 and look for something of a same kind but in IEM format.
 
So I'm not looking for something like my universal IEMs. I'm looking for something very different.
 
As for you rotation scheme. Do you use all of your IEMs for reviews or just several of them? What are your favorites?
 
And another question is which of your IEMs could be compared to SE-5 by overall quality of sound?

I only auditioned the W4, but I did not hear it as you describe it, and there are many issues with the 530 and not something I would ever care to listen to, but I can see why people would like it and the merit it has.  All Earsonics products I have heard have a slightly recessed upper mid in relation to the lower midrange, and the EM4, which not too prominent, is no different, so that (and the EM6) may be out.
 
Now you are confusing me, the LCD-2 (which version) and the HD-800 have very different sounds.  The HD-800 is much brighter than the LCD-2 V1, and the LCD-2 is pretty close but outclassed by the 5-way for example.
 
Anyways, any top tier CIEM will be different from a technical performance standpoint, so different you will get.
 
Again, I really don't have a rotation as I listen to what I am reviewing, but I could grab any of the top tier CIEMs and be very happy.  I do use the higher end CIEMs instead of the lower end ones in general for casual listening, but that is a rare time that I will use something other than my CIEM under review.
 
The closest to the 5-way technically is the NT-6, but it sounds very different.  The closest in sound is the EM4, but again, different.

 

[FrostIK]

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Originally Posted by average_joe /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
All Earsonics products I have heard have a slightly recessed upper mid in relation to the lower midrange, and the EM4, which not too prominent, is no different, so that (and the EM6) may be out.
 
Now you are confusing me, the LCD-2 (which version) and the HD-800 have very different sounds.  The HD-800 is much brighter than the LCD-2 V1, and the LCD-2 is pretty close but outclassed by the 5-way for example.
 
Again, I really don't have a rotation as I listen to what I am reviewing, but I could grab any of the top tier CIEMs and be very happy.  
The closest to the 5-way technically is the NT-6, but it sounds very different.  The closest in sound is the EM4, but again, different.

Upper mid is the very disappointing thing about Earsonics. Nice warm sound with the beautiful vocal and such a huge lack. They have very good support service and VAT returning program for Russia, so EM6 costs 786 Euros for me. But I'm really afraid to hear the mess on guitars even on EM6.
 
I love different sound signatures, that's why it's so hard for me to choose custom IEM and why I want to have at least 2 of them. I've heard LCD-2 of both versions and HD-800 and I really love their sound. It's different but balanced and beautiful. I would prefer to have LCD-2 for metal and HD-800 for classic.
 
You told that you do not really have any favorites but I see that you mention SE-5, NT-6 and LS8 most often. Do you think, those three are the best IEMs of your collection?

 

[average_joe]

 
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Upper mid is the very disappointing thing about Earsonics. Nice warm sound with the beautiful vocal and such a huge lack. They have very good support service and VAT returning program for Russia, so EM6 costs 786 Euros for me. But I'm really afraid to hear the mess on guitars even on EM6.
 
I love different sound signatures, that's why it's so hard for me to choose custom IEM and why I want to have at least 2 of them. I've heard LCD-2 of both versions and HD-800 and I really love their sound. It's different but balanced and beautiful. I would prefer to have LCD-2 for metal and HD-800 for classic.
 
You told that you do not really have any favorites but I see that you mention SE-5, NT-6 and LS8 most often. Do you think, those three are the best IEMs of your collection?

People have different sensitivities to different things, and the upper mids of the Earsonics products don't bother me all that much.  The EM4 is better in that regard than the EM3 Pro, which is better than the SM3.  From a sound signature perspective, the JH16 and LS8 both have peaks in that area, opposite of the Earsonics sound.
 
Technically the 5-way has more resolution/detail than my other CIEMs and pretty much does everything else at least as well.  There are layers that I can hear with the 5-way I can't hear with anything else, although the Earsonics products come very close.  Second in my technical scoring is the NT-6.  From memory I would say it is closer to the HD800 while the 5-way is closer to the LCD-2.  Then, the SA-43, EM4, and LS8 are all grouped performance wise, but all sound different.  The SA-43 is balanced but not bright and has options, the EM4 has a brighter, clearer Earsonics sound, and the LS8 is very bright due to the upper midrange, but may be considered a bit mid-recessed in comparison with the others.  Rooth is working on retuning the LS8 to address the midrange.
 
And even if I were to list a favorite CIEM (and I really don't have a single favorite), my preference may not match yours, so that info isn't worth much.

 

[FrostIK]

Which of IEM producers can adjust IEM according to audiogram: Hidition or Spiral Ears?

 

[AstralStorm]

I suspect neither - you can't tune BAs too much, perhaps only changing the crossovers and relative loudness. It's not like dynamics, where you can add or remove damping, mass, stiffen/loosen membrane etc.
 
Not that they'd know how to tune them - audiograms are usually made using either IEMs or headphones, meaning the best you'd get after the tuning would be sound fit for binaural recordings.

 

[Mython]

Well, don't forget, filters are often used in the sound tubes of BA CIEMs, to tune the sound. My UM Miracles have some of these filters, for example.

 

[average_joe]

 
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Which of IEM producers can adjust IEM according to audiogram: Hidition or Spiral Ears?

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I suspect neither - you can't tune BAs too much, perhaps only changing the crossovers and relative loudness. It's not like dynamics, where you can add or remove damping, mass, stiffen/loosen membrane etc.
 
Not that they'd know how to tune them - audiograms are usually made using either IEMs or headphones, meaning the best you'd get after the tuning would be sound fit for binaural recordings.

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Well, don't forget, filters are often used in the sound tubes of BA CIEMs, to tune the sound. My UM Miracles have some of these filters, for example.

Forgive me if I am not really in the know, but wouldn't this be done via DSP chips and firmware/software?  I don't think the actual sound of the BAs in the hearing aids don't change, but the profiles do.
 
Now, take that to a custom IEM, and they are all tuned a certain way and I can't imagine any manufacturer would want to manually tune the drivers to adjust to audiograms.  It takes the manufacturers quite a while to get the tuning they want, so changing for individuals seems counter productive.
 
However, BA IEMs do have a lot of room for tuning of the sound including the BAs themselves (many adjustments as far as I know, including sensitivity), the sound tubes, crossovers, and filters, so theoretically it could be done.  

 

[piotrus-g]

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Which of IEM producers can adjust IEM according to audiogram: Hidition or Spiral Ears?

JH for sure. I remeber someone have done this with JH

 

[AstralStorm]

Well, it is pretty simple to modify the crossover to be an IIR filter too. Tuning using driver position could perhaps be done to correct phase alignment, but likely not frequency response. Would also be a real pain to get right.
Plus, you'd have to provide measurement difference against HATS or similar "ear" system or a very well corrected ear canal microphone measurement. Few audiologists have that precise hardware.

 

[average_joe]

JHA did this?  Can you find the info, as I find it very interesting that they would make modifications.

 

[FrostIK]

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JHA did this?  Can you find the info, as I find it very interesting that they would make modifications.

 
I know for sure Westone did that with their ES5.

 

[average_joe]

 
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I know for sure Westone did that with their ES5.

Thanks for sharing.  Do you know if there is an additional cost?
 

 

[FrostIK]

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Thanks for sharing.  Do you know if there is an additional cost?

That was for free as far as I remember.

 

[dogears]

Just wanted to share that my UEsf5v2CS pairs very well with the Musiland Monitor 02 US. It sounds very balanced with very good extension on both ends (bass and treble) and the midrange sounded more natural. This is against plugged into Epiphany EHP-O2 where it sounded like its congested.
Talk about synergy

I'm sure easy to drive customs will share the same fate