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

[davidcotton]

Do acs still make custom tips?  Can't find them on the site.

 

[Mython]

All I could find was this, but it's the Australian page, not the UK one:
 
http://www.acscustom.com/au/index.php/in-ear-monitors/custom-earphone-sleeves
 
(swapping the 'au' for 'uk' yields a 404, unfortunately. But at least you have something to e-mail ACS UK with.
 
 
.

 

[piotrus-g]

  Really? I have a 19AWG iem cable, which should mean that it should make a noticeable difference in sound to a say...30 AWG one? Right now that 19awg copper cable sounds like it me that it sucked the bass out of my UERM, but I cannot be sure if it is psychological reasons or not. 

Cable start acting as capacitor? 19AWG is big for enough for powering regular loudspeaker
 

 Define big  The Miracle universal demo I heard was absolute trash while joker's custom fit, which I shoved in my ears, sounded far, far superior.

Hmmm. I'm listening to the demo right now. It's not far from custom Miracle which I had at least 3 times in my ears on different occasions. The main difference IMHO is bass - demo has more and overall resolution is just a tad lower than custom monitor, but I wouldn't call is bad sounding. I'd say it sounds quite good actually.
You should definitely inquire for UM demo again, because I feel you've listened to some faulty unit...

 

[davidcotton]

  All I could find was this, but it's the Australian page, not the UK one:
 
http://www.acscustom.com/au/index.php/in-ear-monitors/custom-earphone-sleeves
 
(swapping the 'au' for 'uk' yields a 404, unfortunately. But at least you have something to e-mail ACS UK with.
 
 
.

Thanks for the effort   They are listed on theheadphonecompany.co.uk page but not on acs site.  Mind you I don't think theheadphonecompany.co.uk (what a mouthful!) has been updated in forever anyway!

 

[Xymordos]

 
Cable start acting as capacitor? 19AWG is big for enough for powering regular loudspeaker
 
Hmmm. I'm listening to the demo right now. It's not far from custom Miracle which I had at least 3 times in my ears on different occasions. The main difference IMHO is bass - demo has more and overall resolution is just a tad lower than custom monitor, but I wouldn't call is bad sounding. I'd say it sounds quite good actually.
You should definitely inquire for UM demo again, because I feel you've listened to some faulty unit...

 
I forgot that capacitance is also an issue when the cable gets too thick...I believe LEAR sells a 12AWG IEM cable on their site.
 
How bad would the capacitance of a 19AWG cable affect the sound?

 

[SilverEars]

 
Cable start acting as capacitor? 19AWG is big for enough for powering regular loudspeaker

Cable causing capacitance?  Can you show us evidence of that happening?  If it's just wires, there is no capacitive affect takes place at audio frequencies. I can certainly understand if there were a capacitor inside which would indeed roll-off the bottom end like a high pass filter as you would see a resistive load react to a capacitively coupled outputted device.
 
A wire is just a resistive element in the chain.  Minor in comparison to DAP output impedance and an iem, although multi-BA has varying impedance so you will see resonance and low dip typically at the treble and cable resistance can be comparable.  Estron makes cables with high resistance.  3.9, 1.9, and 1.4ohm. I have also hear stock TF10 is high resistance which is likely for tuning purposes. Here are Rin's measurement of various iem cables, and notice flat in the audible frequencies which mean no capacitance or inducatance, but only resistive.  If you look at a BA curve you see resonance which is reactive with positive side inductive and negative side capacitive.  You can tell when you look at the phase.  Output impedance and significant enough resistance interacts with the reactive impedance response of BA driver to cause difference from ideal 0 impedance.  A significant enough resistance can have affect on resonance Q factor.

 

 

[piotrus-g]

 Cable causing capacitance?

Just google cable capacitance

 

[Andreas2402]

Let me make a short comparison between VE 3 demo, VE 6XControl demo, JH 10x3, SE-5 way at AUDIENZ in Vienna.
 
Equipment used:
- own Meier Audio Corda Jazz
- Denon & own Meridian G06.2 CD Players
- various CDs
 
The VE 3 demo was a little disappointing tbh. I already heard it last year at an exhibition but only with a Sansa Clip.
I tried it with bad as well as good recordings, but came to the conclusion that I wouldn't use it as music listening device.
- Compared to the JH10x3 - not that it's perfect, but it does have certain strenghts like enhanced bass for thin recordings, while still retaining present vocals (a little too "cloudy" or "hazy" for some recordings) & treble. The VE 3 sounds flat, dull even in comparison.
- The closest IEM sonically would be the UERM, but the VE 3 has not the UERM's piercing treble.
- Compared to the SE-5 - let's just say it wasn't a fair comparison.
 
I was able to hear it a for a few days even, so that listening impression won't change anytime soon.
 
The VE 6XControl demo was interesting because of it's bass switch.
It was less interesting after I had heard the price.
Simply put, it couldn't "wow" me like the SE-5 could.
It does have a sound signature that comes close to the VE 3.
But, to say the least, it couldn't compete with the exceptional mids & speed of the SE-5.
 
The VE 4 demo was unfortunately faulty and sent to the manufacturer right after my listening session.
I will be able to hear it (hopefully extensively) in the next weeks or so when it will be back from repair.
 
To sum up, the SE-5 remain untouched, the JH10x3 will stay my gaming & "500$-production aka. bad recordings" headphones.

 

[davidcotton]

Well got in touch with ACS uk who said they are stopping making them at the end of the year.  So anyone thinking about getting some done now is certainly the time! 2 weeks turnaround and you don't have to send the iems in.  Am I right in thinking that a pair of tips would fit either iem?  ie a pair made for klipsch (which is the likely model) might well fit a shure or westone as long as the nozzle is correct?
 
Thanks

 

[Mython]

  Well got in touch with ACS uk who said they are stopping making them at the end of the year.  So anyone thinking about getting some done now is certainly the time! 2 weeks turnaround and you don't have to send the iems in.  Am I right in thinking that a pair of tips would fit either iem?  ie a pair made for klipsch (which is the likely model) might well fit a shure or westone as long as the nozzle is correct?
 
Thanks

 
 
 
Errr... yes, on one level, I suspect you are correct.
 
However, on another, perhaps not? What if the nozzle is custom-made so as to situate the IEM body snugly within the concha of the ear? In that scenario, using the custom tips on an IEM with a longer shell might lead to a less comfortable fit?
 
I could be off-target with that. Maybe ACS don't even get into that kind of detail, and just make all custom tips approximately the same length, regardless of intended IEM.
 
All I'm sayin' is it would be worth checking with them first, rather than letting assumptions lead to potential disappointments

 
I recall my brief time with Noble's N6, and that fit in my ear quite unlike anything I'd ever worn before. UE Triple-Fi 10 is another notable example of slightly unconventional IEM fit.

 

[davidcotton]

Fair enough.  After giving it some thought I rather suspect that given the fact that they are discontinuing them they have not been selling well either.  I think I would rather have a one piece unit than two, particularly if it slips off the nozzle and get stuck in the ear.  Looks like I've got a bit more thinking on who I am going with! 

 

[average_joe]

Cable start acting as capacitor? 19AWG is big for enough for powering regular loudspeaker
 
Hmmm. I'm listening to the demo right now. It's not far from custom Miracle which I had at least 3 times in my ears on different occasions. The main difference IMHO is bass - demo has more and overall resolution is just a tad lower than custom monitor, but I wouldn't call is bad sounding. I'd say it sounds quite good actually.
You should definitely inquire for UM demo again, because I feel you've listened to some faulty unit...

 
With the amount of power flowing through the cable, how much is capacitance really affecting the cable?  I suppose it is a possibility.
 
I guess I need to hear a better demo.  However, I wonder how much different it will be than the PP6.
 

  Let me make a short comparison between VE 3 demo, VE 6XControl demo, JH 10x3, SE-5 way at AUDIENZ in Vienna.
 
Equipment used:
- own Meier Audio Corda Jazz
- Denon & own Meridian G06.2 CD Players
- various CDs
 
The VE 3 demo was a little disappointing tbh. I already heard it last year at an exhibition but only with a Sansa Clip.
I tried it with bad as well as good recordings, but came to the conclusion that I wouldn't use it as music listening device.
- Compared to the JH10x3 - not that it's perfect, but it does have certain strenghts like enhanced bass for thin recordings, while still retaining present vocals (a little too "cloudy" or "hazy" for some recordings) & treble. The VE 3 sounds flat, dull even in comparison.
- The closest IEM sonically would be the UERM, but the VE 3 has not the UERM's piercing treble.
- Compared to the SE-5 - let's just say it wasn't a fair comparison.
 
I was able to hear it a for a few days even, so that listening impression won't change anytime soon.
 
The VE 6XControl demo was interesting because of it's bass switch.
It was less interesting after I had heard the price.
Simply put, it couldn't "wow" me like the SE-5 could.
It does have a sound signature that comes close to the VE 3.
But, to say the least, it couldn't compete with the exceptional mids & speed of the SE-5.
 
The VE 4 demo was unfortunately faulty and sent to the manufacturer right after my listening session.
I will be able to hear it (hopefully extensively) in the next weeks or so when it will be back from repair.
 
To sum up, the SE-5 remain untouched, the JH10x3 will stay my gaming & "500$-production aka. bad recordings" headphones.

 
Thanks for the summary!

 

[Mython]

  The downside of the LCM4.2, for me, would be the fact that it is a ported design (those DDs need room to breathe
 
MG6Pro is ported, too, which significantly reduces isolation and, worse than that, they whistle when its a windy day.

 
Just to add to this, Jerry posted some thoughts on the issue of isolation and DD-based CIEMs, in this blog post, a couple of years ago:
 
http://jhaudioblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/what-is-a-balanced-armature-pt-2-the-guts-the-glory/

 

[Barra]

CUSTOMART US CIEM Demo Tour - Including Harmony 8 Pro, Music One, Music Two, and Pro 330v2
 
The tour thread is now live and signing up US participants. For anyone interested in hearing these, you can find the tour signup thread here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/741770/customart-us-ciem-demo-lineup-tour-including-harmony-8-pro#post_11035309

 

[Mimouille]

  CUSTOMART US CIEM Demo Tour - Including Harmony 8 Pro, Music One, Music Two, and Pro 330v2
 
The tour thread is now live and signing up US participants. For anyone interested in hearing these, you can find the tour signup thread here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/741770/customart-us-ciem-demo-lineup-tour-including-harmony-8-pro#post_11035309

Technically, one could advocate China is in the US...