[mc21]

My right one is easy to put in and faster than and foam tip. The left one takes me longer as it fits just a bit snug and sometimes won't go in properly unless I angle it a certain way. The problem I have is taking it out as I don't want to yank on the cord. It take a little extra effort to grab it by the side and slide my finger under it (between the custom and my ears) and then remove it. Also repeated removal and insert seems to hurt my ears. This is just my experience and may differ from yours or anyone elses as it depends on your ears and the fit of the customs.

 

[zenpunk]

Personally, I spent few hours comparing universals and demos of customs, including most of UM line-up -excluding Mentor, and few Noble -including K10, and I clearly preferred the SE846. 

 

[EveTan]

Personally, I would buy a universal first. If I like it enough, I may sell it to fund a CIEM from the same company that has that house sound I like. That's what I plan on doing with FitEar anyways.

 

[haejuk]

I just want to thank everyone for their input again.  I got myself a used JH13 and got it reshelled by Inearz.  They sound amazing with my RWAK100 and are perfectly comfortable.  I doubt that I could get the same ratio of isolation to comfort with a universal that I get with my new customs.  I do have a tough time getting a perfect seal on my left ear, but I've always had trouble with IEMs and that ear.  Overall I am very happy using customs over universals.

 

[rynogee]

Not sure if anyone is still watching this thread, but was keen to re start a similar discussion.
 
I'm currently considering upgrading from Shure se425s, possibly to se846s, or potentially to customs.
 
I understand the issues around sound signatures and testing of different house sounds before committing to a mould, as well as the cost of moulds, but I'm still wondering about the isolation pros/cons of universal vs custom.
 
I don't have any/much problem getting good isolation with Shure universal fits - I use the medium olives. Although I kind of wish they'd last longer. But I assume that doesn't mean customs couldn't give me better isolation (and potentially comfort) (right?)
 
Do customs have any form of pressure/expansion required (they don't actually have a tip)? It sort of surprises me that they would necessarily be better isolation - does this just come from the fact that there is greater surface area from the mould in contact with skin, than is the case with an olive/tip that's been compressed/expanded?  (and maybe they stick further into the ear canal which helps?)
 
Do people think custom IEMs are more comfortable than universals? Able to be worn for longer periods without irritation?
 
Apprecaite any further advice any might be able to provide.

 

[Cheng Zai Ze]

why do silicons take longer than acrylics to remove though?

 

[gorman]

Because of increased friction of silicone compared to acrylic.

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

EDIT: Ugh. I just realized someone resurrected this thread from about 36 years ago. Give or take.  

 

[buonassi]

Evidence suggests that an IEM and CIEM with the same driver compliment will sound better in custom form.

Does anyone else think the sound difference between universal (fitted with wide bore silicones) vs customs can be explained by the air volume in the ear canal? IE with silicone tips on a universal, the depth of insertion probably isn't as great as the custom, thus more cavity space equals a resonance peak at around 7K for most people. Compare this to very little air in the canal for a custom, still a resonance, but likely above 10K and less "troublesome".

Surely, I can't be the first to posit this? Moot point I guess. I'm probably typing into digital oblivion, given how old this thread is.

 

[jstachowski]

Does anyone else think the sound difference between universal (fitted with wide bore silicones) vs customs can be explained by the air volume in the ear canal? IE with silicone tips on a universal, the depth of insertion probably isn't as great as the custom, thus more cavity space equals a resonance peak at around 7K for most people. Compare this to very little air in the canal for a custom, still a resonance, but likely above 10K and less "troublesome".

Surely, I can't be the first to posit this? Moot point I guess. I'm probably typing into digital oblivion, given how old this thread is.

I would say it depends on your ear canals. In my case I can't really find universals that sound anywhere near what customs sound like. The Westone folks told us that only about 10% of the folks take the step to go to customs.

 

[klaberte]

It sounds like I really need to try customs at least once. This is too bad for me because of the extra cost and relative lack of reviews compared to universals.

Is it a whole lot worse to get a decent universal reshelled compared to just getting one of the models that the CIEM company develops? Or are both of these valid options?

I think the main argument for me on customs is the comfort of a good seal. If you want to do a cheap experiment, buy some DIY custom earplugs (where you mix the two compounds, push it in your ear, let it set, and then take them in and out). Try those against a foam earplug for an hour. That should tell you a lot.

 

[jstachowski]

I agree it really is the seal. The Westone people make a set of custom earpieces, the um56, that can plug into a universal to give you a good seal. I have to admit, I didn't go with that solution myself, I just bought the custom version of the three driver IEM, the es30.

 

[DeepSouth]

I have a hard time getting the right seal, and without my ear canal folding the foam tip closing the hole that music comes out. I'm ordering 2 CIEM sets so I'll know the answer soon enough.

I have custom hearing plugs made for shooting. They don't go in and out as easy because the fit is perfect to my ear, whereas the UIEM has some space for my fingers to grab.

 

[haejuk]

I owned a pair of JH13 Pros a few years ago. It took a couple tries to get the seal perfect on one ear. In the end I decided to stick with universal IEMs for portable because I like to try out different ones in the lower-middle price range for fun. It is just a hassle to try out a bunch of different custom IEMs and see which ones you like. I also find the comfort better on some universals because of the soft material the tips are made from. The customs were always just a hard material stuck in my ears. Obviously this is just my experience and opinion and you should try it for yourself if you have the chance.

Also to answer my own question from 4 years ago quoted above:
I think getting a used pair of CIEMs re-shelled is the way to go if you aren't sure. That way you can sell them for about what you paid for them and you are only out the re-shelling money if you don't like them. Probably the most cost-effective way to go. That's what I ended up doing.

 

[contra3115]

Also struggled with this when i upgraded to the 846s and it changed everything. Probably depends on whether you have oddly shaped ear canals. I probably purchased every manufacturer's ear tip and only got decent isolation with the shure olives. However, adjusting the IEMs would take forever to achieve that perfect seal. I finally got fed up with constantly adjusting and went to a distributor of Ultimate Ears because they offered free 3d ear scanning. I didn't want to deal with the expense and hassle of getting professional impressions done when CIEMS are already so expensive.

Turns out I have very oddly-shaped canals bc the guy who did the scanning said he's never done a canal that complicated before (it took like 30m, normal is 5 min per side). So that explains my fit issues. If you suspect you have weird anatomy, then it might be worth it. I haven't received them yet, so don't know how they will compare, but if the sound isolation is the same or better, then I'll need to figure out what to do with my 846s. I don't really want to sell them, but i have a feeling ill never go back to them again unless the noise isolation is superior with universals.