Wmcmanus
President treasurer secretary and sole member of the Cayman Islands Head-Fi Club.
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2002
- Posts
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I've read with interest over the past several months about various Sensa and UE owners who have sent their custom molded IEM's back in to be "refit", but have always wondered:
1) How do you know that your custom IEM's don't fit properly?
2) How do you pinpoint why they don't fit properly?
3) How do you know where, precisely, on the IEM the fit issues reside?
4) How do you know how much to instruct Sensa or UE to add or subtract from the molds to make them fit right?
Basically, I'm interested in how some of you initiated the communication process with Sensa or UE about your fit issues. I'd like to do it in such a way that I don't become a pain in their backside because, as described below, I don't seem to have any major fit issues as perhaps others have had. So please share your fit and refit communication experiences!
My UE "fit" for your reference:
My experience with IEM's is limited to the Ety ER-4S and UE10-Pro.
With the Ety's, I used to wedge those puppies into my ear canals such that there was no question about the "seal" and they isolated like crazy. People could stand right behind me and talk in a normal voice and I wouldn't know they were there, nor would I hear the phone ring from 2 feet away with music playing. They were awesome on airplanes since they blocked out the engine noise entirely.
With the UE's, I've never had this sense of extreme isolation, yet they're a heck of a lot more comfortable, and (of course) better sounding. I can now hear the phone ring with the UE's in while playing music at a normal volume, and if I mute the volume, I can carry on a phone conversation with the UE's in my ears!
The UE's are extremely comfortable so there are no particular places within my inner ear that seem to be taking undue stress, nor are there any obvious loose fitting areas as I wiggle them gently to feel where they are grabbing. They pop in and out with extreme ease, in just a fraction of a second. The stems don't exert undue pressure on my ear canal (i.e., there is no pain as there was with the Etys when they were pressed in tightly). When I open my mouth to a "normal wide" position or move my jaw rapidly from side to side this does break the seal but only slightly, unless I exaggerate either of these movements (or yawn heavily) in which case the seal is broken much more obviously, but then returns to the normal seal once I start "behaving" again.
I've also noticed that if I grab the UE's and gently pull them in an outward direction (i.e., pull them away from my head on each side without twisting them in any way) the seal is noticably broken and the sound becomes ultra "thin" which indicates to me that they are well sealed in their natural position. Yet, if I press them in slightly on both sides using my palms such that the stems lie more directly on my ear drums, the bass tightens, and I suspect the isolation increases slightly as well.
So I'm thinking that maybe the "problem" such that there is one with my UE fit is that the stems may be a slight little bit too short. Either that, or I used to wear the Etys improperly by really wedging them in too far.
In sum, I'm happy with the overall sound and comfort, but think they should provide more isolation and a better bass response.
1) How do you know that your custom IEM's don't fit properly?
2) How do you pinpoint why they don't fit properly?
3) How do you know where, precisely, on the IEM the fit issues reside?
4) How do you know how much to instruct Sensa or UE to add or subtract from the molds to make them fit right?
Basically, I'm interested in how some of you initiated the communication process with Sensa or UE about your fit issues. I'd like to do it in such a way that I don't become a pain in their backside because, as described below, I don't seem to have any major fit issues as perhaps others have had. So please share your fit and refit communication experiences!
My UE "fit" for your reference:
My experience with IEM's is limited to the Ety ER-4S and UE10-Pro.
With the Ety's, I used to wedge those puppies into my ear canals such that there was no question about the "seal" and they isolated like crazy. People could stand right behind me and talk in a normal voice and I wouldn't know they were there, nor would I hear the phone ring from 2 feet away with music playing. They were awesome on airplanes since they blocked out the engine noise entirely.
With the UE's, I've never had this sense of extreme isolation, yet they're a heck of a lot more comfortable, and (of course) better sounding. I can now hear the phone ring with the UE's in while playing music at a normal volume, and if I mute the volume, I can carry on a phone conversation with the UE's in my ears!
The UE's are extremely comfortable so there are no particular places within my inner ear that seem to be taking undue stress, nor are there any obvious loose fitting areas as I wiggle them gently to feel where they are grabbing. They pop in and out with extreme ease, in just a fraction of a second. The stems don't exert undue pressure on my ear canal (i.e., there is no pain as there was with the Etys when they were pressed in tightly). When I open my mouth to a "normal wide" position or move my jaw rapidly from side to side this does break the seal but only slightly, unless I exaggerate either of these movements (or yawn heavily) in which case the seal is broken much more obviously, but then returns to the normal seal once I start "behaving" again.
I've also noticed that if I grab the UE's and gently pull them in an outward direction (i.e., pull them away from my head on each side without twisting them in any way) the seal is noticably broken and the sound becomes ultra "thin" which indicates to me that they are well sealed in their natural position. Yet, if I press them in slightly on both sides using my palms such that the stems lie more directly on my ear drums, the bass tightens, and I suspect the isolation increases slightly as well.
So I'm thinking that maybe the "problem" such that there is one with my UE fit is that the stems may be a slight little bit too short. Either that, or I used to wear the Etys improperly by really wedging them in too far.
In sum, I'm happy with the overall sound and comfort, but think they should provide more isolation and a better bass response.
