[Kenny12]

I'm currently using a pair on ue900 with my LG g3 as my daily commute combo I listing to Spotify high quality.

I feel like theres something missing and I am considering getting a pair of custom iems.

I have made a mint portable amp and I have found that the sound quality did not improve drastically with the ue900.

Should I spend the money now to improve my source or my iems?

 

[PETEREK]

If you are wanting a dramatic experience change, change the headphone. If you love the headphone and think there might be more, upgrade the source/DAC/amp. From the UE900, I'd say a natural upgrade would be a Westone 4 or SM64 for a similar soundstage and better separation. As far as CIEMs, I can't tell you where to go. I think you should start by telling us here what you LIKE about your UE900, and we will go from there. You can only recommend so much without knowing what someone's goal is. 
 
Dropping $$ on customs before you know what you want is a no-no. There are so many different signatures in the custom IEM world and after you submit that payment, you are locked into that sound signature unless you take a hefty hit, the resale value is terrible for CIEMs. 
 
What is your IDEAL sound signature?

 

[Kenny12]

I really like the mids on the UE900 but I find the bass a bit lacking in depth, I've previously had Senn IE8s and they were much better in the bass department.
 
The UE900s also sound a bit dark and I find the soundstage lacking. 
 
in full sized headphone land, I really enjoy the HD650 with the right amp and the MS-Pro for rock. 
 
in terms of isolation and comfort, are CIEMs a drastic improvement over universals?
 
I can spend up to $1000AUD on the right upgrade. 

 

[milford30]

  I really like the mids on the UE900 but I find the bass a bit lacking in depth, I've previously had Senn IE8s and they were much better in the bass department.
 
The UE900s also sound a bit dark and I find the soundstage lacking. 
 
in full sized headphone land, I really enjoy the HD650 with the right amp and the MS-Pro for rock. 
 
in terms of isolation and comfort, are CIEMs a drastic improvement over universals?
 
I can spend up to $1000AUD on the right upgrade. 

 
Depends on you, for me (silicon ciem) a better isolation, comfort not so much vs universal foam. It really is a roll of the dice, I had 2 refits (once the cable failed) nothing really bad but my inner ear starts to hurt after a while due to the longer stem (used it for 2 years). 
 
There are plenty of threads discussing ciem X vs hd650, but don't count out high/top end iems like Noble Savant, w60 and se846, if you prefer to skip the wait and pain/$$ for refits + resell value. There is a reason why companies like UM, Noble, JH came out with universal versions lately.