[strooper]

Add me to this list of people who are underwhelmed with the Sensaphonic sleeves.  Mine (full ear) fit tightly, but extend further out than first generation Walkman headphones.  The cables exit downward (!) and bass is greatly diminished.  I spent several hours assuming I was doing something horribly wrong, but no dice.  Perhaps I have oddly shaped ears (that would be news to me) and Sensaphonics had to adapt their design?  If that's the case, I would have liked a "heads up."  I would have stopped at the $70 for the impressions and learned an expensive lesson.  But they are what they are, which is custom and non-refundable.  They have poor sound.  Poor ergodynamics.  And I look like an idiot with them in.  I can't bring myself to put them in the trash, but I don't put them in my ears either.  Big waste of $$$$ for me.  
 
As always, results may vary.  Many people love them.  Not me.

 

[Jazzi]

  Add me to this list of people who are underwhelmed with the Sensaphonic sleeves.  Mine (full ear) fit tightly, but extend further out than first generation Walkman headphones.  The cables exit downward (!) and bass is greatly diminished.  I spent several hours assuming I was doing something horribly wrong, but no dice.  Perhaps I have oddly shaped ears (that would be news to me) and Sensaphonics had to adapt their design?  If that's the case, I would have liked a "heads up."  I would have stopped at the $70 for the impressions and learned an expensive lesson.  But they are what they are, which is custom and non-refundable.  They have poor sound.  Poor ergodynamics.  And I look like an idiot with them in.  I can't bring myself to put them in the trash, but I don't put them in my ears either.  Big waste of $$$$ for me.  
 
As always, results may vary.  Many people love them.  Not me.

Sorry to hear your experience wasn't typical.  I don't understand the "cable exit downward' problem.  Can't you just bend the wire to make it over the ear?  And of course, my experience with the bass was the exact opposite. The bass with my 846 is greatly enhanced.  Total cost to me was about $200.  Best money I've ever spent on portable audio gear.

 

[olddude]

The cables go over your ears if you have them positioned "correctly."  I personally have mine going downward, but that was a choice I made as a wearer of glasses seeking to avoid microphonics caused by cable/earpiece rubbing.  If yours are going down, simply swivel them around and use the memory wire over your ears as shown in the pictures on the Sensaphonic site.  
 
Yes, they are slightly bulky, but I've seen multi-driver ciems which extend just as far out.  Before I purchased my Sensaphonics I closely examined all of the photos illustrating them and could see for myself that they would cause my Shures to extend a bit out from my head.  That's why I bought the uncolored versions, seeking to avoid bright colors sticking out of my head.  

 
 
You say they have "poor sound."  Did you follow the directions and twist them so they are fully seated?  Are they muffled sounding?  You say bass is greatly diminished.  That would only occur if the insertion of the iems into the Sensaphonics is incorrect, the insertion of the Sensaphonics into your ears is incorrect, or if the channels within the Sensaphonics are incorrect.  Have you checked the insertion of the 846s to see if they are fully lodged in the Sensaphonics the way they should be?  You should be able to see the tube of the 846 lining up with the channel in the Sensaphonics in a straight line.  And. lastly, have you called and spoken to Sensaphonics about this?  They have excellent customer service and would be happy to rework the channels for you if that is what the problem is.  

 

[olddude]

I just checked the Sensaphonic website to be sure I was correct in what they showed.  Here it is.   As you can see, the wires go over the ears, and, clearly, these don't fit flush with your head.  
 

 

[fzr100098]

  "bass is greatly diminished"
 
No, it isn't - you're not wearing them right.  Again you people on a different planet from everyone else who has tried these, the bass is much more pronounced with these compared to foamies, just compare the surface area against your ear, it's night and day
 
"Poor ergodynamics.  And I look like an idiot with them in"
 
Again, this is more silly bluster.  85% of these things is in your ear, not sticking out - no one has ever given me strange looks, aside than the color you can't really tell the difference from other IEMs
 
"Many people love them.  Not me."
 
You and the other guy make up about 1% of owners of SCS, but as is the case with most internet reviews, the people that bitch the loudest (and in this case illogically) get the attention, happy owners don't bother posting

 

[fzr100098]

I'm starting to wonder if people like this don't have them inserted correctly, but I'm not sure how you can screw something up that is so simple - people always amaze me, though
 
My ONLY issue with the SCS is sometimes they comes off the SE846 nozzles in my gym bag - that's it

 

[strooper]

 I'm starting to wonder if people like this don't have them inserted correctly

 
I had them put it by the audiologist (Sensaphonic Gold Star btw) who I purchased them through.  They are inserted correctly.

 

I just checked the Sensaphonic website to be sure I was correct in what they showed.  Here it is.   As you can see, the wires go over the ears, and, clearly, these don't fit flush with your head.  
 

 
Again, these were fitted and inserted by the audiologist.  The sleeve is a "full sleeve", only the connector and a tiny portion of the IEM emerge from the sleeve.  They look NOTHING like the pictures on the sensaphonics page, a few posts above, or at the beginning of this thread.
 

Again, this is more silly bluster.  85% of these things is in your ear, not sticking out - no one has ever given me strange looks, aside than the color you can't really tell the difference from other IEMs

 
I have photos, some taken by the audiologist, that clearly show these sticking way out.  The audiologist agreed with me that they look ridiculous.  Because I can't embed photos yet, here are external links to some pictures:
 
http://www.4shared.com/download/phwtnkFoce/se846_3.jpg?lgfp=3000
http://www.4shared.com/download/vftcD5Acce/se846_1.jpg?lgfp=3000
 
The first shows the right-angle bend between the IEM nozzle and the canal of the sleeve.
The second shows how far from my ear these extend and the downward exit of the cable. 
 
Because they are still within the 30 day "refit" period, I have returned them to the audiologist who will work with sensaphonics to address the many issues with the sleeves.  
 
I may be the 1% of people who don't have a good experience.  But I am not stupid, unable to insert the sleeve correctly, or imagining all of this.  I hope that the remolds will work.  I bought these expecting the great results others speak of here.  

 

[olddude]

  My ONLY issue with the SCS is sometimes they comes off the SE846 nozzles in my gym bag - that's it

I read somewhere that you should keep your Sensaphonics in a dark bag without access to air and light (not a vacuum bag, obviously), as this will keep the material from degrading as quickly as it might.  Perhaps you should find a smaller carrying bag for them, with a zipper and a bit more protection.  

 

[csglinux]

I may have to eat a small slice of humble pie here. I was thinking about fzr100098's comments about the canals needing reworking. I took a closer look under a good light - and sure enough, something was awry with both my shells. Both bore holes take a very sharp turn at the end of the nozzle, but the left nozzle, in particular, was almost completely blocked. It's not easy to see, but I tried my best to take a before photo...



And after a visit from my Dremel...



I would never have discovered this if I'd had opaque shells. I wonder how many other folks might have partially-occluded nozzles and not even know? Sorry Sensaphonics, but this is sloppy work. It shouldn't be down to the end user to figure out this kind of stuff. One other question for SCS owners - how large are the bore holes on your sleeves? Mine are (or were) unnecessarily tiny (about 1.5 mm diameter). I also own Sensaphonics custom molded filter plugs, which have much wider bores (around 4-5 mm).

Thanks to fzr100098 for the tip on the canal re-working issue. One polite request though. Everybody's experiences with audio and audio equipment are different. It sounds as though strooper has a bad mold. Whether that's the fault of Sensaphonics or that of a bad audiologist's impression - that doesn't make him/her an idiot. Sharing our experiences (good and bad) is what helps us all reach a consensus on these issues. I'm not sure why the internet solicits such vitriol from reviews that aren't 100% positive. Although I'm now happy with the sound from my SE846+SCS, I still get a lower-profile IEM and better isolation from foam. With my SCS, I too, have the issue of the cable now pointing down at a 45-degree angle (rather than up at 45). This is the main reason you see a modded Westone cable in the images above.

Let's please be respectful (and maybe even helpful?) of one another's opinions and experiences.

 

[olddude]

I'm really (really!) confused by the talk of downward cables.  Shure cables swivel.  Just loop the wire around your ear and they are in the up position.  Straighten out the memory wire a bit and let them swivel down and they are in the down position.
 
Mine look like this (but they used to look like that):
 

 

[Kapazza]

I must be part of the 1%.  I received my Sensaphonic custom sleeves for my 535's on Friday.  My "Sensaphonics Gold Circle Audiologist" had a hard time helping me insert the sleeves, even with Oto-Ease.  When I finally got them in, I did a seal test using their website on my iPhone: http://www.sensaphonics.com/audio/simul_tones.mp3
 
As stated by others, they look ridiculous and stick out of my ears about 1/4"-1/2".
 
I had a good seal in both ears at first, and was pleasantly surprised.  Then I opened my mouth and instantly lost the seal in my left ear.  I re-positioned the IEM and tried again.  Once I finally got the seal and double checked with the test tone, I clenched my jaw a bit (something I regularly do while drumming) and the seal was gone again; no bass at all.  So, I figured I had a bad impression in my left ear.  Fair enough, I would have to get another impression made within 30 days, and wait another 3-4 weeks to finally get a good set of sleeves.
 
In the meantime, I got a good seal and made sure not to move at all.  I opened up Spotify and streamed some tunes I had been listening to a lot last week, so I was very familiar with how they sounded.  I only listen to 320 kbps or lossless audio.  I also have a full Schiit stack (Wyrd > Modi 2 Uber > Magni 2 Uber).  I know what good quality is and isn't.  The sleeves (with a proper seal) sound AWFUL.  Essentially, they sound like you're listening to a speaker that is 50' away down a 10' diameter tunnel.  It sounded like someone changed my 320 kbps quality setting down to 56 kbps.  Either the shape of my ear canal does not work with IEMs (is that a thing?), or these are severely defective.  (Note:  If you look closely, you can see the impressions of the Shure model number on the sleeves themselves [one of mine is "535", the other looks like "215"].  I made sure to line these up exactly to ensure the IEMs were properly placed in the sleeves.)
 
So, this morning I called Sensaphonics.  Got their machine twice, and left a message to call back.  Hopefully they return my call to explain why these sound and fit so poorly and will work with me on getting proper sleeves.  If, after another long 3-4 weeks, the next set comes back the same way, I'll expect a store credit for something else (apparently refunds are not offered "under any conditions"

).
 
EDIT:  Got the call back from Sensaphonics.  They assured me that they would take care of both issues.  The audiologist will take two new molds; one with me being still, and another while I "air drum".  I'm going to try and get the molds done tomorrow, so I should be able to report back in 3 weeks or so with the results!

 

[csglinux]

Kapazza, you may have the same problem I had, with the bore holes in the mold not lining up properly with the hole for the nozzle (see my previous post.) Before you get your shells re-made, I would ask Sensaphonics why the heck those bore holes need to be narrower than the diameter of the IEM nozzle. I see no reason for this. If they made the bore holes wider, being a little off in their manufacturing tolerances wouldn't matter.
 
I'm sure that if these SCS were made with a little more care and precision, both the sound and size issues would be much improved. SCS owners  - look at your IEMs in the SCS (assuming they're translucent, that is) and I'm sure you'll see that, with a bit more care, the IEMs could be placed deeper into the ear canal, which would result in a thinner shell, shorter bore tube and a lower overall profile. As it is, with my SCS, the IEM itself sits quite a way out, as is rotated somewhat, which is what results in the mmcx connector pointing down towards the intertragic notch, rather than up, towards the start of the helix. Olddude - your situation doesn't seem as dramatic as mine; both the images you posted show the connector pointing out horizontally (BTW, these images both look like half shells, not full shells, like mine. Are your SCS half shells?). Of course, with a swivel connector, you can eventually make the wire go anywhere you want, but if you leave the memory wire in and the mmcx connector points down at a 45 degree angle, you have a big wire loop over your cheek, rather than behind your ear.  Removing the memory wire helps, but I'd still rather have a lower-profile SCS with connectors pointing up at 45 degrees as Shure intended them to (and as they would with any universal-fit tip).
 
Anyway, good luck Kapazza - I hope the re-made shells work out ok for you. Please let us know.

 

[Kapazza]

  If they made the bore holes wider, being a little off in their manufacturing tolerances wouldn't matter.

 
True.  My boreholes look like they're choking the 535's nozzle.
 

  I'm sure you'll see that, with a bit more care, the IEMs could be placed deeper into the ear canal, which would result in a thinner shell, shorter bore tube and a lower overall profile.

 
Yes.  I asked the rep why they couldn't do a thinner shell.  Basically their answer is it depends on the size of the user's concha (the wide, rounded part of the ear where the IEM normally sits), and durability (too thin won't last as long or may tear when inserting the IEM).
 

  Anyway, good luck Kapazza - I hope the re-made shells work out ok for you. Please let us know.

 
Thanks, will do!

 

[JackKontney]

Hi folks. I feel compelled to weigh in here. I will not dispute anyone's personal experience, but do want to address some of the issues recently raised about the Sensaphonics Custom Sleeves with the Shure SE846, as well as the rest of the SE Series line.
 
1. The SE846 is pretty big and bulbous to start with. Surrounding the IEM with full-shell silicone will not result in a low-profile look. If a low visual profile of your IEMs is important to you, the 846+SCS combination is not the right choice. Even the standard canal-style sleeves we do for the rest of the SE Series tends to be a bit bulky. Remember, you are adding significant physical coating to a product designed to be worn as a UIEM.
 
2. Cable direction -- (commentary from Jack) Let's not overstate the direction issue. Shure IEMs do not project 45 degrees upwards, nor do Sensaphonics sleeves rotate them to project 45 degrees downwards. That said, we do find it necessary to rotate the angle a bit; see our lab manager's notes.
(Commentary from the Sensaphonics lab manager) -- This has always been an issue with our Shure sleeves.  When worn without a custom sleeve, Shure monitors of all styles fit nicely into almost any sized ear.  When you then wrap the monitor in silicone, you add significant bulk to the overall package. Our ability to drive the monitor into the canal is hindered by the two main factors: the width of the aperture of the canal itself, and the amount of space between the tragus and anti tragus. Obviously, this spacing varies significantly from person to person. The smaller that space between the tragus and anti tragus, the further out of the ear the monitor will sit, and the more it will have to be rotated forward, turning the cable exit into more of a downward position. Unfortunately, when making a custom mold in the full-sleeve style (as opposed to canal style) this is a possible result.  There is not much that can be done about it. (Note: A possible solution to this is to create a mold that adds space in the concha by pushing the tragus and anti tragus outward. This works for some people but causes discomfort when worn for long periods, so we generally avoid that.)
 
3. Blocked canals (again, commentary from the lab manager) -- When we lacquer the molds, we must clear the lacquer out of the canal bore before it sets. Often times we can’t get it all out.  After the lacquer has dried we rebore the canal. We check every single mold and usually catch any problem before it leaves the lab. Unfortunately, we are human, and every so often one of them is overlooked.  One possible solution to this problem would be to drill out a wider bore that is not as susceptible to the lacquer blockage. We will investigate this.
 
4. Sonic results. I understand the YMMV nature of any audio outcome, and that perception=reality to the individual. But I'm seeing some pretty incredible claims regarding the  effects of the SCS on sound quality, some of which are a bit eyebrow-raising for what is essentially a passive device. That suggests to me that the root cause of some of these results is not yet identified.
 
Sensaphonics is committed to great-sounding and great-fitting custom in-ear solutions. We pride ourselves on our customer service, which is really the only way to survive in the pro touring sound industry (our primary market). Anyone having issues with any Sensaphonics custom product is encouraged to phone us directly (or through your audiologist). We will gladly work with you to address your fit or design issue. The number is 312-432-1714, M-F 9-5 Central (US).
 
Kappaza, csglinux, strooper, and others -- thanks for the input and discussion. The CIEM world is one of constant evolution, and we are always listening to our customers in order to evolve our designs, to more fully meet our clients' needs and expectations. Thanks.

 

[Jazzi]

   
4. Sonic results. I understand the YMMV nature of any audio outcome, and that perception=reality to the individual. But I'm seeing some pretty incredible claims regarding the  effects of the SCS on sound quality, some of which are a bit eyebrow-raising for what is essentially a passive device. That suggests to me that the root cause of some of these results is not yet identified.
 
 

+1