Seoul, Korea: Ear impressions / molds
Jul 26, 2011 at 5:41 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

JCS

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Hey guys,
 
Does anybody know where to get ear impressions with high-viscosity silicone in Seoul, Korea?  I tried the ENT today and he said he could only do rubber.  There was a hearing aid company in the same building who said that silicone molds were impossible for them.
 
This is a shot in the dark, I know...
 
Jul 27, 2011 at 7:51 AM Post #3 of 13
Hey, I live in Seoul,
 
and there is a company called Sound Cat,
 
which sells IEMs and customs and pretty much all the high-end earpieces in Korea.
 
http://soundcat.com/
 
Directions:
http://allas.soundcat.com/61
 
They will do free molds if you buy a custom from them, but I don't know about just molds.
If you ask nicely they will probably do it, though.
I don't know what they use, but you could always ask.
(I sure hope they can speak English!)
 
070-7019-4347
 
If you need any extra help contacting them, PM me.
 
Jul 27, 2011 at 10:57 AM Post #4 of 13
Thanks to everyone for the replies.
 
I did wind up going to Sound Cat today as work was cancelled by the torrential rain and consequent flooding.  The impressions took about 20 minutes and were about $20.  Very quick and easy.  The staff there was super-friendly and professional.  
 
I didn't wind up buying a custom from them as their mark-ups are unconscionably steep.  I was considering a JH11, but they didn't have one there to demo.  They did, however, have UE18, JH16, JH10, JH7, and Westone ES5, as well as a bunch of universals for demo.  Good stuff.
 
Dec 15, 2011 at 11:21 AM Post #5 of 13
Hi there, I'm interested in buying the ES5 from Westone and I heard I can get them from Soundcat. Can you please let me know their address, mail and phone number? Any other info like the price for the earphones (if you know) will be GREATLY appreciated. Really thank you!
 
Dec 15, 2011 at 11:35 AM Post #6 of 13
Maybe you can look into Hidition: http://www.hidition.co.kr/
 
There is a summary review of the NT-6 at the bottom of the first post here and I will have my full review will be done soon.  The NT-6 Pro should be a UE18/JH16 competitor from what I gather, and the NT6 is a UERM competitor.
 
Dec 15, 2011 at 4:36 PM Post #7 of 13
Hello Jedaite,
 
I honestly cannot remember how to get there... it's pretty hard to figure it out from a map. What I did was I called http://soundcat.com/en/contact.html and there was a guy who spoke English. He told me which station to get off at and gave me directions from there. I had to call him back a few times on the way over because I got lost. It's difficult to find anything in Seoul unless it's located in a major center, which this place is not.
 
Are you in Korea long term? If not, then I honestly would recommend waiting to buy them in the US. The mark ups are really steep, like 50% probably because of the foreign import tax.
 
Good luck!
 
May 11, 2012 at 2:33 AM Post #8 of 13
Hey Jedaite,
 
I'm also on this side of the world... thanks to this thread, I was able to find info about custom ear molds here in Korea, something I've been curious about ever since I checked out UEs and JHAs sites for places in Korea that would do custom ear molds. (To no effect.)
I haven't gone in person to check it out yet, but I did find this section of the soundcat site in English giving directions. If you've ever been to the Yongsan electronics market (the cheap stores, not the ones in the station) then you'll be familiar with this area already. Here's the link;
http://soundcat.com/en/map.html
 
If you want to check out hidition, then they have a nifty store locator map here... if you're not sure of what area is closest to you, click the map and check the stores location on the map. (each link has a map in the store info section.) It looks like their main office is north of Seoul in Ilsan near Paju.
http://hidition.co.kr/index.php?mid=store_kr&category=4556
 
If someone else stumbles across this post, that map should help you out. =)
I'll edit this post after I get a chance to check it out in person... thought it may take a few.
They do offer ACS custom molds for Westones/Shure in their Korean shop, so I'm hoping to get a pair for my Westone 4R/Shure 535s. ^^
 
May 11, 2012 at 7:47 AM Post #9 of 13
Quote:
 It's difficult to find anything in Seoul unless it's located in a major center, which this place is not.

I've been there too and it's a maze behind yongsan station. Problem is Koreans don't have street names and numbers (well not in the conventional sense). It's even hard for Koreans to find places... except that they are one big happy family over there and are accustomed to calling out for directions to random pedestrians. Best way to find it would be to print out the address.. get yourself in the general vicinity and show it to as many people as possible. Koreans will love to show you the way and may even accompany you directly to the place.
 
May 21, 2012 at 2:49 AM Post #10 of 13
To make it a bit easier to find, I'm putting up some pictures with directions. I had brought my DSLR, but forgot to put the battery back in before I lugged it out there. Oops.Sorry about the LQ pictures... but you'll get the idea.

Soundcat makes impressions with Westone Sillicona(sp?) pink/white silicone for 30,000w. (about $27)
The guy who does it was a great guy and he had all the gear and seemed to (it's my first time getting impressions made) know what he was doing. I'll get my ACS sleeves in another 3/4 weeks, and we'll see how well they fit. ^^
 
 
MAP WITH PICTURES;

 
 
1) This is exit 5 from Line 4 (light blue) at the SinYongsan station. The techno-mart is the building on the left part of the picture.
Simply walk out exit 5, and head straight.

 
 
2) You will come to a pedestrian tunnel. (You should be on the right side of the road.)
Go through it.

 
 
3) You'll come out on the other side of the tunnel in the electronics section.

 
 
4) The pedestrian walkway joins a road that runs next to a large multi-story building filled with electronics shops.
(There is also a good headphones shop in here that carries the Beyerdynamic series through the T1, and Sennheisers up to the HD800.)
Just keep walking straight. Move away from the tunnel and follow this road.

 
 
5) When the white building ends, there is a small side road to the right.
There are a lot of green booths selling 'stuff.' Just keep walking down the road.
It should parallel the main road to your left.

 
 
6) When you get to the 4 way you will see something like this...
The red building diagonally across from you has a lotteria (fast food joint) on the second floor, with the counter to sell food on the first.
Head towards the Lotteria.

 
 
7) If you cross to the left first, the Lotteria will be in front of you like so.
In this case, cross the street and walk down the sidewalk that is on the right of this picture.
(Passing Lotteria on the left.)

 
 
You are now fairly close.
Here is another map that shows the allyways and final steps it takes to get there...

 
8) Ignore the entrance to the shopping mall that you'll run into right after passing the Lotteria.

 
 
9) Shortly after the shopping mall there are two side streets that join the main road...
Don't go down them, but this means your are close to your goal.

 
 
10) The road Soundcat is on is a SMALL one-car "road." It's easy to miss.
The road is next to that sign with the red and blue dots. There is also a small GS mart right in front of it.

 
 
11) A closeup of the mart. with the "road" directly to the left.

 
 
12) Take a sharp left here and the "road"/ally will look like this;

 
 
13) Walk down the "road"/ally...Near the end you will see this;

 
 
14) That red building is the building where "Soundcat" is located. (on the second floor)
The "road"/ally terminates at the parking lot that is in front of this building.
The entrance to Soundcat

 
 
15) Walk up the stairs that will be to your right at this entrance...
... and note the funky purple doors.

 
Congratulations! You found it.
(Check their operating hours before you go.)
 
Oct 7, 2012 at 6:40 AM Post #11 of 13
ah yes just what i was looking for :)
so i can just walk in and do impressions without ordering customs from them right?
cuz i wanna get my triplefi reshelled and im sure soundcat doesn't do reshells.
 
anyways thanks guys
 
Apr 4, 2013 at 8:27 PM Post #13 of 13
Quote:
just fyi,
soundcat no longer does impressions unless you buy something from them.

 
Doh. That's a shame. The impressions were pretty reasonably priced too. :/
 

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