[leftnose]

So, while getting ready for a month long trip through Asia on business, I was changing the tips on my TF10s and I managed to crack one of the housings into two pieces.  DOH!  Luckily I was able to borrow the SF3s I had given my mother some time ago as a gift so I can fly my 23,000 miles with music.
 
I've stayed away from the audio portions of this site for some time now as I've been pretty happy with my gear and I wanted to avoid upgradeitis.  However, now I have no choice.  But, now I have no idea what is on the market.  I see all sorts of models that were not available in my last buying phase like the IE8s the UE18s and so on. 
 
Can someone give me a rundown of the current IEM market place?  My budget is high but not unlimited and I might be tempted into a set of customs.  I won't be buying a set of UE11s or 18s but I could be tempted into a set of UE4s.
 
What are my best choices for $500 or so, both universal and custom?
 
Thanks!

 

[mnagali]

out of warranty, I assume?  
 
if you liked the sound signature of your TF10s and don't want to pay the costs of another high-end IEM, you should also consider the possibility of re-shelling your broken TF10s into customs via Fisher Hearing (USA) or Unique Melody (China)---plenty of info about both companies if you do a quick forum search.

 

[ZARIM]

 The universal IEMs like Earsonic SM3, Radius DDM 11R, MTP Copper, JVC FX700 and for customs JH5Pro, UM Mage are highely recommended.

 

[furstrated]

Quote:

out of warranty, I assume?  
 
if you liked the sound signature of your TF10s and don't want to pay the costs of another high-end IEM, you should also consider the possibility of re-shelling your broken TF10s into customs via Fisher Hearing (USA) or Unique Melody (China)---plenty of info about both companies if you do a quick forum search.

^^ this
For 500$ you can have it reshelled with added drivers making your broken tf10 into a 6 driver custom at um

 

[G3n0c|d3]

Quote:

out of warranty, I assume?  
 
if you liked the sound signature of your TF10s and don't want to pay the costs of another high-end IEM, you should also consider the possibility of re-shelling your broken TF10s into customs via Fisher Hearing (USA) or Unique Melody (China)---plenty of info about both companies if you do a quick forum search.

+1
since u like it so much, why not re-shelling it?

 

[G3n0c|d3]

-edited-
double post

 

[azncoduyen]

If you like the sound signature of the triple.fi you might not like the IE8.  The reason why I said this is because I got both.  After getting use to the triple.fi treble, the IE8 can't really match it. This makes the IE8 sound a bit fuzzy or not as clear. However, IE8 is really good at producing bass.  If you are going to spend big bucks, you might try something esle. 

 

[koonhua90]

http://www.head-fi.org/wiki/top-tier-universal-iem-comparison-chart-and-information
 
Top tier IEMs. Check it out. The current 'hot' top tier earphones that people discuss more includes the likes of SM3, FX-700, etc. The $160 DBA-02 is also reported to be very good. Radius DDM is also another good earphone to look at, although fit might be an issue. IE8 needs some fiddling to sound good, which, not everyone is willing to spend the time and effort to do that. Just my 2 cents.

 

[KLS]

Hi @leftnose, may I ask what are/were you going to do with your broken TF10?

 

[WhiteBear]

+ 1  reshell into Custom Molds

 

[leftnose]

Thanks guys!  Seems like the custom reshell is almost the most economical way to proceed.
 
I'll look into this when I get back but I would probably go with Fisher hearing if only because they are in the US.