[Stan91]

Hello guys! Just got my SM3 last week. Have been listening to it for a week already and im loving every moment of it.

 

[iponderous]

Quote:

^ sounds a bit complicated and a gamble - all that faffing about with the risk of them not fitting properly. I have no problems with the Sensorcom tips, so what would I gain from customs?  I like the fact I can just put these in an out so easily too, which is perfect for getting to and from work.

Bennyboy71, I've not had a pair of custom earphones but I have used a few sets of custom earplugs for musicians in my time. The process for making the moulds is exactly the same and I've never encountered any problems with fit. Inserting and removing them is a doddle.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Bennyboy71, I've not had a pair of custom earphones but I have used a few sets of custom earplugs for musicians in my time. The process for making the moulds is exactly the same and I've never encountered any problems with fit. Inserting and removing them is a doddle.

 
That's a completely different scenario as the custom tips, in this case, go on the IEM shells and inserting the earpieces with the custom tips can often become awkward as reported by several people. Also, the shells might stick out as has already been reported by more than a few in these forums.
 
And yes, getting ear impressions is easy, but there's no guarantee they'll produce a perfect set of custom tips, in which case you may need either having the ear impressions done again, or Westone (or whichever company) modify or re-do the tips.
 
And, no matter how easy the whole process may be in the end, it's not exactly cheap to have this done.
 

 

[Bennyboy71]

yeah, just sounds like an unecessary expense and effort to go through for a universal iem.  If i ever decide to get JHA or Earsonics customs, then clearly I'll have to go down that route but until then, I'm happy with my little dual flange Sensorcoms in my ears.
 
And you know what?  When I took all those little parcels of Sensorcom tips to the post office today, I was told they each weighed 21 grams.
 
If thats not a sign, I don't know what is. 

 

[GaryAR]

After some more listening I can start to understand some people's complaints about the treble, and that they may be missing a little bit of sparkle/air on the highs. But what I'm really liking is that even if this is the case they have plenty of detail, instruments are rendered with clarity and the separation in space is very good. They seem to be a little more forgiving of poorly mastered songs than the triple.fi's, and seeing as how 99% of what I listen to is not up to audiophile recording/mixing standards I'm very happy with this compromise. To be honest, I don't see this as a compromise so much as a good match for the kind of music I prefer... although Kid A last night was an absolute revelation with these things on and that is one of the best sounding rock albums you will ever come across.
 
FWIW the only time the bass sounded mushy was when I tried on the smaller comply's. With the bi-flange or trimmed large comply's the midbass punch is great and the bass is very tight. I'm pretty fortunate though as far as fit is concerned, I think I have perfectly cylindrical ear canals because I seldom have problems getting an excellent seal with just about any IEM.
 
gary

 

[Stan91]

Hey bennyboy, i can't seem to reply your PM. Anyway, i would like to get 2 pairs from you.

 

[Bennyboy71]

sent you a pm Stan
 
Quote:

Hey bennyboy, i can't seem to reply your PM. Anyway, i would like to get 2 pairs from you.

 

[Bennyboy71]

I'll give Kid A a listen on the walk home later - thanks for the tip. Haven't listened to much Radiohead recently. In Rainbows sounds amazingly 3D out of the SM3s though, this much I do know.
 
Quote:

After some more listening I can start to understand some people's complaints about the treble, and that they may be missing a little bit of sparkle/air on the highs. But what I'm really liking is that even if this is the case they have plenty of detail, instruments are rendered with clarity and the separation in space is very good. They seem to be a little more forgiving of poorly mastered songs than the triple.fi's, and seeing as how 99% of what I listen to is not up to audiophile recording/mixing standards I'm very happy with this compromise. To be honest, I don't see this as a compromise so much as a good match for the kind of music I prefer... although Kid A last night was an absolute revelation with these things on and that is one of the best sounding rock albums you will ever come across.
 
FWIW the only time the bass sounded mushy was when I tried on the smaller comply's. With the bi-flange or trimmed large comply's the midbass punch is great and the bass is very tight. I'm pretty fortunate though as far as fit is concerned, I think I have perfectly cylindrical ear canals because I seldom have problems getting an excellent seal with just about any IEM.
 
gary

 

[bluetrain]

A lot of excitement over these SM3s.

 

[Bennyboy71]

Thanks for pointing that out.
 
Quote:

A lot of excitement over these SM3s.

 

[kwkarth]

We need a snidely filter 'round here.

 

[Bennyboy71]

Thanks for pointing that out

 
Quote:

We need a snidely filter 'round here.

 

[shane55]

@ Anaxilus / Bennyboy71.
The grey double flange tips that come with the SM3 (and thank goodness they give you 2 pair!!) are gawdoffal. Aside frim the typical (with my ear canals) microphonics, the sound was pure crap. As I stated in my original post about these. The Shure Olives give me the best sound and fit. The grey bi-flange was pure mud and I recommend trying something else FAST, before you loose all hope in the SM3.
 
But yes, I'm hoping break-in does wonders for these. Listening to them late into the night the psychoacoustics allowed me to tolerate their sound, but the slobbery bass got very fatiging after a while. The recessed upper-mids have not come out much from yesterday (and yeah, I know... give them time). This weekend I'll stick them in the microwave for several hours and keep my fingers crossed.

 
Quick SM3 v. SE535 out-of-the-box comparison. SE535 is about the clarity of the mids. SM3 is about the bass and sparkle. Almost opposite curves. Or so it seems at this point.
 
shane

 

[bluetrain]

delete

 

[bluetrain]

So how does the bass and treble of the SM3 compare to the bass and treble of the SE535 @ Shane? I have both now, but I haven't had a chance to listen to the SE535 yet. Nice initial impressions of the SM3 by the way.
Quote:

@ Anaxilus / Bennyboy71.
The grey double flange tips that come with the SM3 (and thank goodness they give you 2 pair!!) are gawdoffal. Aside frim the typical (with my ear canals) microphonics, the sound was pure crap. As I stated in my original post about these. The Shure Olives give me the best sound and fit. The grey bi-flange was pure mud and I recommend trying something else FAST, before you loose all hope in the SM3.
 
But yes, I'm hoping break-in does wonders for these. Listening to them late into the night the psychoacoustics allowed me to tolerate their sound, but the slobbery bass got very fatiging after a while. The recessed upper-mids have not come out much from yesterday (and yeah, I know... give them time). This weekend I'll stick them in the microwave for several hours and keep my fingers crossed.

 
Quick SM3 v. SE535 out-of-the-box comparison. SE535 is about the clarity of the mids. SM3 is about the bass and sparkle. Almost opposite curves. Or so it seems at this point.
 
shane