The FitEar CIEM Impressions Thread

[Sifo]

Yep pretty close to 334SR

 

[Vamp898]

Yep pretty close to 334SR

You happen to have information about if its Made in Japan?

 

[Sifo]

You happen to have information about if its Made in Japan?

Didnt read any of the material since I was super focused during the 10 minute demo slot, also slipped my mind to ask Suyama-san. I kinda just automatically assumed it was being manufactured in-house

 

[Vamp898]

Didnt read any of the material since I was super focused during the 10 minute demo slot, also slipped my mind to ask Suyama-san. I kinda just automatically assumed it was being manufactured in-house

The Presentation to the MONITOR-1 shows, that a different company is making them

Here:

The company is called 城下 and the Brand is called Sound Warrior

https://soundwarrior.jp/products_category/sw-h/

As you see on their Homepage, they have Headphones looking almost identical to the MONITOR-1

So as far as i understood, FitEar is tuning them, but they are not making them.

//EDIT: The SoundWarrior Headphones seem all to be Made in Japan, so i am pretty sure the MONITOR-1 (SR) will be too.

 

[Sifo]

The Presentation to the MONITOR-1 shows, that a different company is making them

Here:

The company is called 城下 and the Brand is called Sound Warrior

https://soundwarrior.jp/products_category/sw-h/

As you see on their Homepage, they have Headphones looking almost identical to the MONITOR-1

So as far as i understood, FitEar is tuning them, but they are not making them.

//EDIT: The SoundWarrior Headphones seem all to be Made in Japan, so i am pretty sure the MONITOR-1 (SR) will be too.

Ah ok I was gonna say I saw sound warrior at headphone sai but didn't spend much time there, good to know!

 

[ddlo]

T

Hmm... An 334 for the price of an 334SR just because it has a piece of paint on the back...

I'd say, paint it yourself^^

That's my feeling too. about 70000yen premium for the printed logo and the branded protective case and a aryclic stand. Not for anyone except gundam diehard fans.

I'm not sure if they'll take order for foreigners for the k3 or will reject like fitear themselves. On the official website, the ciem k3 option is not available via their official partner buyee. Well check in person if there's any chance later.

 

[Vamp898]

T

That's my feeling too. about 70000yen premium for the printed logo and the branded protective case and a aryclic stand. Not for anyone except gundam diehard fans.

I'm not sure if they'll take order for foreigners for the k3 or will reject like fitear themselves. On the official website, the ciem k3 option is not available via their official partner buyee. Well check in person if there's any chance later.

As i found out, that has nothing todo with FitEar, that is an actual Law.

The Japanese Law forbids several things like 買取 (Trade-in, Selling in store) and Made-to-order products.

So no, without an 在留カード, you'll have no chance to order a custom, by law. They can give you one for free though that is allowed.

 

[ddlo]

As i found out, that has nothing todo with FitEar, that is an actual Law.

The Japanese Law forbids several things like 買取 (Trade-in, Selling in store) and Made-to-order products.

So no, without an 在留カード, you'll have no chance to order a custom, by law. They can give you one for free though that is allowed.

But I've bought sony justear twice in japan without any issue. I communictated with them by email before travelling and they confirmed could do that. And that's quite a lot asians i know of did the same Even fitear is well knwon to make ciem for foreigners in the trade right here in japan during trade shows, e.g. ken ball had shown his fitearl ciem (forgot the model).

And if glasses are also considered made to order, it's also very popular to buy high end japanese frames and hoya lenses in japan with tax refund too. I also got a friend going to japan to order bespoke shoes without issue. I suspect maybe the interpretation of that law could be quite narrow.

 

[Vamp898]

But I've bought sony justear twice in japan without any issue. I communictated with them by email before travelling and they confirmed could do that. And that's quite a lot asians i know of did the same Even fitear is well knwon to make ciem for foreigners in the trade right here in japan during trade shows, e.g. ken ball had shown his fitearl ciem (forgot the model).

And if glasses are also considered made to order, it's also very popular to buy high end japanese frames and hoya lenses in japan with tax refund too. Ialso got a friend going to japan to order bespoke shoes without issue. I suspect maybe the interpretation of that law could be quite narrow.

I didn't make the rules, don't ask me It is not allwed to sell Headphone Amps without the PSE Mark and still Hard-Off did buy it (e-earphone did not, no PSE Mark). Maybe it depends how much the company cares about that specific law^^

But FitEar says they need up to 3 months to make an CIEM (depending on model) and the longest you are legally allowed to stay in Japan is 90 days. So its an absolute gamble, even if they tell you they'll do it.

I looked it up again, for order made products, by law, you need to confirm your identity. Identity confirmation is possible through the following methods
マイナンバーカード (My Number Card --> Residence in Japan is needed)
身分証明書 (Identification card --> Japanese Citicenship is needed)
在留カード (Residence Card for foreigners --> Residence in Japan is needed)
パスポート (Japanese Passport (Foreign Passports are not valid))
免許証 (Japanese drivers license)

And that is the issue. As a foreigner visiting in Japan, you only have a foreign passport and that one is not valid inside Japan as a verification method for identity confirmation. With your passport, you can not open a bank account, can not rent an apartment, can not sell products and so on.

Same with virtual Debit Cards. You are allowed to have an Virtual Debit Card with an monthly limit of 100'000円 and an daily limit of 20'000円. If you want to get rid of these limitations, you have to verify your identity with the above mentioned methods and so on. Without identity confirmation, you are not allowed to receive an physical plastic card, only virtual cards.

By law, identity confirmation is required and for example e-earphone does not accept orders for any brand, no matter which, without identity confirmation.

So i have no idea why Sony in Ginza did that. Either they do not know that law or they simply do not follow it.

 

[ddlo]

I didn't make the rules, don't ask me It is not allwed to sell Headphone Amps without the PSE Mark and still Hard-Off did buy it (e-earphone did not, no PSE Mark). Maybe it depends how much the company cares about that specific law^^

But FitEar says they need up to 3 months to make an CIEM (depending on model) and the longest you are legally allowed to stay in Japan is 90 days. So its an absolute gamble, even if they tell you they'll do it.

I looked it up again, for order made products, by law, you need to confirm your identity. Identity confirmation is possible through the following methods
マイナンバーカード (My Number Card --> Residence in Japan is needed)
身分証明書 (Identification card --> Japanese Citicenship is needed)
在留カード (Residence Card for foreigners --> Residence in Japan is needed)
パスポート (Japanese Passport (Foreign Passports are not valid))
免許証 (Japanese drivers license)

And that is the issue. As a foreigner visiting in Japan, you only have a foreign passport and that one is not valid inside Japan as a verification method for identity confirmation. With your passport, you can not open a bank account, can not rent an apartment, can not sell products and so on.

Same with virtual Debit Cards. You are allowed to have an Virtual Debit Card with an monthly limit of 100'000円 and an daily limit of 20'000円. If you want to get rid of these limitations, you have to verify your identity with the above mentioned methods and so on. Without identity confirmation, you are not allowed to receive an physical plastic card, only virtual cards.

By law, identity confirmation is required and for example e-earphone does not accept orders for any brand, no matter which, without identity confirmation.

So i have no idea why Sony in Ginza did that. Either they do not know that law or they simply do not follow it.

Thanks for the info. Very informative and we see how the written rules are

Btw, my 355ht ordered in mid 2024 just took 1.5month (ordered from overseas dealer). I heard ppl suspecting japan domestic orders may be even quicker and the long queue is mainly for the titanian models. In fact, when i collected my air2 and 335ht, bot instances i saw stacks of dc ti but just 1-2 aryclic models sitting for collection. Seems dc ti are overwhelmingly more popular in my town.

 

[Vamp898]

Thanks for the info. Very informative and we see how the written rules are

Btw, my 355ht ordered in mid 2024 just took 1.5month (ordered from overseas dealer). I heard ppl suspecting japan domestic orders may be even quicker and the long queue is mainly for the titanian models. In fact, when i collected my air2 and 335ht, bot instances i saw stacks of dc ti but just 1-2 aryclic models sitting for collection. Seems dc ti are overwhelmingly more popular in my town.

Its also very seasonal. Currently there is Golden Week and there was a big saving action at Fujiya-Avic due to the Headphone Festival. I was told the current time increased due to that as there are a lot of orders.

Inside Japan, the average time for acrylic models is 1~1.5 Months and titan models have 2~3 Months.

 

[hke3g2006]

I recently got my Titan Universal, but I find the treble too harsh despite having already driven it with my Cayin C9ii, which has plenty of power. Is it impossible to tame the high pitch?

 

[ddlo]

found some interesting info. not quite a surprise but found MH334 tops the chart of CIEM sales in e-earphone in 2024, both in terms of $ and # of units. but i don't expect UE ciems filled most of spots in the chart!

https://www.e-earphone.jp/blogs/feature/annual_ranking_2024_ciem/

 

[Vamp898]

I recently got my Titan Universal, but I find the treble too harsh despite having already driven it with my Cayin C9ii, which has plenty of power. Is it impossible to tame the high pitch?

According to the FitEar Homepage, there is no TITAN Universal as you see here

https://fitear.jp/music/product/universal.html

I checked older Versions of the Homepage with the Wayback Machine and the "Products no longer sold" Page, but there is no Mention of an TITAN Universal anywhere. e-earphone and Fujiya-Avic also never heard of an TITAN Universal. This product seems to not exist as far as i can tell.

I found one on Jaben but that one is just the TITAN Custom Demo Unit (Is Jaben selling the Demo Units as Universal?)

Anyway, if that is the case (i can only guess, as there is no official information from FitEar), then the first thing you should try is COMPLY TZ-500. If that doesn't help, a lot of power usually means (not always) high output impedance and high distortion at very low volume (What you will use when the device has a lot of power)

If that influences the tuning of the IEM and how depends on the impedance of the IEM. Some IEM get a bass boost, others get a treble boost but there are IEM with linear impedance where just nothing changes (That is when people call it "Not picky" or something like that, like if the IEM has a mind on its own^^)

So the first thing you should try are the COMPLY Earpieces and then, with a device that is the exact opposite, not a lot of power. With 3.5mm to keep the output impedance as low as possible to see if it might be due to high output impedance.

 

[mungster]

Yep pretty close to 334SR

Nice.