[Voyager14]

Thanks for the clarification, yes, the customs hold their position even if you’re laying flat on your back. This is where customs shine. They don’t shift if you’re moving your head and keep that optimal position. However, if you get the cord caught and it twists the CIEM a little in your year, it can really hurt or make a delicate part of your ear sensitive. At that point just take them out for a while and give your ears a rest. After a while the irritation go down and you can go back to your CIEMs.
i haven’t seen the UM CIEMs, but Fearless vs Thieaudio CIEMs, I have found this: Fearless is 3D printed and is a deeper fit. It gives superior isolation and volume levels stay lower. It also takes the treble more and enhances the bass. ThieAudio CIEMs are mould-based and are much shorter. It’s has good fit, but the sound signature is similar to the universal tuning as the depth of the stem is about the same as universal. ThieAudio shells also have less fill-in and a shallower fit, which affects their ability to isolate from environmental noise.
I’ve had many universals, but once I went custom, it’s really hard to go back to universal on a kilo buck IEM.

Wow this is great info, I couldn't agree more with everything you said.

I think I'm going to get a custom pair of MEST and call it a day at this point. So with customs there isn't any pressure inside the ear? When I wear my silicon custom earplugs at night from ADV I get a sort of weird pressure in both ears, after about a minute or so it's sort of goes away where you can't really notice it unless you're moving your head or your face at all and even if you're not you can still sort of feel that pressure which is fine it doesn't really bother me all that much because I'm going to bed but if custom IEMs had that same pressure it would be a deal-breaker to me possibly.

I'd also like to know if you're laying down with your ear against the pillow, if customs are less bothersome than Universal since the universal stick out and dig into the pillow. That's why wearing memory foam tips on my iems in bed is a no go.

Also I see you own the U12t, how would those compare to the Voyagers, I know you said they're your standard, or maybe that was someone else. I'm going to assume that the v14 sound much better than the u12t.

Do you get the same Soundstage in the MEST as the Voyager? My two best traits for an IEM are Bass and Soundstage at this point I feel. Thank you for your time

 

[GrandNagus50]

I am the almost-completely happy owner of Voyager 14. I love the SQ and they are comfortable. The one annoyance is that the QDC connection is not all that great. When I remove the earpieces from my ears they have a tendency to separate from the cable. The connection seems kind of weak. Has this happened to anyone else? I am wondering what the issue is likely to be here. If I were to substitute a different QDC cable might the issue disappear? Is there a "quick fix" of some kind? I certainly would hesitate to use glue in any way.

 

[Voyager14]

I am the almost-completely happy owner of Voyager 14. I love the SQ and they are comfortable. The one annoyance is that the QDC connection is not all that great. When I remove the earpieces from my ears they have a tendency to separate from the cable. The connection seems kind of weak. Has this happened to anyone else? I am wondering what the issue is likely to be here. If I were to substitute a different QDC cable might the issue disappear? Is there a "quick fix" of some kind? I certainly would hesitate to use glue in any way.

I always feel like this could be a possibility with my voyager 14. I have never taken them out from the cable other than when I initially hooked them up to an 7n pure silver cable instead of the stock, but they spiritually feel like they’d have weak connector, if that makes sense. How would you say you compare the Voyager 14 to the MEST sound wise? I was going to get custom MEST but then I thought against it since if you lose weight or gain weight customs become unusable/ finicky, and since the fit with the v14 to my ears is literally perfect I couldn’t even imagine a more perfectly fitting iem, is it the same with you as well? I use the Xelastec tips with them and just wowaa.

Maybe you could build a velcro pressure pad to hold the cable but also allow it to release, or apply a glue that is easy to peel off. Or if all of that fails you can always start your own company that repairs IEMs and rebuild the socket using 3D printing DLP technology if you’ve got a couple hundred k.

 

[GrandNagus50]

I always feel like this could be a possibility with my voyager 14. I have never taken them out from the cable other than when I initially hooked them up to an 7n pure silver cable instead of the stock, but they spiritually feel like they’d have weak connector, if that makes sense. How would you say you compare the Voyager 14 to the MEST sound wise? I was going to get custom MEST but then I thought against it since if you lose weight or gain weight customs become unusable/ finicky, and since the fit with the v14 to my ears is literally perfect I couldn’t even imagine a more perfectly fitting iem, is it the same with you as well? I use the Xelastec tips with them and just wowaa.

Maybe you could build a velcro pressure pad to hold the cable but also allow it to release, or apply a glue that is easy to peel off. Or if all of that fails you can always start your own company that repairs IEMs and rebuild the socket using 3D printing DLP technology if you’ve got a couple hundred k.

Ok, first, a light bulb went on in my brain and I then cut some very thin, small strips of clear tape and applied them to both sides of the joint between the earpiece and cable, and whaddayaknow, it appears to be enough of a solution that it will last a while (until the tape gets old and brittle and then I could just do it again).

Second, I did a fairly quick comparison between the MEST and the Voyager, and they are VERY close in sound quality, with the latter being a bit "louder" than the former, i.e., you turn up the MEST a bit to get the same sound levels as the Voyager. For some reason I like the Voyager just a tiny bit more; maybe the sound is just slightly more cohesive/smooth, but the difference is really, really small. I never have noticed anything related to the "bone conductor" driver on the MEST, by the way, which probably means it does its job of bridging the mids and the highs without calling attention to itself.

Yes, the Voyager is VERY comforable, but then, the MEST, though large-ish, are comfortable to me, as well.

As for custom, I have only one custom IEM, a JH Audio 16 Pro, and when my original set went kablooey (several dead drivers) JH offered me a big discount on the current version and said they could use the existing shells as a mold for the new set. When they did this, the fit was a little loose, so I sent them back to JH and they added some material in the locations I specified, and this worked. I actually weigh a bit less than I did when I was fitted for the original 16 Pros, so I don't know if that was a factor, but also, people's ears continue to grow, very slightly, as we age. That might be a factor; I cannot say.

Doug Greenber

 

[redrol]

I havent been able to a/b test MEST and V14 but... I remember the V14 having very little stage depth wile the MEST had a lot. Do you hear that at all?

 

[GrandNagus50]

I havent been able to a/b test MEST and V14 but... I remember the V14 having very little stage depth wile the MEST had a lot. Do you hear that at all?

I know the MEST is renowned for its "holographic" sound stage. I actually experimented listening to the same musical pieces with the MEST and then the Voyager 14 and I noticed little difference. Maybe it's just me.

 

[Pretardo]

Wow this is great info, I couldn't agree more with everything you said.

I think I'm going to get a custom pair of MEST and call it a day at this point. So with customs there isn't any pressure inside the ear? When I wear my silicon custom earplugs at night from ADV I get a sort of weird pressure in both ears, after about a minute or so it's sort of goes away where you can't really notice it unless you're moving your head or your face at all and even if you're not you can still sort of feel that pressure which is fine it doesn't really bother me all that much because I'm going to bed but if custom IEMs had that same pressure it would be a deal-breaker to me possibly.

I'd also like to know if you're laying down with your ear against the pillow, if customs are less bothersome than Universal since the universal stick out and dig into the pillow. That's why wearing memory foam tips on my iems in bed is a no go.

Also I see you own the U12t, how would those compare to the Voyagers, I know you said they're your standard, or maybe that was someone else. I'm going to assume that the v14 sound much better than the u12t.

Do you get the same Soundstage in the MEST as the Voyager? My two best traits for an IEM are Bass and Soundstage at this point I feel. Thank you for your time

Sorry it's been a while but I'm getting back to you regarding your questions. First off, I had a problem with my impressions beging damaged and as a result the right side of my V14's needed to be reshelled. Again. :-/ Due to shipping complicaitons, I was unable to get them to Linsoul in time to get them back before Chinese New Year.
So here we go:
1) Regarding customs and pressure. It depends on how deep they go. I have a pair of custom Fearless S8F and they're quite deep (past the first bend. They are awesome for isolation and are perfect for public transportaiton. Redrol mentioned that they are not ported and as a result they are susceptible to pressure build up based on changes in air pressure. I can confirm this as going up a 200M in elevation and swallowing will plug your ears when wearing them. By comparison, Thieaudio seem to follow their universal tuning by cutting their customs shorter and up to, but not beyond, the first bend. This reduces a tight clogged feeling that I can sometimes get with the S8F, but at the loss of isolation.
2) Regarding sleeping with CIEMs, Your ears are flexible but acrylic is not. For IEMs that I can sleep comfortably in: Legacy 3 & Blon-03. both are small enough for my ears that they affect me the least. Still I don't recommend sleeping with IEMs in.
3) Regarding V14 vs U12t. This is a matter of taste and what you are looking for and what you listen to. I find the V14s interesting. I listen on (0,2) beacuse I like the detail and width of soundstage, however, I find that they lack depth. As I have mentioned before, V14's, to me, sound like I am in an infinite virtual space with the music very close to me, expanding laterally. The U12t in contrast has a more coherent and balanced tuning to me with with more organic highs, less sub and mid bass quantity, but tighter control and quality. The stage of the U12t is more confined like I'm in a club but there is a little more depth.
I probably should have led with this, but this comparison is mainly from memory and current listening out of only the left side. But for my music preferences and as I have gained more expereince and exposure through this hobby, I think the u12t is more to my preferences because of it's balance. However, it could change.
One thing that think has changed with the Thieaudio tuning is that the bass needed work and the move to dynamic drivers for bass, I think, is a step in the right direction. From what I'm currently hearing there is a noticable bit of mid-bass bloat on the V14's that clash with the etched detail in the highs.
Discussion:
I guess what I'm hinting at is that you always pay for R&D. You either pay because it is a mature product and the designers have done a lot of internal testing themselves or through an iterative, market driven (which includes hype) process where more ears decide. Both have their plusses and minuses, but as long as you play the game, I think you're going to win.

 

[antdroid]

wrote a quick set of impressions of these iems finally: https://www.audiodiscourse.com/2021/02/thieaudio-voyager-14-legacy-9.html

 

[Voyager14]

I finally found what I think is my favorite EQ for the Voyager 14, NOT ONLY for music, but for everything. With no EQ on the 0,1 everything sounds dry/grainy/gritty/visceral. This setting makes everything sound polished and smooth, brings out the MASSIVE mind blowing low-end that is unrivaled by any all BA set. The bass with this EQ is on par with 10 MM Dynamic Drivers, at first I thought they were cocky to say “Dynamic Driver who?“ in their description, but with the EQ yes that statement is very correct!

 

[gimmeshelter]

I finally found what I think is my favorite EQ for the Voyager 14, NOT ONLY for music, but for everything. With no EQ on the 0,1 everything sounds dry/grainy/gritty/visceral. This setting makes everything sound polished and smooth, brings out the MASSIVE mind blowing low-end that is unrivaled by any all BA set. The bass with this EQ is on par with 10 MM Dynamic Drivers, at first I thought they were cocky to say “Dynamic Driver who?“ in their description, but with the EQ yes that statement is very correct!

What EQ app is this?

 

[gimmeshelter]

What tips are recommended for the V14's?

 

[Cessnas172]

I like spinfits or the xelastic tips. If you have the time and 80 bucks you can send your to linsoul and they will make it into a custom

 

[gimmeshelter]

I like spinfits or the xelastic tips. If you have the time and 80 bucks you can send your to linsoul and they will make it into a custom

Thanks I might just do that.

I'll drop them an email and get a quote.

 

[omegaorgun]

I got mine with a tripowin qdc and I am wondering if the cables are reversed or not.

Did Linsoul ever clarify the wiring setup?

My V14 sounds amazing but if the polarity is off I will take off the connector and redo it with the correct polarity.

 

[omegaorgun]

What tips are recommended for the V14's?

I'm using large spinfit cp100's and they work great for me.