Hi
@toranku,
As requested, here are just a few impressions and feedbacks from my today's visit in P-EAR-S premises. Firstly, they also say hi to you and they named you by your first name
. Secondly, they are on something new and maybe not just one IEM. They have a lot of ideas, but they are taking their time. I did not managed to get any clue, only that they will stick with BAs for the time being. No DD, EST or Planars or anything exotic at the moment. They also are experimenting with cables, they are on something with a specific connector coming the medical field. They are not in a rush, already have a lot to do with partnerships in Switzerland and getting a bigger reputation. These 3 guys are professionals and love music above all.
Their website's gonna be updated in a few weeks and I can tell you that it will look very nice and intuitive for creating your own IEM. I saw a beta version and we are talking about a serious update.
I spent almost 4 hours with them, trying their 3 IEMS, namely the SH-2, the SH-3 and the UT-3. My sources were DTR1 + HA-2 and Calyx M. Before reading what follows, please keep in mind that you and me, we seem to like a slightly different kind of sound signature, even though your description of the SH-2 and SH-3 are spot on to me after my listening sessions. Surprisingly, I liked the SH-2 better than the SH-3, even if the clarity, the detail retrieval and the precision were better on the SH-3. The SH-2 has this cosy warmth that envelops you. Intoxicating and musical sound, especially with the genres I listen to. It lacks a bit of air in the top end and the resolution was just ok, but the bass was impressive for a BAs set and the mids exactly as I like them. I spent 1 hour with both IEMs before switching to the UT-3 and the UT-125 interface. From there, it was point of no return...
The UT-125 interface lets you fine-tuning your sound in the bass/medium/treble areas with 5 different steps. Step 1 being light bass, recessed mids, rolled-off treble. Step 5 is the opposite obviously. Nothing new for you so far. At the beginning, all switches are set in the middle (position 3). This is not a "neutral" position. There is no such thing told me Stéphane Rochat. Moving from one step to another increase the chosen parameter from approx. 2db. Very important to know, the UT-3 IEM is not a SH-3 that can be tuned with UT-125. UT-3 also sports 3 BAs, but is not tuned as the SH-3 by default. UT-3 has the same sub-bass, equivalent mids and slightly smoother treble than the SH-3. The drivers also seem to be placed differently in the shell. It was difficult to see through it (dark blue color), but it was my impression.
Oh boy, I spent 2 hours switching sources and trying to find the best combination for my tastes with all the switches. It is challenging, because DTR1 and Calyx M sound quite different. On top of that comes the recording quality of each track, the fatigue of being so focused on the music, the excitement of testing such a piece of gear, etc... long story short, I needed Samuel Harsch's bit of help for choosing the final tuning. For me, it will be bass 4, mids 3 and treble 3. A nice tuning was also bass 3, mids 2 and treble 3. Going in "1" or "5" positions was not extreme, but bass and treble were more impacted than the mids by going from one end of the spectrum to another. So, my UT-3 CIEM will have more sub-bass than the SH-3, similar mids and smoother treble while keeping the same detail retrieval, energy and air as the SH-3. At least, this is what I perceived with my sound signature preferences. I also took the recessed 2pin connectors, which are rock-solid. Shells will be clear and red.
The icing of the cake came at the end. Stéphane told me: "what about making your ear impressions right away? We recently have hired an audiologist in order to get the impression's quality we need" "For sure I said". Having made the impressions, they control it. I had my right ear canal siliconed twice, because Samuel was not 100% happy with the first result. I tell you, these guys are maniacs, but in a very good way. Then, they put the impressions in the scanner and then right on their computer. Oh, did I mention that the impressions are free of charge? I mean, guys, what a great service!!
Special mention to Robi, the new team member. I made the appointment with him. A very friendly and nice individual. Merci Robi
Now, the wait begins... but for the time being, the Phatlab Chimera amp is rocking my Final E5000 via DTR1. Guilty pleasure, I guess.