[StevieDvd]

I was hoping that fairly soon I'd be able to post impressions of some custom moulds for the Shure E500 I'd had done, which would be of more of interest to the UK members than anyone else.

Last week I finally got around to arranging for some ear impressions to be taken and called ACS (www.hearingprotection.co.uk) who are not too far from me.

I checked that they would do Shure E500s (yes we do sir) and asked for the nearest place that would be able to take the impressions. It turned out that a local motorcycle shop were an agent, they do a lot for bike couriers etc. As well as protection plugs they'd done ACS iem's and radio gear. So I booked in for a Saturday morning appointment.

The actual process was a lot less hassle than I had expected and only tickled a little. After about 15 minutes I had a good set of impressions ready for the shop to post to ACS. However, I was a bit suprised when the shop asked me for my E500s so they could send them to ACS as well. I declined this, not sure how many here would trust their E500s for someone to mess around with making moulds.

Being a bit cautious I emailed ACS on Monday morning to make sure they were OK with my moulds and would actually do them for the E500s. I wanted to make sure that they knew what the moulds were for as the bike shop had simply marked my receipt as a deposit and charged me a standard ear protector fee until they found the correct price (though I told them it was £88 plus vat on the web for the impressions & moulds). I called them in the afternoon and was told they'd got the moulds, knew they were for E500s but were checking with 'the lab' that E500s could be done and they'd get back to me.

Well it's Thursday afternoon and still no reply so I call again. The 'lab' are working out how to make a jig for the E500s as they'd not done this iem, hopefully they'll confirm tomorrow I was told. I also asked for an approx turnaround for the moulds and was informed 28 working days!!

Am I wrong in thinking I would have had them done in around 7 days had I been in the US or am I just too impatient or expecting too much too soon?

I'll post any updates I get as they come through but I thought I'd post this now in case any UK members are thinking of having them done via ACS.

Steve

Edit to correct web adress - oops

 

[Guinness]

Keep me informed please.......Alan

 

[StevieDvd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinness Keep me informed please.......Alan

Will do - I forgot you were here as well as avforums

Steve

 

[StevieDvd]

Update 1

Good news!
"We have managed to make a jig up so we will not need you IEM's"

Not so good news
"Our production time is approx 28 working days."

Still at least I should have them by Christmas along with a new Tomohawk

 

[judestudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevieDvd Update 1 Good news! "We have managed to make a jig up so we will not need you IEM's" Not so good news "Our production time is approx 28 working days." Still at least I should have them by Christmas along with a new Tomohawk

Keep us posted and make sure you post pictures of your moulds+E500! I think you probably are one of the first to do a custom mould on E500.

 

[artears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by judestudio Keep us posted and make sure you post pictures of your moulds+E500! I think you probably are one of the first to do a custom mould on E500.

The pictures will probably look something like that: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=206846
Having said that, additional pics won't hurt

StevieDvd, I would like to hear your comments about the custom molds as well, please keep us posted.

 

[StevieDvd]

Will certainly post pictures and impressions as soon as I have them. Don't hold your breath though the wait time is 28 working days from order which means about the first/second week of December!

 

[judestudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by artears The pictures will probably look something like that: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=206846 Having said that, additional pics won't hurt StevieDvd, I would like to hear your comments about the custom molds as well, please keep us posted.

Cool, thanks artears. But don't you reckon it looked a little bulky with the molds, especially from the front (second picture down)? E500s on their own (without molds) usually are quite low profile, and should sit comfortably molding into the ear's contour, that's their beauty in oppose to say, UE's IEMs like the Super.fi's, which tend to stick out like antennas. See: http://site.earphonesolutions.com/ear_close_ups.jpg

http://www.mmu.co.id/e500sleevesfront.jpg

It could be just this one particular mold that sticks out a bit more? I guess for people that chose to get a custom mold, it's worth the effort in trade of better SQ from improved sealing and sound delivery.

 

[Sordel]

Add me to the list of UK members fascinated to hear of OP's experiences. Custom moulds are way outside my plans at present, but it'd be nice to know how to to get them if that time ever arrives!

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sordel Add me to the list of UK members fascinated to hear of OP's experiences. Custom moulds are way outside my plans at present, but it'd be nice to know how to to get them if that time ever arrives!

x2

Custom molds make the E500 stick out a lot though...

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by judestudio Cool, thanks artears. But don't you reckon it looked a little bulky with the molds, especially from the front (second picture down)? E500s on their own (without molds) usually are quite low profile, and should sit comfortably molding into the ear's contour, that's their beauty in oppose to say, UE's IEMs like the Super.fi's, which tend to stick out like antennas. See: http://site.earphonesolutions.com/ear_close_ups.jpg http://www.mmu.co.id/e500sleevesfront.jpg It could be just this one particular mold that sticks out a bit more? I guess for people that chose to get a custom mold, it's worth the effort in trade of better SQ from improved sealing and sound delivery.

Aside from the e500 on the left, look at the other 2 pics.
In those pictures, they don't look like Super.Fi 5 pros.... Look carefully at how they are made.. They are the triple.fi 10 pros, if I'm not mistaken. You can see how all the parts of the IEM look just like the triple.fi pro (including the back bracket that holds the front part of the IEM), including the silver ring around the top where the cable plugs in to. You can even barely see the twinkle in the electric blue color, even though it looks black because it is so dark, and metallic colors don't usually reflect well in photos with poor lighting.
I could be mistaken here, but I don't think I am.

 

[judestudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ Aside from the e500 on the left, look at the other 2 pics. In those pictures, they don't look like Super.Fi 5 pros.... Look carefully at how they are made.. They are the triple.fi 10 pros, if I'm not mistaken. You can see how all the parts of the IEM look just like the triple.fi pro (including the back bracket that holds the front part of the IEM), including the silver ring around the top where the cable plugs in to. You can even barely see the twinkle in the electric blue color, even though it looks black because it is so dark, and metallic colors don't usually reflect well in photos with poor lighting. I could be mistaken here, but I don't think I am.

Yup, they are indeed the Triple.fi's, good eye! Those were the pictures posted on the E500 vs Triple.fi showdown on the earphonesolutions site. I couldn't really find a good comparison photo between E500 and Super.fi, but Triple.fi's are close enough. The design of Triple.fi based quite closely to the Super.fi's, which unlike Shure's, they don't go completely into the ear canal, leaving the body sticking out like the photo shown. As you can see, the E500 "blended" into the ear contour while the Triple.fi sticked out the ears (as will the Super.fi's). The second link compares the E500s with and without the molds.

Again, custom molds will give better SQ with no doubt, so way to go, StevieDvd!

 

[StevieDvd]

I'm an optimist really so I'm banking on the custom moulds being done for me will be a little better than those pictured. Given that this seems to be the first pair of E500s they will have done there will probably be some leeway if I don't get a good 'impression' of them.

Depending on the results though I won't give up on customs. Either I'll get some UM56 made or just go for the ACS T2i if they do a deal on them.

It would be nice to be able to recommend a good place for customs for UK folk though.

 

[StevieDvd]

Good news/Bad news!

I received my custom sleeves from ACS for the Shure E500s and was pleasantly surprised at the look/feel of them. Having seen another head-fi members sleeves from Sensaphonic, which looked somewhat bulky, the actual sleeves I received were very slim and sexy looking - more akin to the Westone UM56.

The bad news is that the fit was a little too loose for me so they were not isolating as much as the standard tri-flanges or as they are meant to by a wide margin. In a quiet room they would be usable but for commuting or in a noisy area they let in to much outside noise - so a call to ACS was due.

I contacted ACS and popped over to them personally, they are only about 40 mins drive from my home, The result was another set of impressions being taken (one ear twice - to make sure the impressons were good). In chatting about the customs and audio users in general the T2 came up in conversation and I was shown some already made ones waiting for collection. When comparing what you've only seen poor pictures of on the web site with the real thing in your hands you realise the sleeves are only an interim solution and how nice the T2 really are.

My dear old wallet is now brusied a little more since I've changed my order to the T2 instead which I should have within the next 2 weeks. Not too much of a shock really as I'd been thinking of getting full customs as a combined birthday/christmas pressie.

I'll post a few pictures of the custom sleeves later for information - though due to the loose fit I'm not going to be able to make any worthwhile comments good/bad on them.

Looks wise they are very neat as you'll see when I upload the pics (when I get home if not too late).

Comfort is very good - with tri-flanges (and bi-flanges) I found that after a prolonged session I needed to remove them for a brief respite. The customs however have been in for longer without the same problem (but if they were a correct fit who knows!).

Fit - as mentioned before they are a little loose and they are just not giving the sort of isolation either ACS or I expect but are very easy to insert. I did not need to use any of the gel for fitting other than to see if it helped provide a better seal for more isolation (it didn't).

Whilst ACS produce products for musicians they also cater for industrial ear protection, motorcyclists etc and the 'odd' audio nut. Apparently interest from audiophiles has increased in the last couple of weeks (I wonder why

) even with a set going to an audiophile in Malaysia - could it be head-fi spreading the word?

I know not many have heard of the ACS T2 directly and Ultimate Ears tend to get the top end glory - but given the price of getting UE10s done for a UK user would be in the area of $1500 the local ACS option is of interest to us poor UK head-fiers.

Watch this space for pictures and hopefully a T2 update coming soon.

Steve

 

[milkpowder]

Yes ACS T2 update! I'll be waiting for that! The UE10Pro are extremely overpriced in the UK, so the ACS T2 and the Westone ES2 (also about 500 quid) are our only options. I'm also considering the T2. From what I've read about them, the T2 have quite a bright, analytical sound. All I'm waiting for is cash

Can you please describe how the T2 felt? Is it very soft? What about the cable? Does it feel flimsy at all?