[cooperpwc]

Proof I think that what Westone does is not so easy. Worth the wait IMHO.

 

[alyanm]

Quote:

 
TWAG is a cable! http://www.whiplashaudio.com/elite-twag-replacement-cable-48.html

Ahhh, and they make one for my UE11's!  Purtee, but wow that's a lot of money for a headphone cable..  I'm betting there are lengthy discussions somewhere about the enhancements from TWAG's?!
 
 
Quote:

  Yes they won't have the soft material for '90' days, which they told me both times I called which were a week a part and that was 2 weeks ago. It may still be 90 days away...

 
That's probably engineer talk for "we don't really know when...".  Ah well, looks like its gonna be a little while before I'm going to be getting a pair of these because I definitely want the soft stuff!

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Quote:

TWAG is a cable! http://www.whiplashaudio.com/elite-twag-replacement-cable-48.html

Ahhh, and they make one for my UE11's!  Purtee, but wow that's a lot of money for a headphone cable..  I'm betting there are lengthy discussions somewhere about the enhancements from TWAG's?!
 

the search function is your friend - really, it is! it'll get you lots of answers, sometimes to questions you hadn't yet thought of, as well as sparing you some barbs from folks 'cause you hadn't bothered to look up what's all ready been dealt with a zillion times.
 
yes, a twag cable is not inexpensive (though sometimes you can find one used for less $). generally, those that have tried have like it - a lot! even more so if they run them balanced (eg. out of a Protector amp). you will find a whole bunch of folks here who don't believe in cable differences and consider them a rip off. i find that few of them have actually bothered to listen and make their vehement arguments based on theory or their beliefs alone.
 

 

[joesuburb]

I bit the bullet and ordered a set of these today.  My 1st customs.  I'm actually going to their offices in Irvine to have my impressions done on Monday.  I am terrified.  I would never imagine buying speakers for my home without listening to them, demo them, etc...  I'm buying $1000 earphones and can't even hear them.  Frightening!  I really hope these are a good choice compared to the JH 13 Pro.  I like the cables, the fact that they are local, and they are pretty

 

[daveDerek]

joe, hopefully you can audition a universal demo version there before committing yourself. you may want to call and ask them. bring along familiar equipment and music. you may also want to contact francis miranda. she's an audiologist in the beverly hills area and i think she may have various models and brands that you may demo. she's also reputed to be one of the best people in the business for making ear canal impressions for iems (as per Jerry Harvey). if you buy from her i don't think she charges for the impressions.
anyone who gets impressions done, please post your experiences here, following the instructions in post #1:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/440466/the-audiologists-impressions-thread-pun-most-definitely-intended.

 

[joesuburb]

Thanks for the feedback.  To be honest, I just want to get it over with.  I've been mulling it over way too long.  I've never heard an IEM that I love.  So, at the very least I won't be disappointed if I don't love these.  I figure that a flat sound signature is at the very least, safe.  
 
I love my B&W Nautalis 805Ds, but I wouldn't describe them as flat.  My DynAudio Countour 5.4's are flat and I don't love them like I do my B&Ws, but they are enjoyable.  So, I figure I will end up with a safe, boring earphone out of these.  At least I won't hate them.
 
Quote:

joe, hopefully you can audition a universal demo version there before committing yourself. you may want to call and ask them. bring along familiar equipment and music. you may also want to contact francis miranda. she's an audiologist in the beverly hills area and i think she may have various models and brands that you may demo. she's also reputed to be one of the best people in the business for making ear canal impressions for iems (as per Jerry Harvey). if you buy from her i don't think she charges for the impressions.
anyone who gets impressions done, please post your experiences here, following the instructions in post #1:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/440466/the-audiologists-impressions-thread-pun-most-definitely-intended.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Thanks for the feedback.  To be honest, I just want to get it over with.  I've been mulling it over way too long.  I've never heard an IEM that I love.  So, at the very least I won't be disappointed if I don't love these.  I figure that a flat sound signature is at the very least, safe.  
I love my B&W Nautalis 805Ds, but I wouldn't describe them as flat.  My DynAudio Countour 5.4's are flat and I don't love them like I do my B&Ws, but they are enjoyable.  So, I figure I will end up with a safe, boring earphone out of these.  At least I won't hate them.
 
Quote:

joe, hopefully you can audition a universal demo version there before committing yourself. you may want to call and ask them. bring along familiar equipment and music. you may also want to contact francis miranda. she's an audiologist in the beverly hills area and i think she may have various models and brands that you may demo. she's also reputed to be one of the best people in the business for making ear canal impressions for iems (as per Jerry Harvey). if you buy from her i don't think she charges for the impressions.
anyone who gets impressions done, please post your experiences here, following the instructions in post #1:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/440466/the-audiologists-impressions-thread-pun-most-definitely-intended.

joe, trust me on this (or not), and wait a little longer if you can get to demo them. you talk about preferring your less flat spkrs over your flatter ones so why would you think that you'll prefer a flatter response in an iem? you might but then again you might not, and you may be able to figure this out ahead of time. for that kind of money you should love them! especially since it's not something that you can easily resell. i'd be quite disappointed to spend $1000 on this and not care for it!
the jh13s have a low frequency bump that is designed to compensate for the fact that tiny drivers millimeters from your eardrums can't reproduce low frequencies in the same manner as larger drivers or speakers can as you pretty much take the bodily sensations and bone conduction out of the equation. they are very natural sounding transducers and are one of the most beloved devices on these forums, one of the few that has virtually no negative reviews and zillions of strongly positive ones. you might also like the westone es5s as that's gotten some very strong initial response, even from jh13 users. ms. miranda may be able to show you what all of these are like, before you commit. and as a bonus she's one of the tops at making impressions, something that's critical with custom units, something that can make or break the experience. their prices are all close. why not get the one that you like the most?

 

[cooperpwc]

Dave, I have no argument with the logic but... conversely... many of us do make partial leaps of faith based upon an assessment of all factors that are available to us (including reviews, manufacturer, product line evolution, new technologies etc.). This often brings excellent results. It's part of the game - especially if you are remotely placed like me. (I get to hear a lot of portable amps which are well stocked in Hong Kong but custom demo units?... not a chance.)

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Dave, I have no argument with the logic but... conversely... many of us do make partial leaps of faith based upon an assessment of all factors that are available to us (including reviews, manufacturer, product line evolution, new technologies etc.). This often brings excellent results. It's part of the game - especially if you are remotely placed like me. (I get to hear a lot of portable amps which are well stocked in Hong Kong but custom demo units?... not a chance.)

 
absolutely, not everyone is in a position to easily try things and do comparisons prior to purchase. that's why i keep encouraging you to hop on a plane and come to a meet (it's not too late to make the ny area meet next weekend!

). joe is fortunate enough to easily have the opportunity to do this. and maybe as importantly, to have his ear canal molds done by one of the best in the business, which can have a large effect on overall satisfaction. to me that seems like a no-brainer, but hey, you pays yer money and you makes yer choice.....
 

 

[cooperpwc]

I wish I could attend!  (Hmm, I will be in Toronto oddly enough - I am crossing the ocean Tuesday - but the likelihood  of NY state isn't high.)
 
Yes x 10 to getting high quality ear impressions. It is certainly one of the most important factors to overall satisfaction.

 

[joesuburb]

To be honest, I'm really looking forward to actually going to the Ultimate Ears facility.  I think it will be great to see where they are made.  I'd have a hard time believing that they would have a bad audiologist.  For me, the fact that they are local, and that I like the cable makes the difference.  I have a hard time believing that they would be a bad product.  So, it is just a matter of preference.  Rolling the dice.  I will see if I can listen to the Pro 18.  If I like those better, I may get them.

 

[alyanm]

Quote:

To be honest, I'm really looking forward to actually going to the Ultimate Ears facility.  I think it will be great to see where they are made.  I'd have a hard time believing that they would have a bad audiologist.  For me, the fact that they are local, and that I like the cable makes the difference.  I have a hard time believing that they would be a bad product.  So, it is just a matter of preference.  Rolling the dice.  I will see if I can listen to the Pro 18.  If I like those better, I may get them.

I would sure love to hear your impressions, err, so to speak of everything.. the facility, the IERMs vs the UE18s.  I'm considering getting one of the two myself so I'd love to hear all about them.
 
Ironically, I myself am just down the road from Jerry Harvey facility in sunny central FL... I wonder if they do facility visits?

 

[alyanm]

Quote:

the search function is your friend - really, it is! it'll get you lots of answers, sometimes to questions you hadn't yet thought of, as well as sparing you some barbs from folks 'cause you hadn't bothered to look up what's all ready been dealt with a zillion times.
 
yes, a twag cable is not inexpensive (though sometimes you can find one used for less $). generally, those that have tried have like it - a lot! even more so if they run them balanced (eg. out of a Protector amp). you will find a whole bunch of folks here who don't believe in cable differences and consider them a rip off. i find that few of them have actually bothered to listen and make their vehement arguments based on theory or their beliefs alone.
 

 Yes, I know, I just got lazy.  You wouldn't believe the amount of searching I've been doing on this forum the last two weeks since I discovered it!  There is just a ton of info here, I'm loving it. 
 
Twag on Protector makes a lot of sense.  Thanks for the summary, very helpful.
 

 

[daveDerek]

 
Quote:

To be honest, I'm really looking forward to actually going to the Ultimate Ears facility.  I think it will be great to see where they are made.  I'd have a hard time believing that they would have a bad audiologist.  For me, the fact that they are local, and that I like the cable makes the difference.  I have a hard time believing that they would be a bad product.  So, it is just a matter of preference.  Rolling the dice.  I will see if I can listen to the Pro 18.  If I like those better, I may get them.

 
head-fiers have gone to UE before (though it may have been in the pre Logitech days). in fact there have been meets of sorts there. UE is in Irvine (http://ultimateears.com/en-us/support/contact) and Francis Miranda is in Santa Monica (http://www.rockstarears.com/home.html). if you can get to one isn't it easy enough to get to the other? i doubt that UE actually has audiologists there. someone will just make the impressions of your ear canals, and they may do a fine job. FM is considered one of the best at doing this. go back and read some of the threads (eg. re westone es3x and jha13) and see about a bunch of folks getting suboptimal fits and their woes. you may do just fine getting fitted at UE but if what you want is to see the facility that may be doable regardless. if what you want is to get the most satisfying listening experience for your ~$1000 outlay, why not go where you might actually be able to listen prior to plunking down your $, and have one of the best in the business do your fitting?
it just seems to me that you are in an easy position to minimize the variables and maximize the experience. if i were there it'd be an easy and obvious choice, so i don't really understand your line of thought. i think you can have your cake and eat it too. look, you do what you want and i really hope that whatever it is that you're very happy at the end of the day. let us know how it works out.
 
Quote:

Quote:

To be honest, I'm really looking forward to actually going to the Ultimate Ears facility.  I think it will be great to see where they are made.  I'd have a hard time believing that they would have a bad audiologist.  For me, the fact that they are local, and that I like the cable makes the difference.  I have a hard time believing that they would be a bad product.  So, it is just a matter of preference.  Rolling the dice.  I will see if I can listen to the Pro 18.  If I like those better, I may get them.
I would sure love to hear your impressions, err, so to speak of everything.. the facility, the IERMs vs the UE18s.  I'm considering getting one of the two myself so I'd love to hear all about them.

Ironically, I myself am just down the road from Jerry Harvey facility in sunny central FL... I wonder if they do facility visits?

 
people have gone to JHA before and gotten to listen to demo units. call ahead and see if you can arrange it.
 

 

[joesuburb]

Uhh, thanks for the feedback again.  It's starting to come across as fear mongering though.  I'm not too concerned about the people that make the stuff being able to make them fit.  Lots of good products out there.
 
Quote:

 
Quote:

To be honest, I'm really looking forward to actually going to the Ultimate Ears facility.  I think it will be great to see where they are made.  I'd have a hard time believing that they would have a bad audiologist.  For me, the fact that they are local, and that I like the cable makes the difference.  I have a hard time believing that they would be a bad product.  So, it is just a matter of preference.  Rolling the dice.  I will see if I can listen to the Pro 18.  If I like those better, I may get them.

 
head-fiers have gone to UE before (though it may have been in the pre Logitech days). in fact there have been meets of sorts there. UE is in Irvine (http://ultimateears.com/en-us/support/contact) and Francis Miranda is in Santa Monica (http://www.rockstarears.com/home.html). if you can get to one isn't it easy enough to get to the other? i doubt that UE actually has audiologists there. someone will just make the impressions of your ear canals, and they may do a fine job. FM is considered one of the best at doing this. go back and read some of the threads (eg. re westone es3x and jha13) and see about a bunch of folks getting suboptimal fits and their woes. you may do just fine getting fitted at UE but if what you want is to see the facility that may be doable regardless. if what you want is to get the most satisfying listening experience for your ~$1000 outlay, why not go where you might actually be able to listen prior to plunking down your $, and have one of the best in the business do your fitting?
it just seems to me that you are in an easy position to minimize the variables and maximize the experience. if i were there it'd be an easy and obvious choice, so i don't really understand your line of thought. i think you can have your cake and eat it too. look, you do what you want and i really hope that whatever it is that you're very happy at the end of the day. let us know how it works out.
 
Quote:

Quote:

To be honest, I'm really looking forward to actually going to the Ultimate Ears facility.  I think it will be great to see where they are made.  I'd have a hard time believing that they would have a bad audiologist.  For me, the fact that they are local, and that I like the cable makes the difference.  I have a hard time believing that they would be a bad product.  So, it is just a matter of preference.  Rolling the dice.  I will see if I can listen to the Pro 18.  If I like those better, I may get them.
I would sure love to hear your impressions, err, so to speak of everything.. the facility, the IERMs vs the UE18s.  I'm considering getting one of the two myself so I'd love to hear all about them.

Ironically, I myself am just down the road from Jerry Harvey facility in sunny central FL... I wonder if they do facility visits?

 
people have gone to JHA before and gotten to listen to demo units. call ahead and see if you can arrange it.